The Leisure and Cultural Services Department announced today (May 6) that close contacts of a confirmed case of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have visited Deep Water Bay Beach. As the case involves the mutant strain, the lifesaving services at Deep Water Bay Beach in Southern District will be suspended tomorrow (May 7) until further notice for safety's sake. Changing room, shower facilities and toilet at the beach are closed for a thorough cleaning and disinfection.

     The public should not swim at the beaches without lifeguard services to avoid accidents.

     In response to media enquiries about the damage to the Stanley Post Office due to a traffic accident last night (May 5), Hongkong Post today (May 6) gave a reply as follows:
 
     After learning of the incident last night, Hongkong Post immediately sent their staff to the scene to understand the situation and contacted the Architectural Services Department (ArchSD) for an immediate inspection of the building structure. This morning, Hongkong Post staff, together with officers from the ArchSD and the Antiquities and Monuments Office (AMO), inspected the site again. Although a preliminary assessment by the ArchSD found no risk of collapse to the overall structure of the post office, its front entrance and part of its external wall facing the street were damaged, and part of the wooden beams on the roof of its entrance were impaired due to the collision. While the posting box outside the post office was damaged, the mail items inside were intact and delivery was arranged. The Stanley Post Office has to be closed temporarily as the ArchSD and relevant departments still need to carry out a detailed survey in order to arrange for repair works.
 
     To minimise the impact on the public, a temporary posting box was set up on site this morning to enable the general public to post mail, and a mobile office will be deployed at the space adjacent to the post office from tomorrow (May 7) to provide postal services, including the distribution of specimen bottles for the testing of COVID-19, as usual.
 
     The ArchSD will seek professional advice from the AMO on the repair works of the Stanley Post Office, which is a Grade II historic building. Hongkong Post will recover the compensation cost in accordance with the established mechanism of the Government after investigation and assessment of the extent of damage.
 

     The Security Bureau held an inter-departmental pre-typhoon table-top exercise today (May 6) at the Emergency Monitoring and Support Centre in the Central Government Offices to enhance the collaboration of bureaux, departments and other parties concerned in handling possible emergency situations when Hong Kong is struck by a super typhoon. 
 
     The Hong Kong Observatory forecasts that there will be five to eight tropical cyclones hitting Hong Kong this year and the tropical cyclone season will begin in June or earlier. To strengthen the overall readiness of the Government in dealing with extreme weather-related threats, representatives from around 40 bureaux, departments and other parties concerned participated in this year's exercise. 
 
     The exercise simulated a scenario of a super typhoon battering Hong Kong and causing widespread property damage and serious blockage of main thoroughfares. Participants were required to set out what they would be doing in different scenarios. The exercise also served as an interdisciplinary platform for the participants to share their experience and expertise. Through the exercise, the participating parties have gained better understanding of their own roles and responsibilities and those of others, which is conducive to better preparedness and enhanced inter-departmental collaboration in responding to the threats arising from super typhoons. 
 
     The Government will continue to work on strengthening capabilities on all fronts in the face of the challenges of extreme weather so as to safeguard the life and property of people of Hong Kong.

     â€‹Hong Kong Customs today (May 6) seized 1 707 litres in 2 610 bottles of suspected duty-not-paid liquor with an estimated market value of about $3.1 million and a duty potential of about $1 million at the Kwai Chung Customhouse Cargo Examination Compound.

     Through risk assessment, Customs officers selected a seaborne container that arrived in Hong Kong from the Mainland for inspection and found the batch of suspected duty-not-paid liquor inside the container.

     An investigation is ongoing.

     Customs will continue its risk assessment and intelligence analysis, and step up enforcement actions for interception at source to combat illicit liquor activities for protection of revenue.

     Smuggling is a serious offence. Under the Import and Export Ordinance, any person found guilty of importing or exporting unmanifested cargo is liable to a maximum fine of $2 million and imprisonment for seven years.

     Members of the public may report any suspected smuggling activities to Customs' 24-hour hotline 2545 6182 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk).

  

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

     Regarding an earlier announcement on a cluster of patients confirmed to be carriers of Multi-drug Resistant Acinetobacter (MDRA) in an orthopaedic and traumatology ward, the spokesperson for North District Hospital gave the following update today (May 6):
 
     The Hospital conducted contact tracing in accordance with the prevailing guidelines. One more male patient (aged 66) was found to be a carrier of MDRA. He has no symptoms of infection and is currently hospitalised under isolation with stable condition.
 
     Following the activation of the Emergency Response Level in public hospitals, the visiting arrangement for the ward concerned has been suspended. The following enhanced infection control measures have been implemented according to the established guidelines:

1. Enhanced cleaning and disinfection of the ward concerned;
2. Application of stringent contact precautions and enhanced hand hygiene for staff and patients; and
3. Enhanced patient and environmental screening procedures.

     The case has been reported to the Centre for Health Protection and the Hospital Authority Head Office for necessary follow-up. The Hospital will continue to closely monitor the conditions of other patients in the ward.