STDC Minutes 3/2020 Minutes of the Special Meeting of the Sha Tin
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STDC Minutes 3/2020 Minutes of the Special Meeting of the Sha Tin District Council in 2020 Date : 10 February 2020 (Monday) Time : 2:30 pm Venue : Sha Tin District Council Conference Room 4/F, Sha Tin Government Offices Present Time of joining Time of leaving the meeting the meeting Chairman : Mr CHING Cheung-ying, MH 2:30 pm 6:31 pm Vice-Chairman : Mr WONG Hok-lai, George 2:30 pm 6:31 pm Members : Mr CHAN Billy Shiu-yeung 2:30 pm 6:28 pm Mr CHAN Nok-hang 2:30 pm 6:31 pm Mr CHAN Pui-ming 2:30 pm 6:31 pm Mr CHAN Wan-tung 2:30 pm 6:29 pm Mr CHENG Chung-hang 2:55 pm 6:31 pm Mr CHEUNG Hing-wa 2:30 pm 6:31 pm Mr CHIU Chu-pong 2:30 pm 6:31 pm Mr CHOW Hiu-laam, Felix 2:30 pm 6:31 pm Mr CHUNG Lai-him, Johnny 2:30 pm 6:31 pm Mr HUI Lap-san 2:55 pm 6:31 pm Mr HUI Yui-yu 2:30 pm 6:31 pm Mr LAI Tsz-yan 5:18 pm 6:30 pm Dr LAM Kong-kwan 2:30 pm 5:55 pm Mr LI Chi-wang, Raymond 2:30 pm 6:30 pm Mr LI Sai-hung 2:30 pm 6:31 pm Mr LI Wing-shing, Wilson 2:30 pm 5:18 pm Mr LIAO Pak-hong, Ricardo 2:30 pm 6:31 pm Mr LO Tak-ming 2:30 pm 6:28 pm Mr LO Yuet-chau 2:56 pm 6:31 pm Mr LUI Kai-wing 2:30 pm 6:31 pm Ms LUK Tsz-tung 2:30 pm 6:31 pm Mr MAK Tsz-kin 2:30 pm 6:31 pm Mr MOK Kam-kwai, BBS 2:30 pm 5:55 pm Mr NG Kam-hung 2:30 pm 6:30 pm Ms NG Ting-lam 2:30 pm 6:31 pm Mr SHAM Tsz-kit, Jimmy 2:30 pm 6:31 pm Mr SHEK William 2:30 pm 6:31 pm Mr SIN Cheuk-nam 2:30 pm 6:31 pm Mr TSANG Kit 2:30 pm 6:31 pm Ms TSANG So-lai 2:53 pm 6:31 pm Mr WAI Hing-cheung 2:30 pm 6:31 pm Mr WONG Ho-fung 2:30 pm 6:31 pm Ms WONG Man-huen 2:30 pm 6:31 pm Mr YIP Wing 2:30 pm 6:31 pm Mr YUNG Ming-chau, Michael 2:30 pm 6:31 pm Present Time of joining Time of leaving the meeting the meeting Secretary : Mr YUEN Chun-kit, Derek Senior Executive Officer (District Council)/ Sha Tin District Office In Attendance Title Ms CHAN Yuen-man, Amy, JP District Officer (Sha Tin) Mr WONG Tin-pui, Simon Assistant District Officer (Sha Tin) (1) Mr WONG Shek-hay, Sebastian Assistant District Officer (Sha Tin) (2) Absent Mr TING Tsz-yuen (Application for leave of absence received) Mr YAU Man-chun ( ” ) Mr CHENG Tsuk-man (No application for leave of absence received) Mr YEUNG Sze-kin ( ” ) Mr MAK Yun-pui, Chris (Remark) In Attendance by Invitation Title Dr CHUI Tak-yi, JP Under Secretary for Food and Health Ms CHAN Tsz-yan, Yandy Assistant Secretary for Food and Health (Food)1/ Food and Health Bureau Dr THAM May Ked Senior Medical and Health Officer (Government Vaccination Programme)/ Department of Health Ms LEUNG Hay-lin, Helen Senior Architect 41/ Housing Department Ms LI Fung-yuk Senior Housing Manager/Applications 2/ Housing Department Action Welcome Remark The Chairman welcomed Dr CHUI Tak-yi, Under Secretary for Food and Health, Ms Yandy CHAN, Assistant Secretary for Food and Health (Food)1 of the Food and Health Bureau (FHB); Dr THAM May Ked, Senior Medical and Health Officer (Government Vaccination Programme) of the Department of Health (DH); Ms Helen LEUNG, Senior Architect 41 and Ms LI Fung-yuk, Senior Housing Manager/Applications 2 of the Housing Department (HD) to the meeting. 2. Mr Michael YUNG pointed out that under the “Sha Tin District Council Standing Orders” (Standing Orders) Order 7(1), the Secretariat had to issue the notice of a meeting to Members five clear working days beforehand. He asked the Secretariat how to ensure that Members were aware of today’s special meeting, and how the audio recording and the minutes of the meeting would be handled to ensure that the meeting was valid and legitimate. 3. Mr Derek YUEN, Senior Executive Officer (District Council) of the Sha Tin District Office (STDO) responded that the Secretariat had issued the notice of the meeting to all Members by email this morning, and also notified Members of today’s meeting by phone. The Remark : Mr Chris MAK had not submitted the application for leave of absence before the meeting. - 2 - Action Secretariat would, in accordance with the Standing Orders, arrange audio recording for the meeting and upload the recordings to the website of the Sha Tin District Council (STDC). Application for Leave of Absence 4. The Chairman said that the STDC Secretariat had received the applications for leave of absence in writing from the following Members: Mr TING Tsz-yuen He had to handle the matters of his office as his assistant was sick Mr YAU Man-chun Sickness 5. The Council unanimously approved the applications for leave of absence submitted by the Members above. Discussion Item Earmarking Chun Yeung Estate for Quarantine Use and Relevant Arrangement for Flat In-take of the Estate in the Future (Paper No. STDC 21/2020) 6. Dr CHUI Tak-yi briefly introduced the content of the paper, with the following main points: (a) as of yesterday, there were 36 confirmed cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Hong Kong; (b) the characteristics of the new cases included the significant increase in the number of family cluster cases, a large number of patients involved, and the newly confirmed patients being Hong Kong residents who did not have recent travel history or close contact with confirmed cases; (c) experts of local universities and the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) pointed out that there were mild cases in the community in which the patients had not visited the Mainland recently. Therefore, it was necessary to step up the anti- epidemic efforts; (d) the anti-epidemic strategy included reducing the people flow between Hong Kong and the Mainland, as well as the social contact between members of the public in Hong Kong; (e) during the quarantine stage, hospitals would treat patients in negative pressure rooms. At present, the diagnosis of suspected cases was also conducted in negative pressure rooms; (f) under the current practice, the CHP of the DH would request those people who had had close contact with patients of confirmed cases but displayed no symptoms to complete the 14-day compulsory quarantine; (g) he pointed out that people who were arranged to stay in quarantine centres were not confirmed or suspected cases, but only close contacts and they displayed no symptoms; . - 3 - Action (h) there was a specific definition of a close contact, which included household members and anyone who had been on the same public transport with the confirmed case, for example, passengers who had sat in front of or behind the confirmed case on a train or a plane; (i) confinees showing symptoms would be admitted to hospitals promptly for quarantine and treatment, which helped prevent the spread of the epidemic; (j) to plan ahead, the Government had been actively looking for locations suitable for quarantine use. Because of the rapid development of the epidemic situation, including the increase in the number of locally transmitted cases and the number of close contact of confirmed cases, the Government had to significantly increase the provision of quarantine facilities within a short period of time; (k) the site selection criteria for quarantine centres considered by the Government included whether the facility could be ready for use shortly, the location, the environment, and the possible impact on the residents in the vicinity, etc.; and (l) comprehensive quarantine arrangements were made for quarantine centres, and the operation followed the infection control guidelines, including law enforcement officers and healthcare staff being on duty round the clock, people under quarantine being not allowed to enter and leave the quarantine centres without written permission by health personnel, and the provision of transfer service to the people under quarantine leaving and entering the centre, who would not take part in any community activities. 7. Ms Helen LEUNG gave a brief introduction, with the following main points: (a) Chun Yeung Estate was located in an elevated position in Fo Tan, at which 5 buildings were built on the hillside; (b) the HD had taken the natural wind flow into account during the planning stage, and therefore there were ventilation breezeways between the estate and the industrial buildings and village houses in the vicinity, allowing breezes to pass freely; (c) the units of the estate were equipped with toilets, kitchens and sufficient windows for natural lighting and ventilation; (d) the Hong Kong Housing Authority had developed the “common W-trap pipe system” for public housing estate units, which could prevent the floor drains from drying and thus the spread of bacteria; and (e) therefore, the estate was suitable for quarantine use shortly. 8. The Chairman said as Dr CHUI Tak-yi had to attend to other official duties related to the anti-epidemic effort, he would leave the meeting at 4:45 pm today. He asked Members to be concise when making a speech.