The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:
During the winter surge, the Hospital Authority is closely monitoring the service demand of Accident and Emergency Departments and the occupancy rate of medical wards in public hospitals. Key service statistics are being issued daily for public information. Details are in the appended table.
The Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, today (January 24, Davos time) called on senior financial officials of other regions to forge closer ties on economic and trade co-operation with Hong Kong while attending the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland.
This morning, Mr Chan held separate meetings with the Minister for Finance and the Public Service of Australia, Mr Mathias Cormann; and Chile's Minister of Finance, Mr Felipe Larraín Bascuñán. He expressed Hong Kong's interest in pursuing comprehensive avoidance of double taxation agreements with these countries to bolster bilateral trade and investment activities.
In the afternoon, Mr Chan discussed with the Minister for Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform of Ireland, Mr Paschal Donohoe, the latest developments of the global economy and other items of mutual interest.
Mr Chan said he was pleased to see Mr Donohoe again following their previous meeting in Ireland last year. He pointed out that Hong Kong, as an international financial and trade centre, is an excellent gateway for Irish enterprises to enter the market in the Mainland of China. He welcomed them to leverage on Hong Kong to expand their reach.
Mr Chan also attended a gathering of financial leaders under the World Economic Forum which focused on financial technology and building agile and stable financial systems.
Yesterday (January 23, Davos time) joined by the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Edward Yau, Mr Chan met with the UK's Secretary of State for International Trade, Dr Liam Fox, to explore ways to further strengthen bilateral trade.
Mr Chan remarked that Hong Kong and the UK have strong and long-standing ties and are close trading and business partners. He looked forward to forging closer economic and trade ties with the UK, including exploring the possibility of a free trade agreement in future.
Mr Chan will leave Switzerland tomorrow (January 25, Davos time) and return to Hong Kong in the morning this Saturday (January 26, Hong Kong time).
The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, today (January 24, Davos time) continued to attend the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland. She met with the Prime Minister of Vietnam, Mr Nguyen Xuan Phuc, and attended a series of events and delivered speeches yesterday and today on Hong Kong’s participation in the Belt and Road Initiative and the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
This morning, Mrs Lam met with the Prime Minister of Vietnam . Mrs Lam said she was pleased to meet Mr Nguyen again following their meeting last November at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meetings in Papua New Guinea. Mrs Lam said ties between Hong Kong and Vietnam on the economic and trade fronts have grown stronger in recent years and that along with the signing of the Free Trade Agreement between Hong Kong and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which will take effect in the months to come, the business and professional services sectors are set to be presented with more opportunities. To strengthen people-to-people bonds between the two places, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government has recently decided to grant visa-free access to holders of Vietnamese diplomatic and official passports. She expressed the hope that the Vietnamese Government would actively consider to provide greater convenience to Hong Kong people travelling to Vietnam for business or vacations.
Accompanied by the Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, and the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Edward Yau, Mrs Lam also attended a breakfast meeting organised by the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited in the morning. Mrs Lam introduced to the participants from investment banks and financial corporations the latest developments of Hong Kong’s financial services, in particular the various initiatives rolled out by the current-term Government to further advance financial development and the unique position of Hong Kong in the Belt and Road Initiative and the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
After the breakfast meeting, Mrs Lam and Mr Yau joined the third Belt and Road Davos Forum hosted by Tsinghua University, the International Cooperation Center of the National Development and Reform Commission, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization and the United Nations Institute for Training and Research, and co-organised by the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau of the HKSAR Government. In her opening address, Mrs Lam said Hong Kong has been performing unique functions in the process of the reform and opening up of the country in the past 40 years, and will continue to contribute proactively to the Belt and Road Initiative, including the promotion of the five areas of connectivity under the Belt and Road Initiative, namely policy co-ordination, facilities connectivity, unimpeded trade, financial integration and people-to-people bonds.
At noon yesterday, Mrs Lam attended a seminar to discuss with dozens of major private and institutional investors from around the world economic growth trends and future development potential in Asia. In the afternoon, Mrs Lam attended the WEF special address sessions by the Federal Chancellor of Germany, Ms Angela Merkel, and the Vice President of the People’s Republic of China, Mr Wang Qishan.
Mrs Lam then, accompanied by Mr Chan, met with the Chairman of Julius Baer Group, Mr Daniel Sauter, to exchange views on the development of the asset and wealth management industry in Hong Kong. In the evening, Mrs Lam attended a reception on the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area hosted by a Hong Kong enterprise. She briefed the participants on various favourable conditions for the development of the Greater Bay Area, especially the support of the Central Government, the closer links between cities and the people-to-people bonds in the region. The Vice Minister of Transport, Mr Dai Dongchang, and the Mayor of the Guangzhou Municipal Government, Mr Wen Guohui, also addressed the reception. Mrs Lam, Mr Chan and Mr Yau then attended the China Night banquet which was organised by WEF for the Chinese participants of Annual Meeting.
Mrs Lam is continuing her visit to Davos this afternoon.
Hong Kong is the prime platform and a key link for the Belt and Road Initiative, the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Edward Yau, said in Davos, Switzerland, this morning (January 24, Davos time). Speaking at the 3rd Belt and Road Davos Forum, Mr Yau pointed out that Hong Kong is best placed to be the platform for provision of professional and comprehensive services for Belt and Road-related projects as well as in facilitating capital flows and financing.
The forum was hosted by Tsinghua University, the International Cooperation Center of the National Development and Reform Commission, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization and the United Nations Institute for Training and Research, and co-organised by the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government. Mr Yau took part in a panel discussion entitled "Building the Belt and Road and Sharing the Benefits of the Economic Globalisation".
Mr Yau said Hong Kong has a rich pool of professionals who are experienced in project financing and funding, bond issuing, legal and dispute resolution, accounting, insurance, business consultancy, risk assessment and management, construction, architecture, transport and more, and they are prepared to offer their expertise in professional services for Belt and Road-related countries as well as enterprises seeking to participate in the Belt and Road Initiative.
He added that Hong Kong boasts internationally geared business and professional services that are benchmarked against international standards and practices.
Following the forum, Mr Yau attended a lunch hosted by the Washington Post, Slate and Foreign Policy where international political and economic leaders shared their views on current trade issues.
In the afternoon, he will join the Stewardship Board Meeting on International Trade and Investment under the World Economic Forum where ministers of different countries and economies and global business leaders will discuss the long-term vision for improving the trade and investment architecture, short- or mid-term priorities for advancing policy reform and avoiding disruption, and opportunities to deepen public-private co-operation.
Mr Yau will attend the World Trade Organization Informal Ministerial Gathering and the Informal Ministerial Meeting on Electronic Commerce tomorrow morning (January 25, Davos time).
The Secretary for Food and Health, Professor Sophia Chan, today (January 24) chaired an inter-departmental meeting to review the latest situation of seasonal influenza and assess the need to strengthen control measures. Representatives from the Education Bureau (EDB), the Labour and Welfare Bureau, the Department of Health, the Social Welfare Department (SWD) and the Hospital Authority participated in the meeting.
During the inter-departmental meeting, the attendees reviewed the latest local influenza situation and noted that the outbreak of influenza-like illness (ILI) in kindergartens and child care centres had reached a very high intensity level and the influenza-associated hospitalisation rate among children aged less than six years in this season had reached a high intensity level. Furthermore, the number of paediatric influenza-associated severe complications and the ILI attendance rate of children aged between 0 and 5 at Accident and Emergency Departments were higher than those of last year. In addition, the overall occupancy rate of paediatric wards of public hospitals in the past week ranged from 90 to 100 percent.
After considering a number of factors including the latest surveillance figures and trend, the pressure on healthcare services provided by public hospitals, the concern of the society and parents as well as the approaching Lunar New Year, the Government announced that all kindergartens and child care centres will start their Lunar New Year holidays early on January 26 (Saturday) until the end of their originally scheduled Lunar New Year holidays.
The attendees of the inter-departmental meeting agreed that the additional mitigation measure in relation to kindergartens and child care centres could reduce the chance of transmission of influenza among children in school settings as well as the risk of acquiring influenza infection, and also indirectly relieve the pressure on demand for healthcare services provided by public hospitals.
EDB and SWD will inform kindergartens and child care centres about the detailed arrangement for advancing the Lunar New Year holidays.
Besides receiving seasonal influenza vaccination as early as possible for personal protection, the following measures are advised to prevent influenza and respiratory tract infections:
For the latest information on influenza activity, please visit the Centre for Health Protection (CHP)'s influenza page and weekly Flu Express. As for vaccination, the public may call the CHP's hotline at 2125 2125 or visit the CHP's Vaccination Schemes page.