The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority: As at 9am today (December 23), 117 COVID-19 confirmed patients were discharged from hospital in the last 24 hours. So far, a total of 7 112 patients with confirmed… read more
In light of the Government’s announcement to extend the special work arrangements for government employees, the Labour Department (LD) today (December 23) announced that it will continue to provide emergency and essential public services until further notice.
Branch offices under the Labour Relations Division, the Minor Employment Claims Adjudication Board and the Employment Agencies Administration will provide limited counter services on Monday, Wednesday and Friday (except general holidays), while other counter services of the LD will be suspended. In view of public health considerations, members of the public entering the LD’s offices have to undergo on-the-spot temperature checks and should wear masks at all times. Crowd control arrangements will also be implemented.
Two Occupational Health Clinics and Occupational Medicine Units will be closed. Those who have made service appointments will be informed of the alternative arrangements.
The LD encourages members of the public to make use of the department’s online services and information (www.labour.gov.hk) and to file enquiries and requests for service by email at enquiry@labour.gov.hk.
Job seekers can use the Interactive Employment Service Website (www.jobs.gov.hk) for job searches. The LD’s Telephone Employment Service Centre, all Job Centres and industry-based Recruitment Centres also provide enquiry and employment services by telephone from Monday to Friday during office hours (9am to 1pm and 2pm to 5.30pm) (telephone numbers are shown at www.jobs.gov.hk/1/0/WebForm/information/en/our_service/info_jobcentres.aspx).
Applicants for issue of licence or renewal of licence of employment agency may submit their applications to the office of the Employment Agencies Administration by post (Unit 906, 9/F, One Mong Kok Road Commercial Centre, 1 Mong Kok Road, Kowloon) or email (ea-ee@labour.gov.hk).
For information about employment rights and benefits, members of the public may browse the LD’s website at www.labour.gov.hk/eng/faq/content.htm.
Due to the special work arrangements, the processing time for various enquiries and applications may take longer than usual.
The LD will review the situation in due course and make further announcements as appropriate. read more
​A toy shop owner was sentenced to carry out 150 hours of community service by Eastern Magistrates’ Courts today (December 23) following earlier conviction for engaging in commercial practices involving misleading omission in the course of selling toy models, in contravention of the Trade Descriptions Ordinance (TDO). He was also ordered to offer a total of $1,200 in compensation to the victim involved and to pay court costs of $500.
Hong Kong Customs earlier received information alleging that a toy shop owner had engaged in unfair trade practices in the sale of toy models through a social media platform page.
An investigation revealed that the owner sold five types of toy models through the page and claimed that the goods were in stock but did not reveal the inventory status of the goods to the consumers. Eventually the owner failed to provide the relevant goods to the consumers after receiving initial payment.
Customs reminds traders to comply with the requirements of the TDO, and consumers to procure products at reputable shops.
Under the TDO, any trader who engages in a commercial practice that omits or hides material information or provides material information in a manner that is unclear, unintelligible, ambiguous or untimely, or fails to identify its commercial intent and as a result causes, or is likely to cause, an average consumer to make a transactional decision commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $500,000 and imprisonment for five years.
Members of the public may report any suspected violations of the TDO to Customs’ 24-hour hotline 2545 6182 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk). read more
In view of the latest epidemic situation and the extension of special work arrangements for government employees, the Government Records Service (GRS) announced today (December 23) that from December 24 to January 6, 2021, the … read more
The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, chaired the second meeting of the fourth-term Commission on Poverty (CoP) held online this afternoon (December 23).
Members noted the implementation progress of various assistance programmes and the financial position of the Community Care Fund (CCF). The CoP endorsed a proposal to introduce new drugs/clinical indications under a medical assistance programme and revision of the 2020-21 annual indicative budget for that assistance programme, the proposed indicative budgets for three CCF medical assistance programmes for 2021-22, and the extension of two existing assistance programmes. Details of the resolutions are as follows:
(1) The CoP agreed to introduce three new self-financed cancer drugs to the coverage of the First Phase Programme of Medical Assistance Programmes (First Phase Programme) with effect from the fourth quarter of 2020, including Inotuzumab ozogamicin, Abemaciclib and Atezolizumab. It is expected to benefit 520 patients in the first 12 months of implementation. The CoP also agreed to add new indications for the existing drug Nivolumab and relax the clinical guidelines of Ixazomib and Lenalidomide. Having considered the expected increase in financial requirements for the existing drugs and the additional subsidy incurred in this operation year for the proposed introduction of new drugs/clinical indications and relaxation of clinical guidelines of existing drugs in the fourth quarter of 2020, the CoP agreed to uplift the 2020-21 indicative budget for the approved subsidy for the First Phase Programme from $725 million to $893 million. The approved administrative fee in the original budget remains unchanged.
(2) The CoP approved the proposed indicative budgets for three CCF medical assistance programmes for 2021-22, including the First Phase Programme, the “Subsidy for Eligible Patients to Purchase Ultra-expensive Drugs (Including Those for Treating Uncommon Disorders)” Programme and the “Subsidy for Eligible Patients of Hospital Authority to Purchase Specified Implantable Medical Devices for Interventional Procedures” Programme. Their indicative budgets are $1,447.95 million, $318.15 million and $52.5 million respectively.
(3) The CoP agreed to extend the “Subsidy for Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) Recipients Living in Rented Private Housing” Programme (the Programme) for six months until end-April 2021. The Programme provides a one-off subsidy to CSSA recipients living in rented private housing and paying a rent, which exceeded the maximum rent allowance under the CSSA to relieve their financial burden as a result of periodic increases in rent. Eligible CSSA households are not required to submit applications. The Social Welfare Department (SWD) will identify eligible households based on their reported rental records in the Computerised Society Security System as at July 31, 2020. The subsidy under the extended Programme is expected to commence disbursement progressively starting from end-January 2021 at the earliest. The original funding provision of the Programme was $197.1 million and the revised budget is $230.87 million, with an additional funding provision of $33.77 million. It is expected to benefit 13 000 households.
(4) The CoP agreed to extend the “Pilot Scheme on Support for Elderly Persons Discharged from Public Hospitals after Treatment” (Pilot Scheme) until end-September 2023 under a new mode of operation starting from October 1, 2021. Launched in February 2018, the Pilot Scheme adopts a “medical-social collaboration” model under which the Hospital Authority (HA) conducts an assessment and refers persons aged 60 or above who are in need of transitional services (except for elderly persons covered by the existing “Integrated Discharge Support Programme for Elderly Patients”) to the Pilot Scheme, which will provide them with transitional services for not more than six months. The SWD has set up a Discharge Support Team, consisting mainly of social workers, to follow up on all cases under the Pilot Scheme. Under the new mode of operation, the SWD will select three suitable non-government organisations through invitation for proposals to set up a transitional care team each in Kowloon East, New Territories East and New Territories West. Working directly with the medical staff of relevant HA clusters, the teams will formulate appropriate nursing, rehabilitation and care support plans for elderly persons discharged from hospitals, and provide transitional residential care and/or community care and support services for four months. In case an individual elderly person is assessed by a medical staff of the HA to be in need of transitional care services for over four months, the transitional care team can initiate an application to the SWD for consideration. The revised funding provision of the Pilot Scheme is $234.18 million, with an additional provision of $8.28 million.
The CoP was also briefed on the poverty statistics and analysis for 2019 produced jointly by the Office of the Government Economist and the Census and Statistics Department. The CoP discussed the analysis and noted that the Government would publish the “Hong Kong Poverty Situation Report 2019” (the Report) after the meeting. The Report has been uploaded to the CoP’s dedicated website (www.povertyrelief.gov.hk). read more