Tag Archives: China

     The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health today (August 27) reported a suspected case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), and again urged the public to pay special attention to safety during travel, taking due consideration of the health risks in the places they visit. The case is detailed below:
 

Sex	Male
Age	61
Affected area involved	Saudi Arabia
High-risk exposure	Nil
Hospital	Kwong Wah Hospital
Condition	Stable
MERS-Coronavirus preliminary test result	Negative

     Separately, the CHP reported that the suspected MERS case pending results yesterday (August 26), upon preliminary testing, tested negative for MERS Coronavirus (MERS-CoV).

     “Travellers to the Middle East should avoid going to farms, barns or markets with camels; avoid contact with sick persons and animals, especially camels, birds or poultry; and avoid unnecessary visits to healthcare facilities. We strongly advise travel agents organising tours to the Middle East to abstain from arranging camel rides and activities involving direct contact with camels, which are known risk factors for acquiring MERS-CoV,” a spokesman for the CHP said.

     Locally, the CHP’s surveillance with public and private hospitals, with practising doctors and at boundary control points is firmly in place. Inbound travellers and members of the public who recently visited the Middle East and developed fever or lower respiratory symptoms within 14 days will be classified as suspected MERS cases. They will be taken to public hospitals for isolation and management until their specimens test negative for MERS-CoV.

     Travellers to affected areas should maintain vigilance, adopt appropriate health precautions and take heed of personal, food and environmental hygiene. The public may visit the MERS pages of the CHP and its Travel Health Service, MERS statistics in affected areas, the CHP’s Facebook Page and YouTube Channel, and the World Health Organization’s latest news for more information and health advice. Tour leaders and tour guides operating overseas tours are advised to refer to the CHP’s health advice on MERS.  read more

     Two women were fined $6,000 and $10,000 at the Eastern Magistrates’ Courts today (August 27) for contravening the Hotel and Guesthouse Accommodation Ordinance. The women were also fined $1,000 and $2,000 for the period in which the offences continued.

     The courts heard that in January and April this year, officers of the Office of the Licensing Authority (OLA), the Home Affairs Department, inspected two suspected unlicensed guesthouses on Paterson Street in Causeway Bay. During the inspections, the OLA officers posed as lodgers and successfully rented rooms in these guesthouses on a daily basis.

     According to the OLA’s records, these guesthouses did not possess licences under the Ordinance on the days of inspection. The women responsible for managing the premises were charged with contravening section 5(1) of the Ordinance.

     Furthermore, OLA officers inspected a licensed guesthouse on Paterson Street in Causeway Bay in March this year. The officers found that the actual layout of the premises deviated from the registered drawings and the alteration had not been approved by the Hotel and Guesthouse Accommodation Authority. Conditions 3 and 17 of the licence were breached. Therefore, the woman responsible for managing the premises was charged with contravening section 21(3)(a) of the Ordinance.

     A department spokesman stressed that operating or managing an unlicensed guesthouse is a criminal offence and can lead to a criminal record. Upon conviction, the offender is liable to a maximum fine of $200,000 and two years’ imprisonment.

     The spokesman appealed to anyone with information about suspected unlicensed guesthouses to report it to the OLA through the hotline (Tel: 2881 7498), by email (hadlaenq@had.gov.hk), by fax (2504 5805) using the report form downloaded from the OLA website (www.hadla.gov.hk), or through the mobile application “Hong Kong Licensed Hotels and Guesthouses”. read more

     Police today (August 27) appealed to the public for information on a man who went missing in Kwun Tong.      Choi Shui-yick, aged 81, went missing after he was last seen on Cha Kwo Ling Road on … read more

     The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department today (August 27) announced that a cake sample was found to contain an excessive amount of Bacillus cereus, a pathogen. The CFS is following up on the case.

     A CFS spokesman said, “Subsequent to announcing earlier that a cake sample taken from a bakery in Kwai Chung was found to contain an excessive amount of Bacillus cereus, the CFS took another cake sample from the same bakery for testing during a follow-up investigation. A similar irregularity was detected, with the test result showing that the sample contained Bacillus cereus at a level of 660 000 per gram. Under the Microbiological Guidelines for Food, ready-to-eat food containing Bacillus cereus at a level of more than 100 000 per gram is considered unsatisfactory.”

     The spokesman said that the CFS had informed the vendor concerned of the unsatisfactory test result and the vendor has already stopped selling the product concerned according to CFS’ instructions. The CFS has earlier provided health education on food safety and hygiene to the person-in-charge and staff of the vendor concerned, and has requested them to carry out a thorough cleaning and disinfection. Prosecution will be instituted should there be sufficient evidence. The above-mentioned unsatisfactory sample was taken before the vendor carried out a thorough cleaning and disinfection.

     According to Section 54 of the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Cap 132), all food available for sale in Hong Kong, locally produced or imported, should be fit for human consumption. An offender is subject to a maximum fine of $50,000 and imprisonment for six months upon conviction.

     Bacillus cereus is commonly found in the environment. Unhygienic conditions in food processing and storage may give rise to its growth. Consuming food contaminated with excessive Bacillus cereus or its heat-stable toxins may cause gastrointestinal upset such as vomiting and diarrhoea.

     The CFS will continue to follow up on the incident and take appropriate action in order to safeguard public health and food safety. read more

The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:
      
     The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) today (August 27) announced a new service schedule of the two “Coin Carts” under the Coin Collection Programme, for the period from September 30 to December 1. The schedule and other details of the Programme are shown on the HKMA webpage (coincollection.hkma.gov.hk).
      
     Since the launch of the Programme in October 2014, the two Coin Carts have completed 26 cycles of serving the 18 districts on July 28, 2019. The Carts had carried out 623 000 transactions, collecting 507 million coins with a total face value of HK$723 million during the period. The collected coins are re-circulated to meet demand.
      
     The Coin Carts provide service at locations that are convenient to the public without affecting the normal flow of traffic and pedestrians. Locations that have suitable power supply facilities, such as the Leisure and Cultural Services Department mobile library service locations, are preferred so as to reduce the need for using the Coin Carts’ own stand-by generators. This makes the Programme more environmentally friendly. In selecting the service locations, the HKMA has taken into consideration comments and suggestions given by district councils and members of public, and has consulted the Transport Department and the Hong Kong Police Force as necessary.
      
     The two Coin Carts collect coins from members of public in the 18 districts of Hong Kong on a rotating basis. Under normal circumstances each Coin Cart will stay at a location for a week, subject to availability of the parking space and the maintenance schedule of the Cart. Service hours are from 10am to 7pm. Each vehicle is equipped with two coin counting machines and operational staff will be present to provide assistance. An electrical wheelchair lift is available for use. Users can choose to exchange coins for banknotes or adding value to their stored value facilities, such as Octopus Cards or e-wallets (including AlipayHK, Octopus O! ePay, Tap & Go, TNG Wallet and WeChat Pay). There is also a Community Chest donation box inside each vehicle. The coin collection service is free of charge.
      
     The HKMA will review the Programme from time and time and will regularly update the service schedule to give advance notice to the public. read more