The Land Registry today (April 2) released its statistics for March 2020.
 
Land registration
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*      The number of sale and purchase agreements for all building units received for registration in March was 4,555 (+3.2 per cent compared with February 2020 but -29.1 per cent compared with March 2019)

*     The 12-month moving average for March was 5,878 (2.6 per cent below the 12-month moving average for February 2020 and 6.1 per cent below that for March 2019)

*      The total consideration for sale and purchase agreements in March was $35.8 billion (+1.4 per cent compared with February 2020 but -32.2 per cent compared with March 2019)

*      Among the sale and purchase agreements, 3,870 were for residential units (+8.3 per cent compared with February 2020 but -26.0 per cent compared with March 2019)

*      The total consideration for sale and purchase agreements in respect of residential units was $31.8 billion (+4.4 per cent compared with February 2020 but -30.8 per cent compared with March 2019)

     Statistics on sales of residential units do not include sale and purchase agreements relating to sales of units under the Home Ownership Scheme, the Private Sector Participation Scheme and the Tenants Purchase Scheme unless the premium of the unit concerned has been paid after the sale restriction period.

     Figures on sale and purchase agreements received for the past 12 months, the year-on-year rate of change and breakdown figures on residential sales have also been released.

     As deeds may not be lodged with the Land Registry until up to 30 days after the transaction, these statistics generally relate to land transactions in the previous month.
 
Land search
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*      The number of searches of land registers made by the public in March was 408,634 (+27.1 per cent compared with February 2020 but -12.3 per cent compared with March 2019)

     The statistics cover searches made at the counter, through the self-service terminals and via the Integrated Registration Information System Online Services.

     With the northeast monsoon over southern China being generally weaker than normal for most of the time in the month, March 2020 was much warmer than usual in Hong Kong. The monthly mean temperature of 21.3 degrees and the mean minimum temperature of 19.7 degrees were 2.2 degrees and 2.5 degrees above their corresponding normal figures respectively. Both were the joint second highest on record for March. The monthly mean maximum temperature was 23.8 degrees, 2.4 degrees above the normal figure and the fifth highest on record for March. The month was drier than usual with a total rainfall of 41.3 millimetres, about half of the normal figure of 82.2 millimetres. The accumulated rainfall recorded in the first three months of the year was 135.9 millimetres, about 16 per cent below the normal figure of 161.3 millimetres for the same period.
 
     Under the influence of a maritime airstream, the weather of Hong Kong was sunny and warm with relatively low visibility on March 1. With the setting in of a fresh to strong easterly airstream over the coast of Guangdong, the weather became slightly cooler and cloudier with some rain patches in the next two days. A cold front over southern China moved across the coastal areas of Guangdong in the afternoon on March 4, bringing more rain to Hong Kong. With the strengthening of the northeast monsoon, the weather became cooler. The temperature at the Hong Kong Observatory fell to a minimum of 16.5 degrees on March 5, the lowest of the month. This is the highest monthly absolute minimum temperature on record for March.
 
     Affected by a warm and humid maritime airstream over the coast of Guangdong, the weather in Hong Kong became warm and foggy from March 7 to 9. The visibility at Waglan Island fell to around 100 metres on March 8 and 9. A cold front moved across the south China coast in the small hours of March 10. Under the influence of the dry northerly winds, local weather became dry with sunny periods during the day. With the setting in of a cloud band, the weather turned cloudy and cooler with a few rain patches on March 11 and 12.
 
     A warm and humid maritime airstream brought foggy weather to Hong Kong on March 13 and the visibility at Waglan Island once fell below 100 metres. A trough of low pressure moved across the south China coastal areas and brought some showers to Hong Kong in the morning on March 14. Under the influence of a relatively dry northeast monsoon, local weather became dry with sunny periods during the day and the weather remained so in the next two days. With the moderation of the northeast monsoon, the weather of Hong Kong turned mainly cloudy on March 17.
 
     Another trough of low pressure lingering over Guangdong brought showers and thunderstorms to Hong Kong on March 18, with 10 to 20 millimetres of rainfall recorded over most parts of the territory. Under the influence of a maritime airstream, the weather was humid and misty in the next few days. With plenty of sunshine on March 22 and 23, the maximum temperature at the Hong Kong Observatory soared to 28.5 degrees on both days, the highest of the month.
 
     The weather was rather warm with sunny periods and a few showers on March 24 and 25. An upper air disturbance brought a few thundery showers in the morning on March 26. As the showers subsided, there were sunny intervals in the afternoon and the next day. A cold front moved across the south China coastal areas in the morning on March 28 and brought thundery showers to the territory. Affected by a northeast monsoon, local weather was windy and slightly cooler with a few rain patches in the next two days. It was humid with some rain patches and coastal fog on the last day of the month. The visibility at Waglan Island stayed around 100 metres in the afternoon.
 
     There was no tropical cyclone over the South China Sea and the western North Pacific in March 2020.
 
     Details of issuance and cancellation of various warnings/signals in March are summarised in Table 1. Monthly meteorological figures and departures from normal for March are tabulated in Table 2.

     Police today (April 2) appealed to the public for information on a man who went missing in Pat Heung.

     Lam Chun-wing, aged 20, went missing after he left his residence on Shek Tin Road on March 24. His family made a report to Police on March 28.

     He is about 1.78 metres tall, 80 kilograms in weight and of medium build. He has a pointed face with yellow complexion and short black hair.

     Anyone who knows the whereabouts of the missing man or may have seen him is urged to contact the Regional Missing Person Unit of New Territories North on 3661 3113 or 6273 5787 or email to rmpu-ntn-1@police.gov.hk, or contact any police station.
     

  

     The Department of Health (DH) today (April 2) announced that starting tomorrow (April 3), participants of the Enhanced Laboratory Surveillance Programme can make use of a door-to-door specimen collection service from member companies of the Cyberport Startup Alumni Association to submit their deep throat saliva specimens to the DH for COVID-19 testing.
      
     Under the Enhanced Laboratory Surveillance Programme, the DH is currently providing a free COVID-19 testing service for asymptomatic inbound travellers arriving from overseas under the Compulsory Quarantine of Persons Arriving at Hong Kong from Foreign Places Regulation (Cap. 599E). Participants can either visit the DH's Temporary Specimen Collection Centre at the AsiaWorld-Expo for collecting and submitting their deep throat saliva specimens immediately upon their arrival, or ask family members or friends to help with the specimens' delivery to designated collection points if they choose to collect the specimens during home quarantine.
    
     To offer an alternative to inbound travellers to enable their return of specimens to the DH, the Cyberport Startup Alumni Association has pulled together two of its member companies, namely GoGo Tech Limited ("GOGOVAN") and HK PICK-UP LIMITED ("Pickupp") (hereafter "service providers"), to provide a door-to-door specimen collection service starting from April 3. Upon receipt of a request from inbound travellers, one of the two service providers will collect their specimen bottles from their registered address across Hong Kong (except outlying islands and other remote areas, for details please refer to website provided below) and drop them off at either the 13 designated clinics under the DH or the Public Health Laboratory Centre of the DH. The service providers will directly contact the individual inbound traveller and charge the latter a fee of $100.
      
     Members of the public are free to choose to use one of the concerned collection services. They will need to contact the service provider and make their own direct payment.
    
     A Government spokesman said, "The health of Hong Kong people is the prime concern of the Government. We are grateful for the support and contributions by the Cyberport Startup Alumni Association and the two service providers in fighting COVID-19 together. The door-to-door collection service to be provided will fill an existing service gap and offer a convenient alternative for all inbound travellers who need to submit their specimens. This will in turn help ensure the early identification of confirmed cases for the better protection of public health."
      
     For service subscriptions and enquiries related to the two companies, please refer to the information below:
 

 
     For more information about the service, please refer to the following link of the Cyberport Startup Alumni Association: www.csaa.com.hk/blog/door-to-door-specimen-collection-service.
  
     A spokesman for the DH urged inbound travellers who choose to collect their deep throat saliva specimens by themselves at home to arrange to hand in their specimens, either through their family or friends or the collection service, as early as possible so that relevant virus testing can be conducted as soon as possible. This will help identify asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic patients early for management and minimise the risk of community transmission.
 
     The DH will provide specimen collection containers to these travellers at the Hong Kong International Airport for collection of their deep throat saliva samples for testing. The containers should be returned to any of the collection points in the same morning after the specimen was collected. The collection points are 13 designated chest clinics or dermatological clinics under the DH. The specimens can be received at those locations from 9am to 11am on Monday to Sunday as well as at some general out-patient clinics under the Hospital Authority from 8.30am to 9.30am on Monday to Friday (except public holidays).

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:
 
     The Hospital Authority (HA) spokesperson today (April 2) said that 13 general out-patient clinics (see table below) will provide holiday clinic services during the Ching Ming Festival this Saturday (April 4). Members of the public are reminded to make advance booking through the telephone system as usual for an appointment. 
      
     The spokesperson remarked that the Accident and Emergency (A&E) Departments in public hospitals will also operate as usual during the holiday to serve patients with urgent medical needs. As the Emergency Response Level in public hospitals has been activated in response to the latest situation of COVID-19, infection control measures have been enhanced with universal masking for all persons entering public hospitals and clinics. Non-urgent patients are advised to consider seeking consultations at general out-patient clinics, private doctors or the 24-hour clinics of private hospitals.
      
     The latest A&E waiting time information is available on the HA website and in the "HA Touch" mobile app. To help find the appropriate family medicine doctor and related clinic service of their choice, members of the public are welcome to browse the Primary Care Directory of the Food and Health Bureau at www.pcdirectory.gov.hk.
 

 
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