Outbreak alert: methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus spreading in tuen mun hospital
The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:
The spokesperson for Tuen Mun Hospital (TMH) made the following announcement today (May 6):
A 14-day-old baby girl of a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of TMH was transferred to Hong Kong Children Hospital (HKCH) for treatment due to underlying illness. She was identified as a carrier of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) without symptoms of infection by screening on April 29. In accordance with the prevailing infection control guidelines, TMH has performed screenings. Six more babies (three boys and three girls, aged 6 days to 5 months) of the same ward were confirmed to be MRSA carriers without any symptoms of infection.
The 14-day-old baby girl is now being treated under isolation in HKCH and in serious condition due to underlying illness. The remaining babies are currently being treated under isolation in TMH. Three of them are in serious condition due to underlying illness, the others are stable.
The hospital is very concerned about the incident and investigating the source of infection. Moreover, the hospital has performed enhanced medical surveillance and screening of the patients in the ward concerned. The following infection control measures have been stepped up according to established guidelines:
- Thorough cleaning and disinfection of the ward concerned, including the environment, incubators, equipment and instruments;
- Enhanced medical surveillance of the patients and environmental screening procedures in the ward concerned; and
- Applied stringent contact precautions and enhanced hand hygiene of staff. Family members are reminded that infection control measures must be implemented before visiting their babies.
The cases have been reported to the Hospital Authority Head Office and the Centre for Health Protection for necessary follow-up.
Source: AI-generated images
FEHD responds to media enquiries on application eligibility and operational status of permitted food premises allowing dogs to enter
In response to media enquiries regarding the application eligibility and operational status of permitted food premises allowing dogs to enter, a spokesman for the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) gave the following response on July 10:
Applicants have sole responsibility to confirm that the premises permits the entry of dogs
The FEHD has clearly required in the application forms that applicants must confirm that the premises in which their food premises operates permits the entry of dogs and declare the information submitted is true. The FEHD solemnly points out that if applicants are found to have provided false information, they may bear legal liability.
The FEHD reiterated that, as the rules governing the use of various premises (including permission for dogs entry) are subject to relevant provisions in tenancy agreement, property titles and deeds of mutual covenant, restaurant operators have responsibility to, and must clarify the fact with property stakeholders, and reach a consensus on whether to permit the entry of dogs before submitting applications to the FEHD.
The FEHD respects the legal rights and decisions of property stakeholders. Should the FEHD discover, after an application has been submitted or approved, that the applicant has provided incorrect information and that the premises where the food premises is located do not in fact permit the entry of dogs, the FEHD will take decisive action to suspend processing of the relevant application or revoke the permission granted. To assist the industry in accurately understanding the relevant requirements, the FEHD has previously organised a number of briefing sessions. The department will also maintain communication with restaurant operators and property stakeholders, and provide appropriate assistance whilst ensuring compliance.
Operational status of the permitted food premises
As for the enquiries from the media regarding a few of food premises on the "List of Food Premises Permitted for Dog Entry" were found to have closed down or did not even exist, the FEHD clarified that the information was not align with the information obtained by the department. The FEHD verified the operational status of the applying food premises from two perspectives:
1. The licences of all the participating food premises were valid at the event of the open ballot.
2. A dedicated team from the FEHD visited each approved establishment. Even where a restaurant was not open for business at the time, the team proactively contacted the licence holders to confirm that they still required such permission before issuing the permits.
The FEHD pointed out that, it is a normal market occurrence for individual restaurants to find themselves in different operational situations due to business considerations; for example, they may be closed for renovation works, whilst licence transfer procedures are underway, or because staff are on leave, or they may even have ceased operations for any reason. Should an approved restaurant decide to cease operation permanently, withdraw the application for the relevant permit, or apply to revoke the permission, the FEHD respects the operator's commercial decision. Their quotas will be allocated to the applicants on the waiting list in the order determined by the earlier ballot results. Once all procedures have been completed, the details of the newly added food premises will be promptly updated and uploaded to the dedicated webpage (www.fehd.gov.hk/english/licensing/dog_restaurants/index.html) to facilitate public search and selection.
Source: AI-found images
