The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health (DH) has announced that as of 4pm today (June 6), the CHP was investigating three additional confirmed cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), taking the number of cases to 1 106 in Hong Kong so far (comprising 1 105 confirmed cases and one probable case).

     The newly reported cases announced today involve two females and a male aged between 15 and 47. All of them had a travel history during the incubation period. 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.
 
     Meanwhile, the CHP has been proactively conducting epidemiological investigations and carrying out preventive control measures in regard to the cluster in Luk Chuen House, Lek Yuen Estate, Sha Tin. As of 4pm today, 1372 deep throat saliva samples had been collected in Luk Chuen House, among which 9 samples need to be collected again owing to leakage, while 1363 samples have had testing for COVID-19 completed. Except for the four confirmed cases announced on June 2 with positive results, other samples have tested negative.
 
     The CHP is also following up with the residents in Luk Chuen House who have not yet returned their deep throat saliva samples. As of 4pm today, the CHP, with assistance from the police, had got in touch with residents of one more unit and ascertained that they had moved out from Luk Chuen House before April. There are still four units of relevant residents that the CHP cannot get in touch with. The CHP strongly appeals to them to contact the CHP personnel according to the medical test order issued and return their samples to the CHP as soon as possible for early testing.
 
     Meanwhile, as of 4pm today, the CHP had collected and tested 2059 samples for Luen Yuet House, Kwai Luen Estate, with no positive results.

     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:

     The Hospital Authority (HA) today (June 6) reminded members of the public again to stay alert to fraudulent calls.
      
     As informed by some patients and families, people have received calls claimed to be calling from the HA and in the form of pre-recorded messages requesting the recipients to provide personal information in order to collect a document. The HA has already reported the matter to the Police.
      
     The HA reiterates that HA staff will contact patients by phone in person, and will provide relevant information to verify the identity of both parties. Members of the public are advised not to disclose personal information during any unidentiftied phone calls, and report any suspected fraudulent calls to the Police.

     Following is the transcript of remarks by the Secretary for Education, Mr Kevin Yeung, at a media session after attending a radio programme today (June 6):
 
Reporter: With the passage of the National Anthem Law, I mean, what do you mean by Police can be called to the schools, as you just said, if there are signs of insults? I mean, how should schools and teachers deal with that?
 
Secretary for Education: For the National Anthem Law, which has been passed by the Legislative Council on Thursday, I think at the schools our basic work is to teach our students about the national anthem and also to help them develop a sense of respect for our national anthem. But if there are incidents that happen that show disrespect for our national anthem, and the seriousness of the incidents is so big that it will affect the operation of the school and/or affect other students as well, then the schools, if they have no other options, have to call in law enforcement agencies to help them restore order. I believe that is quite exceptional but I think schools will make their decisions when these incidents actually happen.
 
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)

     Following is the transcript of remarks by the Secretary for Justice, Ms Teresa Cheng, SC, at a media session after attending a radio programme today (June 6):

Reporter: You said the Department of Justice (DoJ) is still responsible for future prosecutions if the national security law is in place. Does that mean it will co-operate with the national security agency? Can you explain more on the aspect of retrospectivity? What is the exceptional case?

Secretary for Justice: I will answer the last question first. At the moment, nobody has seen the draft of the legislation, so it is not possible to say what is going to happen there. Insofar as retrospectivity is concerned, as a matter of principle, criminal charges are not to be made retrospectively, and therefore there ought not be retrospective effect when the law is legislated. However, there is always some exception. The exception arises in relation to treaty and customary international law. But there are generally very small amount of situations.

     In respect of the role of the DoJ, under Article 63 of the Basic Law, the DoJ is responsible for all criminal prosecution matters without any interference. Therefore, we will make our decision in relation to prosecution, whether or not to prosecute and ultimately to take charge of the prosecution matter in court, in accordance with evidence, the law and the Prosecution Code. This is how we are going to do it. Relevant law enforcement agencies will pass us the file, and probably the Police will be the law enforcement agency. We will have the file and then we will look at it, just as in any other normal way.

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

The following is issued on behalf of the Legislative Council Secretariat:

     The Legislative Council (LegCo) Public Accounts Committee (PAC) will hold a public hearing on "Management of funding for sports development through the Arts and Sport Development Fund (Sports Portion)" (Chapter 1) of the Director of Audit's Report No.74 next Monday (June 8) at 9am in Conference Room 2 of the LegCo Complex.
 
     Seven witnesses have been invited to appear before the above hearing to respond to points raised in the Report and answer questions asked by the PAC members.
 
     The programme for the public hearing is as follows:
 
Date: June 8 (Monday)
Time: 9am
Venue: Conference Room 2  
 

     The PAC is chaired by Mr Abraham Shek, and its Deputy Chairman is Mr Kenneth Leung. Other members include Mr Paul Tse, Mr Steven Ho, Mr Lam Cheuk-ting, Mr Shiu Ka-fai and Ms Tanya Chan.