Civil Service Secretary Encourages Students to Pursue Careers in Public Service During Internship Program Meeting

SCS encourages Administrative Service summer interns

The Secretary for the Civil Service, Mrs Ingrid Yeung, met and shared experiences with over 50 tertiary students participating in the Administrative Service Summer Internship Programme today (July 22). She encouraged them to apply for civil service positions such as the Administrative Officer (AO) post, and to use their professional knowledge to serve the community, benefit people's livelihood and contribute to the development of Hong Kong.

This year, the Civil Service Bureau (CSB) has arranged for the interns to discuss and submit policy proposals in various areas including transport, planning and development, social enterprises, district affairs, the silver economy, etc, based on their observations and insights gained after working in different bureaux or departments. The CSB will submit these proposals to the bureaux or departments where the interns were assigned to for their reference.

At the gathering, Mrs Yeung listened to the sharing by interns on both their work experiences and proposed policy initiatives during their internships. Drawing on her nearly 40 years of service in the civil service, she shared valuable insights as an AO and encouraged students to actively enrich themselves, plan ahead for their future and contribute to the development of the country and Hong Kong.

She said, "I am aware that this round of the Programme has received a record number of applications, attracting more than 300 applications from tertiarystudents in Hong Kong, mainland China and overseas. From your sharing, I can genuinely feel your passion for public service. I would like to take this opportunity to call on young people who are dedicated to serve the community and willing to take on responsibilities to join the civil service.

"I look forward to interns becoming AOs in the near future, serving the public and contributing to the country and Hong Kong with your own strengths and talents."

The Permanent Secretary for the Civil Service, Mr Clement Leung, and Deputy Secretary for the Civil Service Ms Eureka Cheung also joined the sharing session and spoke with interns to learn about their internship experiences and views on Hong Kong's development.

AOs are professional public administrators who play a pivotal role in the Government. They are responsible for assisting in the formulation of government policies, co-ordinating and supervising various initiatives, managing the use of public resources, promoting district work and publicising Hong Kong externally, etc. To enable AOs to accumulate experience and unleash their full potential in different public policy areas, they are posted to various bureaux and departments at regular intervals, broadening their horizons and gaining a fuller grasp of the challenges and opportunities in public administration.

The CSB organises the Administrative Service Internship Programme every summer and winter, offering students who aspire to become AOs opportunities to work alongside serving AOs for around eight weeks to gain early practical experiences in public service and lay a solid foundation for their future career development. Statistics from the past five years show that around one in every five newly recruited AOs had participated in the Programme.

The Government will launch a new round of recruitment for the posts of Administrative Officer, Executive Officer II, Assistant Labour Officer II, Assistant Trade Officer II and Management Services Officer II in September this year. Prospective applicants must first take the Common Recruitment Examination (CRE) and the Basic Law and National Security Law Test to attain the requisite scores. The new round of the CRE is currently open for application. Interested candidates are required to apply online by August 1. For details, please refer to the CSB website (www.csb.gov.hk/english/index.html).

Source: AI-found images

SCS encourages Administrative Service summer interns Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

SCS encourages Administrative Service summer interns Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

SCS encourages Administrative Service summer interns Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

SCS encourages Administrative Service summer interns Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Source: AI-found images

CHP investigates imported measles case

The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health (DH) today (April 6) is investigating an imported measles case and reminds members of the public that vaccination is the most effective way to prevent measles.

The case involves a 30-year-old male who developed a fever, cough and runny nose on March 31. He sought medical attention from a private doctor on the following day (April 1). He attended the Accident and Emergency Department (AED) of the North Lantau Hospital (NLH) on April 4 due to persistent symptoms, where he was admitted for treatment. He developed a rash on the same day after admission, and was immediately transferred to Princess Margaret Hospital for isolation and treatment. His clinical specimen was tested positive today for the measles virus upon nucleic acid testing. The patient is in stable condition.

An epidemiological investigation revealed that the patient works at the airport. He was uncertain whether he had received measles vaccination. He travelled to Indonesia with a household contact during the incubation period. His household contact is asymptomatic to date. Since there are continuous measles outbreaks in Indonesia, the case was classified as an imported case. No epidemiological linkages have been established between the case and other confirmed cases previously recorded in Hong Kong.

During the patient's communicable period (i.e. since March 31), in addition to visiting a private clinic on April 1 and the AED of the NLH on April 4, he worked at the airport on April 3. The CHP has been carrying out contact tracing in the private clinic that the patient had visited, the NLH and his workplace to identify any close contacts and high risk individuals. As of 4pm today, a total of 21 individuals who stayed in the same clinic with the patient, nine patients in the NLH and 238 relevant staff at his workplace at the airport were identified as close contacts. The CHP will continue to conduct medical surveillance for the identified close contacts.

The CHP will continue to investigate and follow up on the case.

"Measles outbreaks are currently occurring in many regions around the world. North America (including the United States, Canada and Mexico) and Southeast Asia (including Indonesia, Cambodia and the Philippines) have seen persistent measles outbreaks in recent years due to low vaccination coverage rates. In the first three months of this year, about 1 600 cases have been recorded in the United States, a figure far higher than during the same period last year. In Europe, the number of measles cases in the United Kingdom and Italy has increased recently, with 336 and 84 cases recorded respectively since January this year. In Asia, the incidence of measles remains high in the Philippines, Indonesia and Cambodia. Japan has also seen a substantial rise in cases this year, with 152 cases recorded as of the end of March, which is higher than in the same period for the past six years. Singapore and Australia have reported 24 and 87 measles cases respectively this year, also higher than in the same period last year. Most of the overseas cases have affected people who were not vaccinated against measles or had an unknown vaccination status, which highlights the importance of maintaining a high vaccination rate and herd immunity within the community," said the Controller of the CHP, Dr Edwin Tsui.

"Despite the abovementioned case is identified as an imported case according to the epidemiological information, airport workers who come into frequent contact with international travellers are at higher risk of contracting measles amid the current global resurgence of the disease. They are strongly advised to review their vaccination history and past medical history, especially those born outside Hong Kong who may not have received measles vaccination during childhood. Individuals who have not received two doses of measles-containing vaccine, or those with unknown vaccination history, should consult their doctor as soon as possible for vaccination. The CHP will work with the Airport Authority Hong Kong to remind all airport workers and their employers of the importance of ensuring that airport staff are fully immune to measles," Dr Tsui added.

The incubation period of measles (i.e. the time from infection to onset of illness) is seven to 21 days. Symptoms include fever, skin rash, cough, runny nose and red eyes. If travellers returning from places with high incidence or outbreak of measles develop symptoms of measles (e.g. fever and rash), they should seek medical advice immediately and avoid contact with non-immune persons, especially pregnant women and infants under one year old. They should also report their symptoms and prior travel history to healthcare workers so that appropriate infection control measures can be implemented at the healthcare facilities to prevent any potential spread.

"Under the Hong Kong Childhood Immunisation Programme, the overall immunisation coverage in Hong Kong has been maintained at a very high level through the immunisation services provided by the DH's Maternal and Child Health Centres and School Immunisation Teams. As evidenced by the findings on vaccination coverage of primary school students and the territory-wide immunisation surveys conducted regularly by the DH, the two-dose measles vaccination coverage has remained consistently high, well above 95 per cent, and the local seroprevalence rates of measles virus antibodies reflect that most people in Hong Kong are immune to measles. However, Hong Kong, as a city with a high volume of international travel, still faces the potential risk of importation of the measles virus and its further spread in the local community. Hence, a small number of people who have not completed a measles vaccination (such as non-local-born people including new immigrants, foreign domestic helpers, overseas employees and people coming to Hong Kong for further studies) are still at risk of being infected and spreading measles to other people who do not have immunity against measles, such as children under 1 year old who have not yet received the first dose of the measles vaccine," Dr Tsui said.

People born before 1967 could be considered to have acquired immunity to measles through natural infection, as measles was endemic in many parts of the world and in Hong Kong at that time. People born in or after 1967 who have not yet completed the two doses of measles vaccination, or whose measles vaccination history is unknown, should consult their family doctors as soon as possible to complete the vaccination and ensure adequate protection against measles.

Besides being vaccinated against measles, members of the public should take the following measures to prevent infection:

Maintain good personal and environmental hygiene;

Maintain good indoor ventilation;

Keep hands clean and wash hands properly;

Wash hands when they are dirtied by respiratory secretions, such as after sneezing;

Cover the nose and mouth while sneezing or coughing and dispose of nasal and mouth discharge properly;

Clean used toys and furniture properly; and

Persons with measles should be kept out of school till four days from the appearance of a rash to prevent the spread of the infection to non-immune persons in school.

For more information on measles, the public may visit the CHP'smeasles thematic page. Members of the public who are going to travel can visit the webite of the DH'sTravel Health Servicefor news of measles outbreaks outside Hong Kong.

Source: AI-found images