More lockdowns in Kwai Chung as 124 new cases recorded

By The SUN

 

CE Lam says another Kwai Chung block will be locked down for 5 days  

Chief Executive Carrie Lam has ordered another housing block in Kwai Chung Estate to be locked down for five days after 10 new cases were found there.

Speaking at a press conference ahead of the Executive Council meeting today, Jan 25, Mrs Lam said the five-day lockdown of Ha Kwai House began last night so it will remain sealed off until Jan 28.

Mrs Lam also said that the lockdown of Yat Kwai House will be extended for two more days after the number of infections in the building climbed to 150. Its five-day lockdown was supposed to end early Wednesday.

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Another building, Ying Kwai House, is also due to end its five-day lockdown on Friday. The CE said the government will review the situation in the building before deciding if an extension is necessary.

“I totally understand affected residents of Kwai Chung Estate would feel very upset and anxious upon hearing the announcements, but I ask for your understanding,” she said.

“This wave of outbreaks comes fast and fierce, so we have to adopt relatively assertive and stringent measures to cut the transmission chains.”

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She also said that while it’s unlikely social distancing measures can be relaxed drastically before the Lunar New Year, she said the government will see whether there is room to make “slight adjustments.”

This could include bringing forward the implementation of a vaccine bubble, and expand it further. The new virus control measure which was originally set to start on Feb 24, will allow only vaccinated people to enter certain venues, like restaurants and schools.

Meanwhile, the Centre for Health Protection said in its daily press briefing that 124 additional confirmed cases of Covid-19 were confirmed as of midnight last night.

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Of these, 93 are local cases, including six whose sources are untraceable. The 31 imported cases include 21 aboard an Indian vessel docked at Hong Kong port.

More than 70 preliminary positive cases have been recorded.

CHP said the number of infected people linked to Kwai Chung Estate has gone up to 276

CHP’s Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan said the biggest cluster of cases were found in Kwai Chung Estate, where 276 people have tested positive so far, including 33 reported today.

Chuang gave the breakdown as follows:

 Yat Kwai House - 15 residents and 1 security guard

 Ying Kwai House - 4 residents

 Ha Kwai House - 10 residents

 Yuk Kwai House - 1 resident

 Nga Kwai House - 1 resident

 Yuk Kwai House - 1 resident

CE Lam noted that the number of cases in Kwai Chung Estate continues to rise each day. From nine cases recorded on Jan 20 (Thursday), the tally rose to 20 on Friday, 105 on Saturday, 173 on Sunday and 226 yesterday on Monday. Today it went up to 276.

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She said the infection appears to spread, with positive cases being reported within 10 blocks of the estate.

Asked why the entire estate was not being locked down despite the massive outbreak, she said 35,000 people live there, and she worries how the long isolation would impact their daily lives.

Secondly, government resources are limited. She mentioned that everyone who tests positive is taken to hospital and treated until they have recovered. There are not a lot of places in the world where this is done, she said.

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Mrs Lam also noted other growing clusters of infection, including one in Wong Tai Sin where both the Omicron and Delta variants have been found in the sewage water.

She said the tainted water led to the discovery of an individual who bought a hamster and started feeling sick on Jan 15. The patient, who was later found to carry the Delta variant, did not follow instructions to hand over the hamster to the government to be tested and put down.

She also expressed concern over some clusters started by residents at Yat Kwai House, including the outbreak at a construction site in Mong Kok, where 10 cases have now been recorded. More than 100 colleagues and friends of the resident will now be moved to Penny’s Bay for quarantine.

If necessary, the CE said it will consider asking help from the Mainland Government if there is a need to further expand Hong Kong’s capacity to test for Covid-19 as it did two years ago.

The vaccine bubble project will start earlier than expected

As of yesterday, she said 78.1% of the eligible population has had their first shot of a Covid-19 vaccine. More than 800,000 people have had their third, or booster, shot.

She promised to update the public on social distancing measures before the start of the Lunar New Year. She advised everyone not to socialize too much over the holidays.

Meantime, she continued to express disappointment in Home Affairs Secretary Caspar Tsui. Despite completing his quarantine at Penny’s Bay after being found to have attended a large gathering where two infected people were among the guests, the CE said she has requested Tsui not to go back to work just yet.

She said the result of a full investigation into the incident which involved a couple of officials and legislators, will be announced before the start of the Lunar New Year holidays.

“I have already asked that he should not come to work until the investigation is completed and the results announced to the public, including any possible sanctions,” she said.

“That is the reason why I have asked him to continue to take his leave and not to come to office because he is in a very important position, the Secretary for Home Affairs.”

Asked why she has been seen without a mask lately, the CE said she has stopped wearing one while speaking to the media, or to the public through the media, including when she delivered her Policy Address at the Legislative Council.

“The people of Hong Kong have to hear very clearly from the Chief Executive what are the messages that she is conveying to the public,” she said.

Wearing a mask will not allow people to see her feelings when she speaks, she said.

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Filipina jailed 4 months after admitting she stole Rolex watch

 

A Filipina was jailed four months today after she admitted at the West Kowloon Magistracy that she stole a Rolex watch from her employer’s friend.

Janice F. Balleser, 38, tearfully pleaded guilty after the charges were read to her by an interpreter. “Yes po,” she answered when the interpreter asked her in Filipino if she agreed with the facts read to her from the case document.

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The case began when Balleser was sent on an errand by her employer to the latter’s friend in Cheung Sha Wan on July 11, 2021.

On July 20, her employer’s friend, who was identified as PW (Prosecution Witness) 1, noticed that his Rolex watch worth $50,300, was missing. He complained to police on Aug. 5.

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Police investigators traced the watch to a pawnshop, where it was pawned for $10,000.

A pawnshop employee, who was identified as PW2, said the pawner had shown her Hong Kong ID and left her address. It turned out to be Balleser.

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When Balleser was arrested on Oct. 5, police also found the pawnshop’s receipt in her wallet. She was then terminated by her employer.

The defense lawyer told Magistrate Amy Chan Wai-mun that Balleser understood that her crime required a prison term, but asked for a shorter sentence so she could go home to the Philippines earlier and rejoin her 16-year-old daughter.

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The lawyer said she had a clean record, cooperated with police investigators and even gave them the pawnshop receipt that was later used as evidence against her.

The fact that she did not steal from her employer but from someone else indicates that it was not planned, and she was only overtaken by greed when she saw the watch on a table and stole it, her defense added.

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Magistrate Chan noted that aside from its monetary value which Ballecer was unable to pay back, a Rolex also had a sentimental value to its owner.

She set an initial prison term of six months and gave a one-third discount, leaving four months for Ballecer to serve in jail.

 

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Court clears Filipina driver of charge of bumping elderly woman

By Daisy CL Mandap

Licudo (right) poses happily outside court with her employer Kevin Yeh and barrister Denise Souza

A Filipina driver who worried for months over a wrongful claim that she had bumped an elderly woman while reversing her employer’s car was finally cleared of a charge of careless driving today, Jan 25.

A jubilant Jennifer M. Licudo walked free from Eastern Court accompanied by her employer, Kevin Yeh, and the lawyer he hired to defend her, Denise Souza.

With her eyes almost tearing, Licudo, 37, said: “Ang tagal kong nag-alala sa kaso na ito.” (“This case had me worried for a long time).

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Luckily, her employers gave her full support every step of the way, outraged that the police found reason to charge her based merely on the say-so of the woman who apparently got angry only because her complaint of being nearly hit by the car was ignored.

Outside court, the first person Licudo sent a message to about her victory was her female employer, whom she thanked profusely. She said her employers, with whom she has just renewed her contract, have been so supportive that they never let her stop driving for them even after the incident.

In court earlier, Magistrate Gary Chu ruled that the complainant, 66-year-old Maggie Fung, was an unreliable witness, pointing in particular to her act of going ahead with a lunch appointment instead of complaining to the police after the alleged incident.

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“We (also wonder) why she did not go to the police immediately after being hit and still went to lunch,” said the magistrate.

He described as “unreasonable and difficult to understand” Fung’s explanation that she took time to file a complaint as it was her first time to get involved in a car accident and she had thought initially of just warning Licudo.

Chu also said that it “defied common sense” that after claiming to have been hit by the car, Fung’s first words to Licudo were “You almost hit me” instead of saying outright that she had been bumped.

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The alleged incident happened at about 1pm on May 29, 2021, near the corner of Sing Woo and Yuen Yuen streets in Happy Valley.

Fung claimed that as she was about to get onto a taxi that she hailed at the corner, a 7-seater van being driven by Licudo bumped into her as it was reversing.

Fung claimed she shouted, “Stop, stop!” then went over to the driver’s side of the vehicle and began pounding of the window, signaling for it to be opened. Then she shouted, “You almost hit me!”

However, the driver allegedly just crossed her arms and ignored her.

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The elderly woman said she took a picture of the vehicle and then left for her lunch appointment. But over lunch, she said she started feeling pain on her waist where she had been bumped and decided to go back to her home in Happy Valley and complain to the police.

On cross examination, Souza tried to get Fung to pinpoint exactly where she had been standing before the alleged incident and failed to get a clear answer.

Souza also drew out that Fung had taken several shots of the parked vehicle days after the accident and submitted these to the police. The police, in turn, also took shots of the car after ordering Licudo and her employer to go back to the scene, and used these as evidence.

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A police officer who was called as a prosecution witness agreed that the pictures were taken hours after the alleged incident. He also agreed on questioning by the defense that Licudo had volunteered to give a statement in which she denied that the alleged incident happened.

In the statement, Licudo said Fung left after she had taken out her mobile phone and was in the act of calling the police to stop the woman from harassing her.

Souza also pointed out that Fung did not say anything in her own cautioned statement to the police about interacting with Licudo, not even the part where she allegedly said “You almost hit me.”

In her closing statement, Souza said, “I would argue that the incident clearly did not occur and in any case the prosecution was not able to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt.”

She also said Fung’s statements were “very inconsistent and muddled.”

The court ordered costs to be paid to the defendant, after Souza said there was nothing in the evidence to show that Licudo had done anything to cast suspicion on herself.

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Govt scales down public services amid Covid-19 spread

By The SUN

 

From tomorrow, govt offices will reduce the number of people working in their premises

The worsening Covid-19 situation in Hong Kong has forced the government to scale down its frontline services through work-from-home schemes, and encourage the public to use alternative means in availing of its services.

From tomorrow, Jan 25, the Civil Service Bureau has asked bureaus and departments to implement special work arrangements to reduce the number of staff working at the same time in their offices, while maintaining basic public services.

“Such arrangements may include allowing some of their staff to take turns to work from home as far as possible,” the bureau said in a press statement. “As a result, there may be temporary reduction in provision of some of the public services offered by individual departments.”

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The government also encouraged private companies to adopt similar measures aimed at reducing the flow of people in government buildings and offices to help contain the epidemic.

“Members of the public are encouraged to use alternative means, such as the post, drop-in boxes or online channels, to receive the services they need,” the bureau said.

If they do go to government offices, people should wear surgical masks at all times, and comply with the infection control and social distancing measures that are in place, including using the "LeaveHomeSafe" mobile app, temperature checks and crowd control arrangements.

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“The government will closely monitor the epidemic situation and review the arrangements in due course,” the statement from the bureau added.

New work arrangements have in fact been implemented starting last week in government offices where infections were reported.

At the Housing Department, for example, a contract technical assistant tested preliminary positive on Jan. 22 for Covid-19. He resides in Yat Kwai House, Kwai Chung Estate and worked at the Housing Authority Headquarters in Ho Man Tin.

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He last went to work on Jan 21 and did not have contact with members of the public while performing duties during the incubation period. He had worn a mask and followed health protocols while at work.

The Labour Department (LD), on the other hand, suspended services from today until further notice at all its offices on the 10^th floor of the Cheung Sha Wan government offices after two of its staff there, including a security guard, tested positive for Covid-19.

The offices affected are the Minor Employment Claims Adjudication Board, the Labour Relations Division (Kowloon West Branch Office), the Employees' Compensation Division, the Occupational Medicine Unit (Kowloon), the Operations Division (Kowloon Region) of the Occupational Safety Service and the Labour Inspection Division.

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A compulsory testing notice was issued on Jan 22 for all who had stayed at the said offices for at least two hours during the specified period.

Other government agencies have started announcing new work arrangements:

-                      the Inland Revenue Department announced that its office will be open from 9am to 4pm Monday to Friday. It asked the public for understanding in case of longer waiting time due to the shortened office hours.

-                      The Companies Registry also adjusted its counter service hours for receiving documents delivered in hard copy and collection of certificates for company incorporation. The Public Search Centre will be open on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The Registry's services on registration of documents and public search services provided electronically through the e-Registry (www.eregistry.gov.hk), the Cyber Search Centre (www.icris.cr.gov.hk) and the website of the Registry for Trust and Company Service Providers (www.tcsp.cr.gov.hk) will not be affected.  
The rest of the agency will be open at 9.30am to 4pm, Monday to Friday at its Queensway and Kowloon Bay offices.

Other agencies are expected to announce their plans tomorrow. 

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109 cases reported today, 98 of them local

By Daisy CL Mandap 

69 of today's confirmed cases were from locked-down housing blocks in Kwai Chung 

The Omicron surge in Hong Kong continues, with 109 confirmed cases of Covid-19 reported today, Jan 24. Of these cases, 98 were locally acquired, five of them untraceable.

Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan of the Centre for Health Protection said about 100 preliminary positive cases have also been detected, with two housing blocks in Kwai Chung estate on their third and second day of a five-day lockdown.

Chuang said that of the local confirmed cases, 69 were found in several housing blocks in the estate: 27 were linked to Yat Kwai House, 33 to Ying Kwai House, while nine were from eight other buildings.

About 6,000 residents of Kwai Chung Estate are tested daily while on 5-day lockdowns

A cluster of cases were also detected in other parts of Hong Kong. At least nine workers at a construction site on Shing Lee Road in Mong Kok have been detected. Eight are confirmed cases, while one is preliminary positive.

A possible vertical or upward transmission at a Wong Tai Sin block is also being investigated. At least three cases have been detected in block 1 of Tropicana Gardens, with all of the patients living in E units.

All of these cases involved mutant strains of the Delta variant, and Chuang said there was a report that one of the patients had recently bought a hamster.

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The government has recently ordered all owners of hamsters bought after Dec 22 to surrender them as part of the mass cull of the favorite household pet, after at least 20 of them have tested positive for L452R, the strain linked to Delta.

Chuang also said some sewage samples taken from the district have tested positive for both the Delta and the Omicron variants, raising fears more cases could turn up.

She said a team from CHP and experts will visit Tropicana Gardens tonight to conduct a site inspection.

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“Because of the sewage problem, and now we found some cases with suspected Delta, we appeal to the residents or those who work in Wong Tai Sin  district to come to have voluntary testing as soon as possible,” she said.

Another vertical transmission is suspected in block E of Tropicana Gardens in Wong Tai Sin

Another possible vertical transmission being looked at involves two cases being found in each floor facing the same direction in Fu Keung House at Tai Wo Hau Estate. Experts will also conduct a site inspection.

The five untraceable cases include a 13-year-old boy studying at King George V in Ho Man Tin, which is part of the English Schools Foundation chain. The boy lives at La Rossa Coastal Skyline in Tung Chung where he had activities at the podium. Chuang said that as there had been a previous infection reported from the place, they were treating the new case as a possible linked one.

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The other unlinked cases include that of an IT worker at Amundi Hong Kong bank, a 53-year-old woman who recently visited Kwai Hing Plaza and other places in Kwai Chung, and a hair salon worker who works in Wong Tai Sin and is a suspected Delta carrier.

Sara Ho from the Hospital Authority reported that three staff at Queen Elizabeth Hospital assisting in the operations at Penny’s Bay Quarantine Center were among the residents in Kwai Chung who have tested positive for Covid-19.

She also confirmed that a number of staff at Princess Margaret Hospital who live in Kwai Chung estate have been given medical leave.

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Ho also reported that two persons who subsequently tested positive for Covid-19 had donated blood, one on Jan 16 in Tsuen Wan, and the other on Jan 20 in Sha Tin.

She said the HA has recalled some of the blood products, while a patient who had used the platelets from a donated batch is being monitored. Ho said there is little risk of the virus being passed on through blood.

As of today, 30 more Covid-19 patients were discharged after treatment, raising the number of recoveries to 12,602. A total of 426 patients are still being treated in various public hospitals and treatment centers, and all of them are stable.

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Wanted: Customer Service Officer, Ethnic Market (Tagalog Speaking)

 

Responsibilities:

·         Handle Tagalog speaking customers' enquiries and complaints in a professional manner via Call, Facebook & Instant messaging service

·         Manage customer engagement and community platform on social media

·         Cross selling and promote company products and services

·         Make out-going call to collect customer feedback

Requirements:

·         Must be HK Permanent Resident, (ROA) Right Of Abode & with proper Visa to work

·         High school or above with minimum 1 year relevant experience in service industry

·         Good computer literacy

·         Digital savvy with knowledge of social media apps & forums

·         Good spoken Tagalog / English / Chinese is an advantage

·         Customer oriented, pleasant, mature, independent and able to work under pressure

·         Ability to work independently, mature and resourceful

·         Fresh graduates will also be considered

Send resume / CV (please put CSO on the email subject) to alvin_dayrit@smartone.com.

Labour offices in Cheung Sha Wan to shut after CTN issued on 95 places

By The SUN 

Labour Department offices on the 10th floor of the Cheung Sha Wan govt building will be shut

Labour offices located on the 10^th floor of the Cheung Sha Wan Government Offices will suspend services from tomorrow, Jan 24, until further notice after they were put under a compulsory testing notice published today.

A government statement said those affected are the service counters of the Minor Employment Claims Adjudication Board, the Labour Relations Division (Kowloon West Branch Office), the Employees' Compensation Division, the Occupational Medicine Unit (Kowloon), the Operations Division (Kowloon Region) of the Occupational Safety Service and the Labour Inspection Division.

All those who have booked appointments with these offices will be informed of alternative arrangements.

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The CTN covering anyone who stayed at the specified Labour Department offices for more than one hour during between Jan 17 to 21 also covers 94 other premises.

They include a number of restaurants and facilities in Kwai Chung, where about 170 people have so far been detected with Covid-19.

The CTN covering 89 premises was issued after a total of cases of Covid-19 were reported the previous day. Four of these were local cases, three were imported, one non-locally confirmed case wh had stayed in Hong Kong, and 22 preliminary positive cases.

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In addition, two pet shops were included in the CTN after environmental samples taken from there tested positive, likely with the Delta variant.

A further four places in Kwai Chung were added after sewage samples taken from there also tested positive for the coronavirus.

The statement urged those covered by the CTN to strictly follow the compulsory testing requirements and undergo the multiple tests on time as required.

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The compulsory testing requirement applies even to those who are fully vaccinated.

All those covered are advised to closely monitor their health conditions and seek medical attention and undergo testing even if they have only mild symptoms.

Covered persons must go to any of the mobile specimen collection stations, community testing centres (CTCs) or recognised local medical testing institutions to undergo professional swab sampling in fulfilling the requirements for compulsory testing. Young children may provide a stool specimen for the testing.

Details of the compulsory testing notice are available on the Centre for Health Protection's website via the following link: (www.chp.gov.hk/files/pdf/ctn_20220122.pdf).

Tests done at public hospitals do not comply with the CTN, says the govt

The government will set up mobile specimen collection stations at several locations in Kwai Chung Estate and re-open mobile specimen collection stations at the following locations to provide free services to persons put under a CTN today:

• Open area outside Yuk Kwai House, Kwai Chung Estate

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• Badminton and basketball courts outside Luk Kwai House, Kwai Chung Estate
• Badminton and basketball courts outside Chin Kwai House, Kwai Chung Estate
• Open area next to Chau Kwai House, Kwai Chung Estate
• Volleyball court next to Chun Kwai House, Kwai Chung Estate
• Open area/ball court outside Pak Kwai House, Kwai Chung Estate
• Open area next to Tsz Kwai House or Yan Kwai House, Kwai Chung Estate
• Open area outside Mei Yue House, Shek Yip Mei Estate
• Open area outside Tower 4, Bauhinia Garden, Tseung Kwan O
• Open area outside Block 3, Po Tin Estate, Tuen Mun
• Open area outside Block 2, Tsui Ning Garden, Tuen Mun 

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Separately, the following mobile specimen collection stations will cease operation today to enhance services in the most affected areas: Handball court of Victoria Park, Causeway Bay Community Centre, Pik Long House of Shek Pai Wan Estate, Yue Kwong Road Sports Centre, Wong Chuk Hang Recreation Ground, Cheung Sha Wan Sports Centre, Cheung Sha Wan Playground, Lai Chi Kok Park entrance, Arthur Street Temporary Playground in Yau Ma Tei, Tsuen Nam Road in Tai Wai, Tai Po Community Centre, Kin Sang Community Hall in Tuen Mun and Hong Kwai House of Cheung Hong Estate.

Persons subject to a CTN may choose to undergo testing via the following routes:
1. To visit any of the mobile specimen collection stations (see the list and target groups (if applicable) at www.coronavirus.gov.hk/eng/early-testing.html) for testing;
2. To attend any of the CTCs (see the list at www.communitytest.gov.hk/en);
3. To self-arrange testing provided by private laboratories which are recognised by the DH and can issue SMS notifications in respect of test results (see the list at www.coronavirus.gov.hk/pdf/List_of_recognised_laboratories_RTPCR.pdf), and the relevant sample must be taken through combined nasal and throat swabs; or
4. To use a specimen bottle distributed to the relevant specified premises by the CHP (if applicable), and return the specimen bottle with the stool sample collected as per relevant guidelines.

If a person subject to compulsory testing obtains a medical certificate issued by a registered medical practitioner, proving that he or she is unfit to undergo testing using a sample taken through combined nasal and throat swabs because of health reasons, then he or she may choose to undergo testing via the following routes by providing a deep throat saliva sample:
1. To obtain a deep throat saliva specimen collection pack from any of the 120 post offices, vending machines set up at 20 MTR stations or 47 designated general out-patient clinics (GOPCs) of the Hospital Authority and return the specimen to one of the designated specimen collection points (see the distribution points and times, and the specimen collection points and times, at www.coronavirus.gov.hk/eng/early-testing.html);
2. To undergo testing at any of the GOPCs of the Hospital Authority as instructed by a medical professional of the Hospital Authority; or
3. To self-arrange testing provided by private laboratories which are recognised by the DH and can issue SMS notifications in respect of test results.

The statement warned that those who are tested at accident and emergency departments of public hospitals or during hospital stays, or by private laboratories that cannot issue SMS notifications of the test results, are not deemed to have complied with a CTN.

Persons subject to compulsory testing must keep the SMS notifications of their test result and the relevant medical certificate if applicable, so these can be shown to a law enforcement officer as proof of compliance. 

In addition, they should maintain good personal hygiene, wear a mask and avoid going out as much as possible until their test result is out. 

Any enquiries on compulsory testing arrangements may be addressed to the hotline at 6275 6901, which operates daily from 9am to 6pm.  The booking hotlines of the CTCs are available at www.communitytest.gov.hk/en/info.

The government says it will continue to track down possibly infected persons and “seriously verify” if they had complied with testing notices. Any violator may be fined a a fixed penalty of $5,000. 

The person would also be issued with a compulsory testing order requiring him or her to undergo testing within a specified period. Failure to comply with the order would make the offender liable to a fine of up to $25,000 and imprisonment for six months.

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