Attention duty announcers, radio and TV stations:
 
     Please broadcast the following special announcement immediately, and repeat it at frequent intervals when the Very Hot Weather Warning is in force:
 
     The Labour Department reminds employers that as the Very Hot Weather Warning is in force, they should assess the risk of heat stroke to their employees and adopt effective preventive measures such as providing cool drinking water, setting up temporary sunshade and providing mechanical aids to reduce physical exertion of employees. Employees should drink water regularly and be mindful of their physical condition. If early heat stroke symptoms such as headache and thirst appear, they should rest in a cool or shady place and drink water immediately. They should also inform their supervisors to take appropriate actions.

Attention TV/radio announcers:

Please broadcast the following as soon as possible:

     The Hong Kong Observatory has issued the Very Hot Weather Warning.

     To prevent heat stroke, avoid prolonged activities outdoors.

     If engaged in outdoor work or activities, wear a wide-brimmed hat and light-coloured, loose-fitting clothes. Stay in shaded areas as much as possible.

     Drink plenty of water, and avoid beverages containing caffeine or alcohol.

     If you feel sick, consult a doctor right away.

     The Secretary for Food and Health, Professor Sophia Chan; the Director of Health, Dr Constance Chan; and the Chief Executive of the Hospital Authority, Dr Tony Ko, today (July 7) met the media on the latest prevention and control measures in connection with COVID-19. Following is the transcript of remarks made by Professor Chan:

Reporter: First of all, domestic helpers coming into Hong Kong will be asked to be quarantined at hotels for 14 days. How many hotels have agreed to this as it is summer time, many hotels are offering discount? How has the sector responded to the new decision? Second, air staff and crew ship staff are required to additional testing when they land in Hong Kong. Can you explain a bit more and also why is the burden now being passed onto the countries where they are coming from? The third question, will these new cases, especially with the cases in shipping ports, delay the establishment of the travel bubble and when will we see health code come to light again?

Secretary for Food and Health: The situation is that, first of all, in the recent two weeks, we have cases coming from places, for example, Philippines and Indonesia, are confirmed positive in terms of coronavirus. Another thing is that the flats in Hong Kong are very small. Therefore, in order to let domestic helpers coming to Hong Kong to have effective quarantine, it is important for them to have a place whereby fulfilling the Department of Health's guidelines and requirements. They should have a single room and do not share toilets with others, etc. Therefore, we have discussed that it is important for them to come together to a designated place for quarantine. Hotel will be one of the places that is suitable for this purpose. Secondly, it is also important for the employers to require them to have pre-boarding testing or pre-arrival testing so that we know that they are at least tested negative at the time before they arrive in Hong Kong. Of course, we will continue to test them after they arrive in Hong Kong. That is something that we shall do. 

Reporter: Two questions. You said it is an important alarm call for Hong Kong people and now that we have several cases with unknown sources. Why doesn't the government just tighten the social distancing measures, especially the rules at restaurants and limit the size of public gatherings? Secondly, do you think that it is still a good idea for the Book Fair to go ahead and for the theme parks to remain open?

Secretary for Food and Health: Given the current situation, social distancing measure is one of the important areas for us to look into and also to review the current situation. As you all know, we have been adopting the "suppress and lift" strategy all along. In the past, when we have a more stable situation in terms of this epidemic, we are in the lifting mode. So, we have been lifting many social distancing measures, namely the Cap.599G and Cap.599F – scheduled premises, restaurants and also the prohibition of gathering. But now we have come to a stage where we have this alarm whereby a number of local cases and at least one of them we do not know the source, or at least the Centre for Health Protection is now looking into, trying to trace its source. Therefore, I think, if we look at "suppress and lift", now comes a time for suppression. So, the direction is suppression. We would, first of all, look into all these measures that we have relaxed previously, and see how and also when, we are going to suppress. Secondly, we would continue to look into, or monitor the epidemic situation and also the local cases. We are yet to receive more information about contact tracing and also the (COVID-19) test results. Those are important information for us to take into consideration.

     Your question about theme parks and the Book Fair. They are under PPE (Place of Public Entertainment) licence, that is, one of our scheduled premises. When we review the situation, obviously all those licensed premises that are scheduled premises under Cap.599F would be reviewed altogether.

(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)

     The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health has announced that as of 4pm today (July7), the CHP was investigating 14 additional confirmed cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), taking the number of cases to 1,300 in Hong Kong so far (comprising 1,299 confirmed cases and one probable case).
     
     The newly reported cases announced today involve 10 males and four females aged between 14 and 85. Among them, five had travel history during the incubation period.

     As for the local cases, as the 1298th case involved a resident of a residential care home for the elderly (RCHE), residents and staff of the RCHE who were identified as close contacts and will be required to be sent to quarantine centres for quarantine. Noting that residents of the RCHE might have special care needs, the DH staff has conducted a site visit with personnel from the Hospital Authority and officers from the Social Welfare Department (SWD) to determine if the environment of the RCHE is suitable for on-site quarantine of residents.

     As the RCHE is considered by DH not suitable for quarantine of residents upon inspection, the Government has activated the Hong Kong PHAB Association Jockey Club PHAB Camp as a quarantine centre for residents of the RCHE who are close contacts of the confirmed case and are bedridden or requiring special care during the quarantine period.

     The SWD will arrange for care workers to attend to the needs of residents who need to be admitted to this quarantine centre.

     For other local cases announced today, in addition to distributing deep throat saliva specimen bottles to residents of buildings where the patients live at and students/teachers of school where a patient attended during the infectious period, the CHP has also adopted a further precautionary measure for early detection of possible transmission in the community. The CHP will distribute deep throat saliva specimen bottles by post to those who visited Sun Fat Restaurant (Address: 26-28 Man Ying Street, Ferry Point, Jordan) in connection with case 1289 from June 23 and those who visited Rich Pot (Address: Shop 137, 1/F, Kings Wing Plaza 1, 3 On Kwan Street, Shek Mun, Sha Tin) in connection with case 1293 from July 1. The related patrons can provide their name, postal address and date(s) of visit to the CHP via email (bottle@dh.gov.hk) for mailing of the specimen bottles to them. They are also urged to seek medical attention early if symptoms develop.

     The CHP's epidemiological investigations and relevant contact tracing on the confirmed cases are ongoing. For case details and contact tracing information, please see the Annex.

    As some recent confirmed cases of COVID-19 involved persons exempted from compulsory quarantine, starting tomorrow (July 8), crew members of aircrafts and vessels entering Hong Kong via the Hong Kong International Airport will be subject to a mandatory COVID-19 testing at the DH Temporary Specimen Collection Centre at the AsiaWorld-Expo, in addition to a 14-day medical surveillance, upon arrival.     
 
     Meanwhile, in a meeting on July 3, the Scientific Committee on Emerging and Zoonotic Diseases (SCEZD) under the CHP has reviewed the criteria for releasing confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients from isolation and made updated recommendations based on the prevailing scientific understandings on COVID-19. The revised recommendations supersede the previous one made on May 6.

     The updated criteria for releasing a confirmed COVID-19 patient from isolation are as follows:

For symptomatic patients:

1. Ten days have passed since the onset of illness; AND
2. Their clinical conditions improve and they are afebrile; AND
3. Either one of the following laboratory criteria:
– With two clinical specimens of the same type (i.e. respiratory or stool) tested negative for nucleic acid of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) taken at least 24 hours apart. For patients ever with stool specimen(s) tested positive, they should have two negative stool specimens collected 24 hours apart before release from isolation; or
– Tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 antibody.

For patients who did not develop any COVID-19 compatible symptoms all along:

1. Five days after the first positive RT-PCR test for SARS-CoV-2; AND
2. Either one of the following laboratory criteria:
– With two clinical specimens of the same type (i.e. respiratory or stool) tested negative for nucleic acid of SARS-CoV-2 by RT-PCR taken at least 24 hours apart. For patients ever with stool specimen(s) tested positive, they should have two negative stool specimens collected 24 hours apart before release from isolation; or
– Tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 antibody.

     The CHP again urged members of the public to maintain an appropriate social distance with other people as far as possible in their daily lives to minimise the risk of infection. In particular, they should go out less and avoid social activities such as meal gatherings or other gatherings to reduce the chance of contacting infected persons who may not present any symptoms, and minimise the risk of outbreak clusters emerging in the community.
              
     A spokesman for the CHP said, "Given that the situation of COVID-19 infection remains severe and that there is a continuous increase in the number of cases reported around the world, members of the public are strongly urged to avoid all non-essential travel outside Hong Kong.
     
     "The CHP also strongly urges the public to maintain at all times strict personal and environmental hygiene, which is key to personal protection against infection and prevention of the spread of the disease in the community. On a personal level, members of the public should wear a surgical mask when having respiratory symptoms, taking public transport or staying in crowded places. They should also perform hand hygiene frequently, especially before touching the mouth, nose or eyes.
         
     "As for household environmental hygiene, members of the public are advised to maintain drainage pipes properly, regularly pour water into drain outlets (U-traps) and cover all floor drain outlets when they are not in use. After using the toilet, they should put the toilet lid down before flushing to avoid spreading germs."
     
     Moreover, the Government has launched the website "COVID-19 Thematic Website" (www.coronavirus.gov.hk) for announcing the latest updates on various news on COVID-19 infection and health advice to help the public understand the latest updates. Members of the public may also gain access to information via the COVID-19 WhatsApp Helpline launched by the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer. Simply by saving 9617 1823 in their phone contacts or clicking the link wa.me/85296171823?text=hi, they will be able to obtain information on COVID-19 as well as the "StayHomeSafe" mobile app and wristband via WhatsApp.
     
     To prevent pneumonia and respiratory tract infection, members of the public should always maintain good personal and environmental hygiene. They are advised to:
     
• Wear a surgical mask when taking public transport or staying in crowded places. It is important to wear a mask properly, including performing hand hygiene before wearing and after removing a mask;
• Perform hand hygiene frequently, especially before touching the mouth, nose or eyes, after touching public installations such as handrails or doorknobs, or when hands are contaminated by respiratory secretions after coughing or sneezing;
• Maintain drainage pipes properly and regularly (about once a week) pour about half a litre of water into each drain outlet (U-trap) to ensure environmental hygiene;
• Cover all floor drain outlets when they are not in use;
• After using the toilet, put the toilet lid down before flushing to avoid spreading germs;
• Wash hands with liquid soap and water, and rub for at least 20 seconds. Then rinse with water and dry with a disposable paper towel. If hand washing facilities are not available, or when hands are not visibly soiled, performing hand hygiene with 70 to 80 per cent alcohol-based handrub is an effective alternative;
• Cover your mouth and nose with tissue paper when sneezing or coughing. Dispose of soiled tissues into a lidded rubbish bin, then wash hands thoroughly; and
• When having respiratory symptoms, wear a surgical mask, refrain from work or attending class at school, avoid going to crowded places and seek medical advice promptly.
 
 

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

     Amid a number of local confirmed cases of COVID-19 with unknown source of infection, the risk of community outbreak has escalated. In accordance with the principle of suppress and lift, the Hospital Authority (HA) will enhance infection control measures to combat the next wave of epidemic and appeals for the understanding and cooperation from members of the public.
 
     "Public hospitals shall start reinstating the 'Triage and Test Centres' of Accident and Emergency Departments (A&E) tomorrow (July 8) at appropriate locations within the hospitals. Suspected cases with stable condition will be tested and wait at designated area for the test results, while being segregated from other patients of the A&E," the HA spokesperson said.
 
     "For isolation facilities, the HA shall defer some of scheduled annual maintenance works to ensure sufficient first-tier isolation facilities to admit suspected and confirmed COVID-19 patients. Public hospitals will also review the readiness of the second-tier isolation wards for possible admission of recovering patients with stable condition."
 
     While non-emergency services in public hospitals have gradually resumed earlier, the HA will closely monitor the latest development of the epidemic and the operation of public hospitals. The pace of service resumption will be adjusted as appropriate to reduce the flow of people within the hospitals.
 
     "The HA has also reviewed the current stockpile of personal protective equipment which is estimated to be adequate for around three months' usage. The HA will continue to procure the required personal protective equipment, drugs and test kits."
 
     In view of the outbreak in an old aged home in the community, the HA will suspend the special visiting arrangement implemented earlier in non-acute hospitals beginning this Thursday (July 9) to minimise the flow of people within hospitals and the infection risks of inpatients. Meanwhile, hospitals will continue to make compassionate arrangements and video-visiting as far as practicable.

     The spokesperson reminded all healthcare staff again to stay vigilant. When receiving or attending suspected and confirmed patients, they must strictly follow the infection control guidelines and wear appropriate personal protective equipment. Members of the public should maintain good hygiene habits by wearing masks and practising hand hygiene.  
 
     The HA will maintain close contact with the Centre for Health Protection to prudently monitor the latest development and fight the epidemic with its best efforts. The HA will also inform the public and healthcare workers on the latest information in a timely manner.