The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) said today (December 28) that it will start to accept applications for the Catering Business Subsidy Scheme, the Commercial Bathhouse Licence Holder Subsidy Scheme and the Places of Public Entertainment Licence Holder Subsidy Scheme under the fourth round of the Anti-epidemic Fund (AEF) from tomorrow (December 29).

     The Government had earlier on provided financial relief measures to businesses affected by the epidemic and the Government's various anti-epidemic and social distancing measures through a number of schemes under various rounds of the AEF, including the Food Licence Holders Subsidy Scheme, the Subsidy Scheme for Tenants of Cooked Food / Light Refreshment Stalls at FEHD Markets, the Catering Business (Social Distancing) Subsidy Scheme, the last-round Catering Business Subsidy Scheme; the Commercial Bathhouse Licence Holder Subsidy Scheme and the Places of Public Entertainment Licence Holder Subsidy Scheme. Hitherto, a total of over $9.2 billion in subsidies has been disbursed to eligible applicants.

     In response to the recent development of the epidemic, the Government has been progressively tightening the social distancing measures starting from late November. On December 21, the Legislative Council Finance Committee approved the new-round Catering Business Subsidy Scheme, Commercial Bathhouse Licence Holder Subsidy Scheme and Places of Public Entertainment Licence Holder Subsidy Scheme under the AEF to provide further relief to the sectors directly affected by the further tightened social distancing measures. The FEHD announced details of these subsidy schemes today, with an application period from December 29 to January 28 next year.

     To provide relief for catering premises providing dine-in services, the new-round Catering Business Subsidy Scheme will provide a one-off subsidy ranging from $100,000 to $500,000 to be disbursed in two tranches on equal splitting basis to eligible licence holders of general restaurants, light refreshment restaurants, marine restaurants and factory canteens in operation according to the floor areas of the premises as specified on their licences. To avoid abuse, an applicant at the time of application shall declare that the food business is still in operation, and if the business is not run by the licence holder, an affirmation of the business operator on supporting the application of the subsidy is required. It is estimated that the scheme will benefit about 17 000 catering outlets.

     Moreover, for each eligible catering outlet mentioned above, if it is also running a karaoke establishment, nightclub and bar or pub and has closed the whole of its licensed premises as directed under the Prevention and Control of Disease (Requirement and Directions) (Business and Premises) Regulation (Cap. 599F), it is eligible to apply for an additional one-off subsidy of $50,000.

     As regards cooked food/light refreshment market stall tenants as well as cooked food stall tenants holding a hawker licence and operating in public housing developments, each is eligible to apply for a one-off subsidy of $50,000.

     Separately, the Commercial Bathhouse Licence Holder Subsidy Scheme will provide a one-off subsidy of $100,000 to each eligible licence holder of a commercial bathhouse. The Places of Public Entertainment Licence Holder Subsidy Scheme will provide a one-off subsidy of $100,000 for each eligible holder of a places of public entertainment licence (excluding cinema operators eligible under the Cinemas Subsidy Scheme) and $20,000 for each eligible holder of a temporary places of public entertainment licence.

     For eligible food licence, liquor licence, karaoke establishment permit, commercial bathhouse licence and places of public entertainment holders, the application form and guidelines can be obtained from various District Environmental Hygiene Offices of the FEHD starting from 9am tomorrow. The application documents and details of the schemes can also be downloaded from the website of the FEHD (www.fehd.gov.hk) on the same day. The applicants can submit their applications through the FEHD website. They can also submit their applications to various District Environmental Hygiene Offices of the FEHD (to the corresponding licensing offices for liquor licences) in person or by mail. The deadline for application is January 28 next year. For approved applications, the FEHD will disburse the subsidies by crossed cheques to the correspondence addresses of the licensed food premises registered in the FEHD.

     The FEHD will notify its cooked food/light refreshment market stall tenants as well as cooked food stall tenants holding a hawker licence and operating in public housing developments separately the arrangement of applications. They do not need to make applications online.

     The Housing Department learned today (December 28) that an air conditioning (AC) plant operator employed by one of its contractors at Ching Long Shopping Centre has tested positive for COVID-19 on December 25. She is now in hospital for treatment.

     The AC plant operator is normally stationed in the air-conditioning system control room on the second floor of Ching Long Shopping Centre and is responsible for checking the operation and recording of the conditions of the air-conditioning system of the shopping centre. She is not involved in the maintenance of the air-conditioning system of the shopping centre. She last performed duties on December 25, and was notified by the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) on the same day that she had tested positive for COVID-19.
 
     The AC plant operator has no recent travel history. She has been wearing a face mask and observing relevant disease prevention measures at work. When performing duties, she has been undergoing temperature checks and her body temperature was normal.
 
     The AC plant operator is not a tenant of Ching Long Shopping Centre, nor a resident of nearby Kai Ching Estate or Tak Long Estate.

     The common areas and management office of Ching Long Shopping Centre, the Air Handling Unit rooms and the air-conditioning control room on the second floor, the air-conditioning water pump room on the ground floor have been thoroughly cleaned and disinfected in accordance with the guidelines of the CHP. The other two AC operators working with her have also been listed as close contacts and have been under quarantine.
 
     The Housing Department will continue to keep up close liaison with the CHP and co-operate with its quarantine work.

     The Environmental Protection Department (EPD) said today (December 28)  that a contractor staff of the South East New Territories (SENT) Landfill has tested positive for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on December 27.
      
     The staff concerned is responsible for the supervision of weighbridge operation. He is required to measure his body temperature before working and wear mask during work. This case is believed to be associated with his previously infected family member. The landfill contractor has immediately arranged tests for other weighbridge staff and the results are all negative. The relevant working area has been thoroughly sterilised. In addition, the landfill contractor has also arranged test for all their staff on December 30 so as to strengthen the monitoring. The SENT Landfill only receives construction waste and its current operation remains normal.

     The EPD will continue to maintain close liaison with the Centre for Health Protection. Staff have been reminded to pay attention to personal hygiene and protective equipment, and to stay vigilant. They should seek medical advice as soon as possible if feeling unwell.

     The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health (DH) today (December 28) said that an outsourced staff member working in its Temporary Specimen Collection Centre (TSCC) at the Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) has tested positive for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

     The staff member is responsible for receiving travellers arriving in Hong Kong via HKIA at the TSCC and she last performed duties on December 23. She is the close contact of the confirmed case at the TSCC announced on December 26. The staff member wore appropriate protective equipment while performing duties. Her body temperature was normal when undergoing temperature screening during work.

     The CHP has commenced epidemiological investigations and conducted contact tracing on the case so as to identify and trace relevant close contacts.

     The DH is highly concerned about the COVID-19 situation and has been strictly implementing various disease prevention measures during the epidemic, which include providing employees with masks and other protective equipment, stepping up the cleaning and sanitising measures of the working environment, and reminding all staff members again to maintain personal hygiene and be vigilant at all times.
     

     An operational event at Taishan Nuclear Power Station (TNPS) was reported on the website of Taishan Nuclear Power Joint Venture Co Ltd (TNPJVC), a Security Bureau spokesperson said today (December 28).
 
     On December 25, a diesel generator at Unit 2 of TNPS stopped running during a planned regular check due to malfunction of its excitation equipment. Station staff immediately performed recovery work according to procedures, after which the diesel generator returned to normal condition. The Unit remained in a safe condition throughout the event. Timely actions were taken by TNPS to report the situation to the relevant nuclear safety regulatory authority, analyse and handle the event, and carry out internal experience feedback.
 
     In accordance with the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale and the relevant nuclear safety regulations, the event was classified as a Level 0 deviation. It had no effect on the safe operation of the Unit, the health of the workers, the nearby public or the environment.
 
     TNPJVC has disclosed the details of this event on its website. They can be viewed in the "operational events" section under the "nuclear and radiation safety information" webpage of the website (www.tnpjvc.com.cn) (Chinese only).