Following is the speech by the Secretary for Innovation and Technology, Mr Alfred Sit, at City University of Hong Kong (CityU) and China Resources Enterprise Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) Signing cum HK Tech 300 Seed Fund Award Presentation Ceremony today (July 29):
 
Lester (Council Chairman of CityU, Mr Lester Huang), Professor Kuo (President of CityU, Professor Way Kuo), Mr Chen (Assistant President of China Resources Group cum Chief Executive Officer of China Resources Enterprise, Mr Chen Ying), Sunny (Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation, Dr Sunny Chai), George (Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Limited, Dr George Lam), Michelle (Permanent Secretary for Education, Ms Michelle Li), distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
 
     Good morning! It is my great honour to join you all today at the CityU and China Resources Enterprise MoU Signing cum HK Tech 300 Seed Fund Award Presentation Ceremony. Just four months ago, I witnessed the launching ceremony of the programme which was held exactly in this building. It is indeed very encouraging to see that the programme is progressing very well.
      
     Start-ups play a pivotal role in the I&T development, offering innovative ideas and injecting momentum into the I&T ecosystem. The Government has been allocating more and more resources to support the expansion of our start-up base and put in place various funding schemes to support the growth of start-ups.
      
     In 2014, we launched the Technology Start-up Support Scheme for Universities to support university teams in starting technology businesses and commercialising their research and development results. Starting from 2019-20, we doubled the maximum annual funding support under the scheme from $4 million to $8 million per university, and increased the annual funding cap of each start-up to $1.5 million. We also set up a $2 billion Innovation and Technology Venture Fund to drive and attract more venture capital funds to co-invest in our local I&T start-ups. Hong Kong's start-ups can also try out their new products and technologies under the Public Sector Trial Scheme. Moreover, our two I&T flagships, Science Park and Cyberport under the competent leadership of Sunny and George, have also been offering support to the growth and scaling up of our start-ups.
      
     Apart from the Government, participation from the academia and business community is equally important to cultivate our start-up base. With the concerted efforts of all the relevant stakeholders, we have seen phenomenal growth in our start-up landscape in recent years. In 2020, there are over 3 300 start-ups in Hong Kong, triple the number in 2014. We welcome CityU's efforts in advancing the HK Tech 300 programme to support more start-ups. We also appreciate the China Resources Enterprise for collaborating with CityU to set up a co-investment platform under the programme. With our vast hinterland in the Greater Bay Area offering promising opportunities, our start-ups are positioned well to grow further both in quantity and quality.
      
     May I extend my warmest congratulations to CityU and China Resources Enterprise on your meaningful collaboration, and I wish our start-ups every success in their entrepreneurial journeys! Ladies and gentlemen, let's work together for the betterment of our community for innovation and technology, and venture beyond boundaries. Thank you very much.

  

     The Secretary for the Civil Service, Mr Patrick Nip, today (July 29) visited the Census and Statistics Department (C&SD) to learn more about the work of the Census Service Centre (CSC) and to show support for colleagues working at the centre.
 
    Mr Nip first met with the Commissioner for Census and Statistics, Ms Marion Chan, to receive an update on the department's work regarding the 2021 Population Census, learning that many people had opted to complete the questionnaire online during the epidemic. He then visited the CSC to meet with colleagues working there to learn about their work including conducting telephone interviews, answering public enquiries and making appointments for face-to-face interviews.
 
     Mr Nip said he was pleased to learn that in order to assist ethnic minorities in completing the Census questionnaire, simultaneous interpretation (SI) services in Urdu, Hindi, Punjabi and Nepali are put in place at the CSC for the Pakistanis, Indians and Nepalese people in Hong Kong. Meanwhile, service centres have also been set up in Yau Tsim Mong, Sham Shui Po, Kowloon City, Yuen Long, Kwai Tsing and Eastern District to provide SI services to people in need when being interviewed.
 
     "Conducted once every 10 years, the population census is a large-scale and important statistical exercise. It provides statistical information which is vital for the future development of Hong Kong. The data collected from the Census are useful to the Government for policy formulation as well as planning of social services and facilities, and others, both at the territory-wide level and the district level. The exercise involves thousands of civil servants and temporary staff who are making full efforts to complete their duties," Mr Nip said.
 
     "I am grateful to colleagues of the C&SD for their hard work as conducting a large-scale fieldwork operation under the epidemic requires their meticulous planning. I appeal to the public to support the work of the C&SD. I also hope that they will get vaccinated as soon as possible so as to protect themselves and others."
 
     For details about the 2021 Population Census, please visit www.census2021.gov.hk.

  

Attention duty announcers, radio and TV stations:

Please broadcast the following as soon as possible and repeat it at suitable intervals:

     Members of the public are advised to report any street flooding that comes to their notice to the Drainage Services Department by calling the 24-hour drainage hotline on 2300 1110.

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

     The Hospital Authority (HA) today (July 29) announced that in consideration of the latest Composite Consumer Price Index, the service fee for the Participating Service Providers (PSPs) in the General Outpatient Clinic Public-Private Partnership (GOPC PPP) Programme will be increased from $3,486 to $3,510 per patient per year at the maximum with retrospective effect from July 1, 2021.
 
     According to the HA spokesperson, the calculation of the adjustment was based on the commonly used Composite Consumer Price Index (Medical Services), published in the Monthly Report on the Consumer Price Index by the Hong Kong Government's Census and Statistics Department for the period from July 2020 to June 2021.
 
     "The maximum total payment to PSPs per patient per year, covering up to 10 consultations, will be increased from $3,486 to $3,510. Participating patients, however, will continue to pay only the HA GOPC fee of $50 per attendance," the spokesperson said.
 
     The GOPC PPP Programme has been implemented in all 18 districts in Hong Kong. The territory-wide implementation will give patients more choices in selecting their family doctors all over Hong Kong. As at the end of June 2021, nearly 600 PSPs were providing consultation services to more than 40,000 GOPC patients who have joined the Programme.
 
     The spokesperson also expressed gratitude to the PSPs for providing convenient consultation and drug refill service options for patients who have joined the Programme during the COVID-19 epidemic in the past year, and additional service quotas during the winter surge.
 
     "All HA PPP programmes work on Electronic Health Record (eHR) platforms. PSPs and patients have to register for eHR if they wish to join the programmes, including the GOPC PPP Programme," the spokesperson added.
 
     The HA will continue to monitor closely the implementation of the GOPC PPP Programme and closely keep in view the feedback from service providers, patients and other parties concerned.

     The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health (DH) announced that as of 0.00am, July 29, the CHP was investigating two additional confirmed cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), taking the number of cases to 11 983 in Hong Kong so far (comprising 11 982 confirmed cases and one probable case).

     All of the newly reported cases are imported cases.

     Meanwhile, the CHP was notified yesterday (July 28) of a confirmed case in the UK, which involved a 46-year-old male patient. He departed Hong Kong on July 15 to London via flight CX251. His specimen collected on July 17 tested positive for COVID-19 and he remains asymptomatic. The CHP is following up on the case with the UK health authority and the epidemiological investigations of the case are ongoing. As a prudent measure, the premises (Rosedale Hotel Hong Kong, 8 Shelter Street, Causeway Bay) where he had resided during the incubation period was put under a compulsory testing notice (CTN) last night. Any person who had been present at the premises for more than two hours during the period from July 4 to 28 has to undergo compulsory testing on or before July 31.

     A total of 25 cases have been reported in the past 14 days (July 15 to 28) and all of them are imported cases.

     The CHP's epidemiological investigations and relevant contact tracing on the confirmed cases are ongoing. For case details and contact tracing information, please see the Annex or the list of buildings with confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the past 14 days and the latest local situation of COVID-19 available on the website "COVID-19 Thematic Website" (www.coronavirus.gov.hk).

     Meanwhile, the CHP reminded those who had visited specified venues under the Prevention and Control of Disease (Compulsory Testing for Certain Persons) Regulation (Cap. 599J) to receive COVID-19 nucleic acid testing according to CTNs. The Regulation also requires all household members of close contacts of confirmed cases to undergo a COVID-19 nucleic acid test within a specified period according to CTNs published in the Gazette. The public are also urged to seek medical attention early if symptoms develop, and undergo testing as soon as possible.

     The CHP strongly urged members of the public to avoid all non-essential travel outside Hong Kong, in particular to specified places with extremely high risk and very high risk under the Prevention and Control of Disease (Regulation of Cross-boundary Conveyances and Travellers) Regulation (Cap. 599H). If travel is unavoidable, the CHP highly recommended the public to be fully vaccinated with COVID-19 vaccines before their departure with a view to lowering their chances of being infected with COVID-19 overseas. They should continue to wear a surgical mask and maintain strict personal and environmental hygiene at all times. Parents are also urged to avoid taking unvaccinated children to travel. The spokesman stressed, "The global situation of COVID-19 infection remains severe and there is a continuous increase in the number of cases involving mutant strains that carry higher transmissibility, and there are also reports of breakthrough infections in some vaccinated individuals. Members of the public must seriously evaluate the risk of non-essential travel."

     The Government has launched the COVID-19 Vaccination Programme. Members of the public are encouraged to get vaccinated. Details of the programme can be found at the designated website (www.covidvaccine.gov.hk).

     The CHP called on members of the public to avoid going out, having social contact and dining out. They should put on a surgical mask and maintain stringent hand hygiene when they need to go out. The CHP strongly urged the elderly to stay home as far as possible and avoid going out. They should consider asking their family and friends to help with everyday tasks such as shopping for basic necessities.

     "The CHP also strongly urges the public to maintain at all times strict personal and environmental hygiene, which is key to personal protection against infection and prevention of the spread of the disease in the community. On a personal level, members of the public should wear a surgical mask when having respiratory symptoms, taking public transport or staying in crowded places. They should also perform hand hygiene frequently, especially before touching the mouth, nose or eyes. Moreover, vaccination may help keep people from getting seriously ill even if they do get COVID-19, and, generally speaking, vaccines can also reduce the chance of transmission by those who have been vaccinated. People vaccinated with a COVID-19 vaccine can also generate herd immunity. Members of the public are urged to get vaccinated as soon as possible and book their vaccination appointments at the website (booking.covidvaccine.gov.hk/forms/index.jsp).

     "As for household environmental hygiene, members of the public are advised to maintain drainage pipes properly and regularly pour water into drain outlets (U-traps). After using the toilet, they should put the toilet lid down before flushing to avoid spreading germs," the spokesman said.

     Moreover, the Government has launched the website "COVID-19 Thematic Website" (www.coronavirus.gov.hk) for announcing the latest updates on various news on COVID-19 infection and health advice to help the public understand the latest updates. Members of the public may also gain access to information via the COVID-19 WhatsApp Helpline launched by the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer. Simply by saving 9617 1823 in their phone contacts or clicking the link wa.me/85296171823?text=hi, they will be able to obtain information on COVID-19 as well as the "StayHomeSafe" mobile app and wristband via WhatsApp.

     To prevent pneumonia and respiratory tract infections, members of the public should always maintain good personal and environmental hygiene. They are advised to:
 

• Wear a surgical mask when taking public transport or staying in crowded places. It is important to wear a mask properly, including performing hand hygiene before wearing and after removing a mask;
• Perform hand hygiene frequently, especially before touching the mouth, nose or eyes, after touching public installations such as handrails or doorknobs, or when hands are contaminated by respiratory secretions after coughing or sneezing;
• Maintain drainage pipes properly and regularly (about once a week) pour about half a litre of water into each drain outlet (U-trap) to ensure environmental hygiene;
• After using the toilet, put the toilet lid down before flushing to avoid spreading germs;
• Wash hands with liquid soap and water, and rub for at least 20 seconds. Then rinse with water and dry with a disposable paper towel. If hand washing facilities are not available, or when hands are not visibly soiled, performing hand hygiene with 70 to 80 per cent alcohol-based handrub is an effective alternative;
• Cover your mouth and nose with tissue paper when sneezing or coughing. Dispose of soiled tissues into a lidded rubbish bin, then wash hands thoroughly; and
• When having respiratory symptoms, wear a surgical mask, refrain from work or attending class at school, avoid going to crowded places and seek medical advice promptly.