Mainly attributing to the stronger than usual northeast monsoon over southern China, April 2020 was slightly cooler than usual in Hong Kong. The monthly mean temperature was 22.0 degrees, 0.6 degree below the normal figure of 22.6 degrees.  With weaker southerlies and less moisture in the lower atmosphere over southern China, the month was also drier than usual in Hong Kong. The total rainfall in the month was 77.8 millimetres, about 55 per cent below the normal figure of 174.7mm. The accumulated rainfall recorded in the first four months of the year was 213.7mm, about 36 per cent below the normal figure of 336.1mm for the same period.
      
     Under the influence of the northeast monsoon and the subsequent fresh to strong easterly airstream, it was cloudy with a few rain patches from April 1 to 4. With the strengthening of the easterlies and the setting in of an upper-air disturbance, local weather became cooler with more showers on April 5 and 6. More than 20mm of rainfall were generally recorded over the territory on these two days, with the rainfall recorded over parts of the New Territories even exceeding 40mm. The temperature at the Hong Kong Observatory dropped to 16.1 degrees with rain on April 6, the lowest of the month.
      
     With the departure of the upper-air disturbance, showers over Hong Kong eased off gradually and there were bright periods during the day on April 7. Under the influence of a relatively dry easterly airstream and the setting in of a ridge of high pressure, the cloud band covering Hong Kong thinned out and the weather was generally fine and dry in the next few days. The weather turned cloudier on April 11 with the approach of a cold front. The cold front moved across the coastal areas of Guangdong and brought showery weather to the region on the night of April 11. Locally, more than 10mm of rainfall were recorded over the territory that night. Under the influence of a continental airstream behind the cold front, the weather of Hong Kong became fine and very dry with cool mornings on April 12 and 13. The relative humidity once fell below 30 per cent during the day on April 13.
      
     After a mainly cloudy day on April 14, local weather turned fine under the influence of a ridge of high pressure on April 15 and remained so in the next two days. Affected by a maritime airstream, it was mainly fine and hot during the day from April 18 to 21. There was also coastal fog on the mornings of April 19 and 21.
      
     A cold front moved across the coast of Guangdong on the morning of April 22. Under the influence of the northeast monsoon and upper-air disturbances, local weather became cloudy with rain on April 22. More than 40mm of rainfall were recorded in Tseung Kwan O and eastern Hong Kong Island respectively on that day. The weather of Hong Kong remained cloudy with some rain and became cooler in the next three days. With the moderation of the northeast monsoon, the temperature rose gradually on April 26 and 27 with sunny periods. Under light wind conditions, there was some haze during the day on these two days. The visibility at Chek Lap Kok once fell to around 3 000 metres on April 26. Under the influence of a continental airstream, local weather continued to improve and became generally fine and dry on April 28. With the setting in of an anticyclone aloft, generally fine weather prevailed on the last two days of the month. With plenty of sunshine during the day, the maximum temperature at the Hong Kong Observatory soared to 30.3 degrees on April 30, the highest of the month.
      
     There were no tropical cyclones over the South China Sea and the western North Pacific in April 2020.
      
     Details of issuance and cancellation of various warnings/signals in April are summarised in Table 1. Monthly meteorological figures and departures from normal for April are tabulated in Table 2.
     

     The Office of the Communications Authority (OFCA) announced today (May 5) the launch of the Subsidy Scheme for Encouraging Early Deployment of 5G (the fifth-generation mobile technology) under the second round of the Anti-epidemic Fund. The Scheme is open for application from today to November 30, 2020, on a first-come, first-served basis.
 
     The Scheme aims to encourage various sectors to deploy 5G technology early to foster innovation and smart city applications, and to improve the efficiency of their operations and the quality of their services that will contribute to enhancing Hong Kong's overall competitiveness. 
 
     Under the Scheme, the Government will subsidise 50 per cent of the actual cost directly relevant to the deployment of 5G technology in an approved project, subject to a cap of $500,000. Around 100 qualified projects will be subsidised. 
 
     "Public and private entities and bodies are welcome to submit applications for projects which are able to bring substantive benefits to the business or sector concerned through the deployment of 5G as well as demonstrate innovation or cross-sectoral synergy," a spokesman for OFCA said. Details of the Scheme and the application form are available on OFCA's website (www.ofca.gov.hk/en/industry_focus/telecommunications/5g_subsidy/index.html). For enquiries, please contact OFCA by phone at 2961 6333 or email at 5g-subsidy@ofca.gov.hk.

     A woman who went missing in Hung Hom has been located.

     Kwok Pui-lin, aged 62, went missing after she left her residence on Wu Kwong Street on May 3 night. Her family made a report to Police yesterday (May 4).

     The woman returned to her residence yesterday night (May 4). She sustained no injuries and no suspicious circumstances were detected.

     The Places of Amusement Licence Holders Subsidy Scheme (the Scheme) is today (May 5) open for application, following the approval of the Anti-epidemic Fund (AEF) by the Finance Committee of the Legislative Council. The Scheme provides a one-off subsidy of $100,000 to billiard establishments, public bowling-alleys and public skating rinks operating with a licence issued under the Places of Amusement Regulation (Cap 132BA). It aims to provide immediate financial relief to the eligible licence holders whose businesses have been hard-hit by the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic and social distancing measures imposed by the Government.

     Holders of a valid Places of Amusement Licence issued by the Director of Leisure and Cultural Services under the Places of Amusement Regulation (Cap 132BA) on March 28, 2020, are eligible for application. Eligible licence holders should submit their applications to the Licensing and Prosecution Unit under the Leisure and Cultural Services Department. The deadline for application is May 30. Upon submission of the completed application form and supporting documents, the disbursement of subsidies could generally be made in around two weeks.

     The application form and guidelines will be sent to each licence holder by mail or can be obtained from the Licensing and Prosecution Unit (address: 9/F, Leisure and Cultural Services Headquarters, 1-3 Pai Tau Street, Sha Tin, New Territories). For details, please contact the Licensing and Prosecution Unit at 2601 8799.

     The Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Erick Tsang Kwok-wai, visited the temporary operation centre for the special scheme introduced for delivering prescription medications to Hong Kong people in Guangdong and Fujian with urgent needs for medications this afternoon (May 4) to learn more about the drug delivery services. He also gave encouragement to the participating volunteers and expressed gratitude for their huge support for the scheme.

     Under the compulsory quarantine arrangements, many Hong Kong people who are staying in Guangdong Province and Fujian Province are unable to conduct day trips to Hong Kong to attend follow-up consultations or replenish their prescription medications and return to the Mainland on the same day as they have done previously. To address the concern that the prescription medications taken by these Hong Kong residents may be running out, the Government introduced a special scheme on February 24 to deliver prescription medications to them, with priority given to those who will run out of prescription medications by end April.

     Mr Tsang was pleased to learn that as at April 29, arrangements had been made to deliver prescription medications to more than 7 600 Hong Kong residents in need. He expressed gratitude to the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions (FTU) for offering voluntary services for the drug delivery scheme with its well-established service networks on the Mainland. 

     Mr Tsang also thanked the Pharmaceutical Society of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Pharmaceutical Care Foundation for deploying pharmacists to the temporary operation centre to help verify the drug records and patients' information, and extended gratitude to colleagues from various government departments for participating in the scheme.

     Mr Tsang said, "As the expiry date for the Compulsory Quarantine of Certain Persons Arriving at Hong Kong Regulation (Cap. 599C) is extended to June 7, 2020, the special scheme will also be extended and give priority to cases in which the prescription drugs will run out on or before that date."

     Hong Kong residents who are in need of the service can call the Social Welfare Department's 24-hour Hotline (Tel: 2343 2255), or the hotline of FTU's Hong Kong office (Tel: 3652 5833) from 9am to 6 pm, Monday to Friday, for details.