kakase/hk_gov_press_release huggingface dataset:
CE inspects handover of community isolation facility in Yuen Long
24.3.2022

The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, this afternoon (March 24) visited the sixth community isolation facility (CIF) constructed with Mainland support in Yuen Long. The first batch of six CIFs has been completed and handed over to the HKSAR Government, signifying the initial achievements of the construction of CIFs with Mainland support. Mrs Lam inspected the Yuen Long CIF with the Deputy Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (LOCPG), Mr Tan Tieniu, and the Chairman of the contractor, China State Construction International Holdings Limited (China State Construction), and received a briefing from representatives of China State Construction on the scale and features of the project, as well as the challenges encountered during construction. She then inspected the isolation units and facilities in the company of the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr John Lee; the Secretary for Food and Health, Professor Sophia Chan; the Secretary for Development, Mr Michael Wong; the Secretary for Security, Mr Tang Ping-keung; the Permanent Secretary for Development (Works), Mr Ricky Lau; the Director of Health, Dr Ronald Lam; the Director of Architectural Services, Ms Winnie Ho; and the Chief Executive of the Hospital Authority, Dr Tony Ko. They were briefed by staff members and the contractor on the operation of the CIF. The Security Bureau's anti-epidemic task force introduced to Mrs Lam and other guests the Care Cart and Co-Op Platform which are newly introduced in the facility. The Care Cart is used to take the elderly in need and people with impaired mobility to reach and settle in their rooms easily upon arrival. The Co-Op Platform allows persons under isolation to use their mobile phone to register check-in information easily with a QR code and make requests for daily necessities and meals. This helps streamline the workflow of operation, enhance management efficiency and better cater for the occupants' needs. Located at Tam Mei, the Yuen Long CIF has been built on land lent by a developer to the Government for the swift construction of temporary isolation facilities. It is the largest among the six facilities constructed, providing more than 2 000 units. Mrs Lam said that together with the Yuen Long CIF handed over today, the first batch of the six CIFs provide about 20 000 beds to Hong Kong. The facilities in Penny’s Bay and Kai Tak will provide an additional 20 000 beds upon completion. She expressed gratitude again to the Central Government for its staunch support, the LOCPG for its intensive co-ordination, the construction team for working around the clock to complete the works, and the three property developers for lending private lots for free, which showcases collaboration among the community, the business sector and the Government. Ends/Thursday, March 24, 2022 Issued at HKT 21:29 NNNN
CE exchanges views with Mainland experts on Hong Kong&apos;s epidemic development and anti-epidemic measures
24.3.2022

The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, met with the visiting Mainland experts yesterday (March 23) to exchange views on the latest epidemic development of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) and the anti-epidemic measures adopted. The Secretary for Food and Health, Professor Sophia Chan, the Chief Executive of the Hospital Authority, Dr Tony Ko, etc, joined the meeting. Mrs Lam thanked the Central Authorities for supporting the HKSAR's anti-epidemic efforts. Three batches of experts with rich experience in combatting the epidemic had been sent to Hong Kong since the middle of last month to inspect and provide guidance on the HKSAR's work against the virus. Since their arrival in Hong Kong, the expert delegations had been meeting with different units of the HKSAR's anti-epidemic team for exchanges of views and visiting different locations of the HKSAR's anti-epidemic work, offering objective and pragmatic views in various areas. Mrs Lam expressed her sincere gratitude to them. Mrs Lam stressed that although the peak of the fifth wave of the epidemic had clearly been curbed, the HKSAR Government would not let down its guard and would continue to fully implement the strategy of reducing critical cases, deaths and infections. In addition to adopting targeted testing measures to pin down infections in the community as soon as possible, a multi-tiered triage and treatment strategy would be strengthened to provide appropriate support for patients, especially the elderly, having regard to the severity of their medical conditions. The vaccination rates of the elderly and children would also be boosted. Furthermore, the Mainland medical experts had fostered exchanges and co-operation in treatment between the Mainland and Hong Kong medical personnel. A case in point was the integration of Chinese and Western medicines in the community treatment facility at AsiaWorld-Expo, giving full play to the application strategies of Chinese medicine to prevent mild illnesses from turning serious and relieve symptoms. The HKSAR Government would continue to explore ways to further leverage Chinese medicine in the treatment and prevention of COVID-19. "The HKSAR Government is grateful to the Mainland experts for their hard work and guidance for Hong Kong. They have shared with us their observations and suggestions to help the HKSAR fight the virus," said Mrs Lam. "The HKSAR Government will continue to closely monitor the epidemic development, review it with experts and listen to the views of different sectors in society. An array of targeted anti-epidemic measures will be formulated and implemented so as to lead Hong Kong to ride out the epidemic." Ends/Thursday, March 24, 2022 Issued at HKT 0:39 NNNN
Transcript of remarks of press conference on anti-epidemic measures
21.3.2022

The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, held a press conference on anti-epidemic measures this morning (March 21). Also joining were the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr John Lee, and the Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan. Following is the transcript of remarks of the press conference: Reporter: Hi, Mrs Lam. What you just laid out with the phased easing, it looks a lot like the roadmap that countries who are seeking to live with the virus have followed. Are you definitively decoupling from the Mainland and moving away from "COVID zero"? And once this outbreak comes more under control, will you still prioritise the reopening of the border with the Mainland over opening the international border? Thank you. Chief Executive: As I have said in the concluding slide, what we have assessed and announced today is only a sort of stage report, and have tried to provide as much direction as possible to the businesses and people of Hong Kong. To really map out a longer-term roadmap not only in dealing with this particular wave but also a future wave, and not only in dealing with COVID-19 but perhaps another virus in future, we do need to do more monitoring of the epidemic development, including what the World Health Organization has to say about this pandemic. We have to listen more carefully to the experts, both locally and from the Mainland. Since we are also very concerned about the socio-economic development, we will widely consult various stakeholders in Hong Kong to come up with a more permanent pathway for Hong Kong to tackle any public health crisis in a more targeted manner that will, other than the overriding mission of protecting the safety and health of the Hong Kong people, be also be based on evidence. We should also take into account the impact on the social and economic development. Right now, I would advise that you need not draw any conclusion of what we are heading towards in the announcement that we have made today. What is important is what the FS (Financial Secretary) has just said. We will always, as an international city and a very important business and aviation hub, have to take into account not only connectivity with the outside world but also connectivity with the Mainland. As the FS has rightly pointed out, many international businesses have chosen Hong Kong because of our accessibility to the Mainland market and also, of course, to the Asia Pacific region. For any longer-term public health strategy, we will have to take into account both factors, that is maintaining Hong Kong's accessibility to the Mainland and also ensuring her continued connectivity with the outside world. Thank you. (Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.) Ends/Monday, March 21, 2022 Issued at HKT 15:09 NNNN
CE visits HKU Children Community Vaccination Centre at Gleneagles Hospital Hong Kong
18.3.2022

The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, visited the HKU Children Community Vaccination Centre at Gleneagles Hospital Hong Kong today (March 18) to know more about the arrangements being made by parents and schools for children to receive COVID-19 vaccination at the centre and give encouragement to the medical team on duty. During her visit to the HKU Children Community Vaccination Centre at Gleneagles Hospital Hong Kong, Mrs Lam, accompanied by the Secretary for the Civil Service, Mr Patrick Nip, received a briefing from the Dean of Medicine of The University of Hong Kong, Professor Gabriel Leung, and the Chief Executive Officer of Gleneagles Hospital Hong Kong, Dr Kenneth Tsang, on the operation of the centre, including the special dilution procedure for the BioNTech vaccine for children. She also chatted with medical personnel and other working staff. Mrs Lam expressed her gratitude to the experienced medical team of the HKU and Gleneagles Hospital Hong Kong for their care for the children, providing a comfortable and safe environment for vaccination. She also thanked parents and school staff members for responding to the Government's appeal to arrange vaccination for children at the centre to safeguard their health. The COVID-19 Vaccination Programme has been expanded to cover children aged 5 to 11 since January 21 this year. The minimum age for receiving the Sinovac vaccine was subsequently lowered to 3 years old from February 15. In order to raise the vaccination rate among children and teenagers, the Government has been assisting schools in arranging group vaccination through various means, including arranging for mobile vaccination stations or outreach teams to visit schools and allowing group bookings for vaccination at the Community Vaccination Centres or designated Student Health Service Centres of the Department of Health . The Government has also reserved quotas at some vaccination centres for group bookings by schools. Mrs Lam said, "As of yesterday, over 290 000 children aged 3 to 11 have received the first vaccine dose , representing a vaccination rate of 56.1 per cent. About 230 000 children are yet to be vaccinated. I appeal to parents to make arrangements for their young children to get vaccinated immediately in order to reduce their risk of serious illness or death in case of infection, while at the same time creating favourable conditions for students to return to school to have different learning activities." Ends/Friday, March 18, 2022 Issued at HKT 20:47 NNNN
CE expresses sorrow over passing of Mr Willy Law Wai-cheung
17.3.2022

The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, today (March 17) expressed deep sorrow over the passing of Mr Willy Law Wai-cheung, the Vice-chairman of the Executive Committee of the Direction Association for the Handicapped. "I first made the acquaintance of Willy when I, as the then Director of Social Welfare, worked with the Association led by him. Back then, to better support persons with disabilities, the Government decided that the Social Welfare Department would subsidise self-help organisations set up by persons with disabilities to build their own self-help and mutual help networks. The Direction Association for the Handicapped was one of such self-help organisations founded. Despite his disabilities, Willy, whom I knew, had an extraordinary passion towards life and dedication to work. The welfare of persons with disabilities had all along been close to his heart. He was adept at encouraging fellows with his own experience of overcoming adversities and he was full of positive energy. He had been actively promoting life education over the years and, at my invitation, shared the story of his struggle with the heads of the government departments. He made significant contributions to the rehabilitation sector and commanded people's respect. "I am saddened by the passing of Willy. I would like to extend my deepest condolences to his family and friends, and every member of the Direction Association for the Handicapped," Mrs Lam said. Ends/Thursday, March 17, 2022 Issued at HKT 19:53 NNNN
CE welcomes arrival of Mainland medical support team in Hong Kong
16.3.2022

The latest batch of around 300 members of the Mainland medical support team, arranged by the Central Authorities upon the request of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), to assist in the treatment of COVID-19 patients arrived in Hong Kong today (March 16). The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, together with the Chairman of the Hospital Authority (HA), Mr Henry Fan, and the Chief Executive of the HA, Dr Tony Ko, welcomed the team at the Heung Yuen Wai Boundary Control Point. The medical support team will fully collaborate with the HA to enhance the capability of the community treatment facility at AsiaWorld-Expo to provide appropriate treatment for more COVID-19 patients in need as soon as possible. The community treatment facility at AsiaWorld-Expo came into operation in August 2020 for treating COVID-19 patients in a stable condition and with the ability to take care of themselves. However, the facility with 1 450 beds has not been able to be more fully utilised owing to the shortage of the HA's manpower. Upon the joining of the support team formed by professional medical personnel from the Mainland in the HA's team, more patients, including the elderly, with mild to moderate symptoms can be taken care of at the facility. The latest batch of medical personnel who arrived today will join the other team members having arrived earlier to familiarise themselves with the environment and will commence work of treating patients in the days ahead. Mrs Lam said, "I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to the Central Authorities and the Guangdong Provincial Government for sending the medical support team in batches to Hong Kong to enhance our anti-epidemic work on 'reducing severe cases and reducing deaths'. The new anti-epidemic team will increase the admission capacity of the community treatment facility at AsiaWorld-Expo for COVID-19 patients within a short period of time, strengthening its service scale and quality of care. It is integral to accelerating patient turnover as well as relieving the pressure on public hospitals. "The medical team members have set aside their work at hand and left their families temporarily to come to Hong Kong for taking part in the treatment of patients under the severe epidemic situation in the city. I profoundly admire each one of them. They manifest the selfless spirit of helping compatriots faced with difficulties. On behalf of the HKSAR, I express my sincere gratitude to them. I strongly believe that with our nation's staunch support and the concerted effort of various sectors, Hong Kong will be able to stabilise the epidemic early." Ends/Wednesday, March 16, 2022 Issued at HKT 23:15 NNNN
Transcript of remarks by CE at media session at Heung Yuen Wai Boundary Control Point
16.3.2022

Following is the transcript of remarks by the Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, at a media session at Heung Yuen Wai Boundary Control Point this afternoon (March 16): Reporter: How can this new batch of Mainland medical personnel contribute to Hong Kong's fight against the epidemic? And also, what will be their priority of work? Will they work in other medical facilities besides AWE (AsiaWorld-Expo)? Chief Executive: This afternoon I received another major delegation of Mainland medical personnel to come to Hong Kong to assist the Hospital Authority in the treatment of patients. This is a big group of a total of 300 medical, nursing and other support staff. Their major area of deployment will be the AsiaWorld-Expo (AWE) exhibition halls, where we have a community treatment centre. At the moment, this community treatment centre at AWE has a number of halls being converted into a community treatment facility, just like a ward in a hospital, with about 1 500 beds. But unfortunately because of the lack of staff in the Hospital Authority, we have not been able to fully utilise this facility. The arrival of this major assistance from the Mainland will enable the Hospital Authority to make good use of the community treatment centre at AWE, which means that more infected COVID-19 patients will be able to receive medical care in this facility. I'm sure it will be a major boost to the Hospital Authority's ability. One is because they are all highly qualified and well trained medical personnel working in the highest grade of hospitals in Guangdong Province. The other is that they have all been selected to come based on their knowledge of Cantonese, their knowledge of English, and also their anti-epidemic experience in Guangdong or in other parts of the Mainland, just like in Wuhan. They are also very young. They will be a major boost to the workforce of the Hospital Authority. (Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.) Ends/Wednesday, March 16, 2022 Issued at HKT 21:26 NNNN
CE expresses sorrow over passing of Dr Chiang Chen
15.3.2022

The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, today (March 15) expressed deep sorrow over the passing of Dr Chiang Chen. "Dr Chiang was a pioneer in the industrial development of Hong Kong, with distinguished achievements made in the machinery and industrial arena, and a leading role assumed in the trade. He made remarkable contributions to the economic development of Hong Kong and was one of the first patriotic businessmen to invest and set up businesses in the Mainland after the country's reform and opening up. A philanthropist and also an educator, he established a charity foundation in the earlier years to foster talent training and industrial research, nurturing tens of thousands of experts in industrial technology and management for the nation. He was awarded the Grand Bauhinia Medal in 2005 by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. "I am saddened by the passing of Dr Chiang. On behalf of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, I would like to extend my deepest condolences to his family," Mrs Lam said. Ends/Tuesday, March 15, 2022 Issued at HKT 15:14 NNNN
Family member of Director of Chief Executive&apos;s Office tests positive for COVID-19
4.3.2022

A spokesman for the Chief Executive's Office said today (March 4) that a household family member of the Director of the Chief Executive's Office, Mr Chan Kwok-ki, tested positive after a COVID-19 rapid antigen test. Mr Chan and his other household family members tested negative after COVID-19 rapid antigen tests. Mr Chan and his other family members were identified as close contacts after the assessment conducted by the Centre for Health Protection of the Department of Health. They will undergo home quarantine in accordance with the "StayHomeSafe" Scheme. Mr Chan will work from home during the quarantine period. Ends/Friday, March 4, 2022 Issued at HKT 19:38 NNNN
First cross-boundary cargo train carrying anti-epidemic supplies arrives at Hong Kong
2.3.2022

​The railway transportation of goods from the Mainland to Hong Kong commenced today (March 2), with the first train carrying about 50 tonnes of anti-epidemic supplies arriving at Hong Kong this morning. ​The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, and the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Mr Frank Chan Fan, together with the Director General of the Youth Department of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Mr Zhang Zhihua; the Chief Executive Officer of the MTR Corporation Limited (MTRCL), Dr Jacob Kam; and the Assistant President of the China Merchants Group Limited, Mr Chu Zongsheng, and others, welcomed the first train transporting goods from the Mainland to Hong Kong at the MTR Lo Wu Marshalling and Railway Freight Yard. The first cross-boundary cargo train carried nine freight wagons, with 18 containers of anti-epidemic supplies, including COVID-19 rapid antigen test kits, protective clothing, etc. The goods were transported from the Pinghu South Railway Freight Yard in Shenzhen to the Lo Wu Railway Freight Yard in Hong Kong, with a journey of about 40 minutes. There will be one cross-boundary train trip per day at the early stage of the operation. Subject to the demand and handling capacity of the freight yard, train operation will be enhanced progressively. ​Once again, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government expresses gratitude to the Central Government, the Guangdong Provincial Government and the Shenzhen Municipal People's Government for their staunch support all along. Together, the HKSAR Government and the Mainland authorities have explored and implemented various measures to ensure stable goods supply from the Mainland to Hong Kong. The HKSAR Government also particularly thanks the China State Railway Group Co., Ltd, the China Railway Guangzhou Group Company Limited, the MTRCL and the trade for their active support and facilitation, as well as the effort of various government departments, which have facilitated the launch of the cross-boundary cargo train within a short period of time. ​The HKSAR Government will monitor the situation closely, and continue to work closely with the Mainland authorities, in order to facilitate and implement various measures to ensure a stable goods supply to Hong Kong as well as to optimise the operation of cross-boundary transportation of supplies. Ends/Wednesday, March 2, 2022 Issued at HKT 20:30 NNNN