A total of 4 nomination forms for the 2020 Legislative Council General Election were received today (July 21) by the Returning Officers for the five geographical constituencies and the 29 functional constituencies.
 
     This brings to 34 the total number of nomination forms received since the start of the nomination period on July 18. The nomination period will continue until July 31.
 
     The number of nomination forms received for each geographical constituency is as follows:
      

 
     The number of nomination forms received for each functional constituency is as follows:
 

 
     Particulars of the nominees will be available on the election website (www.elections.gov.hk/legco2020/eng/nominat.html).

     The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) today (July 21) said that since the epidemic situation of coronavirus disease 2019 in Hong Kong has become severe recently, to strengthen the anti-epidemic work, the FEHD has earlier issued a letter to market and hawker bazaar tenants under the department to remind them to wear face masks in markets and hawker bazaars, and perform hand hygiene frequently. The FEHD started to distribute face masks and disinfectant hand sanitisers progressively to market and hawker bazaar operators today. Disinfectant hand sanitisers will also be placed at communal parts such as vicinities of lift lobbies, escalators and public scales for use by market patrons so as to safeguard the health and safety of tenants and the public. 

     The FEHD has already enhanced cleaning and disinfection in markets under the department as a precautionary measure, and urged market tenants for their cooperation to conduct cleaning and disinfection at their respective stalls, with a view to improving the overall hygienic condition of the markets.

  

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

     The spokesperson for Hong Kong East Cluster made the following announcement today (July 21):
 
     Following the announcement yesterday (July 20) about a preliminarily positive case of COVID-19 infection in a surgical ward, Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital (PYNEH) has continued to follow up on the 10 patients who had stayed in the same cubicle with the patient concerned. The COVID-19 test results were negative for all five patients who are still in the hospital. The patients concerned have been transferred to Airborne Infection Isolation Rooms (AIIRs) for isolation and surveillance.
 
     The other five patients had been discharged earlier. One of them is a 41-year-old male patient who reported persistent fever after discharge and was immediately admitted yesterday to an AIIR for isolation. His nasopharyngeal swab specimen preliminarily tested positive for COVID-19. The hospital has reported the result to the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) and will follow up closely with the CHP on the condition of the other discharged patients.
 
     PYNEH has conducted thorough cleaning and disinfection in the ward concerned. All staff members and patients have been reminded to follow strengthened infection control measures and observe hand hygiene.
 
     In addition, a 79-year-old female patient (case number: 1956) sought medical treatment in Queen Elizabeth Hospital on July 19 and her test for COVID-19 was confirmed as positive yesterday. The patient was admitted to Ruttonjee and Tang Shiu Kin Hospitals (RTSKH) for colonoscopy on July 16 and was discharged on the same day. 

     Thorough cleaning and disinfection at the Combined Endoscopy Unit and a day ward (B6) was completed yesterday. The Infection Control Team of RTSKH is working closely with the CHP for close contact tracing. After assessment, no staff members has been classified as a close contact as all staff concerned were equipped with appropriate personal protective equipment. The hospital has communicated with 10 female patients who stayed in the same day ward with the infected patient on July 16, and eight of them require quarantine arrangements. 
 

Attention duty announcers, radio and TV stations:

Please broadcast the following message as soon as possible and repeat it at suitable intervals:

     At around 6pm today (July 21), protestors gathered inside a mall on 9 Yuen Lung Street, Yuen Long, suspected to have breached the Prevention and Control of Disease (Prohibition on Group Gathering) Regulation (Cap.599G). Police officers have entered the mall and will take resolute enforcement actions on offenders who participate in a prohibited group gathering.

     It must be emphasized that during the pandemic, any group gathering may increase the risk of transmission of diseases. Police remind all members of the public not to participate in any unauthorised assembly or prohibited group gatherings.

     In view of the latest development and severity of the COVID-19 epidemic situation in Hong Kong, the Government has gazetted specifications under the Prevention and Control of Disease (Regulation of Cross-boundary Conveyances and Travellers) Regulation (Cap. 599H, Laws of Hong Kong) (www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/202007/18/P2020071800038.htm) to impose conditions based on public health grounds on travellers who have visited certain specified high risk places (i.e. Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines and South Africa) within 14 days before arrival in Hong Kong, in order to further reduce the number of imported cases. The relevant specifications will come into effect at 0.00am on July 25, 2020, and will remain effective until further notice.
 
     On July 18, 2020, the Labour Department (LD) reminded foreign domestic helpers (FDHs), employers and employment agencies to take note of the aforementioned specifications through a press release (www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/202007/18/P2020071800480.htm). For an FDH to whom the specifications apply, he/she must provide the following documents:
 
     1. a letter or certificate in English or Chinese issued by a laboratory or healthcare institution bearing the name and identity card or passport number of the relevant FDH to show that:
     (a) the relevant FDH underwent a nucleic acid test for COVID-19, the sample for which was taken from the relevant FDH within 72 hours before the scheduled time of departure of the specified aircraft;
     (b) the test conducted on the sample is a nucleic acid test for COVID-19; and
     (c) the result of the test is that the relevant FDH had tested negative for COVID-19;
     2. the original of the report for the test issued by the laboratory or healthcare institution bearing the name and identity card or passport number of the relevant FDH;
     3. a letter in English or Chinese issued by the relevant authority of the government of the place in which the laboratory or healthcare institution is located certifying that the laboratory or healthcare institution is recognised or approved by the government; and
     4. the relevant FDH has confirmation in English or Chinese of a room reservation in a hotel in Hong Kong for not less than 14 days starting on the day of the arrival of the relevant FDH in Hong Kong.
 
     Employers shall bear the costs of the nucleic acid test and the accommodation expenses, as well as provide a food allowance to their FDHs during the compulsory quarantine. 
 
     To tie in with the above measures, the Immigration Department (ImmD) will implement a new arrangement on applications for FDH visas. With immediate effect, employers applying for a visa for their FDHs (including those applications having been submitted but pending approval or issuance of visas) will be required to sign an undertaking to indicate that they will arrange for the COVID-19 test and hotel quarantine for their FDHs, and be responsible for the relevant costs if their FDHs are arriving on or after July 25, 2020. If employers are found to have breached the undertaking, their FDHs may be denied entry into Hong Kong and future applications from those employers for employing an FDH may be refused.
       
     The undertaking can be downloaded from the website of the ImmD at www.immd.gov.hk/eng/forms/hk-visas/foreign-domestic-helpers.html and obtained free of charge from the ImmD Headquarters and Immigration Branch Offices.
 
     For enquiries on FDH visa applications, please contact the ImmD by calling the enquiry hotline at 2824 6111 or by email to enquiry@immd.gov.hk. For enquiries on employment rights and benefits, please contact the LD at the dedicated FDH hotline at 2157 9537 (manned by "1823") or by email to fdh-enquiry@labour.gov.hk.