Category: Local

Local

Hong Kong logs 237 new Covid cases

Health authorities on Sunday reported 237 new Covid-19 cases, as they continued to look into whether the BA.2.12.1 subvariant of Omicron has seeped further into the community. Officials said their tracing work showed that three people from the same family, who tested positive for Covid last week, had visited the...
Local

‘Risk of monkeypox arriving in HK relatively low’

University of Hong Kong microbiologist Ho Pak-leung on Sunday said he believes the risk of a monkeypox outbreak in the territory is relatively low, despite a growing number of cases in Europe, North America and elsewhere. The virus, which causes distinctive pustules but is rarely fatal, is endemic to parts...
Local

‘Hundreds of public flats empty and going to waste’

A concern group on Sunday complained that almost 900 public flats across the city are sitting empty when they could be used to house people with no place of their own. The group, an alliance focused on transitional homes policies, said it came up with the figure after combing through...
Local

Police seize cocaine hidden in paper straws

Police said on Sunday that two men had been arrested on suspicion of drug trafficking after officers found nearly 30 kilogrammes of cocaine hidden inside paper straws. During the operation, some ketamine and the date rape drug happy powder were also seized at a flat in Kowloon City. Officers said...
Local

Pessimism may lead to missed opportunities: Paul Chan

Financial Secretary Paul Chan has again urged people not to be "too pessimistic" over Hong Kong's future, despite the release last week of disappointing unemployment figures. In a blog post published on Sunday, Chan acknowledged that the city's latest jobless rate – at 5.4 percent – is the highest since...
Local

Almost 90 percent have now had at least two jabs

Almost 90 percent of Hongkongers aged three and above have now had at least two Covid jabs and more than half of residents over 12 have also had a booster, the government said on Sunday. Civil Service Secretary Patrick Nip, who's in charge of the SAR's vaccination drive, said a...
Local

Govt proposes heavier fines for job safety breaches

Labour minister Law Chi-kwong on Sunday said it's high time that Hong Kong introduces tougher penalties for employers who breach occupational safety laws, noting that it's been more than two decades since changes were made to the relevant legislation. A bill on the matter is to be put to lawmakers...
Local

Health chief joins nation’s delegation for WHO talks

Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan on Sunday joined the World Health Organisation's annual World Health Assembly, saying she hopes to learn more about global public health issues including the fight against Covid-19. Chan is participating in the event via video conference as a member of the Chinese delegation....
Local

Top private club among 48 places listed for testing

The government on Sunday said it had ordered compulsory testing for Covid-19 at 48 locations across the SAR, including an exclusive private club in Central. Anyone who has visited any of these premises and stayed there for the length of time and on the dates specified must get a nucleic...
Local

Reinforce patriotic groups in universities, media: CY

Former Chief Executive CY Leung on Sunday said there's a need to make patriotic groups stronger in universities and the media. He said even though Hong Kong now has the national security law and an improved electoral system, patriots can't simply think that their job is done. During an online...
Local

South Horizons residential block locked down

A building in Ap Lei Chau was locked down overnight on Saturday after a mutant coronavirus strain was detected. Health officials said they aim to finish the lockdown of Mei Ka Court in South Horizons by about noon on Sunday. Earlier, officials said they found no new Covid infections following...
Local

Southern District secondary school sees 3 cases: CHP

Health authorities on Saturday played down the possibility of a fresh outbreak at a secondary school in Southern District after a total of three students from the same class caught the coronavirus. The school reported two more Covid infections from self-tests on Friday. Both were secondary one pupils. Albert Au...
Local

15 arrested over alleged illegal debt collection

Police said on Saturday they've arrested 15 people allegedly linked to six illegal debt collection activities involving a total of more than HK$19 million. The suspects, aged between 14 and 68, have been accused of criminal damage, wounding, and criminal intimidation. Officers believed some of them have triad links, and...
Local

Medical facilities to use vaccine pass from June

Patients and other people visiting non-emergency public medical facilities, like specialist clinics under the Hospital Authority, will have to use the vaccine pass from June 13. The applicable premises also include district health centres, student health service centres, government dental clinics and methadone clinics. Unvaccinated patients will still be admitted...
Local

Regina Ip backs govt changes; Tik Chi-yuen hesitant

Third Side legislator Tik Chi-yuen on Saturday said he's not convinced by CE-elect John Lee's plan to add three deputy secretaries to the incoming administration, but New People's Party lawmaker Regina Ip threw her weight behind the proposal. The restructuring package that will add new deputies to the chief secretary,...
Local

No cases found in Ap Lei Chau lockdown

Health officials said on Sunday that no coronavirus cases were found during an overnight lockdown in Ap Lei Chau. They said 922 people were tested at Mei Ka Court in South Horizons during the exercise. Health officials visited 312 households within the "restricted area", but the 58 households did not...
Local

Driver killed in Cheung Sha Wan bus crash

The driver of a double-decker bus died in the early hours of Sunday after a collision with a single-decker tourist bus in Cheung Sha Wan, police said. The crash happened at about midnight on Saturday on Lai Po Road, leaving the 43-year-old driver trapped. Firefighters were able to release him...
Local

Compulsory tests ordered for 44 locations

The government on Saturday said it had ordered compulsory testing for Covid-19 at 44 locations across the SAR. Anyone who has visited any of these premises and stayed there for the length of time and on the dates specified must get a nucleic acid test for Covid-19. The places affected...
Local

Teacher resigns after projecting porn onto screen

The Hong Kong Federation of Education Workers on Friday said it's shocked by a report about a secondary school teacher watching porn during lesson time. Leung Shek Chee College confirmed in a statement that the teacher accidentally projected some porn images onto the screen during a class, which were seen...
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