The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:
During the service demand surge, the Hospital Authority is closely monitoring the service demand of Accident and Emergency Departments and the occupancy rate in public hospitals. Key service statistics are being issued daily for public information. Details are in the appended table.
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 any person who had been present at 25 specified premises during the specified period (persons subject to compulsory testing) to undergo a COVID-19 nucleic acid test.
Currently, in all districts in Hong Kong, if one or more new confirmed cases are found in the residential buildings (including buildings for both commercial and residential uses), or there are sewage samples tested positive, or there are other factors which implied possible infection risks, the buildings will be included in the compulsory testing notice.
In view of the preliminary positive cases recorded today (April 26), three premises fulfilling the above criteria are included in the compulsory testing notice. In addition, since there were outbreaks of upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) in 22 schools, and the symptoms of URTI are similar to those of COVID-19, for prudence's sake, these 22 schools are also covered in the compulsory testing notice.
Details of the compulsory testing notice are at Annex 1.
A spokesman for the Food and Health Bureau reminded the public that in accordance with the compulsory testing notice issued earlier, all household members of close contacts are required to undergo compulsory testing. Any person who had lived with a person placed under quarantine pursuant to section 22 of the Prevention and Control of Disease Regulation (Cap. 599A) (person under quarantine) in the same residential unit on the date of commencement of quarantine or during the 14 days before that day, and who becomes aware of the quarantine of the person under quarantine when the relevant quarantine has not yet been completed, has to undergo testing within two days of him or her becoming aware that the person under quarantine has been placed under quarantine and report to the Government the result of the test by phone (at 6275 6901), fax (at 2530 5872) or email (ct@csb.gov.hk) within three days of undergoing the test.
The Government will set up a mobile specimen collection station at Tower 7 of Ocean Pride in Tsuen Wan tomorrow (April 27) for persons subject to compulsory testing.
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 2. Apart from mobile specimen collection stations, persons subject to compulsory testing can also choose to attend any of the community testing centres in all districts to receive testing free of charge. Persons with "LeaveHomeSafe" COVID-19 exposure notification or SMS notification from the Centre for Health Protection reminding them to undergo testing as soon as possible may receive free testing at community testing centres or mobile specimen collection stations (if the service scope is applicable).
Persons subject to compulsory testing may choose to undergo testing via the following routes:
1. To visit any of the mobile specimen collection stations (see the list and target groups (if applicable) at www.coronavirus.gov.hk/eng/early-testing.html) for testing;
2. To attend any of the community testing centres (see the list at www.communitytest.gov.hk/en);
3. To obtain a deep throat saliva specimen collection pack from any of the 121 post offices, vending machines set up at 20 MTR stations or 47 designated general outpatient clinics (GOPCs) of the Hospital Authority and return the specimen to one of the designated specimen collection points (see the distribution points and times, and the specimen collection points and times, at www.coronavirus.gov.hk/eng/early-testing.html);
4. To undergo testing at any of the GOPCs of the Hospital Authority as instructed by a medical professional of the Hospital Authority;
5. To self-arrange testing provided by private laboratories which are recognised by the Department of Health (DH) and can issue SMS notifications in respect of test results (see the list at www.coronavirus.gov.hk/pdf/List_of_recognised_laboratories_RTPCR.pdf); or
6.To use a specimen bottle distributed to the relevant specified premises by the Centre for Health Protection (if applicable), and return the specimen bottle with the sample collected as per relevant guidelines.
The spokesman cautioned that testing received at Accident and Emergency Departments of the Hospital Authority or during hospital stays, or testing provided by private laboratories which cannot issue SMS notifications in respect of test results, does not comply with the requirements of the aforementioned compulsory testing notice.
"If persons subject to compulsory testing have symptoms, they should seek medical attention immediately and undergo testing as instructed by a medical professional. They should not attend the mobile specimen collection stations or the community testing centres."
Persons subject to compulsory testing must keep the SMS notification containing the result of the test for checking by a law enforcement officer when the officer requires the persons to provide information about their undergoing the specified test.
Furthermore, persons subject to testing under the compulsory testing notices should, as far as reasonably practicable, take appropriate personal disease prevention measures including wearing a mask and maintaining hand hygiene, and, unless for the purpose of undergoing the specified test, stay at their place of residence and avoid going out until the test result is ascertained as far as possible.
Any enquiries on compulsory testing arrangements may be addressed to the hotline at 6275 6901, which operates daily from 9am to 6pm. If persons subject to compulsory testing plan to conduct testing at any of the community testing centres, they can check the centre's appointment status in advance. The hotlines of the community testing centres are available at www.communitytest.gov.hk/en/info.
The Government will continue to trace possibly infected persons who had been to the relevant premises, and seriously verify whether they had complied with the testing notices. Any person who fails to comply with the testing notices 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.
Relevant officers of different government departments are empowered to perform certain functions under the relevant Regulations under the Prevention and Control of Disease Ordinance (Cap. 599), including requesting individuals to provide information and assistance when necessary. Any person who fails to comply with the relevant request commits an offence and would be liable to a fine at level 3 ($10,000). Collection and use of any personal data for conducting COVID-19 tests must meet the requirements under the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (Cap. 486). Government departments or testing service providers which handle the relevant information may provide the data to the DH or other relevant departments for anti-epidemic purposes as necessary. The workflow does not involve the provision of any personal data to organisations or persons outside Hong Kong.
The spokesman said, "The Government 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 the 60th day since February 26, 2021.
So far, about 1 302 300 doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered for members of the public (please see Annex 1). Among them, about 860 000 persons have received their first dose, with about 409 800 persons receiving the Sinovac vaccine and about 450 200 persons receiving the BioNTech vaccine. About 442 300 persons have received their second dose, with about 289 500 persons receiving the Sinovac vaccine and about 152 800 persons receiving the BioNTech vaccine.
In the last 24 hours ending at 8pm today (April 26), about 26 900 persons have received vaccination and about 15 900 new vaccination bookings have been made online, detailed as follows:
(i) About 4 300 persons received their first dose of the Sinovac vaccine, including about 2 200 persons vaccinated at Community Vaccination Centres (CVCs) and about 2 100 persons at private doctors and clinics participating in the programme;
(ii) about 6 800 persons received their second dose of the Sinovac vaccine, including about 4 600 persons vaccinated at CVCs and about 2 300 persons at private doctors and clinics;
(iii) about 12 800 persons received their first dose of the BioNTech vaccine at CVCs, and about 2 900 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 96 per cent; while the overall percentage of people who have received the BioNTech vaccine at CVCs is about 96 per cent; and
(v) about 3 900 persons have made online bookings for receiving their first and second doses of the Sinovac vaccine, while about 11 900 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 five cases of ambulance transfers to hospitals. All five persons were discharged after treatment (please see Annex 2).
As background information, in the last 24 hours ending at 0.00am today, there were 42 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 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 medical wards, the spokesman for Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital (PYNEH) gave the following update today (April 26):
In accordance with the prevailing guidelines, the hospital commenced contact tracing and confirmed four more male patients (aged 46 to 86) in the medical ward to be the carriers of MDRA. One patient is still hospitalised in PYNEH, one patient has been transferred to Tung Wah Eastern Hospital and one patient has been transferred to Ruttonjee & Tang Shiu Kin Hospitals. They are currently under medical surveillance and isolation treatment with stable condition. The remaining patient has passed away due to underlying disease.
Following the activation of the Emergency Response Level in public hospitals, the visiting arrangement has been suspended. The following enhanced infection control measures have been implemented according to the established guidelines:
1. Enhanced cleaning and disinfection of the wards concerned;
2. Application of stringent contact precautions and enhanced hand hygiene for staff and patients; and
3. Enhanced patient and environmental screening procedures.
The hospital will continue to closely monitor the situation in the wards concerned. The cases have been reported to the Hospital Authority Head Office and the Centre for Health Protection for necessary follow-up.
The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:
The spokesman for the Prince of Wales Hospital made the following announcement today (April 26) concerning the interruption of the negative pressure system of the isolation wards.
At 10.24pm yesterday, the fire alarm of the Main Clinical Block and Trauma Centre (MCBTC) was activated as a result of the interruption of a set of air-conditioning system on the rooftop of the building. The air-conditioning and negative pressure system were suspended immediately due to fire safety default setting. After investigation by the Fire Services Department, it was confirmed that there was no fire. All systems subsequently resumed normal at 10.45pm.
The incident affected 20 wards from 5/F to 12/F of MCBTC, including two insolation wards.
While the negative pressure system was suspended, a COVID-19 patient was staying in a single isolation room of one of the isolation wards. The healthcare staff of the ward were all wearing appropriate personal protective equipment. No one had entered or left the single isolation room and no high risk procedure was being performed during that period. The infection risk has been assessed to be very low. The hospital is investigating the cause of the incident.
The incident has been reported to the Hospital Authority Head Office via the Advance Incident Reporting System.