The Music Office Youth Choir of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department has won three Gold Awards at the 11th International Johannes Brahms Choir Festival and Competition, held in Germany from July 3 to 7. The choir won Gold Awards in the Youth Mixed Voices, Equal Voices (Female Choirs) and Equal Voices (Male Choirs) and was also named champion in the Youth Mixed Voices and Equal Voices (Female Choirs) categories. The conductor of the Choir, Dr Angelina Au, was awarded the Conductor Prize. The Hong Kong Youth Symphony Orchestra of the Music Office, participating in the 30th Australian International Music Festival held in Australia from July 4 to 10, took home the Gold Award in the Instrumental Category and was named Command Ensemble by the adjudication panel, which enabled the Orchestra to perform at the Festival Closing Concert.
 
     Both activities are part of the Music Office's International Youth Music Exchange Programme. The 68-member Youth Choir, led by conductor and Senior Music Officer Dr Angelina Au, joined a tour to Wernigerode and Hannover, Germany, to take part in the reputable international music event. The competition drew the participation of 45 choirs from 17 countries and regions. The choir was invited to perform at the Festival Opening Concert, the Friendship Concert and the Closing Concert. Repertoire highlights included Haydn's "Gloria"; Faure's "Les Djinns" (The Genies); Mendelssohn's "Denn Er hat seinen Engeln befohlen über dir" (For he shall give his angels charge over thee); "Tundra" by Gjeilo; "Unclouded Day" arranged by Kirchner; and "Xiu He Bao" (Purse Embroidering) arranged by Liu Zhuang.
 
     The 69-member Hong Kong Youth Symphony Orchestra, led and conducted by Chief Music Officer Mr James Leung, Senior Music Officer Mr Lee Sing-wan and Music Officer Ms Tsang Yin-yu, visited Sydney, Australia to meet around 30 participating groups from all over the world. Not only was the Orchestra invited to perform at the Festival Opening Concert, but it also performed at four other festival concerts at prestigious venues such as the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Town Hall. Various Chinese and Western classics were performed, including Brahms' "Symphony No. 2"; Rachmaninoff's "Symphonic Dances"; Bizet’s "Carmen Suite No. 2"; Tchaikovsky's "Slavonic March"; "Jasmine" arranged by Li Wen-ping; and "Good News from Beijing Reaches the Frontier" by Zhenglu and Ma Hong-ye. Besides performing for the Festival, the Orchestra also joined a music workshop and exchange with the Cincinnati Junior String Orchestra from the US at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.

        

Attention TV/radio announcers:

Please broadcast the following as soon as possible and repeat it at regular intervals:

     The Leisure and Cultural Services Department announced today (July 17) that due to an insufficient number of lifeguards on duty, the lifesaving services at Cafeteria Old Beach in Tuen Mun District are suspended until further notice.

     First aid services will be maintained at the beach.

     The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health (DH) today (July 17) announced that the Vaccination Subsidy Scheme (VSS) and the Government Vaccination Programme (GVP) 2019/20 will be launched on October 9 and 23 respectively, providing subsidised or free seasonal influenza vaccination (SIV) to eligible persons in phases.
     
     A spokesman for the CHP said, "Vaccination is one of the most effective ways to prevent seasonal influenza and its complications. The DH launched the School Outreach Vaccination Pilot Programme in 2018/19 to provide SIV to students of primary schools through outreach teams where schools' responses and outcome have been positive. To further enhance the vaccination rate of schoolchildren, the DH will regularise the Pilot Programme in 2019/20 in order to cover more primary schools, and will also extend the coverage to kindergartens and child care centres as a pilot programme.
 
     "Under the '2019/20 Seasonal Influenza Vaccination School Outreach (Free of Charge) – Primary Schools' (Primary School Outreach) and the '2019/20 Seasonal Influenza Vaccination School Outreach (Free of Charge) – Kindergartens / Kindergarten-cum-Child Care Centres / Child Care Centres (Pilot)' (KG/CCC Outreach (Pilot)), the DH will reach out to schools to provide schoolchildren with SIV through a Government Outreach Team or a Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) Team. All schoolchildren in participating schools, irrespective of Hong Kong resident status, can receive free vaccination. The two programmes will start on October 23 and 9 respectively. So far, over 430 primary schools and 700 KG/CCC have signed up for the programmes."
 
     At present, 65 doctors have been recruited to participate in the PPP for Primary School Outreach where a subsidy of $100 per dose will be given (vaccines will be provided by DH). Meanwhile, 63 doctors have been recruited to participate in the PPP for KG/CCC Outreach (Pilot) where a subsidy of $260 per dose will be given (vaccines will be provided by participating doctors). The DH informed doctors early in February this year about the new arrangements for various school outreach programmes in 2019/20 and invited them to join the programmes. The DH also reminded and assisted them in June to make preparations and place vaccine orders in a timely manner.
 
     Regarding the application of vaccines, two types of seasonal influenza vaccines are currently registered in Hong Kong, namely inactivated influenza vaccines (IIV) and live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV) (i.e. nasal vaccine). Both IIV and LAIV are recommended for use in Hong Kong in 2019/20 by the Scientific Committee on Vaccine Preventable Diseases (SCVPD) under the CHP. Subject to the supply of nasal vaccine, the DH will conduct a trial to provide this vaccine in schools with outreach service provided by the DH where suitable. The trial aims to test the feasibility and logistical arrangements in applying the LAIV in vaccination programmes.
 
     Primary schools, KGs and CCCs not participating in the two programmes above are encouraged to arrange as early as possible outreach vaccination for their students through the "Vaccination Subsidy Scheme School Outreach (Extra Charge Allowed)". Schools can invite doctors  providing outreach vaccination under the VSS from the list published on the CHP's website to arrange outreach SIV service at their campus. The Government will provide a subsidy of $210 per dose to participating doctors.

    The eligible groups and arrangements for free SIV in the public sector under the GVP and subsidised SIV in the private sector under the VSS in 2019/20 will remain unchanged (see Annex 1 and 2). Regarding VSS, the Government will provide a subsidy of $210 per dose to participating doctors. The DH has informed the participating doctors about the arrangements in 2019/20, and reminded them to make preparations and place vaccine orders in a timely manner.
 
    In addition, under the Residential Care Home Vaccination Programme (RVP), the subsidy for visiting medical officers will be increased from $70 to $100 per dose. Moreover, the DH will expand SIV to cover residents and healthcare workers in residential child care centres under the RVP.
   
     The Government is now procuring a total of 567 000 doses of IIV for the GVP, and 245 000 doses of IIV and 2 000 doses of LAIV for School Outreach (Free of Charge) in 2019/20. Meanwhile, as of July 7, 2019, about 583 000 doses of seasonal influenza vaccines had been administered via the VSS, 491 000 doses had been administered to eligible groups under the GVP and 121 000 doses administered under School Outreach Vaccination Pilot Programme in 2018/19. The total number of doses administered amounts to 1 195 000 doses, which represents an increase of 46 per cent compared to that in 2017/18.
 
    The SCVPD advised that the composition of the recommended vaccines for the 2019/20 influenza season should be in line with the World Health Organization's latest recommendations. The quadrivalent influenza vaccines to be used in the 2019/20 Northern Hemisphere influenza season contain:
 
* A/Brisbane/02/2018 (H1N1)pdm09-like virus
* A/Kansas/14/2017 (H3N2)-like virus
* B/Colorado/06/2017-like virus
* B/Phuket/3073/2013-like virus
 
     If trivalent influenza vaccine is being used, the influenza B component shall contain a B/Colorado/06/2017-like virus.
 
     For IIVs, quadrivalent IIV is preferred to trivalent IIV due to the additional protection against one more lineage of influenza B offered by quadrivalent IIV. Locally registered IIVs are recommended for use among people six months of age or older, including those who are healthy, pregnant women and those with chronic medical problems. For LAIV, which is a quadrivalent vaccine, it can be used for people 2 to 49 years of age except those who are pregnant, immunocompromised or have other contraindications, details of which can be referred to in the SCVPD recommendations.
 
     The spokesman said, "Influenza can cause serious illnesses in high-risk individuals and even healthy persons. Given that influenza vaccines are safe and effective, all persons aged 6 months or above, except those with known contraindications, are recommended to receive SIV for personal protection. Based on past epidemiological patterns, the winter influenza season usually occurs from January to March/April each year. As it takes about two weeks to develop antibodies, members of the public are advised to receive SIV early for protection against seasonal influenza."
      
     The CHP has been holding meetings and briefings with relevant stakeholders including health care providers, community partners and the educator sector to inform them of the arrangements and encourage their participation in the vaccination programmes. Publicity will also be stepped up to promote vaccination among eligible and other groups.
 
     For more details of the vaccination programmes, the public may enquire through the CHP's telephone number (2125 2125) or visit the CHP's Vaccination Schemes page.

     The Labour Department (LD) will hold a public talk entitled "Health hazards of hot environment at work" on July 24 (Wednesday). The talk, designed for workers in hot environments to enhance their awareness of heat stroke prevention, will include symptoms of heat stroke, its first aid treatment and preventive measures.
 
     The talk will be given by the LD's occupational health nurse and occupational hygienist at 3pm in the Lecture Hall of the Hong Kong Space Museum, 10 Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui.
 
    The LD will hold another talk entitled "Occupational stress" on July 29 (Monday) to introduce the symptoms and health impacts of occupational stress, and some effective stress-coping strategies.
           
     The talk will be given by the LD's occupational health nurse at 6.30pm in Activity Room 1, Hong Kong Central Library, 66 Causeway Road, Causeway Bay.
 
    Both talks will be conducted in Cantonese. Admission is free. For enquiries or registration, please call 2852 4040.
 

     Japanese avant-garde contemporary artist Shiro Takatani will bring his multi-media production "ST/LL" to Hong Kong for its local debut in September. It is one of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department’s “Beyond Multi-arts' Series” programmes and one of the celebration events to mark the 20th anniversary of the Kwai Tsing Theatre.
 
     "ST/LL" is a visual spectacle exploring the notion of time and space. The stage becomes a mirror to reflect massive projections and the movement of actors, aiming to transport the audience into a quasi-hypnotic state. Lighting and images intertwine to showcase mirage-like scenes one after another, leading the audience further into a dream-like world.
 
     Oscar award-winning composer Ryuichi Sakamoto, together with Marihiko Hara and Takuya Minami, create the music and sound effects for "ST/LL". Japanese actress Mayu Tsuruta, a nominee for Best Supporting Actress for the Japan Academy Film Prize, is one of the four performers.
 
     "ST/LL" will be staged at 8pm on September 20 and 21 (Friday and Saturday) and at 3pm on September 22 (Sunday) at the Auditorium of Kwai Tsing Theatre. Tickets priced at $200, $280, $380 and $450 are now available at URBTIX (www.urbtix.hk). For telephone credit card bookings, please call 2111 5999. A meet-the-artist session (in Japanese and Cantonese) will be held after the first performance.
 
     Two extension activities – a screening of "Shiro Takatani – Between Nature and Technology" (in Japanese, French and English with subtitles in Chinese and English) and a pre-performance talk entitled "Exploring the Theatre Art of ST/LL and Shiro Takatani" (in Cantonese and Japanese) will be organised in connection with the performances. Admission is free with limited seats available on a first-come, first-served basis.
 
     For programme enquiries, concessionary schemes and reservations regarding the extension activities, please call 2268 7323 or visit www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/CulturalService/Programme/en/multi_arts/programs_800.html.