The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority: As at noon today (July 13), three COVID-19 confirmed patients (case numbers: 1224, 1262 and 1285) were discharged from hospital in the past 24 hours. So far, a tot… read more
The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, today (July 13) inspected the construction progress of the new quarantine facilities at Penny’s Bay.
Accompanied by the Secretary for Development, Mr Michael Wong, the Director of Architectural Services, Mrs Sylvia Lam and the Director of Civil Engineering and Development, Mr Ricky Lau, Mr Cheung was first briefed by technical staff on the construction progress, the use of the modular integrated construction method to speed up construction and the effective monitoring of construction with the help of drone inspection.
He was pleased to learn that construction of quarantine units on the piece of Government land at Penny’s Bay is making good progress and some 800 units will be available before the end of this month. Of these, the first batch of 100 units has already been handed over to the Department of Health and the second batch of 700 units has just been completed. The Department of Health is working at full steam in collaboration with relevant government departments, with a view to putting the newly constructed quarantine facilities in use as early as practicable.
As for building quarantine units at a Penny’s Bay site originally reserved for future tourism development, the relevant construction work started at the end of June. About 700 additional units are expected to be available before end-September.
He also took the opportunity to meet young graduates and professionals of the construction industry who have worked on this project. He pointed out that to deal with the rising unemployment rate in the industry, the Government earlier announced that salary subsidies would be provided to employers through the Anti-epidemic Fund to support and encourage them to employ graduates and assistant professionals.
Mr Cheung then inspected the construction sites, visited completed quarantine units and chatted with staff there. He thanked colleagues of the Architectural Services Department, the Civil Engineering and Development Department and other government departments as well as contractors for their hard work in increasing the number of quarantine units in Hong Kong within the shortest period of time.
He also expressed appreciation to colleagues of the Department of Health, the Police Force, the Fire Services Department, the Civil Aid Service and relevant government departments for working together in planning the operation of the quarantine facilities.
“Given the rapid and volatile development of the epidemic, the community must stay vigilant. The Government will keep up its anti-epidemic effort under the three key principles of responding promptly, staying alert to the situation and working in an open and transparent manner,” Mr Cheung stressed.
“The provision of quarantine facilities is a very significant task of the Government’s strategy of keeping the epidemic in check through early identification, early isolation and early treatment. The Government will continue to closely monitor developments and make corresponding deployment of the quarantine facilities in light of the actual situation,” he said.
He said that with a number of local cases with unknown sources of infection detected over a short period of time recently, the Government has promptly adjusted the epidemic control measures on different fronts, including tightening social distancing measures to re-introduce limits on the overall capacity as well as the number of persons who may be seated together at one table at catering premises and reduce the limits in relation to the number of persons allowed at scheduled premises where activities are conducted without wearing masks.
He reminded Hong Kong people not to lower the guard under any circumstances and appealed to them to keep up their good practices in personal and environmental hygiene. read more
The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health today (July 13) reported the latest number of cases of Legionnaires’ disease (LD), and stressed the importance of using and maintaining properly designed man-made water systems, adding that susceptible groups should strictly observe relevant precautions.
From July 5 to 11, two community-acquired LD cases were reported:
1. A male patient, aged 56 with underlying illnesses, who lives in Heng Kin House, Tin Heng Estate, Yuen Long; and
2. A male patient, aged 40 with underlying illnesses, who lives in Leung Yin House, Leung King Estate, Tuen Mun.
“Epidemiological investigations are ongoing to identify potential sources of infection, high-risk exposure and clusters, if any,” a spokesman for the CHP said.
As of July 11 this year, 52 LD cases had been reported. In 2019 and 2018, there were 105 cases each year.
“Men, people aged over 50, smokers, alcoholics and persons with weakened immunities are more susceptible to LD. Some situations may also increase the risk of infection including poor maintenance of water systems leading to stagnant water; living in areas with old water systems, cooling towers or fountains; using electric water heaters, whirlpools and spas or hot water spring spas; and recent stays in hotels or vessels,” the spokesman said.
Legionellae are found in various environmental settings and grow well in warm water (20 to 45 degrees Celsius). They can be found in aqueous environments such as water tanks, hot and cold water systems, cooling towers, whirlpools and spas, water fountains and home apparatus which support breathing. People may become infected when they breathe in contaminated droplets (aerosols) and mist generated by artificial water systems, or when handling garden soil, compost and potting mixes.
Immunocompromised persons should:
• Use sterile or boiled water for drinking, tooth brushing and mouth rinsing;
• Avoid using humidifiers, or other mist- or aerosol-generating devices. A shower may also generate small aerosols; and
• If using humidifiers, or other mist- or aerosol-generating devices, fill the water tank with only sterile or cooled freshly boiled water, and not water directly from the tap. Also, clean and maintain humidifiers/devices regularly according to manufacturers’ instructions. Never leave stagnant water in a humidifier/device. Empty the water tank, wipe all surfaces dry, and change the water daily.
The public should observe the health advice below:
• Observe personal hygiene;
• Do not smoke and avoid alcohol consumption;
• Strainers in water taps and shower heads should be inspected, cleaned, descaled and disinfected regularly or at a frequency recommended by the manufacturer;
• If a fresh-water plumbing system is properly maintained, it is not necessary to install domestic water filters. Use of water filters is not encouraged as clogging occurs easily, which can promote growth of micro-organisms. In case water filters are used, the pore size should be 0.2 micrometres (µm) and the filter needs to be changed periodically according to the manufacturer’s recommendations;
• Drain and clean water tanks of buildings at least quarterly;
• Drain or purge for at least one minute infrequently used water outlets (e.g. water taps, shower heads and hot water outlets) and stagnant points of the pipework weekly or before use;
• Seek and follow doctors’ professional advice regarding the use and maintenance of home respiratory devices and use only sterile water (not distilled or tap water) to clean and fill the reservoir. Clean and maintain the device regularly according to the manufacturer’s instructions. After cleaning/disinfection, rinse the device with sterile water, cooled freshly boiled water or water filtered with 0.2 µm filters. Never leave stagnant water in the device. Empty the water tank, keep all surfaces dry, and change the water daily; and
• When handling garden soil, compost and potting mixes:
1. Wear gloves and a face mask;
2. Water gardens and compost gently using low pressure;
3. Open composted potting mixes slowly and make sure the opening is directed away from the face;
4. Wet the soil to reduce dust when potting plants; and
5. Avoid working in poorly ventilated places such as enclosed greenhouses.
The public may visit the CHP’s LD page, the Code of Practice for Prevention of LD and the Housekeeping Guidelines for Cold and Hot Water Systems for Building Management of the Prevention of LD Committee, and the CHP’s risk-based strategy for prevention and control of LD. read more
The Commerce and Economic Development Bureau announced today (July 13) that the Government will earmark around $260 million under the Film Development Fund (FDF) to implement five major measures to increase the number of local film productions, nurture young directors and scriptwriting talents and enhance professional training, with a view to adding value to the trade, helping the trade tide over this difficult period and re-energising Hong Kong’s film industry.
The five major measures are the Directors’ Succession Scheme; relaxation of the Film Production Financing Scheme (FPFS); the Scriptwriting Incubation Programme; short-term advanced training programmes, organised by the Federation of Hong Kong Filmmakers and the Hong Kong Film Directors’ Guild; and implementation of the enhanced First Feature Film Initiative (FFFI).
“As a result of social events and the epidemic, local film production and investment have shrunk, posing acute challenges to the trade and practitioners in the past year. The Government is therefore committed to providing multi-pronged support for the trade to go through this difficult period and sustaining the success story of Hong Kong films,” the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Edward Yau, said.
“The measures respond to the needs of film practitioners of different fields and provide platforms for them to showcase their talents, thereby injecting fresh impetus into the industry,” the Chairman of the Hong Kong Film Development Council, Dr Wilfred Wong, said.
The five major measures to energise Hong Kong films are set out below:
(1) Directors’ Succession Scheme
Qualified directors are invited to partner with one to two young directors to co-produce films, with earmarked funding of around $100 million to subsidise 10 to 12 local film productions. Each film will be granted a subsidy of around $9 million. The Scheme serves the purpose of encouraging directors to groom young talents, and to enhance the quality and quantity of local film productions. Directors who have accepted invitations to join the first round of the Scheme include Derek Yee, Wong Kar-wai, Peter Chan, Gordon Chan, and Mabel Cheung and Alex Law (as a duo). They will partner with young directors Keane Wong, Ronald Zee, Wong Chun, Ralph Chau and Norris Wong respectively.
(2) Relaxation of the FPFS
To increase the number of local film productions in the short term and render relief to film practitioners, the Government will increase the actual financing amount, investors will be granted priority to recover half of their investment, and disbursement will also be made earlier. The measures are expected to benefit over 10 film productions, involving government financing of $100 million.
(3) Scriptwriting Incubation Programme
The Programme encourages current scriptwriters and would-be scriptwriters to join the profession and/or produce high-quality scripts. With earmarked funding of around $8 million, it is expected that around 40 quality scripts will be incubated.
(4) Sponsoring the trade to provide free short-term advanced training courses
The Federation of Hong Kong Filmmakers and the Hong Kong Film Directors’ Guild have been subsidised with a total of $20 million to organise for the trade, with tuition fees exempted, the Skills Programme for Hong Kong Filmmakers and the Hong Kong Film Directors’ Guild’s In-depth Professional Training respectively, so as to add value to the industry.
(5) Enhancement of the FFFI
In the sixth edition, the maximum number of winning teams under the FFFI was increased to six, and the production budget for the Higher Education Institution Group has been raised to $5 million (previous cap: $3.25 million) and that of the Professional Group to $8 million (previous cap: $5.5 million).
The 6th FFFI saw a total of 55 applications, representing an 80 per cent increase. The winning teams will receive funding from the FDF to implement their winning film proposals and make their first commercial feature films. They are required to complete the whole film production and sales process, which involves planning, shooting and distribution, and the teams will be provided with ample opportunities to acquire practical knowledge in making a feature film along the way. Details of the winning entries are in the Annex.
The FDF was first set up in 1999. Over the years, it has funded about 60 film productions and groomed about 40 new directors and 19 new producers through various FDF subsidy schemes, and the productions have won in total more than 110 local and overseas awards. Since 2005, together with the $1 billion injection in 2019, the Government has injected a total of $1.54 billion into the FDF to support the local film industry along four strategic directions, namely nurturing talent, enhancing local production, expanding markets and building the audience. read more
The Home Affairs Department will open 19 temporary night heat shelters tonight (July 13) 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 temporary night heat shelters will resume their functions as either community centres or community halls in the daytime for hire by the local community and cannot continue to be open as heat shelters. People may choose to take refuge from the heat during the daytime in the common areas in any of the 21 designated community centres or community halls. Their opening hours are from 9am to 10pm. For addresses of the community centres or community halls, please browse the following webpage: www.had.gov.hk/file_manager/en/documents/public_services/emergency_services/List_CH_CC_Day_E.pdf. read more