Fighting virus together with resolve
16 February 2020
Over the past week, the SAR government continued to take decisive steps to handle anti-epidemic matters. These included the move to deal with the situation in Cheung Hong Estate, Tsing Yi where confirmed cases were found in the same A07 units on different floors of Hong Mei House. The Government acted swiftly to conduct novel coronavirus tests for asymptomatic residents of the A07 units of the building. All 101 samples tested negative for the virus, thus the residents were free to return home yesterday. The Government’s move has effectively prevented the potential spread of the disease. Besides, the Government also resolved the World Dream cruise incident by completing health quarantine work promptly.
The outbreak of the virus affects many Hong Kong people. In this regard, the Government set up an anti-epidemic fund to step up prevention in the territory and support the industries and employees affected by the virus. Two days ago (14 February), the Chief Executive announced a series of 21 targeted measures involving a sum of over $25 billion, with a view to riding out the present difficulties with the public in the fight against the virus.
In response to the development of the novel coronavirus infection, the Government has taken strict and bold measures based on the actual situation and needs. To prevent the spread of the disease, there have been significant reductions in people flow and social contacts among locals. At present, only the passenger services in the Hong Kong International Airport, the Shenzhen Bay Port and the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Hong Kong Port are maintained, while freight services are not affected.
The SAR Government has imposed 14-day compulsory quarantine on persons having stayed in the Mainland before arrival in Hong Kong. Since its implementation at midnight of 8 February, a plunge in the number of arrivals has been recorded, effectively reducing the risk of spread of the disease. Compared to the figure of 217 065 arrivals on 26 January, i.e. before the measure to reduce cross-boundary passenger flow was put in place, the total number of arrivals (including those via the airport) decreased substantially to 23 399 on 8 February, representing a drop of nearly 90%. On 14 February, the figure shrank further to 16 764, of whom over 80% were Hong Kong residents (81%), while the remainder included non-Hong Kong residents from the Mainland (4%) and other regions (15%). The number of passengers arriving in Hong Kong via the two operating land-based control points (i.e. the Shenzhen Bay Port and the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Hong Kong Port) was 2 919 only.
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As I stressed earlier, the 14-day compulsory quarantine arrangement does not affect freight services between the Mainland and Hong Kong. To ensure that the supply of food products from the Mainland remains unaffected, cross-boundary goods vehicle drivers using land-based control points are exempted from the compulsory quarantine requirement but are subject to medical surveillance.
Taking 14 February as an example, the numbers of inbound and outbound vehicle trips recorded at the five cargo control points in Hong Kong were 6 201 and 6 182 respectively, representing a surge of about 4 200 from 1 953 and 1 942 six days ago (on 8 February). The figures reveal that cross-boundary freight activities have gradually resumed normal after the Lunar New Year holidays.
I reiterate that the supply of major food products in Hong Kong is normal. Food suppliers have repeatedly clarified that the supply of various major food products is adequate. In fact, the volume of supply of major food products is comparable to the average volume of last year, meaning that there is no shortage of food supply in the territory.
First of all, on rice, the Government stipulates that rice stockholders should maintain a reserve sufficient for consumption by the population for 15 days, and on top of this, additional stock is kept by the trade. At present, we have a total reserve of 25 million kilogrammes of rice in Hong Kong, which is enough for one month’s consumption by all Hong Kong people. Rice merchants are also importing rice from different parts of the world.
On vegetables, supplies after the Lunar New Year holidays have returned to the levels recorded before the holidays. Taking the wholesale markets of the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department as well as the Vegetable Marketing Organisation as an example, the average daily supply of vegetables is about 1 000 tonnes.
On chilled meat, there are currently about 300 000 kilogrammes of chilled meat (including pork, beef, mutton and poultry) supplied to Hong Kong every day from all over the world, over 70% of which are imported from the Mainland by land. Given the smooth cross-boundary freight traffic, the supply of chilled meat from the Mainland to Hong Kong remains stable. On frozen meat, major supermarkets indicate that they have a reserve sufficient for three to four months’ consumption.
By briefly describing the recent supply of major food products, I hope to ease the minds of the public. There is really no need to scramble for and stock up on rice or other daily necessities. The Government will continue to keep a close eye on the supply of food and other essentials in the market.
On a separate note, the Government continues to appeal to all sectors to reduce social contacts. Members of the public should stay at home as far as possible with a view to minimising the risk of the disease’s spread.
As the disease shows no sign of abating, the Government has announced that all schools in Hong Kong would not resume classes before 16 March with a view to safeguarding the health of school children. The advice of healthcare experts, the readiness of schools as well as the supply of anti-epidemic materials will be factors to be considered in deciding when to resume classes. Premised on the protection of public health as well as the well-being of teachers and students, the decision to resume classes would only be made when the required conditions are met. The Education Bureau will formulate class resumption arrangements as appropriate and in a timely manner, and schools and parents will be informed as soon as possible for early preparation.
Besides, given the latest class suspension arrangement, primary schools are not required to conduct the third Primary Six (P6) internal examinations for the purpose of Secondary School Places Allocation. The allocation banding of P6 students will be determined by their Primary Five (P5) second-term and P6 first-term examination results. As regards public examinations, the Government will also make proper arrangements.
During the extended period of class suspension, school children should stay at home to avoid crowded places and stop all group activities. The Government will hold the defence lines of “families” and “schools” steadfastly. To achieve the objective of “suspending classes without suspending learning” and maintain students’ motivation in learning, schools have put in place systematic e-learning schemes for students to continue learning at home with access to various e-learning materials flexibly.
In addition, the special work arrangement for government departments will be extended to 23 February. Departments will continue to provide emergency and essential services while maintaining basic public services on a limited scale. The Government will review the situation from time to time. I appeal to other employers to make flexible work arrangements for their staff with a view to reducing contact among people as far as practicable.
The Government will continue to closely monitor the developments of the virus outbreak, listen to expert advice and review the effectiveness of its preventive measures. At this critical stage of disease prevention and control, we should neither relax our efforts nor let down our guard. The public must pay more attention to personal and environmental hygiene, stay healthy and reduce social contacts.
