Chief Secretary Inspects Lok Ma Chau Control Point for Chinese New Year Operations and Crowd Management

CS inspects operations at Lok Ma Chau Spur Line Control Point

The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Chan Kwok-ki, today (February 17), the first day of the Chinese New Year, inspected the Lok Ma Chau Spur Line Control Point to learn about the arrangements and operation conditions for customs clearance, diverting passenger movements, public order maintenance, etc at the control point during the Chinese New Year period. Mr Chan was accompanied by the Secretary for Security, Mr Tang Ping-keung; the Director of Immigration, Mr Benson Kwok; and the Commissioner of Customs and Excise, Mr Chan Tsz-tat. He also met the frontline staff of the Immigration Department (ImmD), the Customs and Excise Department (C&ED) and the Hong Kong Police Force on duty to extend his Chinese New Year greetings, and expressed his gratitude to them for performing their duties with dedication during the holidays, enabling visitors to continue to enjoy quality and efficient services during the arrival and departure peaks.

Mr Chan was pleased to note that the relevant government departments have been diligently co-ordinating the ancillary arrangements of boundary control points (BCPs) and transportation, as well as maintaining close liaison with relevant organisations and the travel trade to be well prepared for crowd management, information dissemination and public transportation arrangements, with a view to ensuring the smooth operation of various aspects in receiving visitors. The ImmD has operated additional and temporary counters and channels at various BCPs to divert passenger and vehicular flows. Relevant departments of the BCPs have minimised leave for frontline officers to enable a flexible deployment of manpower.

The Inter-departmental Joint Command Centre set up by the Police, the ImmD, the C&ED, and other relevant departments commenced operation last Saturday (February 14) to monitor the real-time situation at various BCPs, and to take timely contingency actions as necessary for flexible deployments. Moreover, the Emergency Monitoring and Support Centre of the Security Bureau (SB), and the Emergency Transport Co-ordination Centre of the Transport Department will closely monitor the public order and traffic situation at various BCPs and districts to respond promptly to different kinds of emergencies.

Mr Chan appealed to visitors arriving in Hong Kong during the Chinese New Year holidays to plan their itineraries ahead of time. He encouraged them to stay overnight after participating in various local celebratory activities for the Chinese New Year to fully experience Hong Kong's festive culture as well as its unique city charm. Members of the public and visitors may also visit the Hong Kong Tourism Board's one-stop Chinese New Year festive webpage (www.discoverhongkong.com/eng/what-s-new/events/chinese-new-year.html) and the SB's one-stop information platform on immigration clearance "Easy Boundary" (www.sb.gov.hk/eng/bwt/status.html?type=outbound) to obtain useful information such as opening hours and waiting times of major tourist attractions, respective average waiting times for passengers and private cars at land BCPs as well as those for the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge shuttle bus and the Lok Ma Chau-Huanggang cross-boundary shuttle bus to plan their trips and save waiting times.

Mr Chan expressed his heartfelt gratitude to Government colleagues and practitioners of various industries for their hard work during the Chinese New Year period. He also expressed his wishes for the stability and peace of the motherland, a thriving economy, and every success to the community.

The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Chan Kwok-ki (front row, left), accompanied by the Director of Immigration, Mr Benson Kwok (back row, third right) inspects the Lok Ma Chau Spur Line Control Point as he receives a briefing from staff of the Immigration Department today (February 17), the first day of the Chinese New Year. He also thanked all the colleagues on duty during the Chinese New Year holidays. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Chan Kwok-ki (first right), accompanied by the Secretary for Security, Mr Tang Ping-keung (second right) inspects the Lok Ma Chau Spur Line Control Point as he receives a briefing from staff of the Hong Kong Police Force today (February 17), the first day of the Chinese New Year. He also thanked all the colleagues on duty during the Chinese New Year holidays. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Chan Kwok-ki (third right), accompanied by the Secretary for Security, Mr Tang Ping-keung (second left), the Director of Immigration, Mr Benson Kwok (first right); and the Commissioner of Customs and Excise, Mr Chan Tsz-tat (third left), inspects the Lok Ma Chau Spur Line Control Point as he receives a briefing from staff of the Customs and Excise Department today (February 17), the first day of the Chinese New Year. He also thanked all the colleagues on duty during the Chinese New Year holidays. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Employers, contractors and employees should be aware of electrical safety at work during rainstorms

As the rainstorm warning has been issued by the Hong Kong Observatory, the Labour Department (LD) reminds employers and contractors that they should adopt necessary work arrangements and take suitable safety measures to protect the safety of their employees when they are carrying out electrical work or handling electrical plant.

The Labour Department (LD), Photo source: reference image

A spokesman for the LD said today (April 4) that employers and contractors should avoid assigning employees to carry out electrical work (such as electric arc welding work) or handle electrical plant at places affected by rainstorms, and should refer to the "Code of Practice in Times of Adverse Weather and 'Extreme Conditions'" and the "Guide on Safety at Work in times of Inclement Weather" issued by the LD.

Even if electrical work is carried out or electrical plant is handled at places not affected by a rainstorm, suitable safety measures must still be adopted to prevent an electric shock as the air would be more humid. Such measures include:

(i) Ensure that all live parts of an electrical installation are isolated from the power supply source and rendered dead, and the isolation from the power supply source must be maintained as long as electrical work is being carried out;

(ii) Before carrying out any electrical work or handling any electrical plant, cut off and lock out the power supply source, then test the circuit concerned to confirm that it is dead and display suitable warning notices, and issue a work permit thereafter;

(iii) Ensure that protective devices (such as suitable and adequate fuses and circuit breakers) for the electrical installations or electrical plant have been installed and maintained in good working order, and portable electric tools must be double-insulated or properly earthed;

(iv) Provide suitable personal protective equipment such as insulating gloves and insulating mats for employees; and

(v) If live electrical work is unavoidable, a comprehensive risk assessment should be conducted by a competent person and the appropriate safety precautions should be taken to remove or properly control the electrical hazards involved before such work can proceed.

In addition, employees should co-operate with the employer or contractor to follow the safety instructions and use the safety equipment provided.

The LD has published guidebooks and leaflets on electrical work safety. These safety publications are available free from divisional offices of the department or can be downloaded from its website (www.labour.gov.hk/eng/public/content2_8.htm).

Should there be any questions about occupational safety and health matters, please contact the Occupational Safety Officer of the LD at 2559 2297.

Photo source: reference image