COVID-19 and influenza surge in Hong Kong; health officials urge public to maintain hygiene and wear masks.

DH urges public to maintain personal and environmental hygiene as COVID-19 and influenza activities continue to rise

The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health (DH) said today (July 16) that both COVID-19 and seasonal influenza activities rose further last week, with COVID-19 activity reaching a one-year high. This suggested that COVID-19 has entered a new active cycle. Similar trends have been observed in neighbouring regions. The CHP anticipated that activity levels for both COVID-19 and influenza will remain high in the coming weeks. Members of the public, whether staying in Hong Kong or travelling outside, should maintain strict personal and environmental hygiene. High-risk individuals, such as those with underlying illnesses or persons who are immunocompromised, should wear a surgical mask when using public transport or staying in crowded places.

COVID-19

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Surveillance data revealed that overall local COVID-19 activity has been on an upward trend since June. The percentage of respiratory samples testing positive for the SARS-CoV-2 virus rose from less than 1 per cent at the end of May to 9.79 per cent last week (July 5 to 11). During the same period, there was also a significant increase in the consultation rate of COVID-19 cases at Accident and Emergency Departments, family medicine clinics and sentinel private medical practitioner clinics. Regarding sewage surveillance, the viral load per capita of the SARS-CoV-2 virus was approximately 500 000 copies per litre, a significant increase from less than 100 000 copies per litre before the end of May. Over the past four weeks, the CHP recorded a total of 45 COVID-19 severe cases involving adults (including seven fatal cases). Epidemiological investigations showed that 80 per cent of these cases involved persons aged 65 or above. More than 90 per cent of these elderly cases had underlying illnesses. All of these cases had not received a booster dose of COVID-19 vaccine within the past six months. As for children, the CHP recorded two severe cases in June. Neither of them had received COVID-19 vaccination.

"The latest surveillance data indicated that COVID-19 activity has entered a new periodic active cycle. The COVID-19 activity in neighbouring regions has also recorded an increase in recent months, including the Chinese Mainland, the Macao Special Administrative Region, Japan, Korea and Singapore. Over the past few years, an active period of COVID-19 activity levels generally occurs approximately every six to nine months in Hong Kong. Each active period is associated with changes in predominant circulating variants and a decline in community herd immunity. The active period last year lasted from April to the end of June. Based on historical epidemiological data, we expect COVID-19 activity to remain relatively high level over the next one to two months," said the Controller of the CHP, Dr Edwin Tsui.

"The latest sewage surveillance data and genetic analysis of positive respiratory specimens indicated that NB.1.8.1 and its descendant lineages (mainly PQ.16.1.1) are currently the most prevalent variants in Hong Kong. PQ.16.1.1 is a descendant lineage derived from NB.1.8.1, which has been widely prevalent locally for over a year. There is currently no evidence that PQ.16.1.1 causes more severe diseases or has higher transmissibility than previously dominating variant strains. As NB.1.8.1 (including PQ.16.1.1) is a JN.1-related variant, the COVID-19 vaccines currently used in Hong Kong are effective in preventing severe disease and death," added Dr Tsui.

"COVID-19 vaccines are effective in reducing hospitalisation and death rates after infection. High-risk individuals should receive a booster dose at appropriate times six months after their last vaccine dose or COVID-19 infection, whichever is later, regardless of the number of doses previously received. COVID-19 vaccine for adults under the Government's COVID-19 Vaccination Programme (the Programme) will expire in early September this year. The Government is procuring a new batch of COVID-19 vaccine according to the recommendations on antigen composition made by the Scientific Committee on Emerging and Zoonotic Diseases and Scientific Committee on Vaccine Preventable Diseases under the CHP. As the production and delivery of COVID-19 vaccines to Hong Kong with the new composition will take time, eligible persons will temporarily be unable to receive free COVID-19 vaccines through the Programme during the transition period before a new batch of vaccines arrive in Hong Kong. Therefore, those in need, especially the elderly, are advised to act promptly and make appointments as early as possible via the Government's online booking platform. Existing vaccination services for individuals aged 12 or above will continue until September 5. As the COVID-19 vaccines for individuals aged 6 months to 11 years have already expired, vaccination services for this age group under the Programme will resume in an orderly manner in the fourth quarter this year once a new batch of vaccines arrives in Hong Kong. Details will be announced in due course," said Dr Tsui.

Seasonal influenza

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Hong Kong entered the influenza season in late June. The latest surveillance data revealed that the percentage of respiratory specimens testing positive for seasonal influenza viruses was 8.75 per cent and the influenza admission rate in public hospitals was 0.55 cases per 10 000 population last week. Both indicators increased last week. The predominant influenza viruses detected were influenza A (H3) (53 per cent), followed by influenza A (H1) (33 per cent) and influenza B (14 per cent).

The Government is actively making preparations for the 2026/27 Seasonal Influenza Vaccination programmes, including vaccine procurement and publicity. Details of the arrangements, such as eligible groups and vaccination venues, will be announced in due course.

To prevent respiratory diseases, members of the public should maintain good personal, hand and environmental hygiene at all times. Given the current high levels of respiratory disease activity, high-risk individuals should wear surgical masks when visiting public places. The general public should also wear surgical masks when taking public transport or staying in crowded places. Those with symptoms of a respiratory infection, even if mild, should wear a surgical mask, avoid crowded areas and seek medical advice promptly. If symptomatic individuals live with high-risk or immunocompromised persons, they should also wear a surgical mask at home to minimise the risk of cross-infection. They should also ensure proper ventilation indoors and enhance the cleaning and disinfection of the household environment.

Members of the public planning to travel outside Hong Kong during the summer vacation should visit the DH's Travel Health Service webpage before departure to learn about infectious disease situations in other regions and take appropriate precautions against common or travel-related infectious diseases.

Source: AI-found images

Scrutiny of four pieces of subsidiary legislation relating to regulation of ride-hailing services completed

The Government announced today (July 16) that scrutiny of the four pieces of subsidiary legislation relating to the regulation of ride-hailing services has been completed. The Legislative Council (LegCo) has also completed the motion debate to take note of the above-mentioned subsidiary legislation.

The Road Traffic (Amendment) (Ride-hailing Service) Ordinance 2025 (Amendment Ordinance) passed by the LegCo in October 2025 establishes a legal framework for the regulation of ride-hailing services. To further implement the regulatory regime, the Government submitted four pieces of subsidiary legislation to the LegCo on May 27 this year to stipulate the details of the regulatory regime (including the validity period and renewal arrangements for licences/permits, various fees, the types of records that licensed platforms are required to keep, etc), introduce a combined driving test for taxis and ride-hailing vehicles, specify the limit on the number of ride-hailing vehicle permits, as well as prescribe the commencement dates of the various provisions of the Amendment Ordinance. Most of the legal provisions relating to the regulatory regime for ride-hailing services will come into effect on August 3 this year, while the remaining legal provisions will come into effect on August 22, 2027.

A spokesperson for the Transport and Logistics Bureau said, "As the related legal provisions will come into effect on August 3 this year, the Transport Department (TD) will commence various work at full speed, including inviting applications for licences/permits for platforms, vehicles and drivers and issuing licences/permits. The TD will launch a dedicated webpage on ride-hailing services tomorrow (July 17) to facilitate interested persons' understanding of the relevant information.

"The Government plans to invite interested platform companies to apply for a ride-hailing service licence in August this year at the earliest, and to invite applications for ride-hailing vehicle permits and start accepting applications for ride-hailing vehicle driving permits in the fourth quarter of this year at the earliest. We expect to start issuing ride-hailing service licences as early as the end of November this year in phases, so that licensed platforms can commence their preparatory work immediately. This includes recruiting owner-drivers who hold valid permits to register with the platform and undergo verification. Meanwhile, the TD will closely monitor the preparatory work and operations of the licensed platforms, and require the licensed platforms to provide operational data to ensure that their operations comply with the various requirements stipulated under the law and licence conditions. Details of the application arrangements for the various licences/permits will be announced later," the spokesperson added.

Moreover, to facilitate those who wish to join the personalised point-to-point transport service industry, the TD will launch the combined driving test for taxis and ride-hailing vehicles on August 3 this year, and the test will be opened for applications on the same day. The first batch of candidates are expected to take the enhanced combined written test from mid-September this year onwards. Same as the existing taxi written test, the combined written test for taxis and ride-hailing vehicles comprises two parts. Part A mainly assesses candidates' basic knowledge of providing taxi services and ride-hailing passenger transport services, as well as practical knowledge such as prominent places and routes, whereas Part B assesses candidates' understanding of the Road Users' Code.

Persons who have passed the combined written test for taxis and ride-hailing vehicles, and completed the pre-service course for taxi drivers or ride-hailing vehicle drivers, depending on the pre-service course completed, may apply to the TD for a full driving licence to drive a taxi or a ride-hailing vehicle driving permit. Persons holding a valid taxi driving licence may apply to the TD for a ride-hailing vehicle driving permit directly without having to sit for any written test again or take the pre-service course for ride-hailing vehicle drivers.

In addition, to strengthen efforts to combat illegal carriage of passengers for reward, the Amendment Ordinance stipulates that drivers convicted of an offence relating to illegal carriage of passengers for reward should be disqualified for not less than 12 months and up to three years. The related provisions will come into effect on August 3 this year, with a view to enhancing the deterrent effect and better safeguarding the safety and interests of passengers.

Source: AI-found images