The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority: The spokesperson for Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital made the following announcement today (May 22): Four patients… read more
Following is the speech by the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, at the HKIA Extra Mile Anniversary Event 2019 today (May 22):
Let me say a few words in English. I would like to pay warm tribute to the Airport Authority, to Fred (Chief Executive Officer of the Airport Authority Hong Kong, Mr Fred Lam) in particular, for pioneering this very important programme. It is called Extra Mile, but I would like to change its name to “Extraordinary Mile” because that mile is really extraordinary. It combines passion, care and concern, creating shared value and building a coalition in the process for a caring community. Also, I think it’s a shining example of corporate social responsibility on the part of the Airport Authority. As I said in the beginning, your plate is full already. They have got the third runway, a lot of problems to tackle, management issues and all that, but on top of that, you really have a heart for the underprivileged, for the grass roots, and for our next generation – not only for children but also the ethnic minorities.
The ethnic minorities form an important component of the local labour force. They make Hong Kong their home basically. There are around a quarter of a million of so-called non-Chinese speaking residents of Hong Kong. In fact, one-third of them or 85 000 are South Asians. Employment is always a challenge, integration is also a challenge as well. You are tackling the problem at the root, which is employment. You give them a really meaningful job and also up-skilling them in the process. I take my hat off to you for this special programme.
You also provide care for children when their parents are at work so that they don’t have to worry about their kids after school. This is an excellent programme, which provides parent education as well. You also build happy families, employee-friendly programme. Once again, a good example for other corporations to follow.
All these actually echo very well with the current Government’s objective. We attach very high importance to youth development, particularly in promoting upward social mobility of the younger generation in Hong Kong and creating more so-called shared values in the process, and also providing more opportunities for our young generation, not only employment but also education and so on. We also set up a special steering committee under my chairmanship to look after the well-being of the ethnic minorities and rolled out Hong Kong’s first-ever Children Commission, also under my chairmanship. The idea is very simple – it is to propel the society forward on all fronts, and to be more caring, more compassionate, to build a really inclusive Hong Kong.
On this note, I thank you once again, Fred. Excellent job on your part, and all the stakeholders, all the supporters, my heartfelt thanks to you all. As for the trainees, congratulations to you. You are very lucky to be able to walk this extra mile, an extraordinary mile. I am sure that you will take off in the right direction. The programme will scale new height next year and when I stand here next year, there will be 36 strategic partners, doubling the number from where you started. Thank you so much.
The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health today (May 22) urged the public to maintain strict personal and environmental hygiene as the local activity of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) has been increasing in the past two weeks.
According to the CHP’s latest surveillance data, the number of institutional HFMD outbreaks recorded increased from seven (affecting 33 persons) to 16 (affecting 61 persons) from the week of May 5 to that of May 12. As of yesterday (May 21), nine outbreaks involving 21 persons had been recorded this week. In the last four weeks, most outbreaks occurred in kindergartens and child care centres. As for enterovirus (EV) 71 infection, as of yesterday, four cases had been recorded this year.
“HFMD occurs throughout the year with the usual peak occurring from May to July. A smaller peak may also occur from October to December. As young children are more susceptible, parents should stay alert to their health. Institutional outbreaks may occur where HFMD can easily spread among young children with close contact,” a spokesman for the CHP said.
“We have issued letters to doctors, child care centres, kindergartens and primary and secondary schools to alert them to the latest situation. Schools are reminded to follow the Guidelines on Prevention of Communicable Diseases on preventive and control measures as well as management of outbreaks, which should be reported to the CHP for prompt follow-up,” the spokesman added.
Management of venues with play facilities should pay special attention to the CHP’s Public Health Advice for Play Facilities on appropriate infection control in activities involving young children under 6 during the peak season.
“We noted that HFMD activity in neighbouring areas such as Taiwan has also increased recently. Parents travelling with their children should pay special attention to personal and environmental hygiene while visiting play facilities or having close contact with other children,” the spokesman added.
To prevent HFMD, members of the public, and especially the management of institutions, should take heed of the following preventive measures:
The Secretary for the Environment, Mr Wong Kam-sing, today (May 22) began his visit to Singapore where he attended a signing ceremony for a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the National Environment Agency of Singapore (NEA) and the Environment Bureau of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) Government on professional staff development. He also met with Singapore officials responsible for environment, transport and technology.
In the morning, Mr Wong first held a bilateral meeting with the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, Mr Masagos Zulkifli, to discuss matters of mutual concern. They also witnessed the signing of the MoU by the Chief Executive Officer of the NEA, Mr Tan Meng-dui, and the Permanent Secretary for the Environment/Director of Environmental Protection of the Hong Kong SAR Government, Ms Maisie Cheng. The MoU aims to enhance the synergy between both sides regarding professional staff training on the environment front and to strengthen collaboration. Afterwards, Mr Wong met with officials from the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources and the NEA to learn more about their policies on climate change, energy efficiency and air quality management.
In the afternoon, Mr Wong visited a company providing electric car sharing services, and was briefed by company staff and officials from the Land Transport Authority on Singapore’s electric vehicle and land transport policies. He also paid a visit to the Government Technology Agency, where he met with the Chief Executive, Mr Kok Ping-soon, to exchange views on smart city development.
In the evening, Mr Wong will attend a dinner hosted by the Senior Minister of State for the Environment and Water Resources, Dr Amy Khor. He will continue his itinerary in Singapore tomorrow (May 23) and visit Tengeh Reservoir and Semakau Landfill.
A man and a woman were fined $8,000 and $10,000 at the Eastern Magistrates’ Courts and the Kowloon City Magistrates’ Courts today (May 22) for contravening the Hotel and Guesthouse Accommodation Ordinance.
The courts heard that in September and October last year, officers of the Office of the Licensing Authority (OLA), the Home Affairs Department, inspected two suspected unlicensed guesthouses on Spring Garden Lane in Wan Chai and Portland Street in Mong Kok. During the inspections, the OLA officers posed as lodgers and successfully rented rooms in these guesthouses on an hourly or daily basis.
According to the OLA’s records, these guesthouses did not possess licences under the Ordinance on the days of inspection. The man and woman responsible for operating and managing the premises were charged with contravening section 5(1) of the Ordinance.
A department spokesman stressed that operating or managing an unlicensed guesthouse is a criminal offence and will lead to a criminal record. Upon conviction, the offender is liable to a maximum fine of $200,000 and two years’ imprisonment.
The spokesman appealed to anyone with information about suspected unlicensed guesthouses to report it to the OLA through the hotline (Tel: 2881 7498), by email (hadlaenq@had.gov.hk), by fax (2504 5805) using the report form downloaded from the OLA website (www.hadla.gov.hk), or through the mobile application “Hong Kong Licensed Hotels and Guesthouses”. read more