A Government spokesman today (July 17) said that the Employment Support Scheme (ESS) Secretariat has approved the sixth batch of applications for wage subsidies and will commence next week the disbursement of wage subsidies to about 12 000 successful employer applicants, with subsidies totalling about $4.7 billion and a total committed headcount of paid employees of about 200 000. The Secretariat will publish the name list of the employers concerned upon the completion of the disbursement. 

       Together with the first five batches of employers who received wage subsidies, the ESS Secretariat has disbursed wage subsidies totaling $34.2 billion to nearly 121 500 employers in the six batches, with a total committed headcount of paid employees of more than 1.47 million. After excluding 12 000 ineligible applicants who have not been approved for wage subsidies, the ESS Secretariat has completed processing nearly 80 per cent of the applications received from employers. 

       The spokesman said, "The processing agent of the ESS will continue to process the remaining some 35 000 and 14 000 applications respectively from employers and self-employed persons (SEPs) and has, via emails, reminded employers who have yet to provide correct bank and/or MPF account information to submit the supplementary information as soon as possible in order to complete the processing of applications under the first tranche of the ESS. Nonetheless, about 14 600 of such employers have yet to submit the required information. Since the processing agent and the ESS Secretariat will commence in full stream preparatory work for the second tranche of the ESS in early August, the ESS Secretariat therefore reminds these relevant employers that, they must submit to the processing agent the required information on or before July 31. The ESS Secretariat will, starting from early next week, remind each of these employers of the above deadline via SMS and email."

       In addition, the Secretariat will disburse the $7,500 one-off subsidy to the sixth batch of about 3 900 SEPs, totaling $29 million. Together with the first five batches of the SEPs, the ESS has disbursed the one-off lump sum subsidy to 90 000 SEPs.

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

     Regarding an earlier announcement on Candida auris carrier cases, the spokesperson for Yan Chai Hospital (YCH) gave the following update today (July 17):
 
     According to the contact tracing, five more patients (aged 43 to 85) who had stayed in other medical wards were confirmed to carry Candida auris without signs of infection. Two of them are old age home residents and had been discharged. The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) and the Community Nursing Services were informed of the concerned cases for necessary follow-up. Another three patients are now being treated under isolation in stable condition. In accordance with prevailing guidelines, YCH has commenced contact tracing for patients who might have had close contact with the index patients. The following enhanced infection control measures have already been adopted:
 
1. Thorough cleaning and disinfection of the wards concerned;
2. Enhance patient and environmental screening procedures; and
3. Apply stringent contact precautions and enhance hand hygiene of staff and patients.
 
     The hospitals will continue to closely monitor the situation of the patients. The cases have been reported to the Hospital Authority Head Office and the CHP for necessary follow-up.

     The Home Affairs Department will open 19 temporary night heat shelters tonight (July 17) for people in need of the service.

     The shelters will be open from 10.30pm until 8am tomorrow.

     For further information, please call the department's hotline before midnight on 2572 8427.

     The 19 night heat shelters are located at:

Hong Kong Districts:
———————

Central and Western –
Sai Ying Pun Community Complex Community Hall
3/F, Sai Ying Pun Community Complex,
2 High Street, Sai Ying Pun

Eastern –
Causeway Bay Community Centre
3/F, 7 Fook Yum Road, Causeway Bay

Southern –
Lei Tung Community Hall
Lei Tung Estate, Ap Lei Chau

Wan Chai –
Wan Chai Activities Centre
LG/F, Wan Chai Market, 258 Queen's Road East, Wan Chai

Kowloon Districts:
——————

Kowloon City –
Hung Hom Community Hall
1/F, Kowloon City Government Offices,
42 Bailey Street, Hung Hom

Kwun Tong –
Lam Tin (West) Estate Community Centre
71 Kai Tin Road, Lam Tin

Sham Shui Po –
Shek Kip Mei Community Hall
G/F, Block 42, Shek Kip Mei Estate, Sham Shui Po

Wong Tai Sin –
Tsz Wan Shan (South) Estate Community Centre
45 Wan Wah Street, Tsz Wan Shan

Yau Tsim Mong –
Henry G Leong Yaumatei Community Centre
60 Public Square Street, Yau Ma Tei
 
New Territories Districts:
————————–

Islands –
Tung Chung Community Hall
G/F, Tung Chung Municipal Services Building,
39 Man Tung Road, Tung Chung

Kwai Tsing –
Kwai Shing Community Hall
Podium, Block 6, Kwai Shing West Estate, Kwai Chung

North –
Cheung Wah Community Hall
Cheung Wah Estate, Fanling

Sai Kung –
Hang Hau Community Hall
G/F, Sai Kung Tseung Kwan O Government Complex,
38 Pui Shing Road, Hang Hau, Tseung Kwan O

Sha Tin –
Lung Hang Estate Community Centre
Lung Hang Estate, Sha Tin

Tai Po –
Tai Po Community Centre
2 Heung Sze Wui Street, Tai Po

Tsuen Wan –
Lei Muk Shue Community Hall
G/F, Hong Shue House, Lei Muk Shue Estate, Tsuen Wan

Tuen Mun –
Butterfly Bay Community Centre
Butterfly Estate (near Tip Sum House), Tuen Mun

Yuen Long –
Long Ping Community Hall
Long Ping Estate, Yuen Long

Yuen Long –
Tin Yiu Community Centre
Tin Yiu Estate, Tin Shui Wai

     The Lands Department (LandsD) announced today (July 17) that a site, Lot No. 1003 in Demarcation District No. 214 at Hiram's Highway near Heung Chung Road, Ho Chung, Sai Kung, New Territories, in the 2020-21 Land Sale Programme will be disposed of by public tender. The tender invitation for the lot will commence on July 24 and close on August 21.
            
     Lot No. 1003 in Demarcation District No. 214 has a site area of about 3,563 square metres and is designated for private residential purposes. The minimum gross floor area is 3,207 sq m and the maximum gross floor area that may be attained is 5,344 sq m.
      
     Land sale documents including the Form of Tender, the Tender Notice, the Conditions of Sale and the sale plan of the lot will be available for downloading from the LandsD website (www.landsd.gov.hk), and the sale plan will be available for distribution and inspection by the public from July 24, when the particulars of the tender will also be gazetted.   

     The Environmental Protection Department (EPD) today (July 17) released the latest grading of water quality for 38 gazetted beaches (see Note 1) and one non-gazetted beach (i.e. Discovery Bay, see Note 2).     
        
     Twenty-three beaches were rated as Good (Grade 1), 10 as Fair (Grade 2) and six as Poor (Grade 3).
 
Grade 1 beaches are:         

 
Grade 2 beaches are:

 
     Under the present grading system, beaches are classified into four grades, namely Good (Grade 1), Fair (Grade 2), Poor (Grade 3) and Very Poor (Grade 4), according to the level of E. coli in the water. Grades are calculated on the basis of the geometric mean of the E. coli counts on the five most recent sampling occasions.
      
     A summary of beach grades is published weekly before the weekend. The latest beach grades based on the most current data may be obtained from the EPD's website on Beach Water Quality (www.epd.gov.hk/epd/beach) or the beach hotline, 2511 6666.
 
Note 1: In view of the latest situation of COVID-19, the Leisure and Cultural Services Department announced on July 13 that all beaches would be temporarily closed from July 15 until further notice.
 
Note 2: Discovery Bay is a non-gazetted beach without lifeguard service.