A sick 59-year-old female remand person in custody at Tai Lam Centre for Women died in a public hospital today (August 8).
      
     The remand person in custody suffered from mental illness and had a chronic drug abuse history. She required continuous medical care and follow-up treatment at the institution hospital and a public hospital. She was sent to a public hospital for treatment today due to physical discomfort. During hospitalisation, her condition deteriorated and she was certified dead at 6.57pm.

     The case has been reported to the Police. A death inquest will be held by the Coroner's Court.

     The person in custody was remanded for the offence of possession of a dangerous drug in July 2024.

     The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department announced today (August 8) that an aquatic product from a regulated Japanese prefecture was suspected to be in breach of the relevant Food Safety Order when the CFS inspected food imported from Japan. The product concerned has been marked and sealed by the CFS and has not entered the market. The CFS is following up on the case.

     A spokesman for the CFS said, "During an inspection of the consignment of food concerned imported from Japan, the CFS found three boxes of chilled sea urchin processed in Miyagi Prefecture after the Order was issued. The importer concerned is thus suspected of breaching the relevant Order.”

     According to the Order, all aquatic products originating from the 10 metropolis/prefectures, namely Tokyo, Fukushima, Ibaraki, Miyagi, Chiba, Gunma, Tochigi, Niigata, Nagano and Saitama, are prohibited from being imported into and supplied in Hong Kong if they are harvested, manufactured, processed or packed on or after August 24, 2023, including all live, chilled, frozen, dried or otherwise preserved aquatic products, sea salt, and unprocessed or processed seaweed.

     The CFS will continue to follow up on the incident and take appropriate action, including informing the Japanese authorities concerned of the incident. Prosecution will be instituted against the importer concerned should there be sufficient evidence. The investigation is ongoing.

     â€‹The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department announced today (August 8) that a sample of prepackaged roasted portobello mushroom and sweet potato vegan box was found to contain a pathogen, Salmonella. The CFS is following up on the case.

     "The CFS collected the above-mentioned sample from a retail outlet in Mong Kok for testing under its routine Food Surveillance Programme. The test result showed the presence of Salmonella in 25 grams of the sample, exceeding the criterion of the Microbiological Guidelines for Food which states that Salmonella should not be detected in 25g of a ready-to-eat food sample," a spokesman for the CFS said.

     The CFS has informed the vendor and food factory concerned of the above irregularity and instructed them to stop selling the food item concerned immediately. The CFS has also inspected the food premises and the food factory concerned, provided health education on food safety and hygiene to the person-in-charge and staff, and requested the food factory to review and improve its food production process and carry 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.
      
     "Salmonella infection may cause fever and gastrointestinal upset such as vomiting, abdominal pain and diarrhoea. The effects on infants, young children, the elderly and people with a weak immune system could be more severe and may even lead to death," the spokesman said.

     The CFS will continue to follow up on the incident and take appropriate action to safeguard food safety and public health. An investigation is ongoing. 

The following is issued on behalf of the Board of Trustees of the Hong Kong Jockey Club Music and Dance Fund:
 
     The Hong Kong Jockey Club Music and Dance Fund  held a ceremony today (August 8) to award scholarships to nine outstanding young talents in music and dance.
 
     The nine scholarship recipients were Miss Cheng Kiu-yan, Mr Fong Shing, Mr Jones Lau, Miss Natalie Lo, Mr Luk Tsun-ki, Miss Jasmine Ngai, Miss Tan Zhizhuo, Mr Tung Chung-can and Mr Yam Wing-nam. They thanked the Fund for its generous support and expressed their commitment to making the best use of the opportunity to further pursue their studies. In addition, they showcased their talents at the ceremony by delivering short live performances or video presentations.
 
     This year's scholarships, valued at a total of $5.27 million, will support the awardees in pursuing their further education in the field of music or dance in Hong Kong or overseas, encouraging them to contribute to the development of arts in Hong Kong upon completion of their studies.
 
     The Fund was set up in 1980 with a $10 million donation from the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust for the promotion and development of music and dance education and training in Hong Kong. In 1994, a further capital injection of $22 million was made by the Trust to meet an increasing demand for financial support. The Trust provided additional funding of $16.87 million in 2014 and $5.68 million in 2020 for a local music and dance scholarship scheme for post-graduate studies, as well as setting up and sustaining the operation of the Hong Kong Jockey Club Music and Dance Fund Awardees Association. In 2023, the Trust provided further funding of $15 million to support the non-local scholarship scheme. To date (including this year), the Fund has awarded 388 scholarships, amounting to about $92.41 million.                                                                                    

    

     The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health (DH) said today (August 8) that the risk posed by COVID-19 still exists, and the COVID-19 activity in Hong Kong and neighbouring places has continued to increase. In view of the COVID-19 situation, the latest recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the opinions of local experts, the Government today announced updated COVID-19 vaccination arrangements under the COVID-19 Vaccination Programme. The Government reminded members of the public to continue maintaining personal, hand and environmental hygiene, and reiterated that vaccination can effectively prevent serious cases.

     The CHP pointed out that COVID-19 presents with rising waves roughly every four to six months in Hong Kong, and the latest overall activity has continued to increase since June. According to the latest surveillance data as of August 3, the percentage of respiratory specimens testing positive for COVID-19 received by the CHP's Public Health Laboratory Services Branch rose to about 9.07 per cent, and the per capita viral load of SARS-CoV-2 virus from sewage surveillance had been over 400,000 copy/L for two consecutive weeks. The CHP expected that the local activity of COVID-19 may further increase. High-risk priority groups should get vaccinated as soon as possible and receive booster doses at appropriate times. 

Arrangements for initial vaccination and booster vaccination in 2024/25

     As the vast majority of the public had past COVID-19 infection, the arrangements for initial vaccination will be simplified, while the prevailing arrangements for booster vaccination will remain applicable. Eligible persons can continue to receive initial vaccination or booster vaccination for free. Relevant details are as follows:

     1. Arrangements for initial vaccination starting from August 19

• persons aged 5 or above (regardless of their history of infection with COVID-19) are considered to have completed initial vaccination by receiving one dose of mRNA COVID-19 vaccine or two doses of inactivated vaccine, replacing the earlier three doses of initial vaccination; and
• persons aged 6 months to four years who have been infected with COVID-19 are considered to have completed initial vaccination by receiving one dose of mRNA COVID-19 vaccine or two doses of inactivated vaccine. For those who have not been infected, they should receive two or three doses of vaccines in accordance with recommendations of the vaccine manufacturers to be considered as having completed initial vaccination.

     2. Arrangements for booster vaccination in 2024/25

• The following high-risk priority groups remain unchanged, and they can continue to receive booster doses for free in 2024/25 at least six months after the last dose or COVID-19 infection (whichever is later), regardless of the number of doses received previously:
  • older adults aged 50 or above, including those living in residential care homes;
  • persons aged 18 to 49 years with underlying comorbidities;
  • persons with immunocompromising conditions aged 6 months and above;
  • pregnant women; and
  • healthcare workers. 

     Starting from 9am on August 19, the COVID-19 Vaccination Programme booking system (booking.covidvaccine.gov.hk/forms/index.jsp) will accept bookings according to the updated vaccination arrangements. Eligible persons can make reservations through the online booking system for vaccinations at the COVID-19 vaccination venues. Persons who have made bookings before August 19 to receive initial vaccination can still receive COVID-19 vaccination according to the appointment date without being affected by the updated arrangements. The Government will continue to assist elderly people aged 60 or above living in the community to make COVID-19 vaccination bookings online, and the relevant arrangements are set out in an earlier press release. ​Details of the COVID-19 Vaccination Programme can be found on the CHP website (www.chp.gov.hk/en/features/106934.html).

Supply of inactivated COVID-19 vaccines to be ceased

     The existing inactivated COVID-19 vaccines in Hong Kong (i.e. Sinovac CoronaVac) will expire on October 3, 2024, and the vaccine supplier had confirmed that they will no longer produce the vaccines. Members of the public should take note and make a booking as soon as possible if they plan to receive vaccination with inactivated COVID-19 vaccines. Those who have never received COVID-19 vaccination and prefer to receive inactivated COVID-19 vaccines should receive their first dose within August this year to allow enough time (an interval of at least 28 days) before the second dose. Members of the public who have received inactivated vaccines before may choose mRNA vaccine to complete their initial vaccination or as booster.

Procurement of JN.1 lineage COVID-19 vaccines

     In light of the earlier recommendation by the WHO and the Scientific Committee on Vaccine Preventable Diseases and the Scientific Committee on Emerging and Zoonotic Diseases under the CHP to use JN.1 lineage COVID-19 vaccines, the Government is exploring with the vaccine suppliers on the procurement of relevant vaccines, which are expected to be supplied for use in Hong Kong by the end of this year. The vaccination arrangements will be announced later.
     â€‹
     The CHP strongly urges members of the public, particularly children, the elderly and chronic disease patients, to receive vaccinations as early as possible for effective protection against COVID-19. Personal, hand and environmental hygiene should also be maintained at all times against respiratory tract infection including COVID-19. Symptomatic individuals, even if the symptoms are mild, should wear surgical masks and seek medical attention promptly to reduce the risk of spreading the virus to high-risk persons.