A man who went missing in Sham Shui Po has been located.

     Wong Chui-chung, aged 75, went missing after he left his residence in Fu Cheong Estate on March 21 morning. His family made a report to Police on March 22.

     The man returned to his residence on March 24 night. He sustained no injuries and no suspicious circumstances were detected.

     The Social Welfare Department (SWD) announced today (March 26) that after a comprehensive review of the Support Programme for Employees with Disabilities (SPED), the maximum level of support for the SPED for each employee with disabilities has been raised from $20,000 to $40,000 with immediate effect, with a view to enhancing the support for employees with disabilities and their employers. A more flexible approach will be adopted in processing the applications to facilitate the matching of the needs of those employees.
 
     To support the employment of persons with disabilities, the SWD launched the SPED in June 2013 to provide employers with a one-off subsidy for each employee with disabilities for procurement of assistive devices and/or workplace modifications. The SPED aims to assist employees with disabilities in discharging their duties in the workplace and enhance their work efficiency.
 
     A wide range of assistive devices and workplace modifications which cater for the special needs of employees with disabilities at the workplace may be considered for support. Examples include computer accessories or adaptive equipment, optical magnifying devices, hearing and assistive devices, Braille products and handrails.
 
     The Po Leung Kuk has been commissioned to serve as the SPED Administrator. It assists in administering and promoting the SPED, providing advisory services and following up on the progress of the subsidised programmes, preparing assessments on the applications and making recommendations to the Committee on the SPED set up by the SWD for consideration.
 
     The SPED is open for application year-round. Employers may apply for the subsidy through nomination by the following referring organisations:
 
1. non-governmental organisations (NGOs) operating SWD-subvented vocational rehabilitation services;
2. NGOs running training courses for persons with disabilities or persons recovering from work injuries with the funding support of the Employees Retraining Board;
3. the Selective Placement Division of the Labour Department;
4. the Vocational Training Council; or
5. the SPED Administrator (the Po Leung Kuk).
 
     Employers may submit their completed application forms together with the required documents by mail or by hand to the SWD through the referring organisations. No application fee is payable and each applicant may submit more than one application.
 
     For enquiries, please contact the Po Leung Kuk SPED Office by phone at 3980 9677, by email at sped@poleungkuk.org.hk or by fax at 3980 9633.
 
     Members of the public may visit the SWD website at www.swd.gov.hk/en/index/site_pubsvc/page_rehab/sub_listofserv/id_vocational/id_sped for the latest updates and to download the Information Note and application form.

     The Electrical and Mechanical Services Department today (March 26) announced an adjustment to the auto-LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) ceiling prices for dedicated LPG filling stations from April 1 to April 30, 2020, in accordance with the terms and conditions of the contracts of the dedicated LPG filling stations.
 
     A department spokesman said that the adjustment on April 1, 2020, reflects the movement of the LPG international price in March 2020. The adjusted auto-LPG ceiling prices for dedicated LPG filling stations will range from $3.11 to $3.67 per litre, representing a decrease of $0.29 per litre.
 
     The spokesman said that the auto-LPG ceiling prices were adjusted according to a specified pricing formula. The formula comprises two elements – the LPG international price and the LPG operating price. The LPG international price is the LPG international price of the preceding month. The LPG operating price is adjusted on the first day of February every year according to the movement in the Composite Consumer Price Index in the previous year.
 
     The auto-LPG ceiling prices for respective dedicated LPG filling stations in April 2020 are as follows:
 

   
     The spokesman said that the details of the LPG international price and the auto-LPG ceiling price of each dedicated LPG filling station have been uploaded to the department website www.emsd.gov.hk. They are also posted at dedicated LPG filling stations to enable the trades to monitor the price adjustment.
 
     Details of the pricing adjustment mechanism for dedicated LPG filling stations can also be viewed under the "What’s New" section of the department website at www.emsd.gov.hk/en/what_s_new/current/index.html.

     A 22-year-old female officer who is stationed in Sham Shui Po Police Station was preliminarily tested positive for the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19). She is posted to a patrol sub-unit and has no travel history in the past 14 days. Whilst on duty yesterday ( March 24 ), she felt unwell and was not involved in any frontline duties that required interaction with members of the public. She later went to a hospital for treatment and was preliminarily tested positive for COVID-19.
     
     In the interest of public health, the Police have deployed the following measures:
     
     1. Before further assessment by the Centre for Health Protection, the officers stationed at the same sub-unit will not conduct duties that require interaction with members of the public;
     2. All officers working in Sham Shui Po Police Station are required to wear masks, and everyone entering the station needs to have their body temperature measured in order to ensure health safety;
     3. Police have sterilised all facilities in the Police station concerned, including the report room and vehicles;
     4. Police will deploy resources flexibly to ensure provision of emergency services of the district concerned remains unaffected;
     5. Police have reminded officers to reduce social contact to minimise risks of infection, and pay attention to physical health. If feeling unwell, they should consult a doctor and report the case.
     
     Police are highly concerned about the case and will maintain close communication with the DH and provide assistance in tracing the pathology, by proactively providing information such as the duty record and roster of the officer concerned.

     Arrangements will be made for close contacts to be conveyed to quarantine centres to undergo quarantine.

     The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government today (March 25) arranged the second batch of chartered flights to bring back Hong Kong residents stranded in Hubei Province to Hong Kong. The first two chartered flights successfully brought back 281 Hong Kong residents in Hubei Province.

     The Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Patrick Nip, and the Director of Immigration, Mr Erick Tsang, led the Hong Kong team this morning to the Wuhan Tianhe International Airport to oversee the mission, and took the second chartered flight back to Hong Kong. Members of the Hong Kong team include 47 staff members from the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau, the Immigration Department, the Department of Health (DH), the Information Services Department and the Hospital Authority.

     Taking the first two chartered flights to Hong Kong include 238 Hong Kong people stranded in Xiaogan, Xianning and Huangshi in Hubei Province, as well as 43 people in other cities of Hubei Province who have urgent needs to return to Hong Kong, such as people suffering from serious illnesses or  are in urgent need for medical treatments, children who are sick, and students sitting for the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education examination. There were 13 people aged 60 or above, 74 aged 16 or below, and among them, 13 were children aged three or below, joining the flights today. Family members or relatives of four children joined the first chartered flight to Wuhan to accompany the children to return to Hong Kong.

     All Hong Kong residents taking the chartered flights back to Hong Kong have undergone health assessment by DH staff at an early stage to check whether they have developed symptoms such as fever. The Hubei Provincial Government also conducted verifications to ascertain that all who were allowed to board the flight were not confirmed cases or suspected cases of COVID-19, and were not close contacts of confirmed patients. Before boarding, the people concerned had undergone four temperature checks at various checkpoints to ensure that they were not having fever, or developing abnormal vital signs, respiratory tract symptoms and other signs of infectious disease.

     Upon the arrival of the chartered flights, DH staff briefed the returnees about the quarantine arrangements and checked their body temperature. They will undergo 14-day home quarantine in accordance with the Compulsory Quarantine of Certain Persons Arriving at Hong Kong Regulation (Cap. 599C).

     In view of the need for milk powder of some Hong Kong residents stranded in Hubei Province, the HKSAR Government carried 48 cans of milk powder donated by the International Social Service, Hong Kong Branch in this batch of chartered flights for delivery to the families in need. 

     Starting from February 7, the HKSAR Government has also started delivering medicine to Hong Kong people currently in Hubei who need regular prescribed medication. Fifteen batches of medicine has been despatched to Wuhan for further distribution to 248 Hong Kong people. The despatch of the sixteenth batch of medicine is underway.

     The HKSAR team will depart for Wuhan tomorrow morning to bring back another batch of some 280 people to Hong Kong.