Minutes of 1st Special Meeting of the Sixth Term of Wong Tai Sin District Council, HKSAR
Date: 29 January 2020 (Wednesday) and 4 February 2020 (Tuesday) Time: 3:20 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. Venue: Conference Room, Wong Tai Sin District Council, 6/F, Lung Cheung Office Block, 138 Lung Cheung Road, Wong Tai Sin, Kowloon
Chairman:
Mr. HUI Kam-shing
Vice-chairman:
Mr. WONG Yat-yuk
Present (According to the record on 4 February):
Mr. CHAN Chun-yu WTSDC Member Mr. CHAN Kai-shun, Gary " Mr. CHAN Lee-shing " Mr. CHENG Man-kit, JC " Mr. CHENG Tsz-kin " Ms. CHEUNG Ka-yi, Kathy " Mr. CHEUNG Mau-ching " Mr. CHONG Ting-wai " Ms. KWOK Sau-ying " Miss LAU Ka-man, Carmen " Mr. LEUNG Ming-hong, Steve " Mr. MOCK Ho-chit, Sean " Ms. MOK Ka-han, Rosanda " Ms. MOK Yee-ha " Dr. SHAM Yu-hin, Eddy " Mr. SHUM Wan-wa " Mr. SZE Tak-loy " Ms. TAM Heung-man, Mandy " Mr. TANG Wai-keung " Mr. WAN Chi-chung, Hiroko " Mr. WU Chi-kin " Mr. YAU Hon-pong "
Absent with Apologies:
Mr. LIU Sing-lee WTSDC Member
6_DC[SM1](2020.1.29&2.4)[3]-e_r 1 In Attendance:
Mr. CHAN Zhuo-xi, Daniel Acting District Officer (Wong Tai Sin) WTSDO Ms. LUI Siu-ying, Micy District Social Welfare Officer SWD (Wong Tai Sin/Sai Kung) Mrs. TANG FUNG Shuk-yin Chief Manager/Management HD (Wong Tai Sin, Tsing Yi & Tsuen Wan) Mr. KAN Hon-shing Chief Engineer/East 3 CEDD Mr. TSE Kong-wai, Eric Chief Transport Officer/Kowloon TD Mr. LEUNG Chi-fai, Stephen District Leisure Manager (Wong Tai Sin) LCSD Mr. LEUNG Chi-ming District Environmental Hygiene Superintendent FEHD (Wong Tai Sin) Ms. HON Hin-yan Senior School Development Officer (Wong Tai Sin)2 EDB Mr. Myron NG Assistant General Manager – Community Relations The Link Mr. Nick YIU Senior Manager – Community Relations " Ms. Jessica LEUNG Senior Public Relations Executive (External Affairs) MTRCL Ms. LEUNG Wai-chun, Karmen Senior Liaison Officer (1) WTSDO Ms. WONG Wai-fong, Bonnie Senior Liaison Officer (2) " Ms. TANG Kit-wah, Fanny Senior Executive Officer (District Management) " Mr. LAU Hak-keung, Eric Executive Officer I (District Council) "
Secretary:
Ms. FU San, Flora Senior Executive Officer (District Council) WTSDO
Opening Remarks
The Chairman said that the supporting services of the Secretariat was not available due to special circumstances, but this special meeting of the Wong Tai Sin District Council (“WTSDC”) would still go ahead as planned. Owing to special administrative arrangement, the starting time of this meeting would be changed from 2:30 p.m. as originally scheduled to 3:20 p.m. According to the agenda, the first agenda item of this meeting was the report of various government departments on their preventive measures taken in response to the novel coronavirus outbreak, their acquisition and dissemination of the information, and their contingency plans in case of community outbreak in Wong Tai Sin District. However, as a result of the political suppression from the Home Affairs Department (“HAD”) and its request for cancellation of the meeting, no government representatives showed up, and no
6_DC[SM1](2020.1.29&2.4)[3]-e_r 2 discussion could be held on this agenda item. Separately, he said that prior to the meeting, two impromptu motions respectively put forward by Ms. MOK Ka-han, Rosanda and Mr. YAU Hon-pong were received. The motions were respectively about the views on the epidemic preventive measures and request to all execution departments for fighting the epidemic at full strength.
I. Impromptu Motion: “Impromptu Motion at the Special Meeting of Wong Tai Sin District Council held on 29 January 2020
2. Ms. MOK Ka-han, Rosanda briefed the meeting on the motion (Annex I).
3. The Chairman said that this motion was moved by Ms. MOK Ka-han, Rosanda and was seconded by 18 WTSDC Members.
4. The Chairman confirmed that no amendment to the motion was put forward by Members present at the meeting.
5. The Chairman called upon Members to vote on the motion moved by Ms. MOK Ka-han, Rosanda.
6. The Chairman announced unanimous passage of the motion by Members present at the meeting and asked the Secretariat to convey the motion to the government departments concerned for follow-ups.
II. Impromptu Motion: “Request to All Executive Departments for Fighting the Epidemic at Full Strength”
7. The Chairman said that prior to the meeting, a motion of request to all executive departments for fighting the epidemic at full strength moved by Mr. YAU Hon-pong was received.
8. Mr. YAU Hon-pong briefed Members on the motion (Annex II).
9. The Chairman said that this motion was moved by Mr. YAU Hon-pong and was seconded by 18 WTSDC Members.
6_DC[SM1](2020.1.29&2.4)[3]-e_r 3 10. Mr. MOCK Ho-chit, Sean supported the motion, opining that the absence of the government departments from and the unavailability of the Secretariat support for this special meeting had reflected that the executive departments were under the influence of the policy bureau. He had never seen any service delivery of frontline civil servants having been affected by political factor and believed that the absence of the government representatives and the Secretariat staff from this special meeting was the result of the policy bureau’s decision. Separately, he was concerned about the impacts of the implementation of the Government’s work-from-home arrangement for civil servants on the operation of the public rental housing (“PRH”) estate management offices, in particular, the impact of the closure of those offices on the cleanliness of and refuse disposal in the public estates. He had originally planned to enquire the representatives of the Housing Department (“HD”) at this meeting whether the Department would arrange duty staff to monitor the cleaning work of the housing estates during the government’s work-from-home period but its representative refrained from attending the meeting due to political reason. Therefore, he strongly supported the motion, opining that the executive departments should not have acted out of political considerations like the policy bureau did. Instead, they should give priority to the people’s livelihood issues and the fight against the epidemic, listen to Members’ views and provide more direct information to Members for dissemination to the residents in the district. He said that as these days many residents in the district had expressed to him their concerns on the epidemic, he hoped that the Chairman could relay the messages to various government departments although no enquiries could be made to the government departments at this meeting. Also, he hoped various government representatives could attend the next meeting to listen to the worries of the residents in the district, provide them with practical and feasible anti-epidemic measures, and join hands with Members in the fight against the epidemic.
11. Mr. CHAN Chun-yu supported the motion. He requested the frontline government departments not to rely on the policy bureau for arrangement and opined that the government’s shirking of its anti-epidemic responsibility to the frontline departments and even to some outsourced management companies was undesirable. He noted that the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (“LCSD”) had closed some recreational facilities and the Social Welfare Departments (“SWD”) had requested the social welfare organisations to consider putting a halt to some non-emergency services. However, the Government was not seen having put in place any ancillary measures for the above arrangements. The school suspension arrangement was an example. Neither did the government provide childcare services for the working families nor the Education Bureau (“EDB”) attended this meeting to answer the enquiries. He opined
6_DC[SM1](2020.1.29&2.4)[3]-e_r 4 that the Government had outsourced the anti-epidemic responsibility. It mouthed fighting with the community against the epidemic but there were neither corresponding measures nor anti-epidemic supplies. He said the Government should offer more support to the frontline departments and outsourced management companies for effective fight against the epidemic. Regarding the production of face masks by the Correctional Services Department (“CSD”), he enquired about the whereabouts of the face masks and whether the production volume would be increased. Separately, he asked whether the government had kept offering support to members of the public who still had to go out for work when the non-emergency services were suspended. Lastly, he requested CSD and the relevant departments to give a brief account of their anti- epidemic measures and distribution arrangement of anti-epidemic supplies, and hoped that the frontline departments could maintain flexibility when implementing the anti- epidemic measures.
12. Mr. WAN Chi-chung, Hiroko regretted that the representative of HD was absent from this special meeting. He said that many residents had enquired whether the soon-to-be-completed Wui Chi House of Tung Wui Estate would be used as a quarantine centre, and some even expressed that they were prepared to follow the example of Fanling residents who besieged Fai Ming Estate. Therefore, he hoped that HD could have an early clarification to dispel their worries. Separately, he said that the Hong Kong Government should follow the example of Taichung City and distribute 70 face masks to each family to address the public’s pressing need. Finally, he wished that the Government could put aside political differences and make concreted efforts in fighting the epidemic.
13. Mr. TANG Wai-keung opined that the phenomenon of panic buying for anti-epidemic supplies such as face masks and alcohol-based handrub after all was the result of people’s mistrust in the Government. Separately, he did not understand why the North District Council could hold the meeting as usual while WTSDC could not. He queried whether HAD and even the Chief Executive Mrs. Carrie LAM were bullying the weak and bowing to the strong, and asked whether WTSDC had to take corresponding actions in order to get attended to. He said that the purpose of this meeting was very simple, i.e., to request additional funding allocation for procuring anti- epidemic supplies such as face masks and alcohol-based handrub, so he did not understand why the government departments did not attend the meeting. He intended to, at the next meeting, move a motion to request the deletion of the post of Secretary for Home Affairs and the two posts of Deputy Directors of Home Affairs to free up more resources for procuring anti-epidemic supplies.
6_DC[SM1](2020.1.29&2.4)[3]-e_r 5 14. Mr. CHONG Ting-wai supported the motion, opining that the government officials showed a haughty attitude and ignored the increasingly severe epidemic while many experts had pointed out that the number of infected cases would increase in multiples. He said that there were already many deaths, infected and suspected infected cases on the Mainland and that if no keen efforts were made in fighting the epidemic, the consequences would be disastrous. He also felt puzzled about the work- from-home measures for the civil servants and questioned about its effectiveness. Besides, he reflected that there were private companies in Hong Kong not following the Government’s work-from-home measures for its staff, resulting that many of those who did not have face masks had to use tissue paper to cover their mouths and noses for work. He did not understand why the Government refused to close all the border control points and opined that the closure would render the public safer. Lastly, he cited Mr. Xi Jinping, the President of China, as saying that currently all departments should take the fight against the epidemic as their top priority.
15. Mr. CHAN Kai-shun, Gary said that since visitors would naturally use another control point if one control point was closed, he questioned the effectiveness of the Government’s partial closure of control points. He continued that as the closed control points did not include Shenzhen Bay, Lok Ma Chau and Lo Wu, which were with the highest passenger traffic, such closure was meaningless in his view. Furthermore, the closure did not come into effect until the small hours of that day, which missed the golden time to block the importation of the virus into Hong Kong. Separately, he expressed concern over the current shortage of anti-epidemic supplies such as face masks and alcohol-based handrub in the market, opining that the Government only hoped for improvement of the supply after the Chinese New Year without taking any practical measures to curb hoarding or speculation. He originally intended to enquire the government departments at this meeting about the initiatives for stabilising the supply of anti-epidemic supplies, including free distribution of face masks to the public in need, but regrettably the government representatives did not show up. Furthermore, he said that the Government solely relied on the voluntary health declaration by the arrivals. In case there were suspected infected persons arriving Hong Kong from the Mainland did not declare or deliberately made misrepresentation, it would then be impossible to tack down the source of infection. Therefore, he hoped that the frontline staff could make keener efforts in this regard by, for example, asking people entering Hong Kong some questions.
6_DC[SM1](2020.1.29&2.4)[3]-e_r 6 16. Mr. SHUM Wan-wa spoke highly of the Macau Government’s distribution of face masks to its residents with Macau I.D. cards through pharmacies and said that its announcement on the supply of face masks was very clear and transparent. Compared to that of the Macau Government, the Hong Kong Government’s approach of doing nothing made him puzzled. While calling for concerted efforts against the viruses, our government provided no substantive support to the community. He originally intended to, through this special meeting, make possible early coordination of the various departments and discuss ways to procure anti-epidemic supplies. Unfortunately, there was no such opportunity. He did not understand why the North District Council could hold the meeting as usual but WTSDC could not get the support, opining that the Government was “impeding them from doing so”. Saying that the Chief Secretary for Administration had pledged last year that the Government would solve the knotty and deep-seated problems of the society in adherence to its policy objective of “addressing people’s pressing needs”, he queried if HAD’s cancellation of this special meeting met the new policy objective of the Chief Secretary for Administration, and criticised the Government for its worsening approach in handling matters. Separately, he said that although WTSDC had already endorsed earlier a funding allocation of $70,000 for procuring face masks and it also intended to use the funding of WTSDC and Wong Tai Sin District Office (“WTSDO”) for additional allocation, whether the anti-epidemic supplies could timely be replenished was worrying due to a shortage in face mask supply and therefore the procurement process had to be sped up. He expressed that as many residents in the district had relayed to him their concerns for the quality of the face masks and worries over the sale of secondhand face masks in the market, he opined that the Government had the responsibility to announce concrete and feasible measures to the public to stabilise popular sentiments. Also, he appreciated the frontline civil servants, saying that from what he saw during his eight- year tenure in the Council, most civil servants were outstanding performers with diligent attitude and the more frontline posts they were in, the stronger sense of responsibility they had. Meanwhile, the senior government officials who were sitting in their air- conditioned rooms knew nothing about the plight of the people and their visits to the community for the public’s views seemed like a show performance, and the result was ineffective. He recalled that when the Financial Secretary visited the district, he relayed the issues of district and policy to him. However, the senior government official just spoke without taking action, sheerly having no intention to help solve the substantive issues. When the Chief Executive Mrs. Carrie LAM was the Secretary for the Development Bureau, she had also pledged to address the Link issue but it ended up with nothing definite. He expressed great disappointment with the senior government officials and appealed to the colleagues in the Council, frontline civil servants and contractors again for joint efforts against the epidemic.
6_DC[SM1](2020.1.29&2.4)[3]-e_r 7 17. Mr. SZE Tak-loy said while Mr. SHUM Wan-wa had mentioned that the government had been doing nothing but in fact it was “incapable of governing”, he opined that the SAR Government had lost its will power to govern. From the issues of democratic policy and universal suffrage to issues of people’s livelihood in the district, all the Government’s approaches had completely disappointed the public. He said that the face masks merchants were adopting unscrupulous sales practices and unscrupulous suppliers were fishing in troubled water. Separately, he opined that HAD was suppressing and obstructing the operation and community coordination work of the Council, and considered that the Chief Executive should resign. Besides, he appealed to all Members’ support for the motion of requesting the Housing Department’s written commitment of not using the newly-built PRH in Fu Shan Estate and Tung Wui Estate for anti-epidemic purpose, and suggested following the practice adopted during the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (“SARS”) by borrowing the barracks of People’s Liberation Army (“PLA”) or requisitioning holiday villages as quarantine centres.
18. Mr. WU Chi-kin said that he strongly supported Mr. YAU Hon-pong’s motion as the meeting of that day was very urgent. He said it was precisely because there was no epidemic outbreak in Wong Tai Sin District that WTSDC should take the proper preventive measures for the outbreak and it should be the top priority of the Government or WTSDC. He continued that as many residents in the district would use the major public transport systems, WTSDC attached great importance to the preparedness of the transport operators in taking proper epidemic preventive measures to prevent accelerating the spread of the epidemic in the district. Separately, with the commissioning of the Tuen Ma Line on 14 February, he was very concerned about the epidemic preventive measures to be taken by the MTR Corporation Limited (“MTRCL”) but neither the government departments nor public transport operators attended the meeting on that day due to HAD’s arrangement. While saying that WTSDC highly respected those who worked on the frontline such as the healthcare workers and firemen, he also accused HAD of dealing with the livelihood issues through political means and said such act of belittling WTSDC would only make the public even more distrustful of the incumbent Government.
19. Mr. CHEUNG Mau-ching opined that currently, members of the public could only use “ridiculous” to describe the Government’s anti-epidemic approach. He believed that Members who were present at the meeting and even all the District Councillors in Hong Kong were facing repeated enquiries from the residents in districts on the face mask supply and the particularly severe shortage of children’s face masks had caused panic to the disadvantaged who could not afford the high prices for the
6_DC[SM1](2020.1.29&2.4)[3]-e_r 8 masks. Besides, he opined that the incumbent Government had neither the competency nor credibility of governance, saying that the Chief Executive never kept her promises, and no one would believe her pledges again. He said that the community was saving itself through self-help. All the recent information on how to wear and choose face masks came from self-initiated local organisations but such information should have come from the Information Services Department and Department of Health (“DH”). Separately, people were receiving the Government’s anti-violence message every day when they switched on their airwaves broadcasting device. However, the current top priority of the Government should be appealing to the public to wear face masks, take epidemic preventive measures and perform cleaning work instead. He did not understand the Government’s intention of keeping the anti-violence publicity going. Furthermore, for the Government’s continuation of appeal against ruling regarding the Prohibition on Face Covering Regulation amid the rapid spread of COVID-19, he described such act as ridiculous, a waste of resources and taxpayers’ money. He opined that the government representatives should have attended the meeting to brief the elected members on their measures and ways to help Hong Kong people to fight the epidemic. However, HAD prevented them from doing so on the ground that civil servants were required to work from home. As the result, Members could obtain no information. He believed that the government would definitely send representatives to attend the meeting if the Members present were from the pro-establishment camp and that one could see such move was obviously out of political consideration. He said that while the Government often appealed not to put politics before people’s livelihood but it itself ran in the opposite direction. He criticised the Chief Executive and her team for being ridiculous and requested them to have their duties properly performed.
20. Mr. CHAN Lee-shing said that he originally had high expectation for the special meeting, aspiring for better epidemic preventive work at district level through view exchange with various government representatives during the meeting. Although he was the Chairman of the Community Building and Social Services Committee, due to cancellation of the meeting, he could neither have the knowledge of how the Government would help the local organisations and non-governmental organisations with the epidemic preventive work nor help those organisations to cooperate with the Government to implement or arrange the epidemic preventive work. He believed that if the representatives of SWD, WTSDO or other departments could attend the meeting, the anti-epidemic measures discussed at the meeting could be put to implementation in the community. Unfortunately, no resources could be put to the anti-epidemic work through WTSDC on that meeting day. He agreed to this motion and hoped the motion could prompt the Government to expedite the epidemic preventive work.
6_DC[SM1](2020.1.29&2.4)[3]-e_r 9 21. Mr. MOCK Ho-chit, Sean added that according to his and other Members’ observation, the support to healthcare workers from the authorities was very insufficient. He opined that in order to win this epidemic battle, apart from the efforts of various government departments, the morale of the healthcare workers and Government’s support to frontline healthcare workers were particularly important. However, the healthcare workers might have to take industrial action to force the Government to fulfil their demands. A resident who was an ambulanceman of the Fire Services Department (“FSD”) had relayed to him that previously, the ambulancemen could change their face mask with a new one after completion of each case but currently they had to use one face mask for the whole day. It was worrying that the supply of protective equipment for FSD’s frontline staff who might have to contact with the patients and asymptomatic patients was insufficient. He reiterated that enhancing the support and care for the healthcare workers could help boost their morale which was crucial for victory over the epidemic. He hoped that the representative of FSD would be invited to the extended meeting to give an account to WTSDC of the epidemic preventive equipment on the ambulances and the support for the frontline staff.
22. Mr. CHAN Chun-yu added that the anti-epidemic work could not be delayed and he hoped the Secretariat staff working from home could expeditiously follow up on the issues discussed and motion passed at the meeting. Besides, he called upon the Secretariat to request LCSD and other government departments which should have been attended the meeting to report on their epidemic preventive measures as early as possible.
23. Mr. LEUNG Ming-hong, Steve said that he and several Members had just gone to Plaza Hollywood to rescue a shop owner who had delivered a large quantity of face masks from Thailand to Hong Kong. As the people queuing for the purchase of face masks outnumbered the amount of face masks, the shop owner was stranded by the customers. He continued that it was the Government’s job to provide face masks and no local merchants with a conscience should be left to pick up the pieces. It was totally beyond the public’s comprehension that why the Government’s decision came so late and the Government was so irresponsible. He reiterated that face masks and related information should be provided by the Government, not by members of the public or merchants on their own initiatives. Moreover, he opined that the Hong Kong’s healthcare system should serve Hong Kong people first, saying that although the Government had said that medical costs would be charged on patients from the Mainland, this was not enough. Instead, a punitive charge (for example, a double of the current charges) should be levied so as to prevent the Mainlanders from coming to Hong Kong for medical services. Saying that the Hong Kong medical system was
6_DC[SM1](2020.1.29&2.4)[3]-e_r 10 already at its critical point, he hoped that the Government could meet the demands of Hong Kong people for medical services and refrain from increasing the work pressure on the local healthcare workers. Charging the non-local patients at the market rate alone would be very unfair to the Hong Kong residents and could not help fighting the epidemic. To sum up, he hoped that the Government could respond quickly instead of passively on the control point closure, medical service provision and face mask supply. Or else, people would get more worried about the current situation and be totally disappointed with the Government’s governance.
24. The Chairman confirmed that no amendment to the motion was put forward by Members present at the meeting.
25. The Chairman called upon Members to vote on the motion moved by Mr. YAU Hon-pong on “Request to All Executive Departments for Fighting the Epidemic at Full Strength”.
26. The Chairman announced the unanimous passage of the motion by Members present at the meeting. He called upon the Secretariat to convey the motion to the government departments concerned for follow-ups.
III. Impromptu Motion: “Request for the Housing Department’s Commitment of Not Using the Newly-built Public Housing in Fu Shan Estate and Tung Wui Estate for Anti-epidemic Purpose”
27. Mr. SZE Tak-loy briefed Members on the motion (Annex III).
28. The Chairman said that this motion was moved by Mr. SZE Tak-loy and was seconded by 17 WTSDC Members.
29. The Chairman confirmed that no amendment to the motion was put forward by Members present at the meeting.
30. The Chairman called upon Members to vote on the motion moved by Mr. SZE Tak-loy on “Request for the Housing Department’s Commitment of Not Using the Newly-built Public Housing in Fu Shan Estate and Tung Wui Estate for Anti- epidemic Purpose”.
6_DC[SM1](2020.1.29&2.4)[3]-e_r 11 31. The Chairman announced the unanimous passage of the motion by Members present at the meeting. He called upon the Secretariat to convey the motion to the government departments concerned for follow-ups.
32. The Chairman said that due to the non-attendance of government departments, no responses from the department representatives to the three agenda discussion items could be obtained on the spot. He then announced the adjournment of the meeting in accordance with Order 11 of the Wong Tai Sin District Council Standing Orders and an extended meeting would be held at 2:30 p.m. on 4 February (Tuesday). The departments concerned, including the Food and Health Bureau (“FHB”), DH and Hospital Authority (“HA”) which had earlier declined the meeting invitation, would be invited to attend the meeting.
33. The Chairman adjourned the meeting at 4:10 p.m. and the extended meeting would be held at 2:30 p.m. on 4 February (Tuesday) in this Conference Room.
Opening Remarks at Extended Meeting held on 4 February
34. The Chairman welcomed all to the extended meeting of the first special meeting of the Sixth-term WTSDC, saying that the main purpose of this meeting was to deliberate on the collaborative arrangement for epidemic prevention with various government departments amidst the recent record of many confirmed pneumonia cases associated with the novel coronavirus in Hong Kong and the neighbouring areas, and discuss how to prevent the virus from spreading in the Wong Tai Sin community. The Chairman welcomed Mr. CHAN Zhuo-xi, Daniel, Acting District Officer (Wong Tai Sin) of WTSDO, Ms. LUI Siu-ying, Micy, District Social Welfare Officer (Wong Tai Sin/Sai Kung) of SWD, Mrs. TANG FUNG Shuk-yin, Chief Manager/Management (Wong Tai Sin, Tsing Yi & Tsuen Wan) of HD, Mr. KAN Hon-shing, Chief Engineer/East 3 of the Civil Engineering and Development Department (“CEDD”), Mr. TSE Kong-wai, Eric, Chief Transport Officer/Kowloon of the Transport Department (“TD”), Mr. LEUNG Chi-ming, District Environmental Hygiene Superintendent (Wong Tai Sin) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (“FEHD”), Mr. LEUNG Chi-fai, Stephen, District Leisure Manager (Wong Tai Sin) of LCSD, Ms. HON Hin-yan, Senior School Development Officer (Wong Tai Sin)2 of EDB, Mr. Myron NG, Assistant General Manager – Community Relations and Mr. Nick YIU, Senior Manager – Community Relations of the Link Asset Management Company Limited (“the Link”), and Ms. Jessica LEUNG, Senior Public Relations Executive (External Affairs) of the MTR Corporation Limited (“MTRCL”), to the meeting.
6_DC[SM1](2020.1.29&2.4)[3]-e_r 12 35. The Chairman said that since this was the extended meeting of the first special meeting, the minutes and progress reports of the 2nd WTSDC meeting would be endorsed at the next WTSDC full council meeting in one go.
36. Members noted the agenda and proposed discussion timetable on table.
IV. Pneumonia Caused by the Novel Coronavirus
37. The Chairman said that this meeting would focus on the latest development of pneumonia associated with the novel coronavirus, including the epidemic preventive actions taken plus information acquisition and dissemination by various government departments, and the contingency plans of various government departments in case of community outbreak in Wong Tai Sin District.
38. Members noted the written replies to the above aspects from various departments (Annex IV to XVI). Also, Members noted the supplementary information submitted by FHB, HA and DH on table.
39. Ms. LUI Siu-ying, Micy of SWD, Mrs. TANG FUNG Shuk-yin of HD, Mr. KAN Hon-shing of CEDD and Mr. LEUNG Chi-fai, Stephen of LCSD said that they had no further to supplement.
40. Mr. TSE Kong-wai, Eric of TD supplemented the written reply, saying that in response to the Government’s announcement of passenger clearance service suspension of Lok Ma Chau Control Point starting from the early hours of 3 February, the corresponding feeder transport services were also suspended.
41. Mr. LEUNG Chi-ming of FEHD supplemented the written reply, saying that the Department was currently cleaning and sanitising the public places in the public markets with 1:99 diluted household bleach solution at least four times a day, and cleaning and sanitising the handrails of the escalators and the plastic sheets on the lift buttons with 1:99 diluted household bleach solution once every hour.
42. Ms. HON Hin-yan of EDB supplemented the written reply, saying that in the light of the epidemic development, EDB had announced on 31 January that class resumption for all schools in the territory would be on 2 March the earliest. EDB would, taking into account various factors such as the medical advice and schools’ preparation work, announce class resumption arrangement as early as possible.
6_DC[SM1](2020.1.29&2.4)[3]-e_r 13 43. Mr. Nick YIU of the Link supplemented the written reply, saying that the Company would conduct deep cleansing operations for all the toilets of its property and had already made efforts to ensure the proper function of and regular water injection to the U-shaped water traps according to the Buildings Ordinance (Cap.123).
44. Ms. Jessica LEUNG of MTRCL supplemented the written reply, saying that in response to the Government’s announcement of closure of various control points, the train service at Lo Wu Station and Lok Ma Chau Station of the East Rail Line were currently suspended but service between Hung Hom Station and Sheung Shui Station remained normal.
45. Mr. CHAN Zhuo-xi, Daniel of WTSDO supplemented the written reply, saying that HAD had announced on 1 February limited service resumption of all its Home Affairs Enquiry Centres with early closure at 5:00 p.m. As for the community halls/community centres, except when being used as temporary cold shelters when cold weather warning was in force, they would all be temporarily closed.
46. The Chairman called upon Members to ask short questions on the epidemic prevention issue.
47. Mr. LEUNG Ming-hong, Steve enquired EDB whether the tuition fees and school bus fees for February could be reduced or waived. He also hoped that EDB and schools could proactively find out the students’ movement, as well as their travel history and physical conditions.
48. Mr. CHENG Man-kit, JC enquired EDB about the homework arrangement for students during class suspension and whether promotion of school children to higher grade would be affected if the epidemic outbreak persisted. Moreover, he said that many parents were concerned whether the class suspension days would be counted as school holidays and whether the holiday arrangement for Easter and summer vacation would therefore be affected.
49. Ms. MOK Yee-ha enquired EDB about the arrangement of internal examinations and public examinations for senior secondary school students and she urged EDB to expeditiously issue clear guidelines for candidates sitting for the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination this year.
6_DC[SM1](2020.1.29&2.4)[3]-e_r 14 50. Mr. YAU Hon-pong enquired TD about the figures on cross-boundary passengers and vehicular flows through the HK-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Port and Shenzhen Bay Port. Separately, since there was no representative from HA attending the meeting, he hoped that the Secretariat could find out and follow up with HA on the arrangements for family members visiting patients in hospital and the nursing service.
51. Mr. WU Chi-kin was strongly dissatisfied with the non-attendance of the representatives of FHB, HA and DH, saying that their absence from the meeting would significantly affect the epidemic prevention work in Wong Tai Sin District. Separately, he was concerned about whether the commissioning of Tuen Ma Line would be delayed amidst the epidemic outbreak; if not, he would like to know more about MTRCL’s epidemic prevention work at Diamond Hill Station. He also expressed concern over the effectiveness of TD’s epidemic preventive measures formulated for public transport and suggested stepping up the cleansing efforts for transport facilities such as the Diamond Hill Station Public Transport Interchange. Noting that the Macau Government had made it a rule that all passengers on public transport had to wear face masks, he enquired TD whether Hong Kong would follow suit to prevent the spread of the virus. Moreover, he hoped that the departments concerned such as the Immigration Department could give an account of the assistance they would render to the Hong Kong residents stranded in Wuhan City of Hubei Province.
52. The Chairman called upon EDB and TD to respond.
53. Ms. HON Hin-yan of EDB responded on the homework arrangement for students, saying that since after the Chinese New Year, EDB had been keeping a close eye on the schools for homework arrangement during class suspension, and advised them to arrange e-learning and use of online platform as far as possible. As for the school bus arrangement, EDB learnt that schools would follow up and discuss with the school bus operators on their own according to the established mechanism. Moreover, EDB had also requested schools to contact the students to find out their travel history on or before 3 February, such that schools could make proper arrangement for their students’ hygiene and health protection. Regarding the public examination arrangement details, discussion between EDB and the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority (“HKEAA”) was underway and the arrangement was to be announced by HKEAA. The number of class suspension days would be subject to the latest epidemic development, and EDB would discuss it with various departments and schools. At this moment, school resumption would be on 2 March the earliest.
6_DC[SM1](2020.1.29&2.4)[3]-e_r 15 54. Mr. CHENG Man-kit, JC followed up on EDB’s reply on the holiday arrangement. He said that EDB should, instead of making arrangement until 2 March, formulate clear guidelines specifying what the school should do if the school holidays exceeded certain days. If EDB had no such guidelines, he hoped that the Chairman or the Secretariat would advise EDB to take action as early as possible.
55. Ms. HON Hin-yan of EDB noted the suggestion and would give a reply as early as possible after internal discussion on the suggestion.
56. The Chairman appealed to EDB to formulate guidelines requiring schools to follow up on and record the travel history of students to prevent school outbreak caused by students who still attended schools after getting infected with the virus in overseas trips.
57. Mr. TSE Kong-wai, Eric of TD expressed that the figures on cross- boundary vehicular flows at various control points were not available. As for the epidemic preventive measures, the Department had been maintaining close liaison with the public transport service operators and requested the transport sector to step up the efforts in cleansing and sanitising the vehicle compartments, handrail facilities, air- conditioning filters, passenger waiting areas and staff facilities. Also, TD had issued health guidance to transport workers through the operators to remind them to observe good hygiene. With regard to the government-owned public transport interchanges managed by TD, the Department could liaise with the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department to adjust the ventilation if necessary. As for the suggestion of making wearing of face masks mandatory for passengers, he said that the Government had been urging members of the public to put on face masks in crowded places and that according to the prevailing Public Bus Services Regulations (Cap. 230A), a bus driver could refuse to permit a passenger to enter in or travel in the bus if the driver had reasonable cause to believe that the passenger was suffering from an infectious disease.
58. Mr. LEUNG Ming-hong, Steve, opining that as it would be difficult for bus driver to judge whether a passenger had an infectious disease or not by observation, suggested drawing reference from the practice of the Macau Government and making wearing of face masks mandatory for public transport users.
59. Mr. YAU Hon-pong enquired TD whether it could provide figures on the frequencies of the cross-boundary buses.
6_DC[SM1](2020.1.29&2.4)[3]-e_r 16 60. Mr. TSE Kong-wai, Eric of TD said that currently no related figure was available. The Department would give a reply after collection of the data.
61. Miss LAU Ka-man, Carmen said she learnt that there was a cross-boundary bus company having enhanced the frequency of its direct bus service to and from Shenzhen Bay Port and enquired whether application to TD for the increase was required.
62. Mr. TSE Kong-wai, Eric of TD responded that operation of cross-boundary bus services had to be approved by TD before commissioning. Regarding the media coverage that morning on a cross-boundary bus operator providing additional bus departures at other control points in response to the Government’s closure of certain control points, TD had immediately liaised with the operator for information. He continued that cross-boundary bus operators should obtain bus service quota jointly issued by the Hong Kong and Guangzhou authorities before service commencement. TD was looking into the actual situation currently.
63. Miss LAU Ka-man, Carmen asked TD to give a simple answer as to whether there was a cross-boundary bus operator providing additional departures that morning without giving notification to the Department.
64. The Chairman enquired TD if it had already noted or approved the cross- boundary bus operator to enhance bus frequency.
65. Mr. TSE Kong-wai, Eric of TD responded that the land-based cross- boundary services were under the purview of another office of TD and he did not have the full picture at that stage. He had enquired the division concerned before attending the meeting and noted that they were looking into the matter.
66. The Chairman called upon the TD’s representative to collect from the division concerned the details of the services enhanced by the cross-boundary bus operator, including the related figures, whether the Department’s approval had been granted with the reasons for approval, whether such arrangement was a temporary or time-limited one, and whether the bus frequency would be reduced due to unforeseen circumstances or worsening of the epidemic situation, and furnish a reply as early as possible.
67. Mr. YAU Hon-pong said that he wished to know whether TD noted the additional departure arrangement of the cross-boundary bus operator beforehand, or whether it was just the TD’s representative who did not know about the details at the moment. He said that if additional departure arrangement of cross-boundary bus
6_DC[SM1](2020.1.29&2.4)[3]-e_r 17 operator required approval from TD, the Department should be in the position to know whether such arrangement had secured the approval or not. He hoped that the TD’s representative could clarify whether the Department had a record of all departures of the cross-boundary buses but it was just impossible to provide the information right at the meeting.
68. Mr. TSE Kong-wai, Eric of TD said he noted the views of the Chairman and Mr. YAU Hon-pong, and would give a supplementary reply after looking into the matter.
69. Mr. YAU Hon-pong hoped the TD’s representative could confirm that the Department had already noted the additional departure arrangement of the cross- boundary bus operator but it was just impossible to provide the information concerned at the moment. Also, he enquired whether TD would have the record of the departures if additional departures did have arranged.
70. Mr. TSE Kong-wai, Eric of TD said that the Department was at the moment liaising with the cross-boundary bus operator for information regarding the media report. However, since he was not the responsible officer for this matter and the media report was just released on the morning of 4 February before the meeting, he himself did not have the information concerned. He would provide a supplementary reply after he had got the thorough picture.
71. Ms. TAM Heung-man, Mandy said that apart from the situation mentioned by other Members just then, she noted that the Eternal East Coach Company also had enhanced its bus frequency from two departures every hour to four departures every hour. She opined that such arrangement would bring more Mainlanders to Hong Kong and might multiply the health risk. Given the severity of the novel coronavirus epidemic with one death case, she questioned why the government departments still did not tackle the issue earnestly. Also, she was dissatisfied that some invited government departments did not attend the meeting, emphasising that the meeting was very important to Members and the residents. Separately, she opined that the TD’s representative attended the meeting on behalf of his Department but it felt like that he was not well-prepared for the meeting.
72. Mr. CHONG Ting-wai said he learned that a cross-boundary bus operator did not have to inform TD for resumption of its previously reduced departures and therefore wished to know whether TD would know the service resumption under such
6_DC[SM1](2020.1.29&2.4)[3]-e_r 18 circumstance. He did not wish to get the Department’s reply that the number of bus departures increased by the cross-boundary bus operator was not high, which was just because some figures were offset by the number of earlier reduced departures. He requested the Department to provide the information on the reduction of departures by the cross-boundary operators earlier and the resumption of the reduced departures afterwards, and reply whether there was further application for additional departures for Members’ better understanding of the current operation.
73. The Chairman said it was to his understanding that TD had admitted its knowledge of the media report on the additional departures of the cross-boundary bus operator. That said, its representative was not the responsible officer for the issue, and therefore, he was not able to provide the exact figure on the additional departures, the reasons for approval and the departure schedule at the moment. He requested the TD’s representative to give a reply to Members’ enquiries as early as possible.
74. Dr. SHAM Yu-hin, Eddy enquired about TD’s monitoring efforts in epidemic prevention on public transport, such as its monitoring on the face-mask wearing of minibus drivers or bus drivers. He expressed that he had received complaint from the public that a driver of minibus route in Tsz Wan Shan who did not wear face mask, making other mask-wearing passengers on board feel worried. A minibus operator would pose a huge hazard if it was unable to supply its drivers with face masks due to high prices or insufficient supply in the market and let them drive without wearing a face mask. Moreover, he noted from a news report that a bus driver of Citybus, who proactively requested passengers to wear face masks before getting on the bus or he would use his power as a bus driver to refuse their boarding, was later criticised by the senior management of Citybus. He enquired about TD’s response to the incident and said that the Public Bus Services Ordinance (Cap. 230) stipulated that a bus company could make by-laws to require passengers to comply with certain conditions and could impose fines. In this connection, he enquired TD whether the way in which the Citybus handle the incident was inappropriate and whether the Department could issue guidelines to the franchised bus operators requesting them to make by-law requiring passengers to wear face masks.
75. Mr. TSE Kong-wai, Eric of TD reiterated that the Public Bus Services Regulations (Cap. 230A) had stipulated that a bus driver could refuse to permit a passenger, whom he/she had reasonable cause to believe to be suffering from an infectious or contagious disease, to enter in or travel in the bus. The Department had been maintaining close liaison for some time with various public transport service
6_DC[SM1](2020.1.29&2.4)[3]-e_r 19 operators, such as the franchised bus and green minibus operators, for better understanding of their enhanced cleaning efforts and request them to report to TD in this regard.
76. The Chairman enquired TD whether it would provide clearer guidelines to the public transport service operators and whether it would advise them that they could invoke the Public Bus Services Regulations (Cap. 230A) to implement some measures.
77. Mr. TSE Kong-wai, Eric of TD noted Members’ views and added that the Department had already, during the initial stage of the outbreak, issued letters to all public transport service operators to disseminate information on prevention of the spread of infectious diseases on public transport.
78. Mr. LEUNG Ming-hong, Steve said that the TD’s representative had not answered his question, asserting that the Government should follow the Macau’s example by requiring all passengers to wear face masks when taking public transport. He queried whether the determination of Hong Kong to implement the anti-epidemic measures was not as strong as that of Macau and hoped TD could respond to the suggestion of the mandatory wearing of face masks by members of the public when taking public transport.
79. Dr. SHAM Yu-hin, Eddy enquired TD that if a minibus driver was found not wearing a face mask, apart from lodging a complaint to TD, what other specific actions could be taken to force him to put on a face mask immediately. Regarding TD’s request to the public transport service operators for enhancing their cleaning efforts and reporting their status, he opined that such request had no positive effect on the fight against the epidemic.
80. Vice-chairman Mr. WONG Yat-yuk raised follow-up question to TD on the enquiry made by other Members about the Citybus driver who cited the senior management of Citybus as saying that since the Bus Company did not have TD’s authorisation, bus driver could not refuse to permit passengers without wearing face masks to travel in the bus. However, the TD’s representative had just mentioned that the Bus Company did actually have the authority to make flexible arrangement. While enquiring whether there was communication problems or disconnection between TD and the bus operators, he said if TD could improve the communication by providing clear guidelines to the bus operators, the issue of considerate driver requesting passengers to wear face mask could be solved.
6_DC[SM1](2020.1.29&2.4)[3]-e_r 20 81. Mr. CHAN Kai-shun, Gary enquired TD and MTRCL that if the Government announced mandatory wearing of face masks by passengers when taking public transport, whether MTRCL had sufficient manpower to implement the measure when passenger flow was huge. Separately, he enquired whether the Tuen Ma Line Phase 1 would be commissioned on 14 February as scheduled.
82. The Chairman hoped that TD would follow up on the complaint about a minibus driver who did not wear a face mask, instead of taking no action after giving a verbal advice or even if the minibus companies did not follow the instructions. He hoped that the TD’s representative could relay the views to the relevant division of TD and clearly inform the public transport service operators of the Department’s instructions and request their compliance.
83. Ms. Jessica LEUNG of MTRCL understood that Members were concerned about whether the Tuen Ma Line Phase 1 would be commissioned on 14 February as scheduled and other related arrangements. She responded that the commissioning arrangement would remain unchanged and Members would be informed at once if there was any update. Regarding Members’ concern over the anti-epidemic measures to be taken by MTRCL for the passenger flow on the commissioning day, she said that MTRCL had been keeping a close eye on the pneumonia caused by the novel coronavirus and the latest development. As what had been mentioned in the written reply, MTRCL had strengthened its anti-epidemic measures at the stations in light of the latest development, including stepping up of the sanitising efforts for train compartments and stations, putting in place of disinfection points in all stations offering alcohol-based handrub to passengers. Although the commissioning day of Tuen Ma Line Phase 1 was a weekday, there would be peak hours and MTRCL would increase the manpower. The Corporation would require the frontline staff to wear face masks while on duty and provide them with face masks and alcohol-based handrub. All stations would put up notices and broadcast messages to appeal passengers to wear face masks and observe personal hygiene while in crowded places and taking public transport. MTRCL would keep a close watch on the commissioning day of Tuen Ma Line Phase 1 and the working team was making preparations for the commissioning in full swing with priority surely be given to the safety of the passengers and staff.
84. Mr. SZE Tak-loy hoped that HD could give a formal oral and written reply to the motion regarding requisitioning of the newly-built PRH estates as quarantine centres moved earlier to dispel the public worries over the setting up of quarantine centres. He said that there were two soon-to-be-completed PRH blocks respectively in
6_DC[SM1](2020.1.29&2.4)[3]-e_r 21 Tung Wui Estate and Fu Shan Estate of Wong Tai Sin District. Members of the public were worried that the Government would requisition the newly-built PRH as quarantine centres, and therefore, he hoped that HD could give a clear reply in this regard. Separately, he said many District Councillors were recently informed that some DC- funded programmes had been cancelled in light of the epidemic outbreak and the funding allocation involved might be over $1 million. He enquired the Secretariat whether it would, apart from awaiting notification of cancellation from the organisers, proactively enquire the organisers if their programmes would be held as scheduled and use the unspent funding for anti-epidemic purpose. He continued that while WTSDC had already endorsed several related funding applications by way of paper circulation last month and this month, some residents were concerned about whether the anti- epidemic supplies could be timely delivered to the community. Therefore, he wished to enquire about the procurement progress for the residents’ information on the availability time of the anti-epidemic supplies.
85. Ms. MOK Ka-han, Rosanda said that this meeting should have been held last week originally and she did not understand why HAD prevented WTSDC from holding the special meeting. Mentioning that the Secretary for Home Affairs had never shown up for the epidemic issue, she queried why he had the power to request WTSDC to cancel the special meeting. She considered that the Secretary for Home Affairs owed WTSDC an apology and Members were still very angry about it. Separately, she was also infuriated by the non-attendance of officers from HA and DH. When she heard the news back then, she contacted some of her friends working in HA and they replied coldly with merely several words, “Sorry, I can’t help you this time”. She did not understand why the major officials and departments could be so cruel and cold- blooded to all Hong Kong people amidst the epidemic of concern, and questioned how long they would like to continue to belittle WTSDC. She continued that currently many Hong Kong people were looking for face masks. While the Chief Executive of Macau Government proudly said that “all the face masks in Portugal had been bought by us”, she queried what the Chief Executive of Hong Kong Government had done except for calling on government officials not to wear face masks. She further asked which government officials present at the meeting would be willing to take off their face masks. Separately, she shared the concern of Mr. SZE Tak-loy over the recent rumors that some PRH estates or locations would be used as quarantine centres or isolation camps. Having heard that there should be three quarantine centres, she was not sure whether Jao Tsung-I Academy would also become a quarantine centre or not. She said that Members’ request was very simple, and that all Hong Kong people supported the use of PLA barracks and the disused Hong Kong Central Hospital as quarantine centres
6_DC[SM1](2020.1.29&2.4)[3]-e_r 22 or isolation camps. Therefore, she requested the Chief Executive not to ignore the public opinions any longer, and urged her to face Hong Kong people and fight the epidemic together. Also, she expressed her heartfelt gratitude to the healthcare workers. Although they were currently on strike, she believed that all DC Members would support the healthcare sector and walk with the healthcare workers. Furthermore, she enquired HD how it would handle the currently enclosed fitness facilities as the residents were worried that the Department would not clean the facilities after the enclosure and no notice had been put up to state the reasons for enclosure. Moreover, she heard that HD’s current suspension of the putting up of posters by Members was to reserve the notice boards for epidemic-related information. She wished to clarify that the information disseminated by DC Members were also epidemic-related and queried the Department’s move in sealing off all the notice boards for use by DC Members.
86. Mr. SHUM Wan-wa expressed strong condemnation against FHB, DH and HA over their non-attendance at the WTSDC meeting, saying that they should be the most relevant epidemic-departments, and FHB in particular was responsible for coordinating the anti-epidemic policies. However, none of them sent representative to attend the meeting. They just worked behind closed doors and had no courage to face up to the public opinion of Hong Kong. While it was heard that quarantine centres would be set up in all the 18 districts, he was dissatisfied that the Government had neither announced the criteria for selecting the sites nor responded to the public’s demand of opening up the PLA barracks for setting up a quarantine centre. The failure in conducting prior consultation on using Jao Tsung I Academy as a quarantine centre had aroused discontent and conflicts. He did not want to see similar situation happen again in Wong Tai Sin District and hoped FHB could give an account of the preliminary selected site in Wong Tai Sin District and indicate whether it was willing to come to WTSDC to consult Members and listen to public’s views on the site selection. He also hoped that WTSDC Secretariat could convey Members’ enquiries to and their discontent towards FHB, DH and HA.
87. Dr. SHAM Yu-hin, Eddy, noting that the Chief Secretary for Administration was appointed to lead an interdepartmental action task force, hoped that the government officials joining the task force could give an account of the concrete work of the task force, such as whether it had invited the related departments to attend meetings or what coordination efforts had been made after its inception. Separately, he said that as many rubbish bins placed in the public areas of the Link near Tsz Wan Shan Shopping Centre had been put away by the Link, many used face masks were found
6_DC[SM1](2020.1.29&2.4)[3]-e_r 23 disposed of on the flower beds due to lack of rubbish bins. He had urged the Link to provide rubbish bins and requested the Link to give an account of what would happen to all the removed rubbish bins in Wong Tai Sin District and whether covered rubbish bins specifically for disposal of face masks would be provided. Besides, as for the children’s recreational facilities at venues under the Link, such as the soon-to-open facility in Tsz Wan Shan Shopping Centre, he wished to know that whether the Link would consider temporarily closing or delaying the opening of the facility in light of the epidemic and whether similar arrangement would be made if there were other similar facilities in Wong Tai Sin District. He continued that while he had noticed from the Wong Tai Sin District Office’s written reply that it “would proactively liaise with various major local organisations and stakeholders and call on them to cancel the large- scale activities”, he found that a housing estate in his constituency had intended to hold a poon choi feast. After he phoned up its management company, the housing estate finally decided to portion out and distribute the poon choi to the residents for consumption separately instead to avoid gathering of people. He asked whether WTSDO was aware of the organisation of such event and whether it had proactively liaised with that housing estate to advise them not to hold the event. He said that if one person in the poon choi feast was a super-spreader of the novel coronavirus, other participants might be infected easily at any time. Moreover, since droplet transmission was the major way of spreading the novel coronavirus, he enquired FEHD whether it would step up efforts against spitting. Other than this, he relayed the worries of some members of the public that there was no government department responsible for the cleaning of the lifts at the footbridges, and enquired FEHD whether it was responsible for the cleaning of the footbridges in the district, whether it was using household bleach solution to disinfect the escalators or lifts at the footbridges and whether it had relevant cleaning guidelines.
88. Mr. CHAN Chun-yue enquired how the departments would ensure sufficient provision of protective gears to the front-line staff (such as cleaning workers and security guards). With respect to the HD’s written reply in which the Department claimed that cleansing would be carried out according to guidelines of FEHD and that the Marking Scheme for Estate Management Enforcement in Public Housing Estates (the “Marking Scheme”) would be strictly enforced, he enquired about the details of FEHD’s guidelines as well as the inspection and enforcement status of the Marking Scheme in Wong Tai Sin District in the past week. Regarding SWD’s one-off grant for non-governmental welfare organisations, he enquired about the amount of such grant, whether there were any restrictions on the use, and how sufficient provision of protective gears to the front-line social workers during discharge of emergency and non-emergency
6_DC[SM1](2020.1.29&2.4)[3]-e_r 24 duties could be ensured. Besides, he commended the Link for providing face masks and disinfectant alcohol to the public at its enquiry counters. Pointing out that cleaning workers had to spend long hours working in the toilets, he would like to know the provision of rest place by the Link for their use during their non-working hours and said that the Link should advise them to take a rest there during the break. Furthermore, he wished to learn about the whereabouts of the face masks produced by CSD, whether the government departments had enough stock of face masks and whether they could apply for supply of CSD-produced face masks in case of shortage.
89. Mr. CHEUNG Mau-ching stated that the contractors of HD and FEHD were experiencing a severe shortage of protective gears and cleansing supplies (such as face masks, bleach and disinfectant wipes). At present, the face masks for the security guards and cleaning workers of Tsz Lok Estate were provided by him, and the management company expressed that it had already placed procurement orders but the delivery date was uncertain. Under such circumstances, the cleaning workers were not able to carry out regular cleansing work as per the guidelines and replacement of the broken plastic sheets on lift buttons had to take a week, not to mention that some cleaning workers had to bring their own disinfectants for cleansing. He pointed out that there was currently a lack of face masks in the whole territory and our Chief Executive even requested government officers not to wear a face mask unless absolutely necessary, which was in fact a disregard of the lives of Hong Kong people. As the contractors were having great difficulties in procuring face masks, he urged HD and FEHD to ensure a sufficient supply of face masks for the front-line staff and acquire CSD-produced face masks when necessary with a view to fighting against the epidemic together. Concerning the fact that some cleaning workers of housing estates had to take meals in the refuse room, he requested HD and FEHD to furnish appropriate rest places to those workers so as to reduce the risk of disease transmission.
90. Responses of Mrs. TANG FUNG Shuk-yin of HD to Members’ views were as follows:
(i) Members were called upon to take note of the press release dated 28 January in which the Government had already expressed that it “will continue to identify suitable places to serve as quarantine centre facilities and other purposes. It, however, will not consider Fai Ming Estate or other unoccupied PRH estates”;
6_DC[SM1](2020.1.29&2.4)[3]-e_r 25 (ii) As special work arrangement for government departments was implemented to reduce the risk of the spread of the novel coronavirus in the community, HD would provide only basic and limited public services at the moment. To concentrate the manpower on the more urgent matters, the Department could not handle the applications for poster display for the moment;
(iii) To reduce the risk of spread of the novel coronavirus in the community, notices had been issued to the residents notifying them that some facilities in the PRH estates under HD’s purview (including children’s playgrounds) would be temporarily closed;
(iv) Due to the implementation of special work arrangement, there was no record of misdeeds last week. That said, the Marking Scheme had been enforced in Wong Tai Sin District in the past few months;
(v) Supply of bleach was arranged for the PRH estates with the shortage on the day of the meeting. HD would follow up with those PRH estates and reply to the Member concerned;
(vi) Contractors had been repeatedly reminded to provide their cleaning workers with appropriate places for taking rest and having meals; and
(vii) Contractors had been reminded, as far as possible, to provide appropriate face masks to their cleaning workers. With regard to the specific situation of some PRH estates, the Department would examine the issue further and revert to Member.
91. Mr. CHEUNG Mau-ching added that there was a serious shortage of face masks and the poor working environment of the cleaning workers entailed high health risks. HD and FEHD should request the Administration to distribute several hundred thousand CSD-produced face masks to the front-line workers.
92. Mr. MOCK Ho-chit, Sean enquired whether HD would continue to clean the closed public facilities. Besides, as there was no sewer at the public space in Choi Hung Estate, detergents could not be used for the cleansing work in the past.
6_DC[SM1](2020.1.29&2.4)[3]-e_r 26 Meanwhile, he learnt that some work sites had applied to the Environmental Protection Department for exemption to discharge sewage containing detergents into storm-water drains. In view of the rampant novel coronavirus epidemic, cleansing with merely water could no longer meet the residents’ expectation. He therefore enquired whether HD would have any corresponding arrangements if detergents had to be used for cleansing in PRH estates or whether it would draw reference from the example of the said work sites and apply for exemption.
93. Mrs. TANG FUNG Shuk-yin replied that HD had increased the number of cleansing operations in light of the novel coronavirus epidemic, with security gates, keypads and lift interiors being cleaned with 1:99 diluted household bleach. At the same time, HD would make sustained efforts in cleaning the closed public facilities. As regards Choi Hung Estate, apart from the monthly cleansing of the corridors and staircases, cleansing work were also performed with 1:99 diluted household bleach at present. For the situations of specific PRH estates, HD would examine them further and revert to Member.
94. Mr. LEUNG Ming-hong, Steve urged HD to face up to the cleanliness and hygiene issues of the district. For instance, plastic sheets were used for covering the lift buttons in Lok Fu Estate to facilitate the cleansing work only after his repeated requests. He also pointed out that numerous hand sanitiser dispensers in the Estate were damaged. Although the staff claimed that repair work would be arranged during Lunar New Year, no such work had been carried out so far and his offer of disinfectant hand rub at his cost had also been declined. Currently, the hand sanitiser was made available in bottles of only 50 ml and was used up very quickly without timely replenishment. It was hoped that HD would expeditiously follow up on this matter.
95. Mr. CHAN Chun-yue clarified that no hygiene promotion posters were seen on the publicity boards in the Upper and Lower Wong Tai Sin Estates. He did not mind letting HD use DC Member’s publicity board for hygiene promotion provided that the Department could strictly enforce the epidemic prevention work. He further pointed out that even though some of the staff were working from home, the Marking Scheme still had to be strictly enforced aside from the publicity efforts including display of posters on cleanliness and hygiene. He expressed that the epidemic prevention work could be effectively carried out only with the concerted efforts of government departments.
6_DC[SM1](2020.1.29&2.4)[3]-e_r 27 96. Mrs. TANG FUNG Shuk-yin responded that HD and the estate management companies had all along been keeping up the efforts and strictly enforcing the guidelines on cleansing of housing estates. While working from home, some HD staff kept monitoring the cleansing work carried out by the front-line workers. In fact, some of them returned to the office to work although the office still remained partially closed to the public in light of the epidemic. Moreover, HD did not forbid Members from putting up posters, rather it was just because the Department was unable to process the relevant applications in light of the current manpower arrangement. In regard to the situation brought forward by Mr. LEUNG Ming-hong, Steve, she explained that hand sanitiser dispenser was not a fixed facility for all PRH estates, and that the staff had arranged for the repair work and would make available large-bottle hand sanitiser as far as possible. She would also, after the meeting, communicate the issue with the management companies and estate managers of the PRH estates in the district for better understanding.
97. Ms. MOK Ka-han, Rosanda indicated that presently the practices adopted by each PRH estate in the processing of applications for the display of posters varied, and she hoped that HD could handle the applications in a fair and impartial manner with consistency. She noticed that there were some HD staff working in office and believed that they should be able to process the applications concerned.
98. Mr. CHENG Man-kit, JC considered the HD’s claim of lack of manpower to handle the applications unreasonable, pointing out that civil servants should be working at home instead of having a holiday. HD staff could vet the applications at home and Members were willing to email the documents to the staff concerned for processing.
99. The Chairman concluded that as far as Members understood, the existing guidelines and measures of HD had not been adequately implemented and enforced on the front line. HD was therefore requested to enhance its communication with internal staff and contractors after the meeting, and revert to the Members concerned afterwards.
100. Responses of Mr. CHAN Zhuo-xi, Daniel of WTSDO to Members’ views were as follows:
(i) In respect of the funding provision for procurement of anti-epidemic supplies, WTSDC was currently spending the funding for the financial year of 2019-2020. For the sums previously endorsed for
6_DC[SM1](2020.1.29&2.4)[3]-e_r 28 procurement of face masks ($70,000) and anti-epidemic packs ($390,000), they came from the re-allocation of the residual balance of the projects cancelled due to various reasons. The Secretariat would continue to use the same approach to examine whether there would be further resources available for the initiative. As for the procurement progress of face masks, the tender procedure was near completion and WTSDO had been engaging in active communication with the suppliers since work resumption after the Lunar New Year holidays. As for the procurement progress of anti-epidemic packs, WTSDO was currently tackling the procurement issues with the aim to expeditiously distribute the packs to the residents in the district;
(ii) Regarding the dissemination of messages concerning cancellation of large-scale community activities, WTSDO would approach Dr. SHAM Yu-hin, Eddy for an understanding of the activity or housing estate concerned after the meeting. It was hoped that a more comprehensive and proper dissemination of information to the community could be achieved in the future; and
(iii) It was understood that the Government Logistics Department (“GLD”) had been regularly procuring face masks from CSD. As for WTSDO, its front-line services included the Home Affairs Enquiry Centre, community halls/community centres and temporary cold shelters. WTSDO would control its inventory of and apply for face masks from GLD in light of the relevant service needs with a view to providing sufficient face masks for its front-line staff.
101. Mr. SZE Tak-loy stated that both the general public and healthcare workers had a keen demand for face masks. He was therefore very concerned about the delivery date of the face masks procured with WTSDC funding. To his understanding, many large events such as the spring reception, award ceremony, carnival and new year fair had been cancelled recently, and there might probably be a sum of unspent funding of nearly one million dollars. Thus, he hoped that the Secretariat could proactively contact the organisers concerned and re-allocate the relevant funding for the procurement of anti-epidemic supplies upon WTSDC’s endorsement.
6_DC[SM1](2020.1.29&2.4)[3]-e_r 29 102. Ms. TAM Heung-man, Mandy expressed that although WTSDC had earlier on endorsed the distribution of anti-epidemic supplies to all households of PRH estates, the distribution could only be made possible in March and she found that the procurement process was indeed too long. She hoped that WTSDO could sense the people’s urgency, and further enquired whether any special distribution arrangements would be made for singleton elderly with mobility difficulties.
103. Mr. CHENG Man-kit, JC said while the Building Management Ordinance (Cap. 344) provided that a general meeting had to be convened for the election of owners’ corporations (“OCs”), there were two OCs in the district failing to hold their election as scheduled due to the venue issue and they were worried that they might fail to meet the requirement on the time period prescribed in the Ordinance. Hence, he enquired WTSDO whether there were any measures to assist the OCs concerned.
104. Mr. CHAN Zhuo-xi, Daniel of WTSDO responded that WTSDO understood Members’ expectation for early distribution of face masks to the public and had strengthened its communication with the suppliers concerned. As for the distribution arrangement, the items would be distributed through Members. The face masks would be, upon receipt, evenly allotted to all 25 Members for distribution to the public. Separately, WTSDO would contact Mr. CHENG Man-kit, JC after the meeting to get a picture of the situation of the OCs concerned.
105. Mr. Myron NG of the Link first thanked Mr. CHAN Chun-yue for his commendation. He continued that as the recreational facility was at outdoors, intensive cleansing had been arranged twice daily. He invited Dr. SHAM Yu-hin, Eddy to visit Tsz Wan Shan Shopping Centre for inspection and assessment after the meeting. If both sides found it necessary to close the facility, the Link was ready to meet such request. He welcomed Members who were of the view that other public spaces of shopping centres under the Link should be closed to contact them after the meeting to arrange joint site visits for inspection and assessment. Furthermore, he expressed that the Link had already increased the provision of rubbish bins in the past two weeks. The property management company had also been urged to step up the clearance of the rubbish bins and the front-line cleansing staff was required to put on proper protective gears.
106. Mr. Nick YIU of the Link added that the request of Dr. SHAM Yu-hin, Eddy for provision of rubbish bins with lid in Tsz Wan Shan Shopping Centre for face mask disposal had already been received prior to the Lunar New Year. Sourcing of the
6_DC[SM1](2020.1.29&2.4)[3]-e_r 30 appropriate model was underway and Members would be briefed on the follow-ups. In regard to the Link’s provision of face masks and alcohol hand sanitiser at its enquiry counters mentioned by Mr. CHAN Chun-yue, the said arrangement had been made to over 120 locations under the Link. However, currently there was a shortage of but high demand for the said items, he appealed to all parties for understanding in case of failure in provision. As for the equipment for the cleaning workers, he said it had been clearly set out in the contracts between the Link and its contractors that the contractors were obliged to provide their front-line staff with suitable equipment. That said, in view of the present situation, the Link would check with the contractors about their equipment inventory and roll out collaborative arrangements when necessary. In fact, the Link had already supplied some face masks to the contractors for the use of the front-line staff. Concerning the provision of staff rest places, he stated that a full account could not be given due to varied arrangements at different sites but the issue would be handled with the principle of balance.
107. Mr. LEUNG Ming-hong, Steve expressed that someone had earlier on suddenly collapsed in the department store in Lok Fu Place and passed away after admission to the hospital for emergency rescue. There was also another person collapsed in a medical centre on the third floor of the same shopping centre the day before the meeting. The situation was worrying. While he considered it satisfactory that the Link currently cleaned the air conditioning filters and conducted disinfection with 1:99 diluted bleach, he was concerned about possible impact of the dust generated during the extension works of Lok Fu Place posing on the passers-by with respiratory diseases and hoped that the Link could put a hold on such works.
108. Miss LAU Ka-man, Carmen wished that follow-up efforts would be made regarding the incident of someone fainting in Lok Fu Place and urged for the Link’s quick action. Moreover, she pointed out that aside from that of the Lok Fu Place, the hygiene condition of the toilets of other shopping centres under the Link in Wong Tai Sin District also had to be improved. Seeing that most of the shopping centres with high people flow during the epidemic belonged to the Link, she wished to know the Link’s step-up efforts in its cleansing work.
109. Ms. MOK Yee-ha requested the Link to keep an eye on the hygiene condition of the toilets inside the market of Tsz Wan Shan Centre and hoped that the Link would keep closer watch on the crowded venues such as the shopping centre of Tsz Man Estate. Pointing out that the rooftop open space of the car park at the shopping centre of Tsz Man Estate was managed and cleaned by the Link, she had
6_DC[SM1](2020.1.29&2.4)[3]-e_r 31 observed these two days and found that some people were still gathering there for suspected gambling activities. Earlier on, she had already reflected such situation to the Link and was worried that the gathering of people would aggravate the spread of the virus. In this connection, she called upon the Link to step up inspection and cleansing efforts for the PRH venues under its purview.
110. Mr. Myron NG of the Link said in response to the enquiry of Mr. LEUNG Ming-hong, Steve about the extension works of Lok Fu Place that he and his colleagues would examine and assess the situation to determine whether the works should be suspended. Regarding the cleanliness of the toilets in the markets and shopping centres, the Link had activated the emergency response level since 25 January of this year, i.e., all the toilets would be closed for intensive cleansing twice a day or every two to three hours depending on the usage. He would review the condition of individual toilets with his property management colleagues and request the contractors to increase the cleansing frequency if the hygiene condition was found unsatisfactory.
111. Mr. Nick YIU of the Link added that they had been aware of the presence of people at the rooftop space of the shopping centre car park in Tsz Man Estate and had already contacted the government departments concerned. In addition, the property management colleagues would intensify the patrol in order to ameliorate the situation.
112. Ms. MOK Yee-ha further expressed that those who gathered at the rooftop space of the shopping centre car park in Tsz Man Estate did not wear face masks. Being worried that the risk of disease spread would be heightened, she thus requested HD to pay extra attention to this issue.
113. Mr. CHONG Ting-wai pointed out that piling up of rubbish could be found in most of the shopping centres under the Link, particularly the Temple Mall where eateries abounded. In this connection, he called upon the Link to urge the shop tenants to take care of their own rubbish or step up the enforcement of the penalty mechanism so that the shop tenants would stay vigilant in this unusual time. He continued that the Link, being the landlord, should monitor how its shop tenants handled their rubbish and forbid them to casually dispose the rubbish outside their shops.
114. The Chairman concluded that the theme of today’s special meeting was fight against the epidemic and he called upon the government departments and organisations concerned to take follow-up actions on Members’ views and enquiries. He pointed out that Members were rather concerned about the hygiene condition of the
6_DC[SM1](2020.1.29&2.4)[3]-e_r 32 toilets in the premises under the Link and suggested that the Link should put up notices to advise users to observe good practice for toilet hygiene, for instance, putting the toilet lid down before flushing. He continued that as concerted efforts of various parties were essential for fighting the epidemic in the community, he hoped that the Link could strengthen its communication with Members whose constituencies had the Link’s shopping centre to enable them to have better understanding of the situation of the shopping centres, and facilitate them in handling the problems faced by the residents regarding the use of facilities in the shopping centres.
115. The Chairman invited Ms. LUI Siu-ying, Micy of SWD to make a response in respect of the funding allocation.
116. The responses of Ms. LUI Siu-ying, Micy of SWD to the enquiries raised by Members were as follows:
(i) There were two types of SWD’s grant arrangements, namely, one for service units under subventions and contracts, and one for private and self-financing residential care homes (“RCHs”). For service units under subvention and contracts, each unit would receive $5,000. The grant would be provided on an organisation basis and the organisations could combine and use the grants obtained for the enhancement of personal protective gears, sanitising items and infection prevention measures. It also could be used for hiring of additional staff or outsourced services to strengthen disease prevention;
(ii) As for private and self-financing RCHs, since the number of beds in each RCH was rather varied, the grant was provided in two amounts basing on the bed number. Those with less than forty beds would receive $3,000 while those with forty beds or more would receive $5,000;
(iii) Subvented service units would receive the lump sum grant which allowed more flexibility, while self-financing service units were required to use the sum to purchase the items designated by SWD, which were mainly anti-epidemic and cleansing products, including ear or forehead thermometers, surgical masks, alcohol hand rub and household bleach, and the allocation would be made on an actual reimbursement basis; and
6_DC[SM1](2020.1.29&2.4)[3]-e_r 33 (iv) With respect to the protective gears for the employees, SWD had all along been letting the organisations make the procurement on their own. Each district’s Social Welfare Office (“SWO”) was maintaining close contact with the service units in its own district and would have discussion with them if the latter encountered difficulty. Up to the present, SWD had not received any request for assistance. That said, the Department had given instructions to all the service units requesting employers to take adequate protective measures for both their employees and service targets in accordance with the guidelines of the Centre for Health Protection (“CHP”). Moreover, to minimise the risk of community infection, provision of some SWD’s services was currently suspended or limited. Except for RCHs which would maintain their services as usual, other care service units (such as child care centres, elderly day care centres and after-school care programme centres) would be closed. Staff would still have to return to the centres during the closure to provide care support to service users to meet their needs as appropriate. That said, the service users had to contact the centres in advance for such arrangement.
117. Ms. CHEUNG Ka-yi, Kathy heard that meal delivery services for the elderly had been suspended in other districts due to the epidemic. Although the outreach services for the elderly in her constituency remained unaffected, case admission was currently suspended. Foreseeing that the epidemic would not be alleviated in a short time, she therefore wished to know more about the provision of the meal delivery service for singleton elderly in the entire Wong Tai Sin District and how the new applications would be handled if the epidemic persisted.
118. Ms. LUI Siu-ying, Micy of SWD replied that certain SWD’s specified services for the elderly or persons with disabilities, including meal provision, out-patient escort services, nursing services and drug management, would be limitedly provided. As regards case services, services for existing cases would be maintained while admission of new cases would be subject to the resources arrangement of individual service unit. Persons in need could seek assistance from the Integrated Family Service Centres in districts and the Centres would provide coordination service and support on a case-by-case basis.
6_DC[SM1](2020.1.29&2.4)[3]-e_r 34 119. Mr. CHAN Lee-shing expressed his concerns about SWD’s provision of one-off grant. As he predicted that the epidemic would persist for a while, he wished to know whether the grant would be made available in the future, and whether SWD would proactively liaise with the service organisations for better understanding of their needs. Furthermore, he also enquired whether SWD would communicate with the organisations in an active manner to assist them in tackling the shortage of resources.
120. In response, Ms. LUI Siu-ying, Micy of SWD said that the Department’s grant was one-off in nature and calculated on a financial year basis. As the current financial year would end in late March of this year, only grants in sums of $3,000 to $5,000 would be provided at the moment. New arrangement would be put in place in the light of the epidemic development. Regarding the information on anti-epidemic equipment, all district SWOs had been keeping in contact with the local service units and the Hong Kong Council of Social Service had also made coordinating efforts. She heard about the lack of equipment in other district and the SWO of that district shared its resources with the units concerned. Stressing that SWOs of every district had been keeping a close eye on the situation of the local service units and providing them with appropriate assistance, she appealed to Members not to be worried.
121. Mr. TANG Wai-keung hoped that the Secretariat could reflect the issues to DH and FHB as no representative from them was present. He first wanted to learn from SWD, HD and FEHD about the mandatory home quarantine measures for those who had been to the Hubei Province in the past fourteen days. Citing the announcement of compulsory home quarantine measures yesterday, he enquired about the support to be provided by the departments concerned in terms of meal arrangement, delivery of daily supplies as well as cleansing arrangement if there were quarantine cases in Wong Tai Sin District. He believed that the Departments had already set out clear guidelines for the handling of such cases and hoped that resource shortage similar to that in the Lady MacLehose Holiday Village quarantine camp would not happen again. Considering that no police officer would be on duty at the residences of the confinees to prevent them from leaving home, he enquired how the departments concerned could ensure the home quarantine measure be effectively implemented. Besides, the prevailing Employment Ordinance (Cap. 57) provided no legal protection to home confinees from being laid off during the home quarantine period, he thus hoped that the Labour and Welfare Bureau could answer whether any corresponding measures had been put in place to offer the protection. Furthermore, he relayed the residents’ enquiry on how suspected cases of people returning from the Hubei Province could be reported. In his opinion, the release of only the building list of home quarantine cases by CHP
6_DC[SM1](2020.1.29&2.4)[3]-e_r 35 would arouse fear in the community. He also enquired about the support of WTSDO and FEHD for the “three nil” buildings and whether cleansing would be arranged for them.
122. Miss LAU Ka-man, Carmen had some comments on the government departments’ action. She revealed that the documents submitted by the non-attending DH and HA were their press releases, while FHB’s reply covered the policies in relation to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 with attachment of a document which was for submission to the Legislative Council. She emphasised that WTSDC was to discuss local affairs of Wong Tai Sin District and hoped that the departments would, in the future, submit concrete replies regarding particular locations of Wong Tai Sin District or specific policies instead of documents that could be found on the internet. Hence, she urged all departments to stop using press releases as replies in the future.
123. Mr. WAN Chi-chung, Hiroko mentioned that he had received seven cases of students on exchange tours being stranded in Hubei and northern Guangdong. These students travelled to the Mainland by Express Rail Link train to take part in school exchange tours during the Lunar New Year holidays and were expected to return to Hong Kong on 4 February. However, they were stranded due to suspension of the Express Rail train services between Hong Kong and the Mainland. In this connection, he enquired how EDB could support these students. Besides, he pointed out that some refuse stations in PRH estates equipped with electrically operated rolling shutters were making the draught of the refuse station too strong that air transmission of viruses would become easier. Thus, he suggested that HD should draw reference from the PRH estates in Shatin District where leaf doors were used. Furthermore, taking the shopping centre of the Link in Tung Tau as an example, he said that while the cleaning work for the floor of the shopping centre was satisfactory, the floor would be much cleaner with the use of air blower.
124. In response to the SWD’s reply, Mr. CHAN Lee-shing said that while SWD had offered assistance to the work of non-governmental organisations, he was more concerned about the situation of the service recipients (the elderly in particular). As mentioned by Ms. TAM Heung-man, Mandy, singleton elderly were generally the ones with the most difficulty in obtaining epidemic prevention information and support. He enquired with SWD whether its current limited services would provide support to the singleton elderly and whether it would assist them in fighting against the virus through provision of anti-epidemic products.
6_DC[SM1](2020.1.29&2.4)[3]-e_r 36 125. Ms. KWOK Sau-ying hoped that the quality of the cleansing work in the district would not be compromised due to the Government’s special work arrangement. She supported the HD’s enhancement of cleansing work during the epidemic as undertaken by its representative but pointed out that monitoring of the work was equally important. Therefore, she hoped that HD could endeavour to strengthen its communication with all parties concerned. Moreover, she expected that the HD’s contractors would step up their cleansing efforts in the housing estates under the Tenant Purchase Scheme as well. Recently, she had received many complaints regarding spitting and littering of face masks, and hoped that HD would enhance its communication with the housing estate staff with a view to addressing the hygiene problem. Meanwhile, she was also concerned about the SWD’s granting of resources to non-governmental organisations and other service units as mentioned by Mr. CHAN Chun-yue. Although SWD’s representative said that the grant could be used for hiring staff, she opined that the biggest problem at the moment was the shortage of anti- epidemic products and enquired how SWD would assist in the procurement of such items. She expressed that her ward office had received many requests for assistance from singleton elderly for the provision of face masks but she herself could only get expired face masks to wear as the current challenge in purchasing anti-epidemic products was the lack of supply instead of high prices. She continued that many elderly persons were experiencing psychological distress. They dared not go out lately and many venues such as parks were no longer open, she therefore hoped that SWD could show more care for them. Besides, she received many comments from the community on the unsatisfactory hygiene condition of the markets under FEHD’s purview, for example, the hygiene condition of Tai Shing Street Market in her constituency was appalling. Thus, she hoped that FEHD would monitor the performance of its service contractors and appeal to the stalls to be self-disciplined. Moreover, she had been asked by many residents why there was no face mask distribution in Wong Tai Sin District so far. She said that being regarded by the public as a source of face mask provision, Members were under great pressure. Hence, she urged WTSDO to expedite the procurement process of face masks. In addition, she expressed her concerns over the front-line staff of government departments (cleaning workers in particular) and hoped that the departments would keep their promise by providing sufficient protective gears to their front-line staff.
126. Mr. CHAN Kai-shun, Gary enquired with CEDD about the details of the action plans to be implemented at each works site in response to the novel coronavirus development and mentioned that the New World Development Company Limited had in the afternoon announced works suspension at its works sites for two weeks starting from that day until the 17th of this month. He therefore wished to know whether CEDD would take similar measures and the relevant details.
6_DC[SM1](2020.1.29&2.4)[3]-e_r 37 127. Ms. TAM Heung-man, Mandy wished to know who was leading and coordinating the various departments’ anti-epidemic work, the direction, details and effectiveness of these anti-epidemic policy, and the Government’s policy on face masks. She pointed out that the Chief Executive of Hong Kong had openly expressed that face masks should not be worn whereas the Chief Executive of Macau said the public should wear face masks, announced the suspension of casinos for half a month and appealed to the public to reduce social activities. She could not comprehend why the Macau Government was able to supply face masks to the public while the Hong Kong Government failed to do so, and questioned whether the Chief Executive of Hong Kong should lead the Government to source face masks for Hong Kong people. She further said that while the price of face masks had increased from $1 to $12 and become unaffordable to the public, many residents blamed WTSDC Members for failing to get face masks for them and not doing their job. She queried what action the Chief Executive had taken to assist the public and requested the Government to clarify whether face masks should be put on as well as respond on how to acquire face masks.
128. Mr. MOCK Ho-chit, Sean expressed that the worry of Ms. TAM Heung- man, Mandy was exactly what Members present were concerned about. Pointing out that it would be ridiculous if the anti-epidemic packs could only be obtained after the epidemic ended, he called upon WTSDO to expedite the procurement process and procure face masks with the endorsed fund as quickly as possible to meet the imminent needs of the local community. Also, he was concerned about the hygiene condition of the markets. He mentioned that during a previous inspection of Ngau Chi Wan Market with Mr. WU Chi-kin and Health Inspectors of FEHD, he noticed that there were sufficient alcohol-based handrub dispensers in the market but all were empty. In his view, the said Market (the areas nearby the poultry stalls in particular) was in dire need of such facility for use by the stalls and the public, and therefore urged FEHD to improve such provision. Additionally, he reflected that illegal hawking of face masks in Choi Hung, particularly on the Ngau Chi Wan footbridge, had been very rampant. As the footbridge spanned across Wong Tai Sin District and Kwun Tong District, hawkers on the footbridge saw FEHD enforcement officers of the district on patrol would run off to the section under the purview of the other district and vice versa. He was delighted to learn that FEHD had already reinforced its inspection and hoped that the enforcement officers of both districts could coordinate their actions. He also learnt that some residents had taken pictures of hawkers selling face masks near the security guard post of the market but the only action that the FEHD’s management company could take was to drive the hawkers away. In this connection, he was of the view that FEHD should seize these exorbitantly-priced face masks of unknown sources.
6_DC[SM1](2020.1.29&2.4)[3]-e_r 38 129. Ms. CHEUNG Ka-yi, Kathy opined that Ms. TAM Heung-man, Mandy had spoken her mind. She reflected that Members were currently under enormous pressure, saying that they were reduced from the representatives of public opinion to face mask buyers and counsellors. She also pointed out that the society had already been filled with fear and anxiety. Worse still, there was a case of coronavirus death on the meeting day and it was regretful that FHB, DH and HA, the responsible departments, were absent from the meeting. She learnt that there was a patient confirmed with novel coronavirus pneumonia at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and all emergency patients of Wong Tai Sin District would be sent to that hospital. The residents of the district felt at a loss as to whether they should seek medical services at that hospital. In addition, she noticed that many singleton elders lacked the awareness of the importance of proper wearing of face masks or washing of hands and that the DH’s anti-epidemic information provided to them was insufficient. She further stated that, recently, the Lands Department, FEHD and Hong Kong Police Force had jointly removed the bills and posters from the footbridge outside Fung Wong San Tsuen and Fung Tak Estate Community Centre. In her opinion, there was no pressing need for such operation and she wished to understand why the departments had to rush into doing so.
130. Mr. CHONG Ting-wai criticised various government departments for failing to, in their written replies to WTSDC on the incidence of novel coronavirus- induced pneumonia, provide concrete details of their contingency plans in case of a community outbreak in the district and requested the department representatives to supply the relevant information. Besides, some residents relayed to him that no street cleansing work had been seen carried out. He therefore called upon HD and FEHD to give a response on the details of cleansing work in the housing estates, for example, the cleansing frequency and whether disinfection products were used. Also, he mentioned that he had already expressed his dissatisfaction with the hygiene condition of the refuse rooms in the housing estates to the relevant departments during a district visit earlier on but no improvement had been made. He further enquired with TD about the anti- epidemic measures targeting transport means, for instance, the supervision and monitoring initiatives on the cleansing work of transport means (such as red minibuses). Lastly, he stated that it was the wish of all taxpayers to know the quantity and whereabouts of the CSD-manufactured face masks and hoped that the Department would give an account to remove doubts.
131. Ms. MOK Yee-ha concurred with the view of Mr. CHONG Ting-wai, saying that not only did the Government have to clarify its stock position of face masks, but it also had to investigate the whereabouts of the face masks and explain whether the
6_DC[SM1](2020.1.29&2.4)[3]-e_r 39 face masks could be for use by the general public. Mentioning that some ambulancemen in full protective gear picked up a patient from a clinic at Yuk Wah Street in Tsz Wan Shan had aroused fear among the community, she urged WTSDO and FEHD to provide epidemic prevention support to the flats upstairs and the residential buildings in the vicinity of the clinic, and follow up on the disinfection work at Yuk Wah Street. She further pointed out that the clinic at Yuk Wah Street was too close to the residential housing and there were shops nearby selling various kinds of food items. She was therefore concerned about the potential hygiene risks of the said location. Also, this incident revealed the lack of overall planning for the Tsz Wan Shan Bazaar (formerly known as Tsz Wan Shan Market) located near Yuk Wah Street and FEHD was called upon to face up to the issue. She thanked the government representatives present for attending the meeting to take questions and enquiries from Members. Lastly, she indicated that the severe epidemic situation and shortage of anti-epidemic resources that Hong Kong was facing had driven the whole society into panic. She thus hoped that the Government would ride out the difficult times with the public.
132. Mr. KAN Hon-shing of CEDD responded that the Department had already formulated together with its contractors the action plans for all works sites in the light of the epidemic. Apart from implementation of measures to heighten awareness of personal hygiene and provision of anti-epidemic supplies, health precautions would also be strengthened at the works sites including enhancing the cleansing work, taking the temperature of people entering the works sites, requesting those with respiratory infection symptoms not to go to work and enhancing publicity on the epidemic prevention information disseminated by CHP. He added that although most works sites under the purview of CEDD had been suspended last week, some of them resumed this week. The Department would keep close contact with the contractors for the latest update of the works sites and anti-epidemic work coordination.
133. The Chairman invited the rest of the government representatives to make a response. Aside from Members’ enquiries, he hoped that the government representatives could also respond to two points, namely, the support measures of the departments for those who were confined at home after returning from the Mainland under the 14-day quarantine policy and the contingency plans of the departments in case of community outbreak in Wong Tai Sin.
6_DC[SM1](2020.1.29&2.4)[3]-e_r 40 134. The responses of Mr. LEUNG Chi-ming of FEHD to Members’ views were as follows:
(i) At the beginning of the epidemic, the Department had already instructed its front-line staff to step up prosecution against cleanliness offenders, particularly those who committed the offences of spitting and littering, and there was no let-up in such enforcement efforts. Regarding the cleansing work for the footbridge outside Fung Wong San Tsuen and Fung Tak Estate Community Centre, as the bills on the wall and the floor had been found causing hygiene problems, they had to be removed;
(ii) As regards the provision of face masks to the front-line staff, FEHD would supply face masks to the government employees while the contractors would provide face masks to the outsourced employees according to the requirements set out in their contracts with the Department. A contractor who was found by the Department’s front-line supervisory staff having failed to provide face masks to its staff as required would be issued with a default notice with penalty of a fine of over $1,000, which would be far more than the cost of a face mask;
(iii) Although the Wong Tai Sin District Environmental Hygiene Office had not yet received the guidelines on home quarantine, it was believed that the Bureaux concerned and DH would timely release the clear guidelines to the relevant departments;
(iv) FEHD would urge its front-line supervisory staff to step up the cleansing efforts in Tai Shing Street Market and Ngau Chi Wan Market and had already instructed its contractor to ensure sufficient supply of alcohol-based handrub in the handrub dispensers in Ngau Chi Wan Market;
(v) FEHD would later contact the Hawkers Section (Kwun Tong) for joint operations against unlicensed hawking at the footbridge connecting Ping Shek Estate and Ngau Chi Wan Market during the usual active time of the hawkers so that no one could evade enforcement actions by fleeing to other section of the footbridge
6_DC[SM1](2020.1.29&2.4)[3]-e_r 41 that under the purview of another district. As for the illegal hawking of face masks near the security guard post of Ngau Chi Wan Market, the Department would also arrange for enforcement officers and the contractor’s staff to reinforce patrols and ask the Hawkers Section to in parallel tie in with the operations outside the market. If any unlicensed hawking was found outside the market, arrest and goods seizure could be effected at once;
(vi) In case of community outbreak in Wong Tai Sin District, FEHD’s response actions would include cleansing and disinfection of the confirmed patient’s residential unit, instructing the management company concerned to cleanse the public areas of the building concerned as well as cleansing of the pedestrian paths outside the building with bleach powder or bleach liquid; and
(vii) A street cleansing schedule for Wong Tai Sin District had already been put in place and FEHD had already instructed its staff to enhance the cleansing work after the epidemic began. Resources would be deployed to step up the cleansing efforts in the heavily patronised and filthy public places (such as the areas outside markets) as well as Yuk Wah Street and Yuk Wah Crescent as mentioned by Ms. MOK Yee-ha. Concerning the incident of a patient fainting on Yuk Wah Street the day before, FEHD would get in touch with Ms. MOK afterwards, and if necessary, conduct on-site inspection to assess whether disinfection or thorough cleansing of the street could be arranged in the near future, with a hope to allay the worries of the residents.
135. The Chairman further enquired whether FEHD had been informed of the DH’s guidelines on the 14-day home quarantine.
136. Mr. LEUNG Chi-ming responded that his office had not received the relevant guidelines yet. For the cleansing of footbridges, he added that FEHD was responsible for sweeping the footbridges not less than twice daily and the frequency of sweeping would be increased for areas with higher people flow. As for the washing of footbridges and lifts, it was under the purview of the Highways Department (“HyD”).
6_DC[SM1](2020.1.29&2.4)[3]-e_r 42 137. Dr. SHAM Yu-hin, Eddy hoped that FEHD and HyD could coordinate on the cleansing work of footbridges.
138. The Chairman expressed that the hygiene condition of the community became a matter of grave concern and the government departments should no longer shirk their responsibilities under such emergency circumstances. Furthermore, he wished to understand how the SWD’s action could tie in with the work concerning home quarantine arrangement as well as how the Department and non-governmental organisations would support the singleton elderly in epidemic prevention.
139. In response, Ms. LUI Siu-ying, Micy of SWD said that the government departments directly taking part in the district-level home quarantine work were SWD and DOs. DO would, after receiving the details on home quarantine cases from CHP, first contact the households concerned to understand their needs and then refer their requests to the relevant department as appropriate for follow-up actions. SWD was one of the support provision departments. The support provided to persons under home quarantine were in six areas, including delivery of meal and provision of daily necessities, assistance in arranging temporary care services in case the persons under home quarantine were carers, emotional counselling service provision, assistance in obtaining the status of hospitalised family member, and economic aid to financial problem arising from home quarantine.
140. Mr. CHAN Zhuo-xi, Daniel of WTSDO added that DH would, at the control points, provide persons to be under home quarantine with a range of information clearly setting out the points to note for the 14-day quarantine period such as ways to maintain personal and home hygiene. Home confinees with any service needs, including the six types of needs mentioned by the representative of SWD, could contact HAD or DOs through the hotlines and their cases would be referred to SWD for follow- up actions as appropriate.
141. Ms. LUI Siu-ying, Micy of SWD continued that there were many elderly persons in Wong Tai Sin District and she appealed to Members to provide assistance. Concerning the opening of elderly centres, SWD currently allowed Neighbourhood Elderly Centres and District Elderly Community Centres to arrange service provision depending on individual circumstances in order to minimise community infection and patronage. These centres were neither compulsorily opened nor closed. While certain centres in the district were closed in the light of the current situation and out of their own considerations, most of the elderly centres were still opened despite lower
6_DC[SM1](2020.1.29&2.4)[3]-e_r 43 patronage. Even if the centres were closed, the staff and social workers kept working at the centres. The provision of care services to attend to the life and needs of the elderly were mainly in form of phone calls instead of the previously face-to-face contact or home visits. She expressed that there were in general two over-reactions among the elderly in the face of the epidemic. Some of them were excessively anxious while some of them just simply ignored it. Therefore, it was necessary to teach the elderly about the accurate information on prevention of infectious diseases with a view to heightening their anti-epidemic awareness, for instance, to encourage them to go out less and wash their hands more frequently. SWD was particularly concerned about the emotional problems among the elderly arising from the lack of social interaction and the colleagues of the relevant service units would make daily calls to those elderly persons to show care for them and provide them with emotional support services.
142. Mrs. TANG FUNG Shuk-yin of HD stated that the designs of refuse station for different PRH estates varied and that she would relay Member’s view on the rolling shutter of refuse station to the relevant division of the Department. Regarding Ms. KWOK Sau-ying’s enquiry about the cleansing work, she pointed out that HD had never ceased its cleansing and disinfection efforts and emphasised that such efforts were persistently made every day. Supply of handrub in Lok Fu Estate and face masks in Tsz Lok Estate was still available. As regards Mr. CHONG Ting-wai’s enquiry about the floor cleansing work, she said that the work was conducted on a monthly basis. Following the activation of the emergency response level, the cleansing of lift lobbies was conducted twice a month, lift buttons not less than eight times per day and entrance gates four times daily. For buildings with confirmed case, workers in protective gown would be deployed to conduct thorough disinfection, particularly for the drainage system. The Department would also closely liaise with FEHD for conducting disinfection work according to its guidelines.
143. Mr. Nick YIU of the Link responded to Mr. WAN Chi-chung, Hiroko’s enquiry that the Link would put in place air blowers for drying up the floor. It would continue to follow the advices of the Government and experts and make active efforts to dovetail with the anti-epidemic measures.
144. Mr. CHEUNG Mau-ching expressed that aside from the elderly persons, there were also many persons of ethnic minorities and non-Chinese speakers in Wong Tai Sin District. In Tsz Wan Shan alone, there were over ten thousand ethnic minority people. He said that he had been asked by the ethnic minorities for provision of face masks, which demonstrated their lack of anti-epidemic information and resources. He
6_DC[SM1](2020.1.29&2.4)[3]-e_r 44 hoped that SWD and WTSDO could strengthen their work in this aspect. Moreover, he reflected to HD and FEHD that it was not feasible to obligate the cleaning workers to wear face masks merely based on the contract terms because the cleansing contractors might not be able to acquire face masks. He continued to enquire with the two Departments whether they would strive to obtain more CSD-manufactured face masks from the higher authorities for the front-line outsourced workers who ran out of face masks. He stressed that these front-line workers were serving on the first line of defense and many more people in the community would be infected if the line broke.
145. Ms. TAM Heung-man, Mandy expressed that her previous question was about the policies and none of the government representatives could answer it, which reflected the lack of policies. Not even the definition of face mask was clarified. Besides, she was dissatisfied with the Government’s failure to provide the public with any educational pamphlets and the public had to refer to the pamphlets previously issued during the SARS outbreak for topics like how to wash hands. She was disappointed that the Government had not learnt from its lesson of 17 years ago. Questioning how the epidemic could be combatted under the ineffective leadership of the Government and whether the Hong Kong people had to fend for themselves, she queried whether it was the wish of the Government to see the death toll climbing to thousands and even surpassing the record of over 290 deaths during SARS outbreak. She also condemned the absence of FHB, DH and HA, saying that the meeting was to discuss the cleansing and anti-epidemic work in Wong Tai Sin District, but these major responsible departments were not present. Furthermore, she pointed out that HyD had failed to clean up the footbridges. After the sweeping work of FEHD, HyD just briefly cleansed the whole footbridge and it took a long time before another round of cleansing operation would be carried out. She criticised HyD for making itself invisible at such critical moment of the epidemic and only focusing its efforts in clearing away banners and publicity materials but turning a blind eye to the dirty and messy road surface.
146. Mr. TANG Wai-keung enquired whether FEHD would conduct cleansing work for the “three-nil buildings”. He also enquired with FEHD about the exact stock position of its anti-epidemic supplies and whether procurement was underway if there was not enough stock.
147. Dr. SHAM Yu-hin, Eddy enquired whether SWD, HD, FEHD and EDB had drawn the face masks from the inventory of GLD to meet the imminent need. Pointing out that HyD even did not submit any written reply despite its being the responsible department for the cleansing work of escalators, lifts and footbridges, he
6_DC[SM1](2020.1.29&2.4)[3]-e_r 45 thus requested HyD to give an account on this. Also, he called upon the Customs and Excise Department to furnish a written reply on the sale of face masks from unknown sources by unscrupulous traders in the market and explain whether extensive search operation would be conducted for shops suspected of violating the “Trade Descriptions Ordinance” (Cap. 362). Besides, he urged GLD to clarify its monthly inventory of face masks and the quantity of face masks received from CSD with provision of figures in a more specific way. He also asked HD to review whether it was clearly set out in its outsourced cleansing contracts that outsourced cleaning workers had to wear face masks during work. Lastly, he wished to follow up on the enquiry of Ms. TAM Heung-man, Mandy on the coordination among the government departments in case of community outbreak in Wong Tai Sin District, for example, multiple households on same floor of a PRH residential block were unfortunately infected at the same time. He hoped that the departments would work together as a team to fight the epidemic and avoid the lack of coordination. Noting that the Chief Secretary for Administration (“CS”) had already taken the lead in establishing an inter-departmental working group, he hoped that there would be clear guidelines formulated for the information of the departments and DCs.
148. Ms. KWOK Sau-ying said some residents had relayed to her that owing to the decreased number of on-street rubbish bins, many face masks were found discarded on streets. It was hoped that FEHD could increase the number of rubbish bins on footbridges. Moreover, she enquired whether WTSDO would write to the residents’ organisations in district like OCs to advise them to stay vigilant against the epidemic, pointing out that such organisations attached great importance to correspondences from government departments. She also hoped that WTSDO would pay special attention to the cleansing and anti-epidemic work for “three-nil buildings” as well as the needs of the residents thereof.
149. Mr. WAN Chi-chung, Hiroko followed up on his previous question, enquiring EDB how it would handle the seven cases of secondary school students on exchange tours being stranded in the Mainland due to train service suspension of the High Speed Rail and soothe the emotions of the parents concerned.
150. Mr. CHAN Lee-shing further enquired about the elderly services and whether SWD would, apart from the provision of emotional counselling services, carry out more concrete anti-epidemic work such as distribution of face masks and cleaning packs.
6_DC[SM1](2020.1.29&2.4)[3]-e_r 46 151. Mr. LEUNG Ming-hong, Steve alerted that the patients of the recent 16th and 17th confirmed cases had no travel history, which proved that there was an outbreak in the community. He hoped that the government departments would take a step further to prevent an epidemic outbreak in Wong Tai Sin District.
152. Mr. YAU Hon-pong, stating that many claims of lack of guidelines, figures and resources had been heard in this meeting, reiterated his motion just put forth on requesting all the government departments to refrain from awaiting instructions from the Bureaux but instead determine on their own what actions should be taken in prevention of community outbreak. Pointing out that the figures, guidelines and the arrangements (such as the site selection for quarantine centres) announced by the government departments had aroused dissatisfaction among the public, he hoped that the departments concerned would not merely put pressure on the subordinate level and instruct their colleagues or the management companies to take actions. Contrarily, he hoped that the departments could exert pressure on the superior level and request the decision-making departments to provide real-time figures and guidelines. Lastly, he understood that there was a shortage of anti-epidemic supplies for the front-line staff and hoped that the decision-making departments could set up a task force to stabilise the supply and price of face masks in the market for provision to the front-line civil servants and the outsourced staff as well.
153. Mr. CHONG Ting-wai, noting that the rubbish bins in the lift lobbies of PRH estates were very dirty and even not covered with lids, hoped HD would step up its inspection and improve the situation. Furthermore, he said some residents had reflected to him that the number of rubbish bins in MTR stations was insufficient and that such rubbish bins were without lids in design therefore not very hygienic. The same situation was also found in the shopping centres of the Link. In this connection, he hoped that MTRCL and the Link could take follow-up actions accordingly.
154. Miss LAU Ka-man, Carmen quoted a citizen in a news coverage yesterday as saying that “Your life and my life are equal, without one being more noble than the other”. Regardless of the decision of the Chief Executive or the political appointees, she hoped that the government departments would make their anti-epidemic work on a district level more people-centred this time by considering the lives of the public equally valuable and instead of thinking their work suffice by just meeting the frequency of cleansing operations and follow-up phone calls.
6_DC[SM1](2020.1.29&2.4)[3]-e_r 47 155. The Chairman called upon the departments present to continue to follow up on Members’ enquiries, particularly the enquiry of Mr. WAN Chi-chung, Hiroko on the secondary school students on exchange tours who were stranded in the Mainland, and hoped that EDB would keep liaising with Mr. WAN Chi-chung, Hiroko to facilitate follow-ups. He also requested the relevant department representatives to show care for and render assistance to “three-nil buildings” as well as collaborate with FEHD to improve the condition of environmental hygiene blackspots like back alleys and sewers. Moreover, he urged the departments concerned to follow up on the issue of insufficient provision of rubbish bins with Ms. KWOK Sau-ying. Lastly, he asked the departments to give a brief response on their stock position of face masks.
156. Mr. LEUNG Chi-ming of FEHD said that the Department had already obtained face masks from GLD when the epidemic broke out and that the face masks had been distributed to various offices for the use of the front-line staff prior to the Lunar New Year. As for the exact figure, he had to conduct the stock-taking after the meeting for submission of the supplementary information.
157. Ms. LUI Siu-ying, Micy of SWD expressed that the anti-epidemic supplies for all units under SWD’s purview were provided by GLD. After the epidemic outbreak, the Department had reviewed its stock position and proactively applied for additional anti-epidemic supplies from GLD through its Headquarters. The details of the quantity of face masks in stock of the Wong Tai Sin and Sai Kung District SWO of SWD before and after the epidemic outbreak would be submitted to the Secretariat after the meeting.
(Post-meeting note: As at the end of January 2020, the number of surgical masks in the stock of the Wong Tai Sin and Sai Kung District SWO of SWD was about 20 000 pieces and after the epidemic outbreak, there were about 16 000 pieces face masks distributed to the Wong Tai Sin and Sai Kung District SWO via SWD Headquarters.)
158. Mrs. TANG FUNG Shuk-yin of HD expressed that the Department was, just like the other government departments, stocktaking its inventory of face masks and would submit the supplementary information concerned after the meeting.
6_DC[SM1](2020.1.29&2.4)[3]-e_r 48 159. Mr. CHAN Zhuo-xi, Daniel of WTSDO said that taking into account the various front-line services provided by WTSDO, such as the Home Affairs Enquiry Centre, community halls/community centres (although temporarily closed) and temporary cold shelters, the Office had a considerable demand for the anti-epidemic supplies and already applied for additional face masks from GLD via HAD after the epidemic outbreak.
160. Mr. CHEUNG Mau-ching opined that the government departments could of course request for face masks from GLD but he wished to address the face mask shortage of the outsourced contractors and hoped that the Government would stand together with the outsourced contractors to combat the epidemic.
161. In conclusion, the Chairman stated that in view of the severity of the epidemic, he called upon the various government departments and organisations in Wong Tai Sin District, all DC Members and the local community to, despite the great difficulties, put aside their differences and make concerted efforts to fight against the epidemic, just as they had done during the fight against SARS in 2003. He then cited the speaking of Miss LAU Ka-man, Carmen, saying that it was not enough to merely give an account at the meeting. He further said that he would write to FHB, DH and HA in his capacity as the Chairman after the meeting to express regret over the non- attendance of their representatives at this meeting. He would also ask the Secretariat to contact the departments concerned for follow-up on Members’ enquiries that were left unanswered due to their absence. Moreover, he requested CS to make public the anti-epidemic work of the inter-departmental working group. In addition, he expressed concerns over the availability of CSD-manufactured face masks in the market and would write to GLD after the meeting to urge the Department to disclose its stock position of face masks to enhance the transparency. He expressed that after working for Wong Tai Sin District for many years, he had strong emotional attachment to the community. He felt heartbroken to see the residents and elderly persons in the district having to go through the hassles in light of the recent shortage of anti-epidemic supplies while the Government turned a blind eye to such predicament. Finally, he once again appealed to the government departments to carefully read the minutes of this meeting for understanding of Members’ views and earnestly carry out the anti-epidemic work.
162. Ms. TAM Heung-man, Mandy suggested that a second Special Meeting be convened to discuss and follow up on the issues in relation to the anti-epidemic work.
6_DC[SM1](2020.1.29&2.4)[3]-e_r 49 163. The Chairman expressed that the suggestion would be considered subject to the development.
Date of the Next Meeting
164. The Chairman thanked all the government representatives for attending the meeting and reminded the Secretariat to follow up on and relay the three motions passed in the special meeting of last week to the departments concerned. Regarding certain specific requests, he called upon Members to directly send their submissions or letters to the relevant departments. Lastly, the Chairman reminded Members that the 3rd meeting of the Sixth Term of WTSDC would be held at 2:30 p.m. on 24 March 2020 (Tuesday) in this Conference Room.
165. The meeting was adjourned at 5:40 p.m.
Wong Tai Sin District Council Secretariat Ref.: HAD WTSDC 13-5/5/53 Pt. 55 March 2020
6_DC[SM1](2020.1.29&2.4)[3]-e_r 50 Annex I
29 January 2020
Impromptu Motion at the Special Meeting of Wong Tai Sin District Council held on 29 January 2020
This Council opines that the HKSAR Government’s slow response to the severe Wuhan pneumonia was disastrous and Mrs. Carrie Lam’s administration has ignored the well-being of Hong Kong people. This Council hereby condemns the Government and requests it to immediately implement the following measures, namely:
1. Requesting the HKSAR Government and the Chinese Government to, by invoking the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Garrisoning of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, open the garrison barracks to serve as the isolation camp for the Wuhan pneumonia patients and quarters for the duty medical workers;
2. In view of the massive infection and confirmed cases in the provinces and cities of the Mainland as well as panic buying for anti-epidemic supplies around the globe for delivery to the Mainland, requesting that in addition to the closure of some control points to be announced tomorrow, all Mainlanders shall be immediately forbidden to come to Hong Kong through marine, land and air ports with a view to curbing the spread of the epidemic, minimising the risk of epidemic outbreak in the community and scramble for the anti-epidemic supplies which were already in short supply in Hong Kong;
3. Requesting the making of regulations according to Section 7 and Section 8 of the Prevention and Control of Disease Regulations (Cap. 599), making it compulsory for all arrivals of Hong Kong residents from the Mainland to undergo medical surveillance and contact tracing for at least 21 days;
4. Requesting the addition of a new section to the Immigration Ordinance (Cap. 115) by making reference to the Crimes Ordinance (Cap. 200) to require all arrivals to sign a statutory statement to truthfully report their health condition and the places visited in the past 90 days. Any person who gives a false statement shall be liable to a maximum imprisonment of two years and a fine;
5. By making reference to the practice of the Macau Government, regularly providing a fixed quantity of face masks and alcohol-based handrub to holders of Hong Kong permanent identity cards at the government-designated locations in each district.
Moved by: Ms. MOK Ka-han, Rosanda (Signed)
Seconded by: (All Signed)
Mr. WU Mr. MOCK Mr. CHAN Mr. CHONG Mr. CHAN Mr. CHEUNG Chi-kin Ho-chit, Chun-yu Ting-wai Lee-shing Mau-ching Sean Mr. YAU Mr. TANG Mr. LEUNG Miss LAU Mr. CHAN Mr. SZE Hon-pong Wai-keung Ming-hong, Ka-man, Kai-shun, Tak-loy Steve Carmen Gary Mr. CHENG Mr. SHUM Ms. TAM Mr. HUI Mr. WAN Mr. LIU Man-kit, JC Wan-wa Heung-man, Kam-shing Chi-chung, Sing-lee Mandy Hiroko
6_DC[SM1](2020.1.29&2.4)(Annex I)-e Annex II
Request to All Executive Departments for Fighting the Epidemic at Full Strength
In view of the epidemic severity of Wuhan Coronavirus and the SAR Government’s slow response and rough countermeasures failing to stop the virus transmission effectively, and its insufficient support to medical workers, this Council hereby requests all the executive departments to refrain from awaiting the policy bureau’s instructions but instead taking actions according to the actual needs to curb the spread of the virus and ensure public safety will be the first priority. Where possible, to immediately adopt all proposals put forward by this Council or all measures that deemed as appropriate from the professional perspectives, and report the latest progress in due course.
Moved by: Mr. YAU Hon-pong (Signed)
Seconded by: (All Signed)
Mr. CHAN Chun-yu Mr. CHENG Man-kit, JC Mr. CHAN Kai-shun, Gary
Mr. MOCK Ho-chit, Sean Mr. HUI Kam-shing Mr. WU Chi-kin
Mr. CHAN Lee-shing Mr. CHEUNG Mau-ching Mr. SHUM Wan-wa
Ms. MOK Ka-han, Rosanda Mr. SZE Tak-loy Mr. CHONG Ting-wai
Miss LAU Ka-man, Carmen Ms. TAM Heung-man, Mandy Mr. LEUNG Ming-hong, Steve
Mr. WAN Chi-chung, Hiroko Mr. TANG Wai-keung Mr. LIU Sing-lee
6_DC[SM1](2020.1.29&2.4)(Annex II)-e Annex III
Date: 29 January 2020
Motion of this Council: “Request for the Housing Department’s Commitment of Not Using the Newly-built Public Housing in Fu Shan Estate and Tung Wui Estate for Anti-epidemic Purpose.”
Moved by: Mr. SZE Tak-loy (Signed)
Seconded: (All Signed)
Mr. WAN Chi-chung, Mr. CHAN Kai-shun, Mr. TANG Wai-keung Mr. CHAN Chun-yu Hiroko Gary Mr. SHUM Wan-wa Mr. WU Chi-kin Mr. YAU Hon-pong Mr. CHENG Man-kit, JC Mr. LIU Sing-lee Mr. CHAN Lee-shing Mr. CHEUNG Mau- Mr. MOCK Ho-chit, ching Sean Ms. MOK Ka-han, Mr. LEUNG Ming- Miss LAU Ka-man, Mr. CHONG Ting-wai Rosanda hong, Steve Carmen Mr. HUI Kam-shing
6_DC[SM1](2020.1.29&2.4)(Annex III)-e Annex
Chinese Version Only
(Please refer to: https://www.districtcouncils.gov.hk/wts/doc/2020_2023/tc/dc_meetings_minutes/DC_SM1 _M.pdf )
6_DC[SM1](2020.1.29&2.4)(Annex III)-e