The Government exercised the power under the Prevention and Control of Disease (Compulsory Testing for Certain Persons) Regulation (Cap. 599J) and published in the Gazette a compulsory testing notice, which requires any person who had been present at four 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 which implied possible infection risks, the buildings will be included in the compulsory testing notice.

     For testing targeting at workplaces, if one or more confirmed cases are found in a workplace, it will be included in the compulsory testing notice.

     Four premises fulfilling the above criteria were included in the compulsory testing notice today (March 24). 
     
     Details of the compulsory testing notice are as follows:

1. Any person who had been present at any specified premises listed in Part A of Annex 1 for more than two hours at any time during the period from March 11 to March 24, 2021 (including but not limited to visitors, residents and workers), have to undergo testing by March 26, 2021. If persons subject to compulsory testing have previously undergone testing between March 22 and March 24, 2021, they would be taken to have complied with the requirements set out in the compulsory testing notice.
 
2. Any person who had been present at any specified premises listed in Part B of Annex 1 for more than two hours at any time during the period from March 11 to March 24, 2021  (including but not limited to full-time, part-time and relief staff and visitors), have to undergo testing by March 26, 2021. If persons subject to compulsory testing have previously undergone testing between March 22 and March 24, 2021, they would be taken to have complied with the requirements set out in the compulsory testing notice.
  
     A spokesman for the Food and Health Bureau reminds 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, have to undergo testing within two days of he/she becoming aware of 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 Fullview Garden in Chai Wan tomorrow (March 25) for residents and workers 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 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 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 DH or other relevant departments for anti-epidemic purpose 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."

     Following is the transcript of remarks by the Secretary for the Civil Service, Mr Patrick Nip; the Secretary for Food and Health, Professor Sophia Chan; and the Director of Health, Dr Constance Chan, on the COVID-19 Vaccination Programme at a media session this afternoon (March 24):
 
Reporter: First, can the authorities tell us the exact time that you guys got the written notice from Fosun this morning and why was there a delayed announcement when Macao who is experiencing the same problem can make an announcement two hours before Hong Kong did? Would the authorities apologise to those who still got up for BioNTech jabs this morning despite this situation? Second question, can the authorities tell us what is the exact issue when you are talking about packaging defects and does this packaging design contain other features to prevent possible contamination? According to your understanding, do you have, like, a preliminary reason that you think is a possible cause? Is it to do with the temperature change during the thawing process or due to the logistic issues? Third question, are you concerned that this will deter people from getting a jab when public confidence over vaccination here in Hong Kong is already not quite high?
 
Secretary for the Civil Service: I will answer your first question and then I will invite the Director to answer the remaining questions. We received the written notification from Fosun Pharma this morning. In Hong Kong's situation, we have two batches of BioNTech vaccines. Upon receipt of the written notification, colleagues made liaison with the Fosun Pharma to confirm and understand the situation, and then notified the vaccination centres about the suspension of BioNTech vaccination and then we issued the press release to make the formal announcement at around 10am. We received the written notification this morning. We immediately took the necessary follow-up actions. Because of the amount of vaccines, and also more than one batch of vaccines are involved, we obviously will take time to liaise with Fosun Pharma to confirm the situation and the understanding before we implement the suspension action. As the written notification was received this morning, there are bound to be that people made the booking this morning or today, and then arrived at the vaccination centre and found out that the vaccination was suspended. So we issued a written SMS notification to all who have made the booking today and let them know about the latest arrangements. We apologise for any inconvenience caused but we have done all we can to minimise the inconvenience caused.
 
Reporter: What was the exact time …
 
Secretary for the Civil Service: I will not talk about the details of chronology but we can tell you that we received the written notification this morning, and there was very limited time for us to act before the centres opened for operation.
 
Director of Health: All along, we have a very robust system to monitor the vaccination programme. As I mentioned earlier, Hong Kong has imported two batches of BioNTech vaccine. The first one (Batch No. 210102) of 585 000 doses received on February 28 and the second (Batch No. 210104) received on March 7 which comprises 758 000 doses.
 
     All along, we monitor the situation, and from time to time we received report from our front line on any observations. As far as this case is concerned, we have received information related to, for example, cracks in the container, there were eight cases; there were reports on leakage due to overpressure inside the vial and leakage of normal saline upon dilution, there were 22 such reports; there were 16 reports related to loose caps; and there were 11 reports related to stains or marks on the outside of the bottles.
 
     We took all these referrals very seriously and, under the established mechanism, we will ask the agent in Hong Kong, i.e. Fosun in this case, and they will in turn inform the manufacturer BioNTech, whose manufacturing plant is located in Germany.
 
     Upon receipt of the written notification from BioNTech this morning, they advised us that at present there is no evidence which led to any risk related to vaccine safety. However, as a precautionary measure, BioNTech requested us to suspend the use of batch 210102 until the investigation is complete. At the same time, the other batch, i.e. 210104, is currently in the warehouse and is not yet used. As a precautionary measure, BioNTech also requested Hong Kong to put on hold the use of the second batch. We have arranged an urgent meeting with Fosun this morning and according to their risk management plan, they will conduct investigation in Hong Kong, mainly focused on the logistic chain, the transport, the handling and the delivery to the vaccination centres to see if there is any issue. At the same time, they will also liaise with BioNTech to conduct inspections to the manufacturing plant in Germany to ascertain whether or not there is any issue there. Until the investigation is completed, we shall put on hold the vaccination service of the BioNTech vaccine.
 
Secretary for Food and Health: Regarding your question on vaccine confidence, I would like to say a few words. First of all, it is important for us to have open and transparent information for the public, so that they know the detailed information on the vaccine that they select. Secondly, we have robust mechanisms, not only on reporting or notification of the adverse events, and also having the expert committee to look at or to find out whether there is causality regarding the adverse events and vaccination. We also have a robust mechanism in monitoring the drugs. This time is an example of our reporting mechanism. The Director of Health has reported to the manufacturer, which then called for an investigation. Now, for a precautionary measure, they suspend the vaccination. So, the system is in place, and it is robust. There will be continuous monitoring. Finally, with the existing mechanism, all the vaccines that we have authorised for emergency use are safe, efficacious and also of required quality. This time is the packaging issue as requested by the manufacturer to suspend the vaccination. As Patrick (the Secretary for the Civil Service) has earlier reported, the Sinovac vaccination is not affected, so the Sinovac vaccination will continue in the eight Community Vaccination Centres, the 18 General Out-patient Clinics as well as all the general practitioners who have opted for joining the Government's vaccination programme.
 
Reporter: Can the Government get AstraZeneca earlier than scheduled, or is it looking into procuring other brands? What would be your recommendation to people who have already taken the first dose of BioNTech? Would you recommend that they take Sinovac as their second dose?
 
Secretary for Food and Health: First of all, as far as AstraZeneca is concerned, we have signed the advanced purchase agreement with them and the delivery date is within the second quarter. Our most updated information is still this time. We will continue to communicate with AstraZeneca as to the delivery date. About the question of taking the first dose, the Director of Health has earlier said in Chinese about the recommendation of the joint scientific committee – perhaps I will invite the Director of Health to provide details.
 
Director of Health: I would like to supplement that we have not yet received the application for authorisation for AstraZeneca's vaccine and we will closely monitor the situation including to scrutinise the most updated data to be provided by the applicant in due course. As for the dosage of BioNTech, the recommended second dose is scheduled for the 21st day. We are aware that there is a chance that the investigation report to be conducted by BioNTech – we hope they can submit to us as soon as possible, but in the event that it cannot provide the full investigation to us in time before we start administering the second dose, we would recommend to those who have received the first dose to wait for our further announcement because we do not recommend people to receive a second dose of a different brand. So please wait for announcement by the Government. Just now you asked about using another brand, maybe you are referring to some research ongoing by the university but that is on a research basis, that is not for the routine administration. So please wait for the government announcement. We will issue the announcement as soon as we can.
 
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)

     Following is a question by the Hon Yiu Si-wing and a written reply by the Secretary for Food and Health, Professor Sophia Chan, in the Legislative Council today (March 24):
 
Question:
 
     To cope with the Coronavirus Disease 2019 epidemic, the Government has, on a number of occasions since early last year, implemented various anti-epidemic measures (including social distancing measures), which have dealt a heavy blow to the business of industries such as retail, catering, entertainment and tourism, as well as triggered waves of business closures and layoffs. There are views that as the Government has been carrying out anti-epidemic work continuously for more than a year, it should have grasped sufficient data and experience for launching a gradual restart of the economy on the premise that anti-epidemic needs are met concurrently. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) whether it will set criteria that are more objective (e.g. the number of local confirmed cases or cases from unknown sources having risen/fallen to a specified level) for deciding if there is a need to tighten or relax the various social distancing measures; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
 
(2) what new measures are in place to enhance its work on tracing the close contacts of confirmed patients, so as to cut the silent transmission chains in the community; what more stringent infection prevention measures are in place to cope with a worsened epidemic situation; and
 
(3) whether it will formulate a plan for a gradual restart of economic activities (including tourism activities) which can meet anti-epidemic needs concurrently (e.g. allowing scheduled premises directed to suspend operation due to the epidemic to resume business and tourism activities to resume when the number of local confirmed cases or cases from unknown sources has dropped to a specified level); if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
 
Reply:
 
President,
 
     Hong Kong has been extensively affected by COVID-19, a pandemic sweeping across the world. The COVID-19 epidemic situation in Hong Kong remains volatile. Large-scale cluster outbreaks were found at catering business premises and fitness centres, and silent transmission in the community is still active. It is essential for us to take all appropriate measures to strengthen epidemic control, and to further enhance the precision of the control measures in a bid to achieve the target of "zero infection" with the support and co-operation of the general public.
 
     My consolidated reply to the various parts of the question raised by the Hon Yiu Si-wing is as follows:
 
(1) and (3) Social distancing measures can effectively prevent the spread of the virus in the community and are an integral part of infection control measures. The implementation of stringent and decisive social distancing measures was the key to the Government's success in containing the third wave of the epidemic. In particular, the Prevention and Control of Disease (Requirements and Directions) (Business and Premises) Regulation (Cap. 599F) regulates the mode of operation of catering business and 15 types of scheduled premises, whereas the Prevention and Control of Disease (Prohibition on Group Gathering) Regulation (Cap. 599G) imposes restriction on group gatherings at public places and Cap. 599F premises. The Government has all along been adjusting our social distancing measures in a decisive and prompt manner, after balancing factors such as the protection of public health, impact on the economy and social acceptance having regard to the development of the epidemic situation. At the peaks of the previous waves of the epidemic, in order to control the epidemic situation decisively, the Government's major considerations when tightening social distancing measures were the latest overall situation of the epidemic and risk assessments, with a view to reducing social contacts and cutting the transmission chain at an early stage as soon as possible.
 
     The Government understands that some premises under Cap. 599F and sectors related to activities that may not take place due to the restrictions imposed by Cap. 599G had been facing considerable difficulties for a period of time in the past. Also, the unemployment situation of many sectors is deteriorating. At the same time, having been engaged in the efforts to fight the epidemic for months, public adherence to social distancing measures has notably declined. Despite the severe epidemic situation earlier, there were still a large number of people out and about, and many continued to participate in cross-family gatherings. In light of the above, and having considered factors including economic situation and social acceptance, the Government has already announced that we would adopt a more precise approach in adjusting the social distancing measures, with a view to allowing resumption of normal life as soon as possible while minimising the impact on economic activities and the sectors involved.
 
     The fourth wave of the epidemic has been gradually subsiding earlier. Having regard to the developments of the epidemic situation and risk assessments at the time, the Government had started to gradually relax social distancing measures with conditions since February 18 by reopening seven types of scheduled premises (viz. amusement game centre, fitness centre, place of amusement, place of public entertainment, beauty parlour, massage establishment and sports premises), as well as extending the period during which catering businesses may provide dine-in services to end at 10pm and increasing the number of persons per table to up to four. Compared with the relaxation of social distancing measures when the third wave of the epidemic came under control, the Government has already relaxed the relevant measures to a greater extent this time in order to resume social and economic activities as soon as possible while the epidemic situation permits.
 
     The aforesaid arrangements on relaxation of social distancing measures is on the premise that the responsible persons of the catering business and relevant scheduled premises must adopt two new infection control measures as follows:
 
     Measure (1): ensure that users scan the "LeaveHomeSafe" venue QR code using the "LeaveHomeSafe" mobile application on their mobile phones or register their names, contact numbers and the dates and times of their visits before they are allowed to enter the premises, with records to be kept for 31 days; and
 
     Measure (2): arrange for all staff involved in the operation of the premises to undergo a polymerase chain reaction-based nucleic acid test for COVID-19 once every 14 days and ensure that the staff keep records of every SMS notification containing the result of the test for 31 days.
 
     Taking into account the risks involved at catering business and scheduled premises, the Government has expanded the priority groups under the Government's COVID-19 Vaccination Programme to cover staff of these premises since March 8, 2021. If the overall uptake rate of the COVID-19 vaccine is satisfactory, together with the general public working together to strictly observe other anti-epidemic measures (such as wearing of masks, using the "LeaveHomeSafe" mobile application, etc.), the restrictions on restaurants and other commercial premises can be considered to be further relaxed, the currently closed premises can be considered to resume business, schools can be considered to fully resume classes, and sports grounds can fully resume normal operations, etc. On the other hand, in view of the current global trend, the overall vaccine uptake rate in Hong Kong and whether individuals have been vaccinated will be important factors when considering the future resumption of cross-boundary travel and relaxation of quarantine measures for cross-boundary travellers. If the overall vaccine uptake rate in Hong Kong is not satisfactory, it can be imagined that other places may not be very enthusiastic to resume cross-boundary travel with Hong Kong.
 
     The Government will continue to closely monitor the latest development of the epidemic situation as well as the progress of the vaccination programme and its effect on disease prevention and control, review from time to time and suitably adjust the social distancing measures. We will, having regard to the development of the epidemic situation and subject to the epidemic situation coming under control and continuing to subside, continue to relax the restrictions imposed under Cap. 599F and Cap. 599G in a gradual and orderly manner by phases in a more precise approach, with a view to resuming economic activities further.
 
(2) Contact tracing is fundamental to the efforts in preventing further spread of the virus. In order to gate keep and contain the virus at the source and to cut the transmission chain as swiftly as possible, the Centre for Health Protection has tightened testing and quarantine arrangement since February 27, 2021, including quarantine of all persons who had been close contact with a confirmed case within the seven days before onset of symptoms of all locally acquired unlinked cases, and 3-day quarantine for household contacts of symptomatic close contacts.
 
     The Government has also deployed extra manpower to set up the Contact Tracing Office (CTO) in order to enhance the efficiency of contact tracing. In response to the cluster outbreak in a fitness centre in early March, the CTO took prompt action to speed up the process of identifying close contacts, making notable achievements. Since early March, the fitness centre cluster outbreak has resulted in around 140 confirmed cases. The CTO successfully traced about 1 500 contacts in a few days' time and had them quarantined, and around 3 200 household contacts of close contacts were successfully traced and requested to undergo compulsory testing. In other words, for the fitness centre cluster, the CTO identified an average of about 35 contacts or family members for each confirmed case, much higher than the average of four contacts identified per confirmed case during the initial operation of the CTO. Such efforts have significantly helped in cutting chains of viral transmission. Over the past two weeks, the number of confirmed cases with unknown sources has largely remained at a single-digit level, proving the effectiveness of the work of the CTO.
 
     Furthermore, an internal information portal specifically designed for case investigation and contact tracing has linked up the information systems of various relevant departments and agencies for centrally and electronically collecting information needed for contract tracing, so as to streamline the procedures for information collection, input and sharing. This will help speed up the Department of Health's work in tracing contacts, as well as conducting testing and arranging quarantine or medical surveillance for such contacts.
 
     On the other hand, virus testing is also very important in epidemic prevention and control. The Government has been refining its anti-epidemic strategies in accordance with the development of the epidemic, including following the three key principles of "compulsory testing on a mandatory basis, targeted testing on an obligatory basis and testing on a voluntary basis" to conduct large-scale COVID-19 testing for groups of different risks with a view to achieving "early identification, early isolation and early treatment", and cutting the transmission chains in the community as far as possible.
 
     Since the Prevention and Control of Disease (Compulsory Testing for Certain Persons) Regulation (Cap. 599J) came into operation on November 15 last year, the Government has exercised the power under the regulation almost daily to issue compulsory testing notices (CTNs) with a view to fully implementing the virus testing strategy of compulsory testing on a mandatory basis. As at March 15, 2021, the Government has required persons who had been present at some 940 specified premises (including dance clubs/venues, restaurants, residential buildings, construction sites, fitness centres, department store and hospitals) and 33 restricted areas; symptomatic persons; staff members of residential care homes for the elderly, residential care homes for persons with disabilities and nursing homes, day service units attached to the premises of residential care homes; taxi drivers and airport staff to undergo compulsory testing by respective deadlines.
 
     For residential buildings, the Government has also actively expanded the coverage of compulsory testing on a mandatory basis and further lowered the threshold of compulsory testing. Currently, if one or more new confirmed cases (regardless of whether the source is unknown) are found in the residential buildings, or there are sewage samples tested positive, the buildings will be included in the CTN. The Government will also delineate restricted areas and make "restriction-testing declarations" (RTDs). Persons within the areas are required to stay in their premises and undergo compulsory testing in accordance with the arrangement by the Government, and can only leave after the relevant test results are mostly ascertained. All buildings within the restricted areas, whether or not confirmed cases were found therein, would be included in the CTN. Any person who had been present at buildings in the restricted area for more than two hours in the past 14 days, even if they were not present in the restricted area at the time when the RTD took effect, also have to undergo compulsory testing.
 
     As for workplaces, if the Centre for Health Protection considers that there is a cluster outbreak in a particular workplace, such as a construction site, apart from requiring suspension of operation and disinfection, a CTN will also be made to require persons who had been to the same workplace premises as the confirmed case to undergo testing. The testing threshold has been further lowered to that if one or more confirmed cases are found in a workplace, the workplace will be included in the CTN.
 
     The Government arranges staff to verify the testing certifications of residents at the entrances/exits of the buildings covered by CTNs, and conduct checks within buildings to ask residents to show the SMS notification of having conducted test or related certifications. The Government will also conduct enforcement operations in restricted areas to verify whether residents have complied with the requirement to undergo testing. The Government will issue a fixed penalty of $5,000 on any persons who fail to comply with the CTN and/or a compulsory testing order to undergo testing within a specified period. The Government will continue to enforce the law and strictly handle persons who do not comply with the CTN.
 
     At the same time, the Government has all along been adjusting our anti-epidemic measures having regard to the latest development of the epidemic situation. If and when there are cluster outbreaks at individual types of premises, we would, taking into account the actual circumstances and the operating characteristics of individual sectors, impose new infection control measures on the relevant premises.
 
     For instance, in view of the cluster in eateries earlier, we have implemented two new infection control measures in respect of catering premises, in order to step up infection control at such premises and reduce transmission risks: (1) starting from March 4, all catering premises to arrange, if practicable, dedicated staff for clearing used utensils and cleaning and disinfecting used tables and partitions or suitably adopt hand hygiene measures; and (2) by end April, all catering premises must increase its air ventilation to a minimum level of six air changes per hour, and if this could not be achieved, appropriate air purifier(s) should be installed as an alternative, in order to reduce the relevant transmission risks.
 
     There has also been a large-scale cluster outbreak in a fitness centre recently. To contain the epidemic, we have tightened the infection control measures in fitness centres with immediate effect from March 12, reinstating the mask-on requirement. The relevant department has also been actively discussing with the industry to encourage fitness centres to enhance infection control measures on a voluntary basis. Such measures include limiting the number of customers in the premises and exploring more frequent tests of staff.

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

     As at 9am today (March 24), 27 COVID-19 confirmed patients were discharged from hospital in the last 24 hours. So far, a total of 10 963 patients with confirmed or probable infection have been discharged.
 
     At present, there are 662 negative pressure rooms in public hospitals with 1 202 negative pressure beds activated. A total of 212 confirmed patients are currently hospitalised in 21 public hospitals and the North Lantau Hospital Hong Kong Infection Control Centre, among which 10 patients are in critical condition, eight are in serious condition and the remaining 194 patients are in stable condition.
 
     The Hospital Authority will maintain close contact with the Centre for Health Protection to monitor the latest developments and to inform the public and healthcare workers on the latest information in a timely manner.
 
     Details of the above-mentioned patients are as follows:
 

The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:
 
     The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) wishes to alert members of the public to a press release issued by Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited on unauthorised website and phishing email, which has been reported to the HKMA. Hyperlink to the press release is available on the HKMA website for ease of reference by members of the public.
 
     Anyone who has provided his or her personal information to the website or email concerned or has conducted any financial transactions through the website or email should contact the bank concerned using the contact information provided in the press release, and report to the Police or contact the Cyber Security and Technology Crime Bureau of the Hong Kong Police Force at 2860 5012.