The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:

     Exchange Fund Bills tender results:
 

———————————————————

     Hong Kong Monetary Authority tenders to be held in the week beginning March 2:
 

     New Territories South Region is conducting a three-day traffic enforcement operation against illegal parking in Tsuen Wan, Kwai Tsing, Sha Tin, Airport and Lantau police districts from February 24 to 26, with a view to ensuring road safety and smooth traffic flow.
 
     On the first day (February 24) of the operation, 1,992 fixed penalty tickets were issued and six vehicles causing road obstruction were towed away.
 
     The Police appeal to motorists to be responsible and safe road users. The Police will continue to step up enforcement actions today and tomorrow (February 25 and 26) to ensure smooth traffic flow and safety of the public.
 

  

     The Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, will deliver the 2020-21 Budget at the Legislative Council at 11am tomorrow (February 26). The full text of the Budget Speech and other related documents will also be released simultaneously on the Budget website (www.budget.gov.hk).
 
     Copies of the Budget Speech and a leaflet highlighting key Budget proposals will be available for public collection from the time the Financial Secretary has finished his speech at the 20 Home Affairs Enquiry Centres (HAECs) of the Home Affairs Department.

* 20 HAECs:

     Central & Western Home Affairs Enquiry Centre
     Eastern Home Affairs Enquiry Centre
     Southern Home Affairs Enquiry Centre
     Wan Chai Home Affairs Enquiry Centre
     Kowloon City Home Affairs Enquiry Centre
     Kwun Tong Home Affairs Enquiry Centre
     Sham Shui Po Home Affairs Enquiry Centre 
     Wong Tai Sin Home Affairs Enquiry Centre
     Yau Tsim Mong Home Affairs Enquiry Centre
     Islands Home Affairs Enquiry Centre (Cheung Chau)
     Islands Home Affairs Enquiry Centre (Mui Wo)
     Islands Home Affairs Enquiry Centre (Tung Chung)
     Kwai Tsing Home Affairs Enquiry Centre
     North Home Affairs Enquiry Centre
     Sai Kung Home Affairs Enquiry Centre
     Sha Tin Home Affairs Enquiry Centre
     Tai Po Home Affairs Enquiry Centre
     Tsuen Wan Home Affairs Enquiry Centre
     Tuen Mun Home Affairs Enquiry Centre
     Yuen Long Home Affairs Enquiry Centre

     Copies of the highlights leaflet will also be available at the following places:
 
* 16 government office buildings:
 
     Queensway Government Offices, Admiralty
     Immigration Tower, Wan Chai
     Revenue Tower, Wan Chai
     Wanchai Tower, Wan Chai
     North Point Government Offices
     To Kwa Wan Government Offices
     Cheung Sha Wan Government Offices
     Ho Man Tin Government Offices
     Lai Chi Kok Government Offices
     Mong Kok Government Offices
     Trade and Industry Tower, Kowloon City
     West Kowloon Government Offices, Yau Ma Tei
     Sha Tin Government Offices
     Tai Hing Government Offices, Tuen Mun
     Tai Po Government Offices Building
     Tsuen Wan Government Offices

* Four Licensing Offices of the Transport Department:

     Hong Kong Licensing Office, Admiralty
     Kowloon Licensing Office, Cheung Sha Wan
     Kwun Tong Licensing Office
     Sha Tin Licensing Office

* The Employment Agencies Administration of the Labour Department, Mong Kok

* Four bus customer service centres:

     KMB Tsim Sha Tsui Customer Service Centre
     KMB Shatin Central Bus Terminus Customer Service Centre
     KMB Tai Lam Customer Service Centre
     NWFB Admiralty (East) Bus Terminus Customer Service Centre

* 58 shopping centres in public housing estates:
 
Hong Kong and Islands
————————–
Siu Sai Wan Plaza, Chai Wan
Wan Tsui Shopping Centre, Chai Wan
Oi Tung Shopping Centre, Shau Kei Wan
Hing Tung Shopping Centre, Shau Kei Wan
Stanley Plaza, Stanley
Shek Pai Wan Shopping Centre, Aberdeen
Wah Fu (II) Commercial Complex, Aberdeen
Fu Tung Plaza, Tung Chung
 
Kowloon
———
Lei Yue Mun Plaza, Yau Tong
Kai Tin Shopping Centre, Lam Tin
Tsui Ping North Shopping Circuit, Kwun Tong
Shun Lee Commercial Centre, Kwun Tong
Yau Lai Shopping Centre, Kwun Tong
On Kay Commercial Centre, Kwun Tong
Lok Wah Commercial Centre, Ngau Tau Kok
Sau Mau Ping Shopping Centre, Sau Mau Ping
Tsz Wan Shan Shopping Centre, Tsz Wan Shan
Choi Wan Commercial Complex, Wong Tai Sin
Chuk Yuen Plaza, Wong Tai Sin
Fung Tak Shopping Centre, Diamond Hill
Shek Kip Mei Shopping Centre, Sham Shui Po
Hoi Fu Shopping Centre, Mong Kok
Oi Man Plaza, Ho Man Tin
Homantin Plaza, Ho Man Tin
 
New Territories East
———————-
Choi Yuen Plaza, Sheung Shui
Ching Ho Shopping Centre, Sheung Shui
Fu Shin Shopping Centre, Tai Po
Tai Wo Plaza, Tai Po
Heng On Commercial Centre, Ma On Shan
Yan On Shopping Centre, Ma On Shan
Mei Tin Shopping Centre, Sha Tin
Shek Mun Shopping Centre, Sha Tin
Hin Keng Shopping Centre, Sha Tin
Kwong Yuen Shopping Centre, Sha Tin
Sha Kok Commercial Centre, Sha Tin
Mei Lam Commercial Centre, Sha Tin
Wo Che Plaza, Sha Tin
Pok Hong Shopping Centre, Sha Tin
Yue Tin Court Commercial Centre, Sha Tin
Shui Chuen O Plaza, Sha Tin
TKO Gateway, Tseung Kwan O
Po Lam Shopping Centre, Tseung Kwan O
TKO Spot, Tseung Kwan O
 
New Territories West
———————–
Cheung Fat Plaza, Tsing Yi
Lei Muk Shue Shopping Centre, Tsuen Wan
Kwai Chung Shopping Centre, Kwai Chung
T Town, Tin Shui Wai
Tin Ching Shopping Centre, Tin Shui Wai
Tin Shui Shopping Centre, Tin Shui Wai
Tin Yan Shopping Centre, Tin Shui Wai
Long Ping Commercial Centre, Yuen Long
Long Shin Shopping Centre, Yuen Long
Butterfly Plaza, Tuen Mun
Leung King Plaza, Tuen Mun
Tai Hing Commercial Centre, Tuen Mun
Siu Hong Commercial Centre, Tuen Mun
Yan Tin Shopping Centre, Tuen Mun
Hung Fuk Shopping Centre, Hung Shui Kiu

     The public can watch the live broadcast of the delivery of the speech by the Financial Secretary in the Legislative Council, the Budget-related press conference, a television forum and a radio programme on the Budget webpage (www.budget.gov.hk).

     A total of 565 cases of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection were reported to the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health (DH) in 2019, compared with 624 in 2018.
 
     Reviewing the latest HIV/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) situation in Hong Kong, a spokesman for the CHP said, "Sexual transmission remained the major mode of HIV transmission. Members of the public should use condoms consistently and properly so as to reduce the risk of acquiring HIV.
    
     "Despite a decrease in the number of reports of HIV infection in recent years when compared to the peak in 2015, a concentrated epidemic among vulnerable groups, such as young men who have sex with men, warrants our sustained attention."
 
     Of the 565 HIV cases reported in 2019 which involved 479 males and 86 females, 331 (59 per cent) acquired the infection via homosexual or bisexual contact, 128 (23 per cent) via heterosexual contact, five (0.9 per cent) via drug injection and two (0.4 per cent) via perinatal infection. The routes of transmission of the remaining 99 cases have yet to be determined due to incomplete information upon notification.
 
     In the fourth quarter of 2019, 130 new cases of HIV infection were reported, taking the cumulative total of HIV infections reported locally to 10 280 since 1984.
 
     Of the 130 HIV cases reported in the abovementioned quarter which involved 109 males and 21 females, 79 acquired the infection via homosexual or bisexual contact, 26 via heterosexual contact and one via drug injection. The routes of transmission of the remaining 24 cases have yet to be determined due to inadequate information.
 
     The new cases of the quarter were mainly reported by four major sources: public hospitals, clinics and laboratories (48 cases); private hospitals, clinics and laboratories (26 cases); the DH's Social Hygiene Clinics (22 cases) and AIDS service organisations (22 cases). Also, 98 of the HIV-infected people (77 per cent) have already received HIV specialist services from the DH or the Hospital Authority.
 
     In addition, 43 new cases of AIDS were reported in this quarter, of which 22 cases (51 per cent) were attributed to homosexual or bisexual contact and 21 cases (49 per cent) were related to heterosexual contact. In this quarter, the most common AIDS-defining illness was Pneumocystis pneumonia, a kind of chest infection.
 
     Since 1985, a cumulative total of 2 118 confirmed AIDS cases have been reported in Hong Kong.
 
     The spokesman said, "HIV is the cause of AIDS and, without treatment, about half of HIV-infected people will progress to AIDS within 10 years. On the contrary, early HIV treatment with antiretroviral drugs helps prevent AIDS and its complications. It also improves the quality of life and prolongs survival of those infected. Notably, people with HIV who achieve sustained viral suppression by antiretroviral drugs have a negligible chance of passing on the virus through sex.
 
     "Members of the public with a history of unsafe sex should take an HIV antibody test early. HIV-positive people should seek specialist care as soon as possible."      
  
     The public may visit the following pages for more information on HIV/AIDS: the DH's Virtual AIDS Office (www.aids.gov.hk), the Red Ribbon Centre (www.rrc.gov.hk), the AIDS Hotline website (www.27802211.com) and the Gay Men HIV Information website (www.21171069.gov.hk).

The following is issued on behalf of the Legislative Council Secretariat:
 
     The Legislative Council (LegCo) will hold a meeting tomorrow (February 26) at 11am in the Chamber of the LegCo Complex.  The Appropriation Bill 2020 will be introduced into the Council for the First Reading and the Second Reading. When moving the Second Reading of the Bill, the Financial Secretary will outline the 2020-2021 Budget. The Second Reading debate on the Bill will be adjourned.
 
     During the meeting, Members will also ask the Government 22 questions on various policy areas, all of which require written replies.
 
     The agenda of the above meeting can be obtained via the LegCo Website (http://www.legco.gov.hk).  Members of the public can watch or listen to the meeting via the "Webcast" system on the LegCo Website. To observe the proceedings of the meeting at the LegCo Complex, members of the public may call 3919 3399 during office hours to reserve seats.