The following is issued on behalf of the Communications Authority:
 
     The Communications Authority (CA) announced today (July 28) the decision to grant prior consent to Hutchison Telephone Company Limited (Hutchison) to cease the provision of all its second generation mobile (2G) services starting from September 30, 2021.
 
     In assessing the application from Hutchison for the service cessation pursuant to Special Condition 10.4 under its Unified Carrier Licence, the CA has taken into account relevant considerations including the extremely low percentage of Hutchison's customers to be affected by the 2G service cessation; incentive offers provided by the company to the affected customers to migrate to a higher generation of mobile services; favourable termination arrangements for those who choose not to continue the subscription as well as sufficient time of notification and customer support to the affected customers. In approving the application, the CA also requires Hutchison to maintain satisfactory 2G network coverage until its shutdown. 
 
     The spectrum to be freed up from the cessation of 2G services can be redeployed by Hutchison for providing higher generation mobile services, such that its customers are able to enjoy higher network capacity and enhanced features of more advanced mobile services. 
 
     Affected customers of Hutchison may also refer to the press release issued by the company on the same day as the announcement of the service cessation (www.hthkh.com/en/media/press_all.php). They are advised to contact Hutchison for details of the migration arrangements as soon as possible, and consider upgrading their service plans and mobile devices for better service quality as well as more advanced and innovative functions and features available from a newer generation of mobile services.
 

     The Secretary for the Civil Service, Mr Patrick Nip, visited AXA Hong Kong and Macau (AXA) today (July 28). During the visit, he and the Chief Executive Officer of AXA, Ms Sally Wan, jointly viewed the administering of a COVID-19 vaccine to staff members and agents of the enterprise as arranged by the Government's outreach vaccination service. About 360 people will receive a Sinovac or BioNTech vaccination in a two-day outreach vaccination service.
 
     "We greatly welcome enterprises to join hands with the Government in promoting the 'Early Vaccination for All' campaign and encourage their employees to support the Vaccination Programme, thereby protecting the health of the employees and their colleagues and clients. I hope that people who get vaccinated will also encourage their families and friends to receive vaccinations so that we can work together to build an immune barrier in Hong Kong," Mr Nip said.
 
     As the COVID-19 Vaccination Programme is already offering more quotas for the public to make bookings, and same-day tickets for vaccinations will also be distributed to elderly persons aged 70 or above starting tomorrow (July 29), Mr Nip called on members of the public to get vaccinated as early as possible. "The mutant strains of the COVID-19 virus circulating globally have high transmissibility. Although they are mainly found in imported cases, should they enter the community and spread widely, the elderly population with its weakened immunity and low vaccination rate will be the first to bear the brunt of being infected. Elderly persons aged 70 or above can collect a same-day ticket in person. They can also authorise their family members or carers to collect on their behalf, provided that the authorised person can present a copy of the authoriser's Hong Kong identity card for registration. As same-day tickets will be distributed daily, it is not necessary for the elderly to queue up at a Community Vaccination Centre (CVC) too early for a ticket. We hope that this arrangement will provide the elderly with an additional option to receive vaccinations and prevent infection."
 
     There has been enthusiastic support for the outreach vaccination programme since it was launched by the Civil Service Bureau. The bureau has provided the outreach vaccination service to the Hong Kong Sports Institute, global professional services enterprises, property developers, financial institutions, the construction industry, public utilities, a property management company, universities, a theme park and a district organisation.
 
     Mr Nip expressed his gratitude to the medical team and administrative support staff of the CVC at Tin Fai Road Sports Centre for providing the outreach service today.

      

     The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department today (July 28) urged the public not to consume a kind of duck foie gras imported from France as it may contain glass fragments. The trade should stop using or selling the product concerned immediately if they possess it.

     Details of the product are as follows:

Product name: Rougie Individual Terrine
Brand: Rougie
Place of origin: France
Pack size: 40 grams x 12
Lot code: 201014.103364
Importer: Classic Fine Foods (Hong Kong) Limited
Best-before date: October 14, 2022

     A spokesman for the CFS said, "The CFS received a notification from the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) of the European Commission that a complaint in France claimed that the above-mentioned product had been found with glass fragments, and it is now being recalled. According to the information provided by the RASFF, the affected product has been imported into Hong Kong. Upon learning of the incident, the CFS immediately contacted the local importer concerned for follow-up."

     A preliminary investigation found that above-mentioned importer had imported some of the affected product into Hong Kong. The importer has removed the affected product from shelves and stopped sale of it according to the CFS' instructions and has initiated a recall. Members of the public may call the importer's hotline at 2612 2066 during office hours for enquiries about the recall.

     The spokesman urged consumers not to consume the affected product if they have bought any. The trade should also stop using or selling the product concerned immediately if they possess it.

     The CFS will alert the trade to the incident, continue to follow up and take appropriate action. Investigation is ongoing.

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

     As at 9am today (July 28), two COVID-19 confirmed patients (case numbers: 11969 and 11977) were discharged from hospital in the last 24 hours. So far, a total of 11 707 patients with confirmed or probable infection have been discharged.
 
     At present, there are 595 negative pressure rooms in public hospitals with 1 077 negative pressure beds activated. A total of 25 confirmed patients are currently hospitalised in eight public hospitals and the North Lantau Hospital Hong Kong Infection Control Centre, among which two patients (case numbers: 9907 and 11971) are in serious condition and the remaining 23 patients are in stable condition.
 
     The Hospital Authority will maintain close contact with the Centre for Health Protection to monitor the latest developments and to inform the public and healthcare workers on the latest information in a timely manner.

The following is issued on behalf of the Executive Council Secretariat:
      
     The Non-official Members of the Executive Council (ExCo Non-official Members) today (July 28) expressed their warmest congratulations to Hong Kong swimming athlete Siobhan Bernadette Haughey for winning the silver medal for Hong Kong in the Women's 200m Freestyle at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. They also expressed their heartfelt gratitude to her coach and the swimming team.
           
     The Convenor of the ExCo Non-official Members, Mr Bernard Chan, said, "Siobhan Bernadette Haughey overcame numerous difficulties and demonstrated outstanding swimming skills in the competition, allowing her to grab another medal for the Hong Kong, China Delegation. In addition to winning the first-ever Olympic swimming medal for Hong Kong, she also broke both the Asian and Hong Kong records and has started a glorious new chapter for Hong Kong swimming. Her result is testimony to the capability of Hong Kong athletes and makes all Hong Kong people proud."
      
     The ExCo Non-official Members hope that the Hong Kong, China Delegation will continue to perform at their best to strive for good results in the other events.