The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

     As at noon today (April 18), public hospitals had reported to the Department of Health the admission of 41 patients (23 male and 18 female, aged one to 86) in the past 24 hours who met the reporting criteria of COVID-19. Appropriate tests have been arranged for the patients.
      
     There are 481 patients under isolation currently. So far, 568 patients who had COVID-19 confirmed or probable infections have been discharged upon recovery.
      
     The Hospital Authority will maintain close contact with the Centre for Health Protection to monitor the latest developments and to inform the public and healthcare workers on the latest information in a timely manner.

A girl who went missing in Cheung Sha Wan has been located.

Lin Wai-yee, aged 13, went missing after she left her residence in Un Chau Estate on April 1 morning. Her family made a report to Police on April 14.

The girl returned to her residence yesterday (April 17) morning. She sustained no injuries and no suspicious circumstances were detected.

     In response to media enquiries regarding the arrest of a number of people by the Police today (April 18) in connection with organising and participating in unauthorised assemblies, a spokesman for the Security Bureau made the following response:

     Under section 10 of the Police Force Ordinance (Cap. 232), the Police have the duty to take lawful measures for apprehending all persons whom it is lawful to apprehend and for whose apprehension sufficient grounds exists. The relevant arrests were made based on evidence from investigations and strictly according to the laws in force.

     In Hong Kong, everyone is equal before the law. No one is above it nor can anyone break it without facing consequences. If there is evidence that anyone violates the law, no matter what his/her status or background is, he/she must face justice. No one has any special privileges. The Police will handle the case in a fair, just and impartial manner in accordance with the law.

The following is issued on behalf of the Legislative Council Secretariat:
 
     Details of the meetings of the Legislative Council (LegCo) and its Committees to be held in the LegCo Complex during the week from April 20 to 24 are available in the meeting schedule attached.
      
     The information in the meeting schedule is subject to change. Please refer to the "LegCo Calendar" on the LegCo Website (www.legco.gov.hk) for the latest details of meetings.
      
     Members of the public can watch or listen to the meetings via the "Webcast" system on the LegCo Website. To observe the proceedings of the meetings at the LegCo Complex, members of the public may call 3919 3399 during office hours to reserve seats.

     The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, today (April 18) welcomed the passage of the funding application for the second round of the Anti-epidemic Fund and other relief measures by the Legislative Council (LegCo) Finance Committee.
 
     "The epidemic has caused an unprecedented impact on Hong Kong's economy in the past three months. Various sectors have been hard hit with many businesses facing pressure to close down and massive staff layoffs being anticipated. The Government needs to take resolute and exceptional measures to prevent the situation from deteriorating and relieve the imminent need of the businesses and the employees. I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to the LegCo Finance Committee for passing the funding application for the second round of the Anti-epidemic Fund and relevant items following some 20 hours of discussion so that the Government can implement various relief measures worth $137.5 billion as soon as possible," said Mrs Lam.
 
     "This round of relief measures includes an $81 billion Employment Support Scheme, subsidies to hard-hit sectors, financing guarantee scheme to help ease the cash flow of businesses, relaxed eligibility requirements for the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance to support the unemployed and the implementation of an MTR fare concession, benefiting directly and indirectly millions of members of the public.
 
     "Together with the first round of relief measures under the Anti-epidemic Fund worth $30 billion and the relief measures in the 2020-21 Budget costing $120 billion, the Government has committed a total of $287.5 billion, accounting for 10 per cent of Hong Kong's Gross Domestic Product. Given the epidemic's unprecedented impact on Hong Kong's economy, the Government has to dig deep into its fiscal reserves accumulated over the years to help our businesses and people.
 
     "I would like to express my gratitude to the organisations and individuals for submitting proposals to the Government after I announced the preparation for the launch of the second round of the Anti-epidemic Fund, and to colleagues of various relevant policy bureaux and departments for their hard work. I have no doubt that various departments share the views that these relief measures are timely for many businesses and people, and will implement them at full steam to achieve the effect of safeguarding jobs and supporting enterprises."