The COVID-19 Vaccination Programme has been implemented for the 76th day since February 26, 2021.
 
     So far, about 1 830 800 doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered for members of the public (please see Annex 1). Among them, about 1 112 100 persons have received their first dose, with about 489 900 persons receiving the Sinovac vaccine and about 622 300 persons receiving the BioNTech vaccine. About 718 700 persons have received their second dose, with about 351 500 persons receiving the Sinovac vaccine and about 367 200 persons receiving the BioNTech vaccine.
 
     In the last 24 hours ending at 8pm today (May 12), about 25 700 persons have received vaccination and about 10 300 new vaccination bookings have been made online, detailed as follows:
 
(i) About 3 900 persons received their first dose of the Sinovac vaccine, including about 1 700 persons vaccinated at Community Vaccination Centres (CVCs) and about 2 200 persons at private doctors and clinics participating in the programme;
 
(ii) about 3 400 persons received their second dose of the Sinovac vaccine, including about 1 600 persons vaccinated at CVCs and about 1 800 persons at private doctors and clinics;
 
(iii) about 7 700 persons received their first dose of the BioNTech vaccine at CVCs, and about 10 600 persons received their second dose of the BioNTech vaccine;
 
(iv) the overall percentage of people who have received the Sinovac vaccine at CVCs is about 95 per cent; while the overall percentage of people who have received the BioNTech vaccine at CVCs is about 96 per cent; and
 
(v) about 2 600 persons have made online bookings for receiving their first and second doses of the Sinovac vaccine, while about 7 600 persons have made online bookings for receiving their first and second doses of the BioNTech vaccine.
 
     In the last 24 hours ending at 0.00am today, there were nine cases of ambulance transfers to hospitals. Among them, seven persons were discharged, one person was admitted for observation and one person was discharged against medical advice (please see Annex 2).
 
     As background information, in the last 24 hours ending at 0.00am today, there were 59 cases of stroke or myocardial infarction that required admission to the Intensive Care Unit, Acute Stroke Unit and Cardiac Care Unit of public hospitals. The state of new cases admitted to the wards concerned is provided as a cross reference to enhance fuller public understanding of cases of the kind recorded on vaccine recipients.

     The Home Affairs Department (HAD) expresses regret over the consumption of alcoholic drinks by four members of the Sham Shui Po District Council (SSPDC) at the SSPDC meeting yesterday (May 11).

     Based on online videos and the discussion at the meeting, the four SSPDC members involved were Ms Ng Yuet-lan, Janet, Mr Ho Kai-ming, Kalvin, Ms Chau Yuen-man, Eunice, and Mr Lau Wai-chung, Lawrence. Their consumption of alcoholic drinks at the meeting brought the reputation of SSPDC into disrepute and failed to fulfil the publics expectation of DC members.

     The District Officer (Sham Shui Po) (DO) referred to the Sham Shui Po District Council Standing Orders (Standing Orders) at the meeting, pointing out that a DC member should ensure that his or her conduct must not be such as to bring the DC into disrepute, should not at any time or in any respect do anything which might compromise or impair his or her integrity, impartiality, objectivity or his or her ability to perform his or her duties, and should not place himself or herself in a position which might be contrary to the generally assumed standard of conduct expected of a member of DC. Moreover, DO also requested the SSPDC Chairman (the Chairman) to make a ruling in accordance with Order 15(2) of the Standing Orders over the behaviour of the four DC members, and consider issuing a warning to them or ask them to leave the meeting if the incident continued. However, the Chairman decided that it was not necessary to issue a warning to those members consuming alcoholic drinks at the meeting. DO then requested the Chairman again to make a ruling or issue a statement, so as to indicate that consumption of alcoholic drinks must not be allowed during the meetings of DC and its committees and working groups and reaffirm standards regarding the behaviour of DC members at meetings. Regrettably, the Chairman still declined.

     The Government is of the view that consumption of alcoholic drinks in a DC meeting is an act of profound disrespect for other attendees and may compromise or impair DC members’ impartiality, objectivity or ability to perform their duties, putting themselves in a position contrary to the generally assumed standard of conduct expected of a member of DC.  Accordingly, such an act should not take place in a DC meeting. HAD expresses deep regret over the incident and the Chairman’s ruling, and has written to the Chairman urging him to follow up on the incident in a fair and impartial manner as soon as possible by issuing warnings to members who contravened the Standing Orders.

     In the preceding week till 11.59pm on May 9, the Department of Health (DH) received 254 reports (Note 1) of adverse events following COVID-19 immunisation, including five death cases reported by the Hospital Authority (HA) involving individuals who had received COVID-19 vaccines.
      
     As at 8pm on May 9, about 1.74 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines had been administered for members of the public. Around 1.07 million people had received at least one dose of vaccine, accounting for 16.3 per cent of the population aged 16 or above. The DH received about 2 660 reports (Note 1) of adverse events (0.15 per cent of total vaccine doses administered), including 19 death cases with vaccinations within 14 days before they passed away (0.0011 per cent of total vaccine doses administered).
      
     As at May 9, the Expert Committee on Clinical Events Assessment Following COVID-19 Immunisation (Expert Committee) (Note 2) concluded that seven death cases had no causal relationship with vaccinations, and preliminarily considered that 21 cases were not associated with vaccinations. Five cases were pending assessment. The Expert Committee considered that there is no unusual pattern identified so far, and will continue to closely monitor the relevant situation and collect data for assessment.
      
     According to information by the HA, during the period from April 5 to May 2, the ratio of death cases out of those without a vaccination record was 53.1 cases for every 100 000 people, whereas the ratio of death cases for those with a vaccination record was 2.3 cases for every 100 000 people. The overall death rate is similar to that recorded in the past three years. Out of those without a vaccination record, the ratio of death cases with acute stroke or acute myocardial infarction was 2.7 cases for every 100 000 people, whereas the ratio of death cases under the same category for those with a vaccination record was 0.4 cases for every 100 000 people. Based on the statistical analysis of the above figures, there is no evidence that vaccination increases the risk of death for recipients.
      
     The majority of non-death cases of adverse events received so far are relatively minor cases. The relevant details can be found at the "Report on the Safety Monitoring of COVID-19 Vaccines in Hong Kong" (www.drugoffice.gov.hk/eps/do/en/doc/Safety_Monitoring_of_COVID-19_Vaccines_in_Hong_Kong.pdf).
 
Note 1: Provisional figures
 
Note 2: The Expert Committee on Clinical Events Assessment Following COVID-19 Immunisation perform continuous monitoring of the possible adverse events following administration of COVID-19 vaccines, and provide professional views and suggestions on safety monitoring of the authorised COVID-19 vaccines. The membership list and the key functions of the Expert Committee can be found at the following website (www.covidvaccine.gov.hk/en/expert).

     The Government will exercise the power under the Prevention and Control of Disease (Compulsory Testing for Certain Persons) Regulation (Cap. 599J) and publish in the Gazette a compulsory testing notice, which requires all foreign domestic helpers (FDHs) working in Hong Kong to undergo a COVID-19 nucleic acid test for the second time during the period from May 15 to May 30.
　　
     A Government spokesman thanked the 340 000 FDHs who contributed to the anti-epidemic efforts by complying with the compulsory testing requirement early this month, under which three confirmed cases involving the N501Y mutant strain were detected in a timely manner to cut the latent transmission chain in the community. During the same period (i.e. May 1 to May 9), over 470 000 people also underwent testing at community testing centres and mobile specimen collection stations as they had been present at the premises which had been visited by confirmed cases involving the N501Y mutant strain, or because they belong to certain sectors or groups subject to regular testing. The Government also thanked them for their co-operation and support.
 
     "One of the close contacts had contact with case 11672 as early as April 13, and yet was only confirmed as being infected yesterday (May 11). This shows that the incubation period of the N501Y mutant strain could be relatively long. Also, upon infection, a few confirmed cases belonging to the same cluster had multiple visits to places where FDHs commonly gather, and some of them had taken off their masks during the period, thus increasing the transmission risks. We have to take the most cautious approach to reduce the risk of a community outbreak and would rather be strict than lax. After risk assessment and taking into account the job nature of FDHs who have to take care of the elderly and children, we consider it prudent to require FDHs to undergo compulsory testing for a second time in view of the above cluster. The testing arrangement is a separate issue from the Labour and Welfare Bureau's announcement yesterday that it would not pursue the suggestion of requiring FDHs to receive vaccination when applying for employment visas," the spokesman said.
 
     The testing period covers 16 days, including three weekends, to enable FDHs to arrange time for testing. The Government will work with the operators to enhance the testing capacity of community testing centres and mobile specimen collection stations particularly over the weekends. As at 3pm on May 12, there were over 600 000 testing slots available for booking during the period from May 15 to May 30. The spokesman called on employers to arrange for FDHs to undergo testing at community testing centres on weekdays as far as possible and make bookings in advance, to prevent FDHs from gathering and queuing for testing on Saturdays and Sundays. Mobile specimen collection stations tentatively scheduled for this weekend are listed in the Annex.
　　
     As with the previous round of compulsory testing, the FDHs who have received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine for 14 days are exempted from undergoing the test. Specifically, FDHs who have received the second dose of COVID-19 vaccination on May 16 or before could be exempted from testing. For persons who received COVID-19 vaccines in places outside Hong Kong and have received all of the recommended dose(s) of a COVID-19 vaccine on or before May 16, they will also be regarded to have completed the vaccination course of the relevant COVID-19 vaccine, subject to the vaccine used being included on the list of vaccines recognised for this purpose as published on the Government's "COVID-19 Thematic Website" (www.coronavirus.gov.hk/pdf/list_of_recognised_covid19_vaccines.pdf). The Government reminded exempted FDHs to download their electronic vaccination records or save the printouts of their vaccination records to their mobile phones, or bring along the printouts or copies of their vaccination records, so as to prove eligibility for exemption. 
　　
     The spokesman stressed that the Government has all along been implementing anti-epidemic measures based on risk assessment. Compulsory testing arrangements equally apply to persons in other high-risk sectors or those who are in contact with a considerable number of high-risk persons during their work. For example, staff of residential care homes for the elderly, residential care homes for persons with disabilities and nursing homes have been subject to 14 rounds of compulsory testing since December last year, and over 460 000 specimens have been tested through community testing centres/temporary testing centres/mobile specimen collection stations.
 
     The spokesman thanked FDHs and employers for their understanding and co-operation. Any person who fails to comply with a compulsory testing notice commits an offence and may be fined a fixed penalty of $5,000. 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 order is an offence and the offender would be liable to a fine at level 4 ($25,000) and imprisonment for six months. The Government will strictly follow up on whether relevant persons had complied with the testing notices.

The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:

     The Hong Kong Mortgage Corporation Limited (HKMC) today (May 12) announced the highlights of its audited consolidated financial results for 2020 as follows:
 
2020 Financial Results Highlights
 
     The audited loss after tax of the HKMC was HK$362 million (profit after tax for 2019: HK$317 million). The decrease in profitability was primarily attributable to:

(1) the booking of increasing upfront commission expenses arising from the significant surge in the volume of new mortgage insurance policies underwritten while the corresponding premium income was amortised over the life of the respective loans;
(2) an increase in accounting loss of HKMC Annuity Limited (HKMCA), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the HKMC, as a result of the prudent provisions for statutory reserves for policies underwritten and an increase in annuity payments; and
(3) unfavourable impact by the revaluation of investments that were classified as investment securities at fair value through profit or loss upon the adoption of the Hong Kong Financial Reporting Standard 9 "Financial Instruments" since 2018.
 
     For comparison purposes, the adjusted profit after tax, return on equity and cost-to-income ratio for 2020 would be HK$376 million, 3.5 per cent and 44.8 per cent respectively after adjusting for the amortisation impact of upfront commissions expenses to match with the corresponding mortgage insurance premium income being recognised over the life of the respective loans and excluding the accounting loss of the HKMCA.
 
     Despite the reported accounting loss of the HKMCA, the embedded value of the annuity business as at December 31, 2020 was about HK$5.4 billion, which comprised HK$4.1 billion of total equity and HK$1.3 billion of present value of future profits. This indicates that the annuity business should be sustainable in the long term.
 
     The Capital Adequacy Ratio of the HKMC remained solid at 37.3 per cent as at December 31, 2020 (December 31, 2019: 30.2 per cent), well above the minimum ratio of 8 per cent stipulated by the Financial Secretary. The Board recommended that no dividend be declared for 2020 (2019: Nil).  With strong financing capability and liquidity position, the HKMC's core operations remain resilient and stand ready to face any financial turbulence ahead in performing its strategic policy roles and attaining its social objectives.
 
2020 Business Performance Highlights
 
Asset Purchase
 

• Purchased HK$1.3 billion loan assets (2019: HK$1.9 billion) and HK$37.6 billion loans from the Special 100% Loan Guarantee under the SME Financing Guarantee Scheme (SFGS); and

• Outstanding principal balance of loan portfolio was HK$43.1 billion as at December 31, 2020 (December 31, 2019: HK$6.9 billion).

 
Debt Issuance  
 

• Issued a record HK$58.4 billion in corporate debts, HK$29.4 billion of which with tenor of one year or above (2019: a total of HK$31.9 billion, HK$17.7 billion of which with a tenor of one year or above), being the most active corporate debt issuer in Hong Kong;

• Outstanding balance of debt securities was HK$61.9 billion as at December 31, 2020 (December 31, 2019: HK$39.7 billion); and

• Credit ratings of AA+ from S&P Global Ratings and Aa3 from Moody's, same as those of the HKSAR Government.

 
Mortgage Insurance Programme (MIP)
 

• New mortgage loans drawn down amounted to HK$98.3 billion (2019: HK$33.3 billion); and

• 86 per cent of loans drawn down (in terms of loan amount) were secured on properties in the secondary market, demonstrating the importance of the MIP to homebuyers in the secondary market.

 
SME Financing Guarantee Scheme
 

• Approved around 19,000 applications under the 80% Guarantee Product with a total loan amount of approximately HK$82.2 billion.  Since its launch in May 2012, around 90 per cent of the benefitted borrowers were small and medium-sized enterprises each with less than 50 employees;

• Launched the 90% Guarantee Product on December 16, 2019. As at the end of December 2020, approved around 2,700 applications with a total loan amount of approximately HK$4.9 billion; and

• Launched the Special 100% Loan Guarantee on 20 April 2020.  As at the end of December 2020, approved more than 25,000 applications with a total loan amount of approximately HK$39.7 billion, of which HK$37.6 billion loan assets were purchased by the HKMC.

 
Reverse Mortgage Programme (RMP)
 

• Approved 630 applications (2019: 676 applications) under the RMP, with an average property value of HK$6.4 million and an average monthly payout of HK$18,700.      

HKMC Annuity Plan
 

• Issued 2,606 policies (2019: 2,188 policies), with total premiums received at around HK$2.5 billion (2019: HK$1.6 billion) and an average premium of HK$974,000 (2019: HK$745,000); and

• Lowered the minimum eligible age to 60 from 65 on February 26, 2020.

     Further details of the HKMC's consolidated financial results and financial review for 2020 are set out at the Annex.