The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

     The Hospital Authority today (April 29) 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:
 

     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.

     There have been no clusters of nosocomial infection cases reported in public hospitals today.

     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, Nansha Port, Huadu Port, Zhongshan Huangpu Port and Zhuhai Doumen Port to different terminals in Hong Kong, the water transport capacity amounts to tens of thousands of tonnes daily.
 
     The spokesperson said today (April 29) that Shenzhen operated 64 cargo vessel trips and transported around 6 560 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of cross-boundary supplies by water yesterday (April 28), equivalent to about 27 640 tonnes of goods, of which around 20 TEUs (about 130 tonnes) were fresh food and around 6 540 TEUs (about 27 510 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 268 770 TEUs of cross-boundary supplies have been transported, equivalent to about 1 445 140 tonnes of goods, of which around 1 530 TEUs (about 13 170 tonnes) were fresh food and around 267 240 TEUs (about 1 431 970 tonnes) were non-fresh food.
 
     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 rapid antigen tests 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 switched to use rapid nucleic acid tests at the BCPs. Starting from April 21, the sampling method for rapid nucleic acid tests has been further changed to nasopharyngeal swabs. A total of 2 519 rapid nucleic acid tests were conducted yesterday in which 16 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 capacity and efficiency as well as optimising the flow of cross-boundary supplies.

     The Government announced today (April 29) that it will suitably adjust the supply of designated quarantine hotels (DQHs) so as to meet the demand from inbound travellers while guarding against the importation of COVID-19 cases at the same time.
      
     The Government had earlier announced that the inbound control measures will be suitably adjusted according to risk-based principles from May 1 onwards, including allowing non-Hong Kong residents to enter Hong Kong from overseas places.
      
     In anticipation of the continuously increasing number of inbound travellers, the Government decided to convert the following nine hotels that had earlier been used/reserved as community isolation facilities (CIFs) to DQHs having assessed the usage of CIFs:
 
1. The Charterhouse Causeway Bay
2. Dorsett Kwun Tong, Hong Kong
3. Nina Hotel Kowloon East
4. OZO Wesley Hong Kong
5. Regala Skycity Hotel
6. Regal Kowloon Hotel
7. Silka Seaview Hotel Hong Kong
8. Silka Tsuen Wan, Hong Kong
9. The Langham, Hong Kong
 
     These DQHs will commence service and accept room bookings from early May onwards. It is expected that around 4 000 additional rooms will be provided.
      
     The Government fully implemented the Designated Quarantine Hotel Scheme on December 22, 2020, requiring all arrivals from specified places to undergo compulsory quarantine at DQHs with a view to further preventing the importation of COVID-19 cases and reducing contact between arrivals and the local community.  The Government will update the list of DQHs and their booking status on the thematic website www.designatedhotel.gov.hk regularly for the public’s reference.

     The Civil Service College signed an agreement with the School of Government of Peking University today (April 29) for their collaboration to launch a Master Programme in Public Policy for senior civil servants of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government, with the aim of broadening the horizons and enhancing the expertise of the participating officers in public administration. The signing ceremony was conducted through video-conferencing.

     Deputy Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council (HKMAO) Mr Huang Liuquan; the Secretary of the Party Committee of Peking University, Mr Qiu Shuiping; and the Secretary for the Civil Service, Mr Patrick Nip, attended and addressed the signing ceremony. Witnessed by the officiating guests, the agreement was signed by the Permanent Secretary for the Civil Service and the Acting Head of the Civil Service College, Mrs Ingrid Yeung, and the Dean of the School of Government of Peking University, Professor Yan Jirong.

     Mr Nip said, "The Master Programme in Public Policy launched in collaboration with Peking University is a key training programme of the Civil Service College. This programme carries strategic importance and is a key training programme for nurturing future leaders of the civil service in the HKSAR. By constantly selecting and sending talented senior civil servants to this Master Programme in Public Policy, we look forward to cultivating a senior echelons in the years ahead for the civil service of the HKSAR Government, which would be beneficial to the implementation of 'one country, two systems'."

     Mr Nip expressed his gratitude to the HKMAO for its strong support and assistance for the initiative, and also to Peking University for its dedicated efforts in rolling out the programme.

     In addressing the ceremony, Mr Nip also encouraged participants who will attend the inaugural programme to make good use of the learnings to equip themselves. Apart from acquiring theories and professional knowledge and enhancing skills and methods in public administration, it is of even greater importance for the participants to enhance their sense of national identity and strategic vision, better grasp the positioning and roles of Hong Kong in the country's system, deepen their understanding of the country's overall development and strategies, and equip themselves with a leadership capacity in a holistic manner for the public administration of the HKSAR, so as to play a more active role in building Hong Kong and contributing to the country in their respective areas of work.

     The Master Programme in Public Policy is run by Peking University specifically for senior civil servants of high potential. It covers four major areas, namely public administration and leadership skills, the country's and Hong Kong affairs, global affairs and governance, as well as social studies and field work. The programme for each cohort lasts two years, with the first year to be attended on a full-time basis at Peking University. The programme will not only help broaden the horizons and enhance the expertise of the participants in public administration, but will also enable them to gain first-hand experience of the country's development on various fronts through visits to different parts of the Mainland, and provide them with opportunities for exchanges with scholars, officials and other professionals in the relevant fields in the Mainland.

     The inaugural programme will be launched this September. About 15 senior civil servants nominated by their departments will take part in the programme each year.

    

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

      The 65th issue of "HA Risk Alert" was published today (April 29) by the Hospital Authority (HA) as a risk management and communication initiative to further strengthen the reporting and monitoring of clinical incidents in public hospitals.
 
      In the fourth quarter of 2021 (October to December), there were nine Sentinel Events reported, comprising six cases of retained instrument/material after surgery/interventional procedure, two cases of inpatient suicide and one case of maternal mobility. Among the 28 reported Serious Untoward Events, there were 23 related to medication error and five patient misidentifications.
 
     "Subsequent to incident review and analysis of the root causes of these incidents, important lessons for patient safety have been identified, while recommendations are made and shared in this publication to avoid similar events in future," the HA spokesperson said.
 
      The HA Head Office has released the latest "HA Risk Alert" to all staff. It can also be accessed by the public at www.ha.org.hk/riskalert. "HA Risk Alert" is published on a quarterly basis and posted on the HA website on the last working Friday in the months of January, April, July and October. The next issue is scheduled on July 29, 2022 (Friday).