Tag Archives: China

     The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, met the new Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), Mr Luo Huining, at Government House today (January 9).

     Extending a warm welcome to Mr Luo on his assumption of the new post in Hong Kong, Mrs Lam said that during his visit to Hong Kong in the capacity as the Secretary of the CPC Shanxi Provincial Committee at the end of 2018, they had very good exchanges and she was impressed by his care for Hong Kong. She said that although Mr Luo has just taken up the post, he is familiar with the situations in Hong Kong. She expressed the hope that communication and co-operation between them would be enhanced down the road to promote various areas of work involving the Mainland and Hong Kong.

     During the meeting, Mrs Lam briefed Mr Luo on the work of the HKSAR Government in various aspects over the past two years as well as the social unrest arising from the legislative amendment exercise since June last year. Both parties considered that Hong Kong had experienced the most challenging situation since Hong Kong’s return to the motherland during the past seven months, affecting seriously all aspects of society, and that restoring social order as soon as possible is the common aspiration of the general public. Mrs Lam said the HKSAR Government will, in accordance with the Basic Law and the “One Country, Two Systems” principle, spare no effort to curb violence and uphold the rule of law in order to find a way out of the current impasse. Both parties are confident that under the long-standing and strong support of the Central Government, Hong Kong will be able to relaunch itself and open a new page, as well as better integrate into the overall development of the nation and achieve long-term prosperity and stability.

     Mrs Lam also said in the meeting that as the severe economic situation may affect the livelihood of the general public, especially the grass roots, the HKSAR Government will proactively study the launch of relief measures to help the people.

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     The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, visited the Urban Renewal Authority (URA)’s preservation-revitalisation project 618 Shanghai Street in Mong Kok and the Peel Street/Graham Street Development Scheme project in Central this morning (January 9) to learn more about their latest developments.
 
     Accompanied by the Secretary for Development, Mr Michael Wong, and the Managing Director of the URA, Mr Wai Chi-sing, Mrs Lam first visited the preservation-revitalisation project 618 Shanghai Street in Mong Kok involving a cluster of tenement buildings. The 14 pre-war and post-war tenement buildings have been turned into commercial and cultural spaces after their preservation and revitalisation. They are managed and operated by the URA and opened in the end of December last year.
 
     Mrs Lam was briefed by officers of the URA on the project background and ways to preserve the architectural features of old tenement buildings while offering new life and purposes for historical buildings and reintegrating them into the community. She then visited a food court operated by a social enterprise in the buildings and listened to the founder’s introduction on how his enterprise provides training and job opportunities for the socially disadvantaged and persons with disabilities. She also chatted with the staff members there. Praising the work of the social enterprise, Mrs Lam said she hoped that all of its members will continue to work hard to unleash the potential of the socially disadvantaged and persons with disabilities and to boost their confidence and employability.
 
     Mrs Lam then visited the Peel Street/Graham Street Development Scheme project in Central to view the Graham Market after its redevelopment. She also spoke with shopkeepers to learn about their business conditions. She expressed appreciation to the URA for its provision of a market block in which some shops are rented out to traditional industries in the district or old brands with district characteristics in order to preserve the allure of the open-air market in Graham Street.
 
     Mrs Lam said the URA has spared no effort in urban renewal. It has also gained plenty of successful experience in heritage conservation as well as participated proactively in building rehabilitation in recent years. She added that the URA will be given more new missions, pointing out that she has invited the URA to assist in redeveloping sites under the Civil Servants’ Co-operative Building Society Scheme in her Policy Address in 2018. In addition, she also entrusted the URA in her Policy Address in 2019 to proactively provide more Starter Homes or other types of subsidised sale flats. She expressed the hope that the Government and the URA will join hands to improve the living environment of the public.

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     A man who went missing in Kowloon City has been located.      Yeung Sai-lung, aged 83, went missing after he left an elderly home on Nga Tsin Long Road on January 7 morning. His family made a re… read more

     The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health today (January 9) received notification from the National Health Commission (NHC) on the latest progress of the identification of the pathogen for the reported cluster of pneumonia cases in Wuhan, Hubei Province.
 
     According to information from the NHC, the Mainland’s expert group has preliminarily determined that the pathogen of the cluster of viral pneumonia cases occurring in Wuhan is a kind of novel coronavirus. The relevant Mainland laboratory has detected a novel coronavirus and obtained the whole genome sequence of the virus.
 
     The expert group revealed that molecular testing of 15 cases returned positive results for the novel coronavirus, and the virus was also isolated from a sample of a case. Under electron microscopy, the virus showed the typical appearance of coronavirus. The expert group added that the testing for nucleic acid, genome and antibodies from the samples of patients could be completed within a short period, thereby assisting in confirmation of the pathogen. Nonetheless, the virus isolation and pathogenicity studies would take several weeks. Moving forward, further deliberation by experts taking into consideration pathogen research, epidemiological investigation and clinical assessment is needed.
 
     A spokesman for the CHP said that the CHP’s Public Health Laboratory Services Branch is conducting molecular testing for a number of coronaviruses. The CHP has already contacted the NHC regarding the novel coronavirus in today’s notification, and expressed the wish to obtain relevant information of the virus, including its genetic sequence, so as to provide accurate testing for the novel coronavirus.
 
     On the other hand, the World Health Organization (WHO) earlier pointed out that there is limited information to determine the overall risk of this reported cluster of pneumonia. The WHO emphasised that more comprehensive information is required to understand the current status and epidemiology of the outbreak, and the clinical picture. Further investigations are also required to determine the source, modes of transmission, extent of infection and countermeasures implemented. 
 
     The Scientific Committee on Emerging and Zoonotic Diseases and the Scientific Committee on Infection Control under the CHP today convened a joint meeting, during which members were updated on the latest progress relating to the Wuhan cases. At the meeting, members discussed and provided advice on the corresponding local response to this novel communicable disease in various aspects of disease prevention and control, including surveillance, emergency preparedness, port health measures, risk communication and health promotion.
 
     The Scientific Committees noted that definite evidence of human-to-human transmission had not been identified in the Mainland so far and no healthcare professionals had been found infected. However, members considered that the available epidemiological information is not sufficient at this stage to reach a conclusion.
 
     The Scientific Committees concurred with the assessment of the WHO that the reported link to a wholesale fish and live animal market in Wuhan could indicate an exposure link to animals. Members also arrived at consensus that public education should be strengthened in urging the public not to consume game meat and not to patronise food premises where game meat is served.
 
     Notwithstanding the risk of importation to Hong Kong of serious pneumonia cases related to those in Wuhan due to extensive travel, especially with the approach of the Lunar New Year holidays, the Scientific Committees acknowledged the well-developed public health system and hospital infrastructure on infection control as well as heightened awareness of the public and healthcare professionals. In the event that cases were imported to Hong Kong, the risk of spread in the local community could be reduced. As the Mainland and Hong Kong have now entered the winter flu season, members also advised the public to receive seasonal influenza vaccination before travelling and to always maintain good personal and environmental hygiene when travelling abroad. read more

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

     As at noon today (January 9), public hospitals had admitted 10 patients in the past 24 hours who have been to Wuhan in the past 14 days and presented with fever, respiratory infection or pneumonia symptoms. The patients concerned had not visited wet markets in Wuhan before the onset of symptoms.
 
     Including the above-mentioned cases, the Hospital Authority (HA) has reported 48 patient cases since December 31, 2019. Specimens of the patients concerned have been sent to the Department of Health for testing. Among all the suspected cases, 25 have been discharged and those patients staying in hospitals are in stable condition.  
 

	Hospital	Age	Gender
1.	Caritas Medical Centre	11 months	Female
2.	Kwong Wah Hospital	26	Female
3.	Princess Margaret Hospital	2	Male
4.	Prince of Wales Hospital	7	Female
5.	Queen Elizabeth Hospital	20	Male
6.	Queen Elizabeth Hospital	66	Male
7.	Queen Mary Hospital	28	Female
8.	Tseung Kwan O Hospital	1	Male
9.	Tseung Kwan O Hospital	6	Male
10.	Tuen Mun Hospital	13	Female

 
     Meanwhile, the HA Central Committee on Infectious Disease and Emergency Responses held another ad hoc meeting today to discuss the latest progress of the cluster of cases of Severe Respiratory Disease associated with a Novel Infectious Agent in Wuhan.
 
     The HA reiterated that the current stockpile of personal protection equipment (PPE), such as surgical masks and N95 respirators, is adequate for three months’ consumption, which has been calculated with reference to the usage during the swine influenza pandemic in 2009. The HA has also set up hotlines for front-line staff to enquire about issues of PPE and linen supply.
 
     Regarding isolation beds, 503 isolation beds with negative pressure facilities are immediately available currently and the present occupancy is 60 per cent. The HA will closely monitor the utilisation and could mobilise the other 900 isolation beds with negative pressure facilities if needed.
 
     The HA 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. read more