Tag Archives: China

     The Government announced today (October 25) that it has concluded discussions with the Government of Cambodia to accept vaccination records issued by the country as recognised vaccination records for Hong Kong residents who have stayed in Group A specified places under the mechanism. The Government will also accept the vaccination records issued by non-Group A specified places including Kazakhstan and British Virgin Islands for boarding flights for Hong Kong by Hong Kong residents who have stayed in Group A specified places. The relevant arrangements will take effect at 0.00am on October 27 (Wednesday).

     From 0.00am on October 27, Hong Kong residents who hold vaccination records issued by the relevant authority of Cambodia in the prescribed format can board a flight for Hong Kong from Group A specified places. The vaccines administered for the relevant travellers have to be vaccines listed on the Government’s List of COVID-19 Vaccines Recognised for Specified Purposes.
      
     The Government has also concluded discussions with the relevant Governments on the arrangements regarding the recognition of vaccination records of Kazakhstan and British Virgin Islands, which will also take effect at 0.00am on October 27. Although these places are currently not Group A specified places, the relevant arrangements will enable Hong Kong residents who hold vaccination records issued by the relevant authorities of these places in the prescribed format to board a flight for Hong Kong from Group A specified places.

     The Government has implemented stringent inbound prevention and control measures for travellers arriving at Hong Kong from overseas places. Travellers who have stayed in Group A specified places on the day of boarding or in the 21 days before that day can only board a flight for Hong Kong if they are Hong Kong residents who are fully vaccinated and holding recognised vaccination records. Recognised vaccination records include those issued by Hong Kong, Mainland or Macao authorities or an institution recognised by Mainland or Macao authorities, an authority or recognised institution of a country where its national regulatory authority is designated by the World Health Organization as a stringent regulatory authority, or a relevant authority or recognised institution of a country with which Hong Kong has reached a recognition agreement arrangement with its government.

     The list of places that are accepted for issuing recognised vaccination records is set out in the Annex, and will be uploaded to the Government’s COVID-19 thematic website.
      
     The Government will continue to discuss with other places on the arrangements for the recognition of vaccination records, and will update the list as recognition arrangements are agreed with these places. read more

The following is issued on behalf of the Council for Sustainable Development:

     The Council for Sustainable Development (SDC) is now inviting applications for grants from groups and individuals to undertake projects that will raise public awareness of sustainable development and promote sustainable practices in Hong Kong.
 
     An SDC spokesperson said today (October 25), “In this round of applications, projects that aim to actively promote a low-carbon lifestyle to the general public, with a view to instigating behavioural changes, will receive particular consideration. We support publicity and education programmes for households, small and medium enterprises and youth in the community for inducing behavioural changes in aspects of low-carbon living, particularly focusing on energy saving and waste reduction and recycling. The launching of the new round of applications can help set the scene for meeting the carbon neutrality goal as laid down in the recently announced Hong Kong’s Climate Action Plan 2050. Other projects that are generally consistent with the overall objectives of the Sustainable Development Fund will also be welcome.”

     Details of the priority area, application forms and application guidelines are available online (www.enb.gov.hk/en/susdev/sdf). Application documents (including both original hard copy and soft copy) should reach the Sustainable Development Fund Secretariat (with the original hard copy to be sent to 5/F, Southorn Centre, 130 Hennessy Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong; and soft copy to be emailed to sdf@epd.gov.hk) by 6pm on December 24, 2021.

     An online briefing session will be held on November 16 to brief interested parties on details of the Sustainable Development Fund and points to note in preparing applications. Persons who would like to attend the briefing session are requested to register through the e-form (docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdyH2xwcSFH5XlTT2A605LDGuxC6uN0vKeuwpud7LJFmfDpLQ/viewform) by November 9.

     Enquiries can be directed to the Secretariat at 2835 1026 or sdf@epd.gov.hk.

     The Sustainable Development Fund was set up in 2003 to provide financial support for initiatives that will help enhance public awareness of sustainable development and encourage sustainable practices in Hong Kong. Since then, 13 rounds of applications have been processed with 74 projects approved involving a total grant of about $76 million. read more

     Mobile Libraries 3, 7, 9, 10 and 11 will suspend services during designated periods in November and December for routine maintenance, a spokesman for the Leisure and Cultural Services Department announced today (October 25). &… read more

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:      As at 9am today (October 25), four COVID-19 confirmed patients (case numbers: 12248, 12285, 12289 and 12297) were discharged from hospital in the last 24 hour… read more

     â€‹The Secretary for Food and Health, Professor Sophia Chan, today (October 25) virtually attended the meeting of the 72nd session of the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Committee for the Western Pacific.
      
     Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and related public health restrictions, the Regional Committee meeting this year is held in a hybrid format under which members may participate on-site at Himeji, Japan, or virtually through video conferencing. As the pandemic continues around the world, the meeting focuses on the anti-epidemic work by members of the Regional Committee and regional co-operation, in addition to other health-related issues including primary healthcare, use of traditional and complementary medicine, and the health of future generations.
      
     “Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government has implemented various anti-epidemic measures, including border controls, social distancing, testing, contact tracing and quarantine measures as well as a community-wide vaccination programme, etc. The HKSAR Government has responded promptly and successfully to four waves of the epidemic so far with the above measures. It is encouraging to see that Hong Kong has no local cases with unknown sources of infection for most of the days in the past few months and has basically achieved zero infection. As the epidemic situation in Hong Kong continues to remain stable, we have adopted a new direction in fighting the epidemic since April by adjusting various anti-epidemic measures with a ‘vaccine bubble’ as the basis, with a view to restoring our city to normality in a gradual and orderly manner,” Professor Chan said during the discussion on COVID-19.

     “As the global pandemic situation is still under serious threat from mutant strains, we will continue to stay vigilant to cope with next wave of the COVID-19 epidemic. Towards this end, we will consolidate the experience gained, strengthen our current capacities and map out targeted and refined strategies. Looking forward, it is important for the HKSAR and the wider international community to continue to press ahead with large-scale vaccination of the general public, particularly the elderly, in order to build an immune barrier for the entire community. On the other hand, as Hong Kong is gradually returning to normality, we would put greater focus and efforts on other priority areas in the health portfolio including strengthening primary healthcare and developing Chinese medicine.”
      
     Professor Chan also reaffirmed the HKSAR Government’s commitment in maintaining close collaboration with the WHO and the Regional Committee in combatting the COVID-19 pandemic.
      
     The Permanent Secretary for Food and Health (Health), Mr Thomas Chan, and the Director of Health, Dr Ronald Lam, are also members of the HKSAR delegation.