A 41-year-old male Police Constable who is posted to the Patrol Sub-unit of Western Division, preliminarily tested positive for the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19).  Feeling unwell on December 10, the police officer's family member sought medical treatment from a hospital and was tested positive for COVID-19 on the next day (December 11). The police officer was classified as close contact and was later escorted to the Quarantine Centre. He was also tested positive for COVID-19 yesterday (December 22). He has no travel history over the past 14 days. He had no contact with members of the public and he wore face masks during his tour of duty.  His last working day was December 11.

     The Police are highly concerned and have the following messages:

     (1) Before further assessment by the Centre for Health Protection, all Police officers and civilian staff who might have been in contact with the officer concerned have been arranged to undergo COVID-19 test;

     (2) All facilities in the office concerned have been sterilised;

     (3) All officers have been reminded to reduce social contact to minimise risks of infection, and to pay attention to physical health. If feeling unwell, they should consult a doctor and report the case immediately;

     (4) The Police will deploy resources flexibly to ensure provision of policing services of the areas concerned remains unaffected.

     Police are highly concerned about the case and will maintain close communication with the DH and provide assistance in tracing the pathology, by proactively providing information such as the duty record and roster of the police officer concerned. Arrangements will be made for close contacts to be conveyed to quarantine centres to undergo quarantine.

     A team of eight students representing Hong Kong achieved excellent results in the 5th International Olympiad of Metropolises (IOM 2020), winning two gold medals, five silver medals and one bronze medal, as well as a gold award in the team competition.
      
     The IOM is an international competition covering four disciplines: informatics, mathematics, physics and chemistry. Due to the COVID-19 epidemic, contestants participated within each participating country or city from December 16 to 22 for IOM 2020. There were around 230 contestants from 31 countries or cities participating in the competition.
      
     In the informatics competition, Yeung Man-tsung (Pui Ching Middle School) and Hsieh Chong-ho (Tsuen Wan Government Secondary School) won a gold medal and a silver medal respectively. In the mathematics competition, Chu Cheuk-hei (St Paul's Co-educational College) and Lai Wai-lok (St Paul's Co-educational College) also won a gold medal and a silver medal respectively. In the physics competition, Lau Sze-chun (Diocesan Boys' School) and Allan Guo (King George V School) each won a silver medal. In the chemistry competition, Li Yung-chi (Diocesan Boys' School) won a silver medal and Leung Chun-fung (G.T. (Ellen Yeung) College) got a bronze medal.
      
     The Secretary for Education, Mr Kevin Yeung, congratulated the Hong Kong team today (December 23) on their outstanding performance. "The Education Bureau (EDB) has always been promoting science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education to align with the worldwide trend. The remarkable results achieved by the Hong Kong team this year demonstrated our students' great potential in STEM," Mr Yeung said.
      
     "To strengthen the support measures to assist schools to further promote STEM education, the Curriculum Development Council endorsed the setting up of the Standing Committee on STEM Education in October to oversee the long-term development of STEM education in primary and secondary schools. In addition, a STEM Handbook featuring good examples of school-based STEM education is being developed by the EDB to clarify the expectations at the primary and secondary levels. We hope to help students build a solid foundation for STEM education and nurture talents for Hong Kong in the 21st century, so that they will be able to put their learning to good use and realise their potential," he added.
      
     The members of the Hong Kong team had earlier distinguished themselves and attended training in Hong Kong Olympiads of different subjects. The outstanding students were then selected as contestants representing Hong Kong to participate in the IOM this year. The Hong Kong team was fully funded by the EDB to join this competition.  

      

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

     The Hospital Authority (HA) today (December 23) announced that in view of the epidemic of COVID-19 and the winter service surge, the general out-patient clinic (GOPC) services will be enhanced during the Christmas holidays. The consultation quota will be increased by 900 during the Christmas holidays. Furthermore, three additional GOPCs will provide services during the long holidays, i.e. 16 clinics in total (see table below) will remain open to meet the service needs of the public.
 
     Given the unsteady COVID-19 epidemic situation locally, the spokesperson also reminded members of the public to continue to stay vigilant during the festival. They should avoid participating in mass gatherings and minimise group dining; maintain personal and environment hygiene; and comply with the epidemic prevention measures such as wearing masks, practising hand hygiene frequently and maintaining social distance.
 
     The latest Accident and Emergency Department waiting time information is available on the HA website and in "HA Connect" in the "HA Go" mobile application. To find a suitable family doctor and related clinic service of their choice, members of the public are welcome to browse the Primary Care Directory of the Food and Health Bureau at www.pcdirectory.gov.hk. In addition, members of the public can obtain specimen collection packs for COVID-19 tests during the holidays or submit specimens at 11 GOPCs (see the table below for details). The public can also obtain specimen collection packs at 20 MTR stations. For details, please
visit the website: www.coronavirus.gov.hk/eng/early-testing.html.
 
General out-patient clinic services during Christmas holidays (December 25 and 26)
 

# Will provide clinic services on December 25
* Will provide clinic services on December 26

Consultation hours:
December 25: 9am to 1pm and 2pm to 5pm
December 26: 9am to 1pm
 
^ Will distribute specimen collection packs and collect specimens for
COVID-19 tests during the holidays
Specimen collection pack distribution time: 9am to 1pm
Specimen collection time: 9am to 11am

The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:
 
     Result of the tender of the People's Bank of China RMB Bills held on December 23, 2020:
 

     The Electrical and Mechanical Services Department today (December 23) announced an adjustment to the auto-LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) ceiling prices for dedicated LPG filling stations from January 1 to January 31, 2021, in accordance with the terms and conditions of the contracts of the dedicated LPG filling stations.
 
     A department spokesman said that the adjustment on January 1, 2021, reflects the movement of the LPG international price in December 2020. The adjusted auto-LPG ceiling prices for dedicated LPG filling stations will range from $3.07 to $3.63 per litre, representing an increase of $0.09 per litre.
 
     The spokesman said that the auto-LPG ceiling prices were adjusted according to a specified pricing formula. The formula comprises two elements – the LPG international price and the LPG operating price. The LPG international price is the LPG international price of the preceding month. The LPG operating price is adjusted on the first day of February every year according to the movement in the Composite Consumer Price Index in the previous year.
 
     The auto-LPG ceiling prices for respective dedicated LPG filling stations in January 2021 are as follows:
 

     The spokesman said that the details of the LPG international price and the auto-LPG ceiling price of each dedicated LPG filling station have been uploaded to the department website www.emsd.gov.hk. They are also posted at dedicated LPG filling stations to enable the trades to monitor the price adjustment.
 
     Details of the pricing adjustment mechanism for dedicated LPG filling stations can also be viewed under the "What's New" section of the department website at www.emsd.gov.hk/en/what_s_new/current/index.html.