Following the launch of the registration service for door-to-door COVID-19 vaccination last week, the Civil Service Bureau commenced the territory-wide Home Vaccination Service today (April 26) after consolidating the info… read more
The Government today (April 26) exercised the power under the Prevention and Control of Disease (Compulsory Testing for Certain Persons) Regulation (Cap. 599J) to make a “restriction-testing declaration” (declaration) effective from 4.30pm under which people (hereafter referred to as “persons subject to compulsory testing”) within the specified “restricted area” in Tuen Mun (i.e. Tip Sum House, Butterfly Estate, Tuen Mun, excluding elderly home thereat and Butterfly Plaza. See Annex) are required to stay in their premises and undergo compulsory testing. Persons subject to compulsory testing are required to stay in their premises until all such persons identified in the “restricted area” have undergone testing and the test results are mostly ascertained. The Government aims at finishing this exercise at about 10am tomorrow (April 27). The operation may be extended depending on test results.
A Government spokesman said, “Under Cap. 599J, the Government can, according to the needs of infection control, make a ‘restriction-testing declaration’. Having reviewed a basket of factors, including the viral load in sewage, the information of relevant positive cases, and other circumstantial factors, and conducted a risk assessment, the Government decided to make a ‘restriction-testing declaration’ for the relevant area.”
The Government will set up temporary specimen collection stations at the “restricted area” and request persons subject to compulsory testing to undergo testing before 10pm today. Arrangements will be made for persons subject to compulsory testing to undergo a nucleic acid test at specimen collection stations where dedicated staff will collect samples through combined nasal and throat swabs. Persons subject to compulsory testing must stay at their place of residence until all test results are ascertained to avoid cross-infection risk. The Government will make arrangement to facilitate specimen collection for people with impaired mobility. All persons in the “restricted area” who have tested positive in the past three months, including positive cases identified either by nucleic acid tests recorded by the Department of Health (DH) or by rapid antigen tests that have been self-declared to the DH, are not required to undergo testing in this compulsory testing exercise.
The Government spokesman said, “We understand that this exercise will cause inconvenience to the public. The Government has made arrangements to carry out testing for all persons present in the ‘restricted area’ as soon as possible. The aim is to strive to complete testing of all identified persons subject to compulsory testing and confirm the results, and finish the exercise at about 10am tomorrow. The Government will make a public announcement when the declaration expires officially. In the cases in which employees are unable to go to work because of the declaration, the Government hopes their employers can exercise discretion and not deduct the salaries or benefits of the employees.”
If staying in the “restricted area” will cause unreasonable hardship to individuals who are not residents in the area when the declaration takes effect, government officers may exercise discretion and allow that person to leave the area after considering the individual circumstances. That person must have followed the instructions to undergo testing and leave his/her personal information for contact purposes.
According to the compulsory testing notice to be issued today, any persons other than those specified above who had been present at the above building for more than two hours from April 20 to April 26, 2022, even if they were not present in the “restricted area” at the time when the declaration took effect, must undergo compulsory testing on or before April 28, 2022. As a mutant strain is involved, for prudence’s sake, vaccinated persons and persons who have recently been tested are also required to undergo testing.
For the 2022 Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination (HKDSE) candidates who are within the “restricted area” and need to sit the HKDSE on the following day, or examination personnel who need to take up invigilation duties for HKDSE on the following day, the Government appeals to them to go to the temporary specimen collection stations setup within the “restricted area” before 8pm today and present to the prescribed officer the relevant documents (including the identification documents and HKDSE admission forms, or a certification letter issued by the school of the examination personnel) proving their identities. These HKDSE candidates and examination personnel will be given priority testing with a view to enabling them to obtain test results on the following day as early as possible. The priority testing arrangement also applies to the family members who live together with these HKDSE candidates and examination personnel, so as to identify those HKDSE candidates and examination personnel who have become close contacts of confirmed cases for making quarantine arrangement.
If any HKDSE candidate or examination personnel needs to leave the “restricted area” for the examination centre before the declaration is revoked, he/she can make a request to the prescribed officers within the “restricted area”. The prescribed officer may allow the candidate or the examination personnel to leave the “restricted area” after verifying his/her testing result(s) and recording the relevant information. For the safety of all candidates and examination personnel, only those candidates and examination personnel who have obtained negative test results will be allowed to enter the examination hall. For details, please read the relevant information issued by the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority earlier www.hkeaa.edu.hk/DocLibrary/HKDSE/PPT_2022DSE_compulsory_testing_arrangements_eng.pdf.
The Housing Department has set up a hotline (Tel: 2463 6271) which started operation at 4.30pm today for residents restricted by the declaration to make enquiries and seek assistance. The Social Welfare Department will also provide assistance to the affected persons.
The Government appeals to persons subject to compulsory testing for their full co-operation by registering and undergoing testing, and waiting for the results patiently at home. The Government will strictly follow up on whether the persons concerned have complied with the compulsory testing notices and “restriction-testing declaration”. Any person who fails to comply with the compulsory testing notices commits an offence and may be fined a fixed penalty of $10,000. The person would also be issued with a compulsory testing order requiring him or her to undergo testing within a specified time frame. Failure to comply with the compulsory testing order or the “restriction-testing declaration” is an offence and the offender would be liable to a fine at level 5 ($50,000) and imprisonment for six months. read more
The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) today (April 26) launched the “Regtech Knowledge Hub” (Hub) to encourage greater sharing of Regtech adoption experience and expertise within the Regtech ecosystem in Hong Kong. The establishment of the Hub forms part of the HKMA’s two-year Regtech promotion roadmap announced in November 2020 to promote Regtech adoption.
The Hub provides an online platform for the Regtech community, including banks and Regtech providers, to share success stories and implementation experience. The Hub’s launch is accompanied by three innovative Regtech use cases, featuring:
The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:
Exchange Fund Bills tender results:
| Tender date | : | April 26, 2022 |
| Paper on offer | : | EF Bills |
| Issue number | : | Q2217 |
| Issue date | : | April 27, 2022 |
| Maturity date | : | July 27, 2022 |
| Amount applied | : | HK$93,013 MN |
| Amount allotted | : | HK$43,556 MN |
| Average yield accepted | : | 0.19 PCT |
| Highest yield accepted | : | 0.21 PCT |
| Pro rata ratio* | : | About 47 PCT |
| Average tender yield | : | 0.23 PCT |
| **************************** | ||
| Tender date | : | April 26, 2022 |
| Paper on offer | : | EF Bills |
| Issue number | : | H2246 |
| Issue date | : | April 27, 2022 |
| Maturity date | : | October 26, 2022 |
| Amount applied | : | HK$31,800 MN |
| Amount allotted | : | HK$12,000 MN |
| Average yield accepted | : | 0.53 PCT |
| Highest yield accepted | : | 0.57 PCT |
| Pro rata ratio* | : | About 22 PCT |
| Average tender yield | : | 0.61 PCT |
| Tender date | : | May 3, 2022 |
| Paper on offer | : | EF Bills |
| Issue number | : | Q2218 |
| Issue date | : | May 4, 2022 |
| Maturity date | : | August 3, 2022 |
| Tenor | : | 91 Days |
| Amount on offer | : | HK$47,035 MN |
| **************************** | ||
| Tender date | : | May 3, 2022 |
| Paper on offer | : | EF Bills |
| Issue number | : | H2247 |
| Issue date | : | May 4, 2022 |
| Maturity date | : | November 2, 2022 |
| Tenor | : | 182 Days |
| Amount on offer | : | HK$15,000 MN |
The effective exchange rate index for the Hong Kong dollar on Tuesday, April 26, 2022 is 98 (down 0.1 against yesterday’s index). read more