The Civil Service Bureau (CSB) today (April 3) completed the "restriction-testing declaration" (RTD) operation at Hong Wing House, Cheung Hong Estate in Tsing Yi. As part of the anti-epidemic team, the CSB has been staying at the anti-epidemic front line to promote COVID-19 vaccination and will continue to mobilise civil servants from various bureaux and departments to take part in the fight against the epidemic.

     The Secretary for the Civil Service, Mr Patrick Nip, and the Permanent Secretary for the Civil Service, Mrs Ingrid Yeung, together with about 80 staff members from the CSB, participated in the RTD operation at Hong Wing House. The staff members are colleagues from the Administrative Officer Grade, the Executive Officer Grade, the Training Officer Grade, the Official Languages Officer Grade, the Analyst/Programmer Grade, and the Clerical and Secretarial Grades. They put the fight against the epidemic as their priority regardless of their original duties.

     Yesterday (April 2), apart from arranging the residents for specimen collection for testing in batches; distributing food packs and rapid antigen test kits, as well as anti-epidemic proprietary Chinese medicines donated by the Central People's Government, etc, to residents subject to compulsory testing; and setting up an information counter of the Home Vaccination Service, the CSB also went door-to-door to collect registration information of unvaccinated elderly persons aged 70 or above and of persons who are unable to leave their homes for vaccination due to illness or physical disability for arranging door-to-door vaccination for them.

     Meanwhile, staff from the Bureau who are working under the COVID-19 Vaccination Programme also carried out liaison, preparation, backend support, and arrangement of medical team visit at Hong Wing House, etc, for the Home Vaccination Service, so as to conduct the door-to-door vaccination service trial to persons with special needs and tested negative, upon soft opening of the "restricted area".

     Four residents received the Sinovac vaccine today under the Home Vaccination Service. Among them, there are three unvaccinated elderly persons aged 78 to 87, and one household member.

     "Following our door-to-door vaccination service trials at Sun Kit House, Sun Chui Estate in Sha Tin on March 31 and Hong Wing House, Cheung Hong Estate in Tsing Yi today, we will conduct trials in other suitable venues and then expand the Home Vaccination Service to persons with special needs in all buildings under RTD operation," Mr Nip said.

     He added, "The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government assumes the primary responsibility in anti-epidemic work. As the backbone of the HKSAR Government, the civil service is obligated and assumes an important responsibility in anti-epidemic work. The fight against the epidemic is the current overriding mission. In face of the extremely severe situation of the fifth wave of the epidemic, the whole Government is united and keeps firmly in mind the duty of winning the battle against the epidemic with our utmost effort."

     Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic, the CSB has been proactively participating in anti-epidemic work over the past two years. It co-ordinates the manpower deployment for anti-epidemic work and spares no effort in promoting COVID-19 vaccination. The CSB will continue to mobilise government employees in the frontline anti-epidemic work, including RTD operations, contact tracing, packaging and distribution of anti-epidemic service bags, etc.

  

     The Civil Service Bureau (CSB) today (April 3) completed the "restriction-testing declaration" (RTD) operation at Hong Wing House, Cheung Hong Estate in Tsing Yi. As part of the anti-epidemic team, the CSB has been staying at the anti-epidemic front line to promote COVID-19 vaccination and will continue to mobilise civil servants from various bureaux and departments to take part in the fight against the epidemic.

     The Secretary for the Civil Service, Mr Patrick Nip, and the Permanent Secretary for the Civil Service, Mrs Ingrid Yeung, together with about 80 staff members from the CSB, participated in the RTD operation at Hong Wing House. The staff members are colleagues from the Administrative Officer Grade, the Executive Officer Grade, the Training Officer Grade, the Official Languages Officer Grade, the Analyst/Programmer Grade, and the Clerical and Secretarial Grades. They put the fight against the epidemic as their priority regardless of their original duties.

     Yesterday (April 2), apart from arranging the residents for specimen collection for testing in batches; distributing food packs and rapid antigen test kits, as well as anti-epidemic proprietary Chinese medicines donated by the Central People's Government, etc, to residents subject to compulsory testing; and setting up an information counter of the Home Vaccination Service, the CSB also went door-to-door to collect registration information of unvaccinated elderly persons aged 70 or above and of persons who are unable to leave their homes for vaccination due to illness or physical disability for arranging door-to-door vaccination for them.

     Meanwhile, staff from the Bureau who are working under the COVID-19 Vaccination Programme also carried out liaison, preparation, backend support, and arrangement of medical team visit at Hong Wing House, etc, for the Home Vaccination Service, so as to conduct the door-to-door vaccination service trial to persons with special needs and tested negative, upon soft opening of the "restricted area".

     Four residents received the Sinovac vaccine today under the Home Vaccination Service. Among them, there are three unvaccinated elderly persons aged 78 to 87, and one household member.

     "Following our door-to-door vaccination service trials at Sun Kit House, Sun Chui Estate in Sha Tin on March 31 and Hong Wing House, Cheung Hong Estate in Tsing Yi today, we will conduct trials in other suitable venues and then expand the Home Vaccination Service to persons with special needs in all buildings under RTD operation," Mr Nip said.

     He added, "The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government assumes the primary responsibility in anti-epidemic work. As the backbone of the HKSAR Government, the civil service is obligated and assumes an important responsibility in anti-epidemic work. The fight against the epidemic is the current overriding mission. In face of the extremely severe situation of the fifth wave of the epidemic, the whole Government is united and keeps firmly in mind the duty of winning the battle against the epidemic with our utmost effort."

     Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic, the CSB has been proactively participating in anti-epidemic work over the past two years. It co-ordinates the manpower deployment for anti-epidemic work and spares no effort in promoting COVID-19 vaccination. The CSB will continue to mobilise government employees in the frontline anti-epidemic work, including RTD operations, contact tracing, packaging and distribution of anti-epidemic service bags, etc.

  

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

     The Hospital Authority today (April 3) announced information regarding patients who tested positive via admission screening or testing with patients or staff members identified as close contacts and nosocomial COVID-19 infection cases:

     The following are the statistics of patients who tested positive via admission screening or by testing in public hospitals with patients or staff members identified as close contacts:
 

     The following are the statistics of clusters of nosocomial infection cases in public hospitals:
 

     Thorough cleaning and disinfection operations have been performed in the affected areas by hospitals. The hospitals will continue to closely monitor the health condition of patients and staff members, and communicate with the Centre for Health Protection on the latest situation.

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

     The Hospital Authority today (April 3) announced information regarding patients who tested positive via admission screening or testing with patients or staff members identified as close contacts and nosocomial COVID-19 infection cases:

     The following are the statistics of patients who tested positive via admission screening or by testing in public hospitals with patients or staff members identified as close contacts:
 

     The following are the statistics of clusters of nosocomial infection cases in public hospitals:
 

     Thorough cleaning and disinfection operations have been performed in the affected areas by hospitals. The hospitals will continue to closely monitor the health condition of patients and staff members, and communicate with the Centre for Health Protection on the latest situation.

     The Task Force of Supplies from the Mainland led by the Transport and Housing Bureau (THB) has been working closely with the Guangdong Provincial Government and the Shenzhen Municipal People's Government to explore various means to stabilise the supply of goods from the Mainland to Hong Kong. In addition to road transport arrangements, transportation of goods by water and railway is already in service.
 
     A spokesperson for the THB said that the "Sea Express" water transportation service from the Mainland to Hong Kong has been fully launched and its capacity is rising to increase the supplies of fresh food, other daily necessities and manufacturing materials. The current supply of fresh food from the Mainland is stable.
 
     Currently, there are three water transportation routes between Hong Kong and Shenzhen, namely (1) from Shenzhen Yantian International Container Terminals to Hong Kong Kwai Tsing Container Terminals (KTCT); (2) from Shenzhen DaChan Bay Terminals to KTCT; and (3) from China Merchants Port (South China) Management Center (Shenzhen Mawan, Shekou and Chiwan Container Terminals) to Hong Kong River Trade Terminal and elsewhere. Together with the water transportation routes from other cities in Guangdong Province, including the routes from Guangzhou Lianhuashan Port, Zhongshan Huangpu Port and Zhuhai Doumen Port to Hong Kong Tuen Mun Chu Kong Pier, the water transport capacity amounts to tens of thousands of tonnes daily.
 
     The spokesperson said today (April 3) that Shenzhen transported around 5 810 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of cross-boundary supplies by water yesterday (April 2), equivalent to about 21 250 tonnes of goods, of which around 10 TEUs (about 50 tonnes) were fresh food and around 5 800 TEUs (about 21 200 tonnes) were non-fresh food, according to information from the Mainland authorities.
 
     Since the launch of services from the three ports in Shenzhen since February 18 to yesterday, a total of around 104 230 TEUs of cross-boundary supplies have been transported, equivalent to about 718 970 tonnes of goods, of which around 1 090 TEUs (about 9 800 tonnes) were fresh food and around 103 140 TEUs (about 709 170 tonnes) were non-fresh food.
 
     As for rail cargo, mainly anti-epidemic supplies are being transported at the moment. Six TEUs with a total of 12 tonnes of goods were transported to Hong Kong yesterday. Since its launch on March 2 and up to yesterday, more than 1 390 tonnes of goods including anti-epidemic supplies such as COVID-19 rapid antigen test (RAT) kits and protective gowns were transported to Hong Kong.
 
     To further ensure a stable goods supply to Hong Kong through land transport, a trial run of cargo transfer was conducted by the THB at a yard situated on Kam Pok Road, San Tin, Yuen Long, and it was completed smoothly. The THB will continue to work with the Mainland authorities to fully take forward cargo transfer arrangements on the Hong Kong side. It is a contingency measure in response to the latest epidemic situation in the city so as to reduce the risk of epidemic transmission in both the Mainland and Hong Kong, ensuring both smooth cross-boundary land transport and a stable goods supply to Hong Kong.
 
     Meanwhile, to avoid a spillover of the epidemic, the Transport Department (TD) has arranged for dedicated staff to conduct RATs for cross-boundary goods vehicle drivers at various land boundary control points (BCPs) from February 28 onwards. Only drivers with a negative result are allowed to enter the Mainland. In order to further improve the accuracy of the tests, the TD has already replaced the RATs with rapid nucleic acid tests at the BCPs. A total of 1 459 rapid nucleic acid tests were conducted yesterday in which two drivers preliminarily tested positive. The TD has passed the cases to the Department of Health for follow-up.
 
     The THB will closely monitor the situation and co-operate with the Mainland authorities to facilitate and implement various measures to ensure a stable goods supply to Hong Kong, with a view to complementing the supply through road, water and railway transport, enhancing the capacity and efficiency as well as optimising the flow of cross-boundary supplies.