In response to the arrangement of a phased resumption of public services by the Government, the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD) announced today (April 29) that the services of the Registration and Permit Office (the Office) at its Kowloon Bay headquarters will resume on May 4. The Office will open from 9am to 5.15pm from Monday to Friday.
 
     The EMSD will continue to maintain a high degree of vigilance and adopt necessary precautionary measures, including implementing crowd control measures at the Office which may lead to longer waiting times so as to reduce social contacts and the risk of the spread of the COVID-19 virus in the community. The EMSD encourages applicants to use alternative means to submit their applications, with cheques for payment, including by post (to 3 Kai Shing Street, Kowloon Bay) or through the drop-in box located at the G/F lobby of the EMSD headquarters during office hours. Submitted applications will be processed as soon as practicable and applicants will be notified of the results by phone or post.
 
     The EMSD Gallery will also be reopened on May 4. However, all interactive exhibits will continue to be suspended. To avoid overcrowding and reduce social contacts, special arrangements and precautionary measures will be implemented, including admission limits to avoid overcrowding. All visitors are requested to wear their own face masks and have their body temperatures checked at the entrance, and children under the age of 12 must be accompanied by an adult.
 
     For enquiries, please contact the EMSD on 2333 3762.

     â€‹As the epidemic situation has stabilised since earlier this month, the Fire Services Department (FSD) announced today (April 29) that its fire protection services, including applications for various licences, applications for dangerous goods vehicle inspections, fire service installations acceptance inspections of new buildings and compliance inspections of ventilating systems, processing of building plans and handling of matters relating to building fire safety improvement works, will be fully resumed with effect from May 4 (Monday).

     The Shroff Office and Receipt and Dispatch Counter of the Licensing and Certification Command Headquarters (located on 5/F, Fire Services Headquarters Building) and the Receipt and Dispatch Counter of the Fire Safety Command Headquarters (located on 7/F) will fully resume services on May 4 and provide services from 9am to 12.30pm and from 2pm to 4.30pm from Monday to Friday (except public holidays). Members of the public are encouraged to settle payments electronically as far as practicable. For further details, please refer to the payment methods detailed in the payment notice.

     Various infection control measures will also continue to be implemented in the Fire Services Headquarters Building and different fire protection units such as body temperature checks at entrances, provision of hand sanitisers, use of sanitising floor mats and enhanced cleaning of public facilities.

     In addition, to prevent the spread of the virus more effectively and to reduce social contact, all public education programmes of the FSD have been cancelled since January 29 and the Fire and Ambulance Services Education Centre cum Museum has also been temporarily closed until further notice. The FSD has informed those who are affected and will continue to assess the latest situation. Further announcement will be made when necessary. For enquiries, please call 2197 3699 (fire safety public education) or 2197 3600 (ambulance service public education) during office hours.

The following is issued on behalf of the Office of The Ombudsman:

     The Office of The Ombudsman today (April 29) announced that the Office will resume normal public service from May 4 (Monday). The Reception Counter will be open from 9.00am to 5.00pm from Monday to Friday.
 
     To continue to help reduce social contacts and the risk of the spread of COVID-19 in the community, members of the public who wish to lodge complaints or make enquiries are encouraged to contact the Office through email, fax, hotline, voice message or online form. Face-to-face meetings with the Duty Officer or case officers must be made by prior appointment. All visitors by prior appointment are required to wear surgical masks and take a body temperature check before entering the Office. Those with symptoms such as fever or cough will be advised to seek medical assistance and not to enter the Office.
 
     The special precautionary measures will be lifted when conditions permit.

     To align with the Government's announcement that public services will resume under a phased approach, a spokesman for the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) today (April 29) said that the Health Education Exhibition and Resource Centre and the Communication Resource Unit, Centre for Food Safety of the FEHD will be reopened on May 6 (Wednesday).
      
     The FEHD will adopt special measures at the above venues to be reopened to minimise the risk of the spread of the virus, including conducting temperature checks for all visitors before entering the venues, advising visitors to wear their own masks before admission, suspending the use of interactive exhibits in the venues as well as conducting enhanced cleaning and disinfection measures.
      
     Venue users are reminded to comply with the Prevention and Control of Disease (Prohibition on Group Gathering) Regulation (Cap. 599G) on the prohibition of group gatherings of more than four people. Educational and outreaching programmes of the two venues will remain suspended.
      
     The spokesman said that during the implementation of special work arrangements for government departments, the FEHD has been providing normal public services including cleansing, environmental hygiene, pest control, slaughterhouses, public markets, hawker management, burials and cremations, as well as various licensing services. The Centre for Food Safety has also continued its surveillance on food sold in Hong Kong to protect public health and ensure that food for sale is fit for consumption.
      
     For the opening hours of the Health Education Exhibition and Resource Centre and the Communication Resource Unit, Centre for Food Safety, please refer to their respective links at www.fehd.gov.hk/english/research_education/heerc/index.html and www.cfs.gov.hk/english/rc/medialib/index.html.

The following press release is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Housing Authority:

     Having regard to the resumption of normal operation hours for the Government's public services starting from May 4, the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA) announced today (April 29) that most public services of the HA will return to normal from May 4. Various infection control measures will continue to be implemented at HA venues. These include controlling the flow of people where necessary and requiring visitors to undergo body temperature checks and wear masks. The latest arrangements are as follows: 
 

• All estate management offices under the HA will reinstate normal services to five days a week from Monday to Friday, with opening hours from 8.45am to 6pm. The opening hours of the estate management offices’ shroff offices will also resume normal operation for providing services to tenants;
• Some outdoor recreational and fitness facilities will be gradually opened from May 6 while large-scale activities will continue to be suspended;
• The Public Rental Housing (PRH) Application Office in the Lok Fu Customer Service Centre, the Clearance Housing Office and the Redevelopment Sub-section Offices (Pak Tin and Mei Tung) will resume normal opening hours from Monday to Friday from May 4. The PRH application office in the Lok Fu Customer Service Centre Office will be open from 8am to 6pm, the Clearance Housing Office from 8.30am to 5.45pm and the Redevelopment Sub-section Offices (Pak Tin and Mei Tung) from 8.45am to 6pm;
• Flat selection sessions of the Territory-wide Overcrowding Relief Exercise and the Living Space Improvement Transfer Scheme will gradually resume from May 8. The HA will issue the Notification for Flat Selection in batches to eligible tenants according to their priority for flat selection;
• All subsidised housing offices (including the Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) Sales Unit and the White Form Secondary Market Scheme Unit in the Lok Fu Customer Service Centre, the Green Form Subsidised Home Ownership Scheme Sales Unit in Kwun Tong and the HOS Secondary Market Scheme Unit and the Home Assistance Loan Unit in Lung Cheung Office Block, Wong Tai Sin) will resume opening from 8.45am to 1pm and from 2pm to 6pm from Monday to Friday from May 4;
• Flat selection sessions of Sale of Home Ownership Scheme Flats 2019 will gradually resume service from May 8. The HA will issue flat selection notification letters in batches to eligible HOS applicants according to their priority for flat selection. For enquiries, please contact the HA Sales Hotline on 2712 8000; and
• The shroff office on the Ground Floor of the HA Headquarters will resume all normal services from May 4.