As persons who resided or worked within the same building as the residence of local COVID-19 cases with mutant strain will be subject to compulsory testing on the third, seventh, 12th and 19th day following the announcement of the relevant confirmed cases by the Department of Health (DH), specified persons in relation to Wan Hang House of Wan Tau Tong Estate in Tai Po have to undergo compulsory testing tomorrow (July 5). The Government will set up a mobile specimen collection station at the open area outside Block A (Yat Wing House) of Yat Nga Court in Tai Po tomorrow to provide free testing service for residents and workers subject to compulsory testing.
 
     Community testing centres (CTCs) provide testing services for the public, including free service for persons subject to compulsory testing. Booking and walk-in services are available. Members of the public only need to provide simple personal information on the 24-hour booking system (www.communitytest.gov.hk/en). The system shows the booking status of the centres for the coming two weeks to facilitate the public's planning and selection of a suitable testing centre and a time slot for testing. The testing centres will accord priority to serve individuals with advance bookings. As of 6pm today (July 4), there were around 24 000 booking places available for tomorrow at the CTCs, and around 85 per cent and 91 per cent availability for booking places for the coming seven days and 14 days respectively. Members of the public may call the testing centres for enquiries on the availability of bookings or walk-in quotas before visiting the centres.

     The service period of the mobile specimen collection stations at King George V Memorial Park, Kowloon; MacPherson Playground in Mong Kok; Arthur Street Temporary Playground in Yau Ma Tei; and Hankow Road in Tsim Sha Tsui will be extended to July 11 (Sunday). Starting from tomorrow, the mobile stations at King George V Memorial Park, Kowloon and Hankow Road in Tsim Sha Tsui will only be open to persons who are subject to compulsory testing (including staff of catering premises and scheduled premises under Cap. 599F). Outdoor mobile specimen collection stations will be closed if the Strong Wind Signal No. 3 or Red Rainstorm Warning Signal is hoisted while all mobile specimen collection stations together with all CTCs will be closed when the No. 8 Gale or Storm Signal or higher or Black Rainstorm Warning Signal is hoisted.
 
     Coupled with 18 CTCs, there will be a total of 33 CTCs/mobile specimen collection stations in various districts tomorrow to provide free service for persons subject to compulsory testing. The testing capacity should be sufficient to meet the demand. The opening dates and operating hours of the mobile specimen collection stations in various districts providing free COVID-19 nucleic acid testing services for the general public are stated in Annex. Persons subject to compulsory testing and those with the "LeaveHomeSafe" COVID-19 exposure notification or SMS notification from the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) reminding them to undergo testing as soon as possible may receive free testing at CTCs or mobile specimen collection stations (if the service scope is applicable).
 
     People whose test results are negative will be informed by SMS message through their mobile phones. Persons subject to compulsory testing must properly keep the relevant records. If any specimen tested shows a preliminarily positive COVID-19 result, the specimen will be referred to the Public Health Laboratory Services Branch of the DH for a confirmatory test. Confirmed cases will be followed up and announced by the CHP.
 
     The Government reminds the public that they can undergo COVID-19 testing through various means. For details, please refer to the following webpage: www.coronavirus.gov.hk/eng/early-testing.html. If a person has symptoms, he or she should seek medical attention immediately and should not attend the mobile specimen collection stations or CTCs. The Government calls on the public and organisations to refrain from collecting more sets of deep throat saliva specimen collection packs than needed or making a profit through resale, so that others in need can also obtain specimen collection packs for testing. The Government will continue to closely monitor the number of specimen collection packs distributed and collected.
 
     A spokesman for the Food and Health Bureau urges all individuals who are in doubt about their own health conditions, or individuals with infection risks (such as individuals who visited places with epidemic outbreaks or contacted confirmed cases) to undergo testing promptly for early identification of infected persons.

     The COVID-19 Vaccination Programme has been implemented for 129 days since February 26, 2021.
 
     So far, about 3 961 700 doses of vaccines have been administered under the Vaccination Programme. Details are as follows:
 

* The numbers are rounded to the nearest hundred.
 
     In the 24 hours ending at 8pm today (July 4), about 52 900 persons have received vaccination and about 30 000 new vaccination bookings have been made online. Details are as follows:
 

* The numbers are rounded to the nearest hundred.
 
     In the 24 hours ending at 0.00am today, there were six cases of ambulance transfer to hospital from CVCs. They were sent to hospital after experiencing common side effects after vaccination and were in stable condition. Two of them were discharged, one person was admitted for observation, two persons were discharged against medical advice and one person left hospital without seeking any consultation.

     Registration for the Consumption Voucher Scheme (the Scheme) was in general smooth on the first day and the public responded enthusiastically, the Government said today (July 4). As at 6pm today, about 1.55 million people submitted electronic registration via the registration portal at the Scheme website (www.consumptionvoucher.gov.hk). Among them, over 1.3 million people authenticated their identity by answering security questions related to the Cash Payout Scheme launched last year. The process is simple and no queueing was required. As regards authentication via "iAM Smart", it was obstructed this morning because the system had once been heavily loaded. The situation has gradually improved since this afternoon. 

    The Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, said that electronic registration is the fastest way to receive the consumption vouchers. Eligible registrants who have completed electronic registration in the coming two weeks (i.e. on or before July 17) will normally receive the first voucher on August 1 concurrently after their eligibility is confirmed. Therefore, members of the public do not need to rush for registration in the first few days.

    Those who choose to submit paper forms may drop the completed forms, together with a copy of their Hong Kong identity card, into the drop boxes at a total of 560 collection points in different districts, including all post offices and designated branches of Bank of China (Hong Kong), Bank of East Asia, Hang Seng Bank, The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation and Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong), during office hours starting from tomorrow (July 5). Eligible persons who submit paper forms or complete electronic registrations on or after July 18 will normally receive the first voucher on September 1 concurrently.

    The Scheme is open for registration until August 14 this year.

    The public may visit the Scheme website or call the hotline 18 5000 for more information.

     The Home Affairs Department has opened 19 temporary night heat shelters for people in need of the service.
      
     The shelters will be open until 8am tomorrow.
      
     For further information, please call the department's hotline before midnight on 2572 8427.
      
     The 19 temporary night heat shelters are located at:
 
Hong Kong Districts:
———————
 
Central and Western –
Sai Ying Pun Community Complex Community Hall
3/F, Sai Ying Pun Community Complex
2 High Street, Sai Ying Pun
 
Eastern –
Causeway Bay Community Centre
3/F, 7 Fook Yum Road, Causeway Bay
 
Southern –
Wah Kwai Community Centre
Wah Kwai Estate, Kellett Bay 

Wan Chai –
Wan Chai Activities Centre
LG/F, Wan Chai Market, 258 Queen's Road East, Wan Chai
 
Kowloon Districts:
——————
 
Kowloon City –
Hung Hom Community Hall
1/F, Kowloon City Government Offices
42 Bailey Street, Hung Hom
 
Kwun Tong –
Lam Tin (West) Estate Community Centre
71 Kai Tin Road, Lam Tin
 
Sham Shui Po –
Shek Kip Mei Community Hall
G/F, Block 42, Shek Kip Mei Estate, Sham Shui Po
 
Wong Tai Sin –
Tsz Wan Shan (South) Estate Community Centre
45 Wan Wah Street, Tsz Wan Shan
 
Yau Tsim Mong –
Henry G Leong Yaumatei Community Centre
60 Public Square Street, Yau Ma Tei
 
New Territories Districts:
————————–
 
Islands –
Tung Chung North Park (Zone B) Activity Room
29 Man Tung Road, Tung Chung 

Kwai Tsing –
Kwai Shing Community Hall
Podium, Block 6, Kwai Shing West Estate, Kwai Chung
 
North –
Cheung Wah Community Hall
Cheung Wah Estate, Fanling
 
Sai Kung –
King Lam Neighbourhood Community Centre
King Lam Estate, Tseung Kwan O 

Sha Tin –
Lung Hang Estate Community Centre
Lung Hang Estate, Sha Tin 

Tai Po –
Tai Po Community Centre
2 Heung Sze Wui Street, Tai Po
 
Tsuen Wan –
Lei Muk Shue Community Hall
G/F, Hong Shue House, Lei Muk Shue Estate, Tsuen Wan

Tuen Mun –
Butterfly Bay Community Centre
Butterfly Estate (near Tip Sum House), Tuen Mun
 
Yuen Long –
Long Ping Community Hall
Long Ping Estate, Yuen Long
 
Yuen Long –
Tin Yiu Community Centre
Tin Yiu Estate, Tin Shui Wai
 
     The temporary night heat shelters will resume their functions as either community centres or community halls in the daytime for hire by the local community and cannot continue to be open as heat shelters. People may choose to take refuge from the heat during the daytime in the common areas in any of the 22 designated community centres or community halls. Their opening hours are from 9am to 10pm.  For the addresses of the community centres and community halls, please browse the following document: www.had.gov.hk/file_manager/en/documents/public_services/emergency_services/List_CH_CC_Day_E.pdf.

     The "iAM Smart" system has once been heavily loaded this morning (July 4). Members of the public may encounter some problems when login and authenticate their identity using "iAM Smart" to register for the Consumption Voucher Scheme (the Scheme).
      
     The "iAM Smart" system has already resumed normal service but a longer queuing time is still needed as the number of people choosing to register through the platform remains high.

     A spokesman stressed that the website of the Scheme (www.consumptionvoucher.gov.hk) has been operating smoothly all along. Registration directly through the website using other ways of authentication, for example, by answering two security questions to authenticate their identity if they have successfully registered and received payment or collected the cheque under the Cash Payout Scheme, is simple and smooth and no queuing was required. The whole registration process took only a few minutes to complete. 

     Eligible persons who have completed electronic registration in the first two weeks (i.e. on or before July 17) will receive the first voucher on August 1, hence there is no need to rush for registration during the first one or two days, the spokesman added.