CHP investigates confirmed Mpox case
The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health (DH) announced today (October 28) that it is investigating a confirmed Mpox (also known as Monkeypox) case. There has been a significant increase in Mpox cases in Hong Kong during August and September this year. As the CHP has swiftly adopted a multipronged approach to curb the spread of Mpox, the number of new cases recorded in October decreased substantially. The CHP will continue to put in place various targeted prevention and control measures to safeguard public health.
Case details
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The case involves a 41-year-old man who developed lymphadenopathy since October 21, and rash over his genital area and upper limbs since October 24. He sought medical attention at a social hygiene service clinic under the DH on October 26, and was subsequently arranged by the CHP to receive isolation treatment at Princess Margaret Hospital. Upon laboratory testing by the CHP's Public Health Laboratory Services Branch, his clinical specimen tested positive for the Monkeypox virus. The patient is currently in stable condition.
According to the information provided by the patient, he had high-risk sexual exposure in Hong Kong and outside Hong Kong during the incubation period. The source of infection is still under investigation. The CHP is continuing its epidemiological investigation of the case, and will report it to the World Health Organization.
Latest situation of Mpox cases
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Since 2022, Hong Kong has recorded 117 Mpox cases (91 local cases, 25 imported cases, one case with source of infection under investigation). All patients are males. Epidemiological investigations revealed that among the 24 cases recorded since August, all patients reported having engaged in high-risk sexual activities during the incubation period, including having sex with male strangers or multiple partners, and having sex without a condom. Most of them have not received the Mpox vaccinations.
Among the local cases recorded since August, patients commonly used specific dating apps to find casual male sexual partners. After testing positive, some patients were unable to contact their newly met sexual partners, which hindered the CHP's ability to conduct effective contact tracing and implement corresponding prevention and control measures. In view of this, the CHP has increased its outreach on social media platforms to promote Mpox prevention and vaccination, and has collaborated with the operators of relevant dating apps to regularly push information about Mpox prevention and vaccination to all users in Hong Kong.
The CHP urges individuals who have engaged in high-risk sexual contact, particularly with male strangers, to remain vigilant and take appropriate personal protective measures, including receiving the Mpox vaccination and avoiding high-risk sexual contact, so as to lower the risk of infection. Members of the public should retain their sexual partners' contact information to facilitate contact tracing when necessary.
Strengthening prevention
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Mpox vaccine can prevent infection and severe disease. Since late September, the CHP had set up an additional Mpox vaccination centre at the CHP Building, in addition to regular vaccination venues established by the Government. The CHP had also collaborated with relevant non-governmental organisations to provide outreach vaccination services, providing convenience and incentives to encourage individuals with high-risk contacts to get vaccinated as soon as possible. Over the past month, 660 high-risk individuals have received the Mpox vaccine at the regular and additional vaccination venues.
Vaccination provides a highly effective protective barrier. Studies show that receiving two doses of the Mpox vaccine reduces the risk of infection by 82 per cent, which significantly lowers the risk of transmission to sexual partners, and protects both the vaccinated individual and others. Local data also show that vaccinated patients are 87 per cent less likely to experience viral spread to other parts of the body.
The CHP's Mpox hotline (2125 2373) will continue to provide health assessments and advice to high-risk individuals. The hotline will arrange individuals in need to get vaccinated inside the CHP. The hotline operates daily from 9am to 6pm.
More information on Mpox
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Mpox is not transmitted through respiratory droplets or aerosols in general, and transmission would not occur through social contact. The CHP reminds the public, especially those at higher risk of exposure, to take precautions and avoid close physical contact with persons or animals suspected of being infected. They should seek medical attention as soon as possible if they experience relevant symptoms, including rash, fever, chills, swollen lymph nodes, exhaustion, muscle pain, and severe headaches. They should not engage in activities with others that may involve contact with skin rash or body fluids.
The DH has been providing Mpox vaccination services for high-risk groups, including individuals with high-risk sexual practices (such as having multiple sexual partners), sex workers, or having a history of sexually transmitted infection within the past 12 months.
For more details, please visit the CHP's webpages on Mpox and the Mpox Vaccination Programme.
Source: AI-found images
CS chairs interdepartmental working group meeting on Huanggang Port Hong Kong Port Area
The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Chan Kwok-ki, today (October 28) chaired a meeting of the interdepartmental working group on the Huanggang Port Hong Kong Port Area to holistically co-ordinate and steer the preparatory work of various government departments in addressing the peak in cross-boundary passenger and vehicular traffic at the Huanggang Port during the Halloween period this weekend (i.e. from October 30 to November 1). The Secretary for Security, Mr Tang Ping-keung; the Secretary for Transport and Logistics, Ms Mable Chan; and representatives from other relevant government departments attended the meeting.
Mr Chan said, "With Halloween falling on this weekend, coupled with a number of events taking place in Hong Kong including the 'Hong Kong Wine & Dine Festival' and mega concerts, the number of visitor arrivals and late-night cross-boundary trips is expected to increase significantly. The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region attaches great importance to the operation of boundary control points (BCPs) and transport support, and has instructed all relevant departments to make advance deployment, and to accord priority to securing the smooth passage of public transport vehicles during peak clearance hours. Relevant departments have been instructed to effectively manage passenger and vehicular traffic as well as information dissemination, with a view to ensuring the safe and orderly operation of the port and surrounding roads, and providing a good travel experience for members of the public and visitors."
"We anticipate that the Huanggang Port will be very busy during the late-night hours over the Halloween weekend. During peak hours, the Government will adopt the principle of 'giving priority to public transport' and accord priority to the passage of public transport vehicles. I appeal to members of the public and visitors to plan their journeys in advance, take note of the operating hours of various land and rail BCPs, and avoid converging on the Huanggang Port during late-night hours. Travellers who need to cross the boundary during late-night hours are advised to take public transport. Travellers must note that under the principle of 'giving priority to public transport', those choosing to travel by cross-boundary private cars during peak hours may have to wait for a prolonged period on the roads and in the vehicle holding areas. We also encourage visitors to adjust their itineraries to stay overnight in Hong Kong and make good use of the 'ticket stub offers' launched by various events to make their overall journey more comfortable and enjoyable."
Forecast of late-night clearance peaks
Among the land BCPs between Hong Kong and Shenzhen, currently only the Huanggang Port provides 24-hour clearance services for passengers and passenger vehicles. Cross-boundary private cars holding Closed Road Permits (CRPs) for other land BCPs (Shenzhen Bay, Man Kam To, Sha Tau Kok and Heung Yuen Wai) are permitted to use the Huanggang Port between midnight and 6.30am daily. Consequently, there will be an increase in cross-boundary vehicles crossing the boundary via the Huanggang Port after midnight.
As multiple mega events this weekend are expected to conclude around midnight, the Government anticipates that the late-night hours over the three consecutive nights from October 30 (Friday) to November 1 (Sunday) (i.e. from about 11pm each night to 2am the following day) will be the busiest period for northbound passenger and vehicular flows at the Huanggang Port, and traffic at the port and in the vicinity of San Tin Highway will be very busy. Given the capacity limits of the connecting roads to the port and the port's handling capacity for cross-boundary private cars, in order to maximise the dispersal efficiency during peak hours, the authorities will accord priority to securing the passage of high-capacity franchised buses, green minibuses (GMBs) and cross-boundary coaches (CBCs). Under the arrangement of giving priority to the passage of public transport vehicles, passengers choosing to cross the boundary by cross-boundary private cars during late-night peak hours will experience longer waiting times, which may reach an hour or more in the vehicle holding areas and vehicle clearance channels. The authorities appeal to motorists and passengers to remain patient and tolerant, and follow the instructions of police officers on-site to queue up in order.
Interdepartmental collaboration and preparatory work at the port
Regarding port operations, the interdepartmental Joint Command Post at the Huanggang Port will be activated early in the afternoon of October 30 (Friday) and operate throughout the weekend to closely monitor passenger and vehicular flows in real time, and maintain close liaison with the Shenzhen port authorities to make swift responses and deployments when necessary, ensuring safe and orderly clearance for both passengers and vehicles. The Security Bureau (SB) will also concurrently activate the Emergency Monitoring and Support Centre to closely monitor and co-ordinate public order at the port, and co-ordinate interdepartmental follow-up actions where necessary to respond promptly to various kinds of emergencies. The Immigration Department and relevant port departments have minimised leave for frontline officers to enable flexible deployment of manpower, and will open all vehicle lanes, automated channels and manual counters as early as possible before the arrival of clearance peaks, including the clearance facilities at the passenger departure hall on L5, the vehicle departure level on L1 and the departure immigration clearance hall for on-board passengers on L1M. The Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) and the Government Property Agency will also deploy additional police manpower and service ambassadors at L1 and L1M to assist in crowd and traffic dispersal, ensuring efficient and smooth clearance for vehicles and on-board passengers.
Enhancing traffic management and public transport contingency arrangements
The HKPF and the Transport Department (TD) have reviewed the operational experience from last weekend to further optimise road traffic management and public transport support in the vicinity of the port. Since the commissioning of the new port, the TD has set up a dedicated public transport lane leading directly to San Sham Road (i.e. the "bus/goods vehicle" slip road) for use by franchised buses, CBCs and GMBs to enter San Sham Road directly for the Huanggang Port. To strengthen the effective management of the dedicated public transport lane and enhance its effectiveness, the TD will enhance the road markings and extend the dedicated lane. The TD specifically reminds drivers of all light vehicles and taxis that they must not occupy the dedicated public transport lane, and must follow the instructions of police officers on-site. Meanwhile, during the peak hours of Huanggang Port-bound vehicular traffic on the nights of Friday to Sunday this week, the TD and the HKPF will arrange for four franchised bus routes passing through the San Tin Public Transport Interchange (PTI) to enter the PTI directly from Castle Peak Road. Depending on real-time vehicular flow, the HKPF will implement traffic control measures and activate vehicle holding areas in the vicinity of San Tin Highway in a timely manner for traffic diversion, properly separating the traffic streams of buses and cross-boundary private cars. The Transport and Logistics Bureau and the TD will also continue to co-ordinate closely with various public transport operators (PTOs) and steer them in reserving sufficient vehicles and manpower to flexibly step up service frequencies according to passenger demand; during peak hours, the service frequencies of franchised buses can be increased to every two to three minutes, while those of GMBs and CBCs can be increased to every five minutes. The TD's Emergency Transport Co-ordination Centre will operate 24 hours a day to closely monitor the traffic conditions at the Huanggang Port and across various districts, and implement contingency measures in a timely manner.
On-site traffic enforcement and combating illegal carriage of passengers
The HKPF will step up traffic control during peak traffic hours, swiftly handle traffic accidents and broken-down vehicles, and take stringent enforcement actions against traffic-obstructing offences such as illegal parking and the illegal use of dedicated public transport lanes by cross-boundary private cars. Furthermore, the Government has all along been very concerned about the use of motor vehicles for illegal carriage of passengers for hire or reward (commonly known as "white licence cars"). Legitimate cross-boundary hire cars must hold regular quotas for cross-boundary hire cars, CRPs and relevant Hire Car Permits. The HKPF has been gathering intelligence through various channels and taking targeted enforcement actions to severely combat the offences of illegal carriage of passengers for hire or reward by cross-boundary private cars. Apart from prosecuting offending drivers in accordance with the law, upon conviction, the drivers involved will be disqualified from driving and the vehicles involved will also be impounded. The TD will also revoke the CRP of the subject vehicle on the ground of breaching CRP conditions to enhance the deterrent effect. The Government will continue to strengthen law enforcement across all districts to combat illegal carriage of passengers for hire or reward, and will step up publicity on the relevant penalties to remind drivers not to defy the law, while alerting passengers to the potential risks of using illegal hire car services as the third party liability insurance for the vehicle providing illegal services may become invalid in the event of a traffic accident.
"Ticket stub offers" to encourage visitors to stay in Hong Kong
To encourage visitors to stay in Hong Kong for spending and accommodation after attending mega events while easing late-night cross-boundary passenger and vehicular flows, driven by the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau and the Hong Kong Tourism Board, relevant event organisers, catering outlets and merchants will launch a number of promotional offers this weekend, whereby visitors can enjoy various spending privileges upon presenting concert or event tickets.
Information dissemination
To facilitate early journey planning by members of the public and visitors, the SB, the TD, the HKPF and other departments will step up the dissemination of real-time information. Through the one-stop information platform on immigration clearance "Easy Boundary", the "HKeMobility" mobile application and social media platforms, the latest waiting times for passengers and private cars at various land BCPs will be announced, while the locations of traffic queues, estimated waiting times, utilisation of vehicle holding areas and special traffic arrangements will be announced in a timely manner during peak vehicular flow periods, alongside the provision of real-time traffic snapshots of roads to assist members of the public and visitors in grasping traffic situation and adjusting their itineraries. The working group appeals to members of the public and visitors planning to travel northbound across the boundary after evening events to make use of other land and rail BCPs before their closure as far as possible, and avoid converging on the Huanggang Port during late-night hours. Those who need to cross the boundary via the Huanggang Port during late-night hours should take public transport. The TD has steered PTOs to strengthen services from the Central District area on Hong Kong Island to Huanggang. Visitors may also stay overnight in Hong Kong after participating in nighttime festive events to avoid the clearance and vehicular traffic peaks, making their journey more comfortable and enjoyable.
Mr Chan expressed his gratitude to the personnel of various relevant departments and PTOs for standing fast at their posts and working in concert to maintain smooth and orderly clearance and traffic at the port. He again appealed to members of the public and visitors to plan their journeys in advance, pay attention to the information disseminated by various government departments, and follow the instructions of police officers on-site.
CS chairs interdepartmental working group meeting on Huanggang Port Hong Kong Port Area Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
CS chairs interdepartmental working group meeting on Huanggang Port Hong Kong Port Area Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
