All-out efforts to combat the epidemic New dawn and hope as Year of Ox begins
14 February 2021
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Today is the third day of the Lunar New Year. I wish all citizens good health, and Hong Kong social harmony, prosperity and stability.
With a new year comes new beginnings, heralding a hope-filled Year of the Ox. The ox is a symbol of diligence, strength, perseverance and reliability, all of which are the qualities much needed for us to rise above difficulties and challenges. With unswerving determination and strong backing, Hong Kong will certainly ride out the storm and beat the epidemic.
Virus battle goes on into the Lunar New Year
Yesterday morning, I appeared on a radio programme to give an account of the Government’s anti-epidemic work along with the latest update on the epidemic and extend New Year greetings to members of the public. After that, I visited the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) and the Dedicated Testing Centres at the Hong Kong International Airport to show support to all frontline personnel and learn about the operation of these centres during the Lunar New Year. My heartfelt gratitude goes to the many people who have devoted themselves to the anti-epidemic work during the Lunar New Year. Their selfless contribution and tireless commitment are highly appreciated.
Conditional relaxation of measures with concrete actions taken
The complex and volatile epidemic situation over the past year have made us all the more aware of the importance of health. Infection control is achieved through concrete actions and not just empty slogans or gestures.
With “restriction-testing declarations” made and relevant enforcement action taken earlier in a number of districts, Hong Kong saw a gradual decline in confirmed cases last week. The number stood at low double digits around Lunar New Year’s Day, with 21, 24 and 12 confirmed cases recorded on February 11, 12 and 13 respectively. Nevertheless, we do not rule out taking further anti-epidemic measures and stringent enforcement action should there be any new developments or abnormalities. It is worthwhile to press ahead with measures as long as they are beneficial to public health and safety as well as the community as a whole.
Given the current epidemic development, the Government is cautiously optimistic that, with the public’s strict compliance with social distancing measures during the Lunar New Year and without major outbreak in the near future, consideration may be given to relax some of the restrictions imposed on catering businesses and scheduled premises under the Prevention and Control of Disease (Requirements and Directions) (Business and Premises) Regulation (Cap. 599F) after the Lunar New Year holidays, with effect from February 18, as follows:
- Allowing some of the scheduled premises to resume limited operation, including:
- all sports premises (both indoor and outdoor venues)
- fitness centres
- beauty parlours and massage establishments
- places of public entertainment (performance venues, theme parks, museums, public exhibitions, cinemas, family amusement centres, etc.)
- places of amusement (billiard establishments, public bowling-alleys, public skating rinks)
- amusement game centres; and
- extending the dine-in services at restaurants to 10 pm and allowing up to four persons per table.
Apart from some existing measures (e.g. limit on the number of users and venue restrictions, wearing mask, body temperature screening, provision of hand sanitisers and social distancing), at least two additional infection control measures have been imposed on these premises. First, the responsible persons must arrange all staff to undergo testing once every 14 days. Second, patrons must be required to use the “LeaveHomeSafe” mobile app to record their visits or provide their personal information for record keeping purpose before entering the restaurants or premises, so as to better facilitate the CHP’s epidemiological investigations and further safeguard the health and safety of both staff and patrons.
Non-compliance with these infection control measures will lead to suspension of business of the premises concerned or suspension of evening dine-in services at the restaurants concerned for 3 to 14 days. The length of the suspension will depend on the extra infection risks involved in the operation of the premises and the impact caused to the effectiveness of infection control work by such non-compliance. Meanwhile, the current penalties under Cap. 599F, i.e. a maximum fine of $50,000 and imprisonment for six months for offending operators of catering business or managers of scheduled premises, will continue to apply.
The Government will seek approval from the Executive Council after the Lunar New Year holidays to relax the number of persons allowed in group gatherings from two to four to align with the arrangement of allowing up to four persons per table in restaurants.
Classes to resume in a safe and orderly manner to safeguard the health of students and teachers
We aim to resume classes in a safe and orderly manner while keeping the epidemic in check. All kindergartens, primary and secondary schools (including special schools and schools offering non-local curriculum) as well as private schools offering non-formal curriculum (commonly known as “tutorial schools”) will be allowed to arrange more students to return to campuses on a half-day basis in accordance with school-based arrangements after the schools’ Lunar New Year’s holidays, with the number of students capped at one-third of the total number of students. If schools can arrange all teachers and staff to undergo regular virus testing once every two weeks, they will meet the condition to fully resume half-day face-to-face classes. They need to conduct and complete the tests within 14 days before the resumption of face-to-face classes and submit applications to the Education Bureau. I would like to point out that such strict requirements for class resumption are for the purpose of safeguarding the health and safety of all students and teachers at school, which warrant the co-operation and support of schools, students, teachers and parents.
A call for active participation in testing
The virus knows no holidays. During the Lunar New Year public holidays, all 19 community testing centres (CTCs) will remain open. I encourage the public to actively participate in the testing, at least for reassurance’s sake. Since last November, the testing agencies have conducted some 900 000 tests at various CTCs and identified about 900 confirmed cases for follow-up by the CHP. During the 26 “restriction-testing declaration” operations, a total of about 25 000 members of the public were tested with 20 confirmed cases identified, attesting to the effectiveness of the operations.
Stay on guard lest our efforts come to nought
With the epidemic subsiding in Hong Kong, members of the public may feel a bit at ease. However, the battle is far from over as there are still cases with unknown sources in the community. We must not let down our guard. Instead, we should stay alert and spend a quiet Lunar New Year by staying at home, avoiding social or meal gatherings and wearing masks. If the epidemic bounces back, all our efforts will come to nought and it may take longer before we can go back to our normal routines.
Making full use of the “LeaveHomeSafe” app
Members of the public should make it a habit to record their whereabouts during the epidemic. For the sake of our own selves and others, do download and make full use of the “LeaveHomeSafe” app to record your visits. Users will be notified by the mobile app if they are later identified to have visited the same venue that a confirmed patient has visited at about the same time. This will help enhance their vigilance and sense of self-protection.
As at 8 pm last night, the “LeaveHomeSafe” app recorded over 700 000 downloads, an increase of about 60 000 downloads over the previous night. I believe that the number will keep increasing, making our anti-epidemic work more effective. The mobile app will not compromise users’ privacy as it requires no registration of personal information. Visit records will be encrypted and saved only on users’ mobile phones, while matching of visit records and issuing of health alerts will only be carried out within the app as well. Such data will not be uploaded to the Government or any other systems and will be erased automatically after 31 days. Members of the public can use the app without any worry.
Expediting contact tracing
The Contact Tracing Office of the CHP, which commenced operation on January 11, has successfully helped trace more than 7 500 contacts of confirmed cases, i.e. an average of five contacts per case or more than 250 contacts per day, which is far higher than the 100 contacts traced daily before its establishment. Some 200 members from different disciplinary services, including the Hong Kong Police Force, Customs and Excise Department, Immigration Department and Fire Services Department, have been mobilised to support the work of the Office. Having received training from the CHP, they assist in locating and liaising with the contacts of confirmed cases and arrange for their admission to quarantine centres as needed. The Government is striving to do its utmost in gatekeeping and containment at source to swiftly cut the transmission chain and reduce the risk of spread.
An electronic platform connecting the CHP with the information system of relevant departments is also in place for collecting information needed for contact tracing. With more accurate information, the electronic platform can expedite the whole process from information sharing, case investigation, contact tracing to arranging quarantine for close contacts.
Alleviating pressure on the healthcare system
The HKSAR Government has assisted the Hospital Authority (HA) in setting up the community treatment facility at the AsiaWorld-Expo on Lantau Island, which, together with the expansion supported by the Central Government, provides about 1 850 beds. Besides, another temporary hospital project supported by the Central Government, now named North Lantau Hospital Hong Kong Infection Control Centre, was completed on January 20. It provides negative pressure wards that can accommodate 816 beds upon commissioning, greatly alleviating the pressure on the local healthcare system under severe epidemic situation. The HA is striving to put the infection control centre into service in phases at the end of this month to further enhance its anti-epidemic capability.
The HKSAR Government is very grateful to the Central Government, the Guangdong Provincial Government and the Shenzhen Municipal Government for their full support including financial commitment in the project, making it possible to complete the construction of a major large-scale healthcare facility within a short period of time and greatly strengthening Hong Kong’s resilience in dealing with the epidemic.
Quarantine units currently sufficient
The Government has set up adequate quarantine centres for putting asymptomatic close contacts of confirmed cases under compulsory quarantine. At present, the four quarantine centres for close contacts, namely Penny’s Bay Quarantine Centre, Junior Police Call Permanent Activity Centre at Pat Heung, Lei Yue Mun Park and Holiday Village, and Sai Kung Outdoor Recreation Centre, provide about 4 150 units in total. Three hotels are activated for the same purpose, providing a total of about 1 400 units. These approximately 5 600 quarantine units have a current utilisation rate of about 30%, good enough to allow flexibility in coping with unexpected circumstances.
Taking a more cautious and safe approach, the Government spares no effort in preventing community outbreaks. For example, when two Form 6 students of the same school were identified as confirmed cases last Monday (February 8), the CHP, taking into account the risk of transmission, classified about 130 students, teachers and staff members who had been present in the same school hall as close contacts, and put them under quarantine in two hotels. Under such circumstances, adequate quarantine centre facilities are key to effective infection control. The Government will closely monitor the utilisation of such facilities.
Conclusion
Containing and beating the epidemic is not only the top priority for society as a whole, but also the first and foremost task of the Government. Vaccination brings hope to the world, making it seemingly possible to contain the infection and bring life back to normal. We are pressing ahead with preparing a large-scale vaccination programme, with a view to starting prioritised vaccination at the soonest possible time and providing free vaccination for the majority of the Hong Kong population within this year.
Hong Kong is a blessed place. I have every confidence that it will thrive and prosper in the years to come. If we win this epidemic battle, hopefully our daily routines, cross-boundary travel, business activities, as well as customs clearance with the Mainland will all go back to normal, and our economy will see a steady recovery. With the full support of the Central Government, the HKSAR Government will continue to march ahead, capitalise on the new opportunities arising from national development, and ride the tide of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area development through active participation, heralding a new era for Hong Kong to regain its economic lustre and vitality.
