Attention duty announcers, radio and TV stations:

Please broadcast the following as soon as possible and repeat it at suitable intervals:

     As the Black Rainstorm Warning Signal has been issued, the Home Affairs Department's Emergency Co-ordination Centre is now in operation.

     The Home Affairs Department will open temporary shelters for people in need of temporary accommodation.

     For details, please contact the centre on 2572 8427.

Attention duty announcers, radio and TV stations:

Please broadcast the following as soon as possible and repeat it at suitable intervals:

     Members of the public are advised to report any street flooding that comes to their notice to the Drainage Services Department by calling the 24-hour drainage hotline on 2300 1110.

     As the rainstorm warning has been issued by the Hong Kong Observatory, the Labour Department (LD) reminds employers and contractors that they should adopt necessary work arrangements and take suitable safety measures to protect the safety of their employees when they are carrying out electrical work or handling electrical plant.

     A spokesman for the LD said today (June 6) that employers and contractors should avoid assigning employees to carry out electrical work (like electric arc welding work) or handle electrical plant at places affected by rainstorms, and should refer to the "Code of Practice in times of Typhoons and Rainstorms" and the "Guide on Safety at Work in times of Inclement Weather" issued by the LD.

     Even if electrical work is carried out or electrical plant is handled at places not affected by the rainstorm, suitable safety measures must still be adopted to prevent electric shock as the air would be more humid. Such measures include:

(i) Ensure that all live parts of an electrical installation are isolated from the power supply source and rendered dead, and the isolation from the power supply source must be maintained as long as electrical work is being carried out;

(ii) Before carrying out any electrical work or handling any electrical plant, cut off and lock out the power supply source, then test the circuit concerned to confirm it is dead and display suitable warning notices, and issue a work permit thereafter;

(iii) Ensure that protective devices (such as suitable and adequate fuses and circuit breakers) for the electrical installations or electrical plant have been installed and maintained in good working order, and portable electric tools must be double-insulated or properly earthed;

(iv) Provide suitable personal protective equipment such as insulating gloves and insulating mats for employees; and

(v) If live electrical work is unavoidable, a comprehensive risk assessment should be conducted by a competent person and the appropriate safety precautions should be taken to remove or properly control the electrical hazards involved before such work can proceed.

     In addition, employees should co-operate with the employer or contractor to follow the safety instructions and use the safety equipment provided.

     The LD has published guidebooks and leaflets on electrical work safety. These safety publications are available free from divisional offices of the department or can be downloaded from its website (www.labour.gov.hk/eng/public/content2_8.htm).

     Should there be any questions about occupational safety and health matters, please contact the Occupational Safety Officer of the LD at 2559 2297.

     Police today (June 5) appealed to the public for information on a man who went missing in Sau Mau Ping.
               
     Yang Sibi, aged 71, was last seen in a shopping centre on Sau Ming Road yesterday (June 4) afternoon. His family made a report to Police on the same day.

     He is about 1.5 metres tall, 50 kilograms in weight and of thin build. He has a pointed face with yellow complexion and short white hair. He was last seen wearing a polo shirt with yellow and blue stripes, black shorts, and dark-coloured shoes.

     Anyone who knows the whereabouts of the missing man or may have seen him is urged to contact the Regional Missing Person Unit of Kowloon East on 3661 0316 or 9886 0060 or email to rmpu-ke-2@police.gov.hk, or contact any police station.    

  

     A Government spokesman today (June 5) reminded eligible employers and self-employed persons (SEPs) wishing to apply for the first tranche of wage subsidies under the Employment Support Scheme (ESS) to submit applications before 11.59pm on June 14 (Sunday), the deadline for application. Applications should be submitted through the ESS online portal at (www.ess.gov.hk).
 
     Since the commencement of the three-week application period on May 25, the ESS has received, up to 6pm today, over 140 000 applications from employers and 170 000 from SEPs.
 
    The spokesman said, "The vetting process of all the applications received is expeditiously underway with a view to disbursing wage subsidies to successful applicants starting from mid-June."
 
     Upon completion of the processing of applications, the ESS Secretariat will inform successful applicants of the results via SMS and email. Applicants can login the ESS portal to check the amount of subsidy granted and the committed head count for the months of June to August 2020.
 
     The spokesman said, "We note that quite a number of individual applicants who have applied for the one-off lump-sum subsidy of $7,500 are in fact not eligible."
 
     "We wish to remind that to be eligible for the ESS one-off subsidy, the applicant must have enrolled himself/herself in an Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) Scheme as a 'SEP' and the relevant SEP MPF account should have been set up on or before March 31, 2020 (i.e. cannot be backdated to that date or any earlier dates), and has not been terminated as of March 31, 2020.
 
     "Applicants who have set up MPF accounts as an employee (including employees who have ceased employment) are not eligible to apply for the one-off subsidy for SEPs."
 
     For enquiries, please send email to enquiry@employmentsupport.hk or call the ESS hotline (1836 122). The operation hours during the remaining application period are as follows: 
 

     Applicants who need assistance in completing their online applications may call the ESS hotline to make appointments with the following three ESS Help Desks during the application period:
 

• North Point Help Desk at Room 1701, A T Tower, 180 Electric Road, North Point;
• Kwun Tong Help Desk at Room 2507, Prosperity Center, 25 Chong Yip Street, Kwun Tong; and
• Tsuen Wan Help Desk at Room 1206, Chinachem Tsuen Wan Plaza, 455 Castle Peak Road – Tsuen Wan.

 
      The operating hours of the Help Desks during the remaining application period are as follows:
 

 
     The operation hours of the ESS hotline and the Help Desks will be extended to Monday to Sunday (9am to 6pm) to answer enquiries beyond the application period.