The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department announced today (March 11) that in view of a notification from the Swedish Board of Agriculture about an outbreak of highly pathogenic H5N8 avian influenza in Mjölby Municipality of Östergötland County in Sweden, and that the Swedish authorities extended the restriction area to its adjacent Motala Municipality, the CFS has instructed the trade to suspend the import of poultry meat and products (including poultry eggs) from Motala Municipality with immediate effect to protect public health in Hong Kong.
 
      A CFS spokesman said that according to the Census and Statistics Department, Hong Kong imported about 1 550 tonnes of frozen poultry meat from Sweden last year.
 
      "The CFS has contacted the Swedish authorities over the issues and will closely monitor information issued by the World Organisation for Animal Health and relevant authorities on the avian influenza outbreaks. Appropriate action will be taken in response to the development of the situation," the spokesman said.

     â€‹Hong Kong Customs today (March 11) alerted members of the public to an unsafe model of a wooden toy. Test results indicated that the small parts of the toy could pose suffocation risks to children. To avoid an accident, parents should immediately stop their children from playing with the toy. Traders should also remove the toy from their shelves.

     Customs officers earlier conducted a test-buy operation on 12 models of children's toys from retailers in different districts for safety testing. Test results revealed that one wooden toy model had detachable small parts which could pose a risk of suffocation if swallowed by children.

     Customs later conducted an operation and searched a chain store in connection with the case. A prohibition notice was served at the same time to prohibit the continued sale of the toy. Moreover, Customs also conducted spot checks and inspections in various districts and found no such toy for sale so far.
      
     An investigation is ongoing.

     Customs reminds members of the public to observe the following safety tips when purchasing and using toys:
 

• Do not let children play with toys alone;
• Pay attention to age recommendations shown on labels;
• Follow the instructions associated with the toys;
• Take heed of whether the small parts of toys are easily detachable. Detached small parts may block children's throats and lead to suffocation if swallowed;
• Check the structure of the toys to see, for example, whether they have a fragile structure, hidden sharp points, rough surfaces, sharp edges or gaps that may pinch children's fingers;
• Throw away plastic packages of toys and children's products to avoid children being suffocated; and
• Stop children from playing with the toys immediately if any damage is observed.

     Customs is committed to the protection of consumer interests and regularly conducts spot checks and safety tests on toys and children's products to ensure that they are reasonably safe for use by consumers.

     Under the Toys and Children's Products Safety Ordinance, it is an offence to supply, manufacture or import unsafe toys or children's products. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $100,000 and imprisonment for one year on first conviction, and a fine of $500,000 and imprisonment for two years on subsequent conviction.
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     Members of the public may report information relating to suspected unsafe toys or children's products via Customs' 24-hour hotline 2545 6182 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk).

  

     The Government Property Agency is inviting tenders for the purchase of five former government quarters properties, each consisting of one flat with one car parking space, at Baguio Villa in Pokfulam, Elm Tree Towers in Tai Hang, MacDonnell House and Po Shan Mansions in Mid-levels and Wilshire Towers in North Point on Hong Kong Island. 

     The two properties at MacDonnell House and Po Shan Mansions will be sold with vacant possession, and the remaining three properties will be sold with existing tenancies.

     The tender notice was uploaded today (March 11) to the Agency's website: www.gpa.gov.hk. Tender documents are available for collection at the Government Property Agency, 9th Floor, South Tower, West Kowloon Government Offices, 11 Hoi Ting Road, Yau Ma Tei, Kowloon, during office hours (9am to 5.45pm from Mondays to Fridays), and can be downloaded from the Agency's website.

     The two properties to be sold with vacant possession will be open for viewing. Parties interested to view the two properties should make a prior appointment with the Agency. For the arrangement of viewing appointments, please refer to the tender details on the Agency's website (www.gpa.gov.hk/english/notice/gpaadd1_21.html).

     Tenderers must submit their tenders by placing them in the Government Secretariat Tender Box at the lobby of the public entrance on the Ground Floor, East Wing, Central Government Offices, 2 Tim Mei Avenue, Tamar, Hong Kong, before noon on April 9, 2021 (Friday). Late tenders will not be accepted.

     The Sham Shui Po District Office together with Sham Shui Po Police District, the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health and the Auxiliary Medical Service (AMS) conducted an enforcement operation today (March 11) at a building in Sham Shui Po, which was included in a compulsory testing notice earlier. The operation started at around 7am and ended at around 10am today.

     Starting from around 7am today, residents of Cheong Yuen Building, 1-9 Yen Chow Street, Sham Shui Po, were requested to provide the SMS notification received through a mobile phone or related certification containing the results of COVID-19 tests, to show that they had taken such tests as required pursuant to the compulsory testing notice of the building within the specified period issued by the Government earlier on. The Government arranged for staff to verify the testing certifications of the residents at the entrances/exits of the building, and conducted checks in the building to verify whether residents had undergone testing in compliance with the requirement.

     During the operation, test records of around 250 residents were checked. Among them, 11 persons were found to have violated the compulsory testing notice. The Government has issued compulsory testing orders and/or fixed penalties of $5,000 to them, requiring them to undergo testing within a specified period. Non-compliance with a compulsory testing order is an offence, and offenders are liable to a fine of $25,000 and imprisonment for six months.

     The Government reiterates that the aim of issuing a compulsory testing notice is to stop the spread of COVID-19 in the community as soon as possible to protect overall public health and safety. Persons subject to testing under a compulsory testing notice 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.

     The Government wishes to thank the many residents who had complied with the compulsory testing notice for their co-operation to fight against the virus together. The Government will continue to enforce the law strictly. All persons subject to compulsory testing should comply with the compulsory testing notice. Any person who fails to comply with the compulsory testing notice may be liable to a fixed penalty of $5,000. The person will also be issued with a compulsory testing order, requiring him or her to undergo testing within a specified time frame. Non-compliance with the order is an offence and the offender may be liable to a fine of $25,000 and imprisonment for six months.
     
     The Sham Shui Po District Office is grateful for the support and co-operation of the Police, the CHP and the AMS to enable the enforcement action to be carried out smoothly. The Government understands that the enforcement process may cause some inconvenience to the residents, but hopes that the residents can understand.

     A spokesman for the Transport Department (TD) today (March 11) said that letters were sent to all applicants of Group 1 (private cars and light goods vehicles) Private Driving Instructors' (PDI) Licences to acknowledge receipt of their applications.

     The acknowledgement letter was sent to the applicants' respective addresses registered under the TD with an individual application number printed on the top right hand corner of the letter. The spokesman reminded that if an applicant does not receive the acknowledgement letter by March 18, they should call 2783 8890 for enquiries.

     The TD accepted applications from eligible persons for Group 1 (private cars and light goods vehicles) PDIs' Licences from November 27 to December 11, 2020. The TD received about 28 800 applications in total. As the number of applications exceeds the 169 Group 1 PDIs' Licences proposed to be issued, the TD will hold a ballot to determine the order of processing the applications.

     The ballot will be conducted on April 17 and letters will be sent to individual applicants informing them of their ballot order numbers. The ballot results will be released on the TD's website (www.td.gov.hk) on the same day. Applicants can also check the ballot results by calling 2804 2600 or visiting the Driving Services Section of the TD at 19 Pui Ching Road, Ho Man Tin, Kowloon, during office hours from 9am to 5pm on Mondays to Fridays.