A spokesman for the Civil Service Bureau (CSB) today (April 1) said that prospective applicants for civil service posts at the degree or professional level can apply from tomorrow (April 2) to sit the Common Recruitment Examination and Basic Law Test (CRE and BLT) in Hong Kong tentatively scheduled to be held on June 5 and 12, or another date within June if necessary.

     In the light of the evolving situation regarding COVID-19, the CSB will adjust the arrangements for the examination if the situation warrants and announce them on the CSB webpage. The spokesman reminded persons who wish to take the coming CRE and BLT to pay attention to the latest announcements.
 
     Precautionary measures will be taken to safeguard the health of candidates and invigilators, including setting up of body temperature screening at the designated location of the examination centres, requiring all candidates and invigilators to wear masks and widening the seat spacing among candidates, etc. If the situation warrants, the examination will be held on separate days to reduce the number of candidates in each examination centre to achieve social distancing.
 
     Valid CRE results are required of applicants for civil service posts at the degree or professional level, unless applicants possess equivalent results in the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination or other specified public examinations (the relevant details are available on the CSB webpage). Persons interested in applying for civil service posts at the degree or professional level in the near future may wish to consider sitting the coming examination so as to be eligible to apply for these posts, which may become available before another CRE is held.
 
     In addition, applicants for civil service posts will be assessed on their Basic Law knowledge. The result of the BLT will be one of the considerations to assess the suitability of a candidate.
 
     Applicants for the coming CRE and BLT should be holders of a degree, or a qualification meeting the entry requirement on professional qualifications for civil service degree or professional posts, or university students who will have attained a degree in the 2020-21 academic year. Applicants may choose to take any of the CRE papers and/or the BLT paper in the coming examination.
 
     Persons interested in taking the examination may apply from tomorrow through the online application system on the CSB webpage at www.csb.gov.hk/eng/cre.html; or by using the CRE and BLT application form (CSB31 (3/2021)), which can be downloaded from the CSB webpage or obtained from any Home Affairs Enquiry Centre of the Home Affairs Department or Job Centre of the Labour Department. Applications must be made before 5pm on April 15 (Hong Kong time).
 
     More details about the coming CRE and BLT will be available on the CSB webpage (www.csb.gov.hk/eng/cre.html) from tomorrow. General enquiries may be directed to the Civil Service Examinations Unit by phone at 2537 6429 or by email to csbcseu@csb.gov.hk.

     The Environmental Protection Department (EPD) today (April 1) released the latest grading of water quality for 38 gazetted beaches (see Note 1) and one non-gazetted beach (i.e. Discovery Bay, see Note 2).     
   
     Thirty beaches were rated as Good (Grade 1), eight as Fair (Grade 2) and one as Poor (Grade 3).
 
Grade 1 beaches are:         

 
Grade 2 beaches are:

 
Grade 3 beach is:

 
     Under the present grading system, beaches are classified into four grades, namely Good (Grade 1), Fair (Grade 2), Poor (Grade 3) and Very Poor (Grade 4), according to the level of E. coli in the water. Grades are calculated on the basis of the geometric mean of the E. coli counts on the five most recent sampling occasions.
 
     A summary of beach grades is published weekly before the weekend. The latest beach grades based on the most current data may be obtained from the EPD's website on Beach Water Quality (www.epd.gov.hk/epd/beach) or the beach hotline, 2511 6666.
 
Note 1: In view of the latest situation of COVID-19, the Leisure and Cultural Services Department announced on March 31 that 15 gazetted beaches, marked with an asterisk above, will reopen on April 2 with lifeguard services to be provided.
 
Note 2: Discovery Bay is a non-gazetted beach without lifeguard service.

     The effective exchange rate index for the Hong Kong dollar on Thursday, April 1, 2021 is 102.4 (up 0.1 against yesterday's index).

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

     Exchange Fund Bills tender results:
 

 
*"Pro rata ratio" refers to the average percentage of allotment with respect to each tender participant's tendered amount at the "highest yield accepted" level.
———————————————————
Hong Kong Monetary Authority tenders to be held in the week beginning April 12, 2021:
 

     Two red tides have been sighted over the past week, an inter-departmental red tide working group reported today (April 1).

     The first red tide was spotted by an oyster famer on March 26 at Deep Bay. The second red tide was spotted by staff of the Environmental Protection Department on March 29 at Chung Hom Kok Beach, Hong Kong Island.

     The red tide at Deep Bay still persists while the other case at Chung Hom Kok Beach has dissipated. No fish deaths associated with the two red tides have been reported as at today.

     A spokesman for the working group said, "The red tide at Deep Bay was formed by Takayama tuberculata, which is not common in Hong Kong waters, while the red tide at Chung Hom Kok Beach was formed by Noctiluca scintillans, which is common in Hong Kong waters. Both algae are non-toxic."

     The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) urged mariculturists at the fish culture zones of Lo Tik Wan, Sok Kwu Wan and Po Toi, and related oyster farmers at Deep Bay to monitor the situation closely and increase aeration where necessary.

     Red tide is a natural phenomenon. The AFCD's proactive phytoplankton monitoring programme will continue monitoring red tide occurrences to minimise the impact on the mariculture industry and the public.