The Innovation and Technology Commission today (January 5) announced that the funding for the Distance Business Programme under the Anti-epidemic Fund has been increased from $1.5 billion to $1.9 billion to provide funding support for eligible applications received.

     A spokesman for the Commission said that the Programme had received an overwhelming response from enterprises. During the application period from May 18 to October 31, 2020, the Programme received a total of 38 572 applications, of which nearly 10 000 were submitted in the last week of October. About 95 per cent of the applications received came from small and medium-sized enterprises. As at 10am today, 28 038 applications had been processed, of which 25 930 were approved. Excluding cases in which the enterprises did not accept the application results or provide relevant documents after their applications had been approved, the total funding involved is around $1.4 billion with average approved funding of about $60,000.

     "Through increasing the financial commitment of the Programme, the Government hopes to meet the strong demand of applicant enterprises for distance business during the pandemic as far as possible. The Programme Secretariat is working at full steam to process the remaining applications, and aims to notify enterprises of the application results by the end of January," the spokesman said.

     The Distance Business Programme aims at supporting enterprises to adopt information technology solutions to continue business and services during the pandemic. Enterprises which have submitted applications may check the statuses of their applications and manage their applications via the online system (u.hkpc.org/dbiz). For other enquiries, please contact the Programme Secretariat, the Hong Kong Productivity Council, by phone on 2788 5070 during business hours (9am to 6pm, Monday to Friday (except public holidays)) or via email at dbiz@hkpc.org.

     The Labour Department (LD) will hold the Creating New Opportunities Online Job Fair from January 7 to 6pm on January 8 on the department's Interactive Employment Service website (www.jobs.gov.hk) for job seekers to obtain information on job vacancies and submit online job applications.
      
     A total of 44 organisations, mainly from the business services, property management and retail industries will participate, offering over 2 500 vacancies.
      
     The vacancies offered cover a wide variety of positions, including customer services officer, accounting clerk, administrative assistant, digital marketing officer, pet adoption assistant, pet groomer, course tutor for primary school student, fitness trainer, cooking assistant, technician and engineer.

     Around 79 per cent of the vacancies are full-time jobs and most of them offer monthly salaries ranging from $10,000 to $20,000. Around 98 per cent require a Secondary Six education level or below. Around 75 per cent are open to job seekers without relevant work experience. 
      
     Job seekers need to pre-register as a user of the LD's Interactive Employment Service before submitting online job applications to the participating organisations during the job fair. All services are free of charge. More information can be found on the department's Interactive Employment Service website.

     A spokesman for the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) said today (January 5) that the Places of Amusement Licence Holders Subsidy Scheme (the Scheme), re-launched under the fourth-round of the Anti-epidemic Fund, is now open for application. The Scheme provides a one-off subsidy of $100,000 to billiard establishments, public bowling alleys and public skating rinks operating with a licence issued under the Places of Amusement Regulation (Cap. 132BA). It aims to provide subsidies to the eligible licence holders whose businesses have been directly affected by the anti-epidemic and social distancing measures imposed by the Government.

     Holders of a valid Places of Amusement Licence issued by the Director of Leisure and Cultural Services under the Places of Amusement Regulation (Cap. 132BA) are eligible for application. Eligible licence holders should submit their applications to the Licensing and Prosecution Unit under the LCSD. The deadline for application is February 4. Upon submission of the completed application form and supporting documents, the disbursement of subsidies could generally be made in batches around two weeks after the deadline of the application.

     The application form and guidelines will be sent to each licence holder by mail or can be obtained from the website (www.lcsd.gov.hk). For enquiries, please contact the Licensing and Prosecution Unit at 2601 8799.

     As the local epidemic situation remains severe, it is necessary for the Government to continue to take measures to significantly reduce the flow of people and social contact in order to stop COVID-19 from further spreading in the community. A spokesman for the Government announced today (January 5) that the special work arrangements for government employees will be extended until January 20. Save for those involved in the provision of emergency services and essential public services and in anti-epidemic efforts, all other government employees will be arranged to continue to work from home. The Government will closely monitor the epidemic situation and review the arrangements before January 20.

     The spokesman said that government departments would continue to provide emergency services and essential public services. Furthermore, since the outbreak of the fourth wave of the epidemic, government departments have proactively mobilised government employees at different times to join in the anti-epidemic effort in different roles, including the implementation of testing on mandatory, obligatory and voluntary bases; strict enforcement of quarantine arrangements and closed-loop management for persons arriving in Hong Kong for prevention of imported cases; and tracing, isolation and quarantine arrangements for prevention of the spread of the virus in the community. These include front-line departments responsible for implementing various measures such as the Home Affairs Department and the disciplined services departments, as well as departments providing technical support, supplies and other supportive roles such as the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer and the Government Logistics Department. The Government will, depending on the development of the epidemic situation and actual needs, continue to flexibly deploy manpower to support the anti-epidemic effort.

     Individual departments will announce the latest arrangements of their services separately. The Government appeals to members of the public for their understanding on the inconvenience caused by the reduction in public services in view of the epidemic. Where necessary, members of the public are encouraged to use alternative means, such as the post, drop-in boxes or online channels, to receive the services they need. Meanwhile, members of the public should wear surgical masks at all times when they are entering or are present in any government buildings or offices, and comply with the infection control measures implemented by relevant departments including temperature checks, using the "LeaveHomeSafe" mobile app and crowd control arrangements.

     The spokesman appealed to employers to allow their staff members to work from home as far as possible according to their operational needs so as to reduce the flow of people and social contact in the community.

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

     During the winter surge, the Hospital Authority is closely monitoring the service demand of Accident and Emergency Departments and the occupancy rates in public hospitals. Key service statistics are being issued daily for public information. Details are in the appended table.