The Hong Kong ICT Awards (HKICTA) 2021 is open for enrolment today (April 23). Entries of locally developed information and communications technology (ICT) products and solutions are invited to compete for the Grand Awards in the eight award categories, and the top accolade of the competition – the Award of the Year. The deadline for enrolment is July 16, 2021.

     Steered by the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer (OGCIO), the HKICTA 2021 is organised by eight local industry associations and professional bodies. The award categories and respective Leading Organisers are listed below:
 

     A Grand Award will be granted in each category. A Grand Judging Panel, to be led this year by the President of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Professor Wei Shyy, will select the Award of the Year from the eight Grand Awardees.

     Since its debut in 2006, the HKICTA has endeavoured to recognise and promote outstanding ICT inventions and applications, thereby encouraging the pursuit of innovation and excellence among Hong Kong's ICT professionals and enterprises to meet business and social needs, bring benefits to the community through adoption of innovation and technology, and foster Hong Kong's smart city development together.

     Details of the HKICTA are available on the thematic website (www.hkictawards.hk). Enquiries can be made to the OGCIO at 2582 4318 or by emailing hkictawards@ogcio.gov.hk.

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.
 

Attention TV/radio announcers:

Please broadcast the following as soon as possible:

Here is an item of interest to swimmers.

     The Leisure and Cultural Services Department announced today (April 23) that due to big waves, red flags have been hoisted at Shek O Beach and Big Wave Bay Beach in Southern District, Hong Kong Island. Beach-goers are advised not to swim at these beaches.

     The Operations Wing of Hong Kong Police and the Inter-departmental Counter Terrorism Unit (ICTU) co-organised a counter-terrorism exercise codenamed "IRONWILL" in the small hours today (April 23) at the Hong Kong International Airport.

     About 200 police officers participated in the exercise. ICTU’s member departments including the Customs and Excise Department, the Correctional Services Department, the Fire Services Department, the Government Flying Service and the Immigration Department also conducted a series of internal exercise in the past two weeks to test and enhance the departmental counter-terrorism response and intelligence-gathering capabilities.

     Acting Senior Police Superintendent of the ICTU, Mr Leung Wai-ki, told the media that the global terrorism landscape remained complex and ever-changing in recent years. While some extreme terrorist groups still launched attacks around the world, some fictitious foreign extremists also made use of controversial issues and conduct extreme violent acts, posing security threats to those places.

     Through the exercise, the ICTU aimed to raise public’s awareness about “Stay Vigilant to Bomb”, which served to enhance the citizens’ alertness on suspicious objects, and educate the public, particularly the security and property management sector, about ways to identify and properly handle suspicious objects. The safety advisory of “Run, Hide, Report” was also highlighted to remind citizens of the proper response in the event of a terrorist attack.

     The exercise comprised two separate scenarios. The first scenario simulated the discovery of a suspicious object at the airport terminal, while the second scenario demonstrated an operation against a terrorist cell with its members conducting knife attacks, taking hostages and threatening to detonate a bomb at the terminal. 

     The "IRONWILL" exercise showcased the co-ordination and response capabilities among various police units and relevant stakeholders in response to a terrorist incident. Police will continue to step up counter-terrorism work and strengthen Hong Kong’s counter-terrorism deployment and capability, so as to guard against the breeding of local terrorism.
 

     In view of the abnormality observed in the preliminary positive results of COVID-19 testing conducted by a testing service provider, the Food and Health Bureau (FHB) and the Department of Health (DH) have initiated an investigation and invited a member of the Government's Expert Advisory Panel, Professor Yuen Kwok-yung and a team from the University of Hong Kong (HKU) to inspect the testing work of the concerned laboratory. Investigation has commenced and will be duly followed up. The concerned private laboratory is BGI.  

     The incidents involves 30 cases that were initially confirmed by the private laboratory as 29 preliminary positive and 1 "indeterminate" cases. The test results from these specimens collected on April 20 showed that the viral load of the specimens was low (Ct values ​​were mostly higher than 30). The specimens were sent to the Public Health Laboratory Service Branch (PHLSB) of the DH for confirmation test in accordance with established practice. Among these 30 preliminary positive cases, 21 of them were local cases from multiple districts in Hong Kong with no clustered pattern or epidemiological linkage. Some of the patients admitted to the Hospital Authority for isolation were subsequently tested negative for virus and serology testing, there is a possibility that these persons have not contracted the virus at all.
 
     In addition, the same service provider is also involved in two confirmed cases announced earlier by the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) in which the persons returned from the Mainland in early April and a preliminary positive case announced on April 17 that involved a kindergarten teacher who was tested with "indeterminate" result by the PHLSB upon the confirmation test (Ct value at 31). These persons were tested again with negative results after admission to hospitals. They were also tested negative for antibody test.
 
     The CHP found the situation abnormal and has invited the Chair Professor of the Department of Microbiology of the HKU, Professor Yuen Kwok-yung, and his team from the HKU to inspect the concerned laboratory for the sake of prudence. In view of initial finding that there is a high possibility that the aforementioned cases pertain to "false positives", if the affected persons have been tested negative during isolation and tested negative for antibodies to COVID-19, they will be discharged from the hospital. Close contacts of these cases who were sent to quarantine facilities will also be allowed to leave the quarantine facilities if they are tested negative.
 
     The Government is extremely concerned about this incident, and has taken resolute follow-up actions immediately.  To safeguard the quality of community testing results, the CHP and the PHLSB will conduct investigation on the concerned private laboratory. The incident mainly involved specimens collected from community testing centres (Siu Lun Community Hall and Ngau Tau Kok Road Sports Centre), mobile specimen collection stations (Yau Oi Estate in Tuen Mun and Sha Tsui Road Playground) on April 20, and specimens collected at a quarantine hotel. The scope of investigation will include the infection control of the laboratory and the specimen collection stations it operates, the test accuracy of the laboratory, and other relevant factors.  If the medical laboratory and its professional personnels are found to have violated relevant professional codes, the Government will report the case to the Medical Laboratory Technologists Board for follow-up actions. If the quality of service of the concerned testing service provider is found unsatisfactory, the Government will require the service provider to submit a report making improvement suggestions and follow up on its implementation of improvement measures, and consider appropriate punishment based on the severity of the incident in accordance with the terms and conditions of the relevant service contract.
 
    The Government spokesman reminded again that there are still silent transmission chains in the community, with asymptomatic persons diagnosed as confirmed cases, the risk of infection in the community remains high. Local residents are encouraged to undergo testing as soon as possible even if they are not subject to compulsory testing. The mobile specimen collection stations located in different districts will continue to provide free testing services for all residents in the area (including persons subject to and not subject to compulsory testing). At the same time, if a person subject to compulsory testing has shown symptoms, he or she should seek medical advice immediately and be tested in accordance with the instructions of medical staff. They should not go to mobile specimen collection stations or community testing centres. The Government also urges the public to remain vigilant and pay attention to personal hygiene even after receiving a single negative test result. If they feel unwell, they should seek medical attention as soon as possible.