Dear Staff and Students,
We would like to share the following message on Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) from Department of Health about Updated information on Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) and vaccines.
Health, Safety and Environment Office
Dear Sir/Madam,
Updated information on Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) and vaccines
1. New direction in fighting pandemic & Social distancing measures under Prevention and Control of Disease Ordinance
With the fourth wave of the epidemic which has emerged since the second half of November last year apparently under control, a new direction in fighting the pandemic will be adopted down the road. The Government will adjust various anti-epidemic measures with "vaccine bubble" as the basis. Members of the public are encouraged to get vaccinated sooner rather than later so that Hong Kong can gradually return to normality, and the flow of people with the Mainland and overseas can be restored as soon as possible.
However, to continue containing the spread of the disease and taking into account the pressure for potential rebound of the epidemic brought by earlier relaxation of social distancing measures and the frequent gatherings among members of the public during the long holiday, the Government still needs to maintain existing social distancing measures for the coming two weeks for prudence's sake.
The COVID-19 Vaccination Programme has been smoothly implemented for a while. Some staff members of the catering business premises or scheduled premises have completed the vaccination course (i.e. after 14 days following the administration of two vaccine doses for production of antibodies). In view of the protection brought by the vaccination, the relevant staff member will not need to undergo regular testing starting from the fourteenth day upon his or her completion of a COVID-19 vaccination course. However, any person who has symptoms should seek medical attention immediately and undergo testing. Relevant staff member should keep the vaccination record as proof of vaccination. The fourteenth day upon a person's completion of a vaccination course is counted by taking the next day after the person received all of the recommended dose(s) of vaccine as the first day. For example, for a person who has not been infected with COVID-19 and received the second dose of vaccine on April 15, the "first day" would be April 16 and the "fourteenth day" would be April 29.
If the epidemic situation remains stable, the Government will adjust social distancing measures orderly with 'vaccine bubble' as the basis. The details will be announced later.
https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/202104/12/P2021041200923.htm
https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/202104/14/P2021041400025.htm
2. Specifications under Prevention and Control of Disease (Regulation of Cross-boundary Conveyances and Travellers) Regulation to be gazetted
The global pandemic situation remains severe. During the two-week period from late March to early April, there were over 7.9 million new cases and more than 138 000 new deaths reported globally. Hong Kong cannot afford to drop its guard on entry prevention and control measures. The Secretary for Food and Health will publish in the Gazette updated specifications made under Cap. 599H to include Egypt under the high-risk Group B specified places. The relevant specifications will be effective from April 20 until further notice.
Details on the grouping of specified places and their respective boarding and compulsory quarantine requirements can be found at:
www.coronavirus.gov.hk/eng/high-risk-places.html
3. Government implements various measures to improve workflow of COVID-19 vaccination
To facilitate the public's identification of the correct venue for vaccination, each of the community vaccination centres (CVCs) and designated general outpatient clinics of the Hospital Authority have been assigned a unique code number. The code number for venues administering Sinovac vaccine will start with the prefix "S", while those for BioNTech vaccination will start with the prefix "B". For example, S01 is the code number of the Hong Kong Central Library CVC which administers Sinovac vaccine, and B02 is the code number of the Sun Yat Sen Memorial Park Sports Centre CVC which administers BioNTech vaccine. The SMS messages for persons to be vaccinated will also start right-away with the code number of the vaccination venue chosen. In addition, the CVCs will also display their code number at prominent positions at the venue entrance. These arrangements will help reception staff and the public alike to tell if the latter has come to the correct vaccination venue.
For details, please refer to:
https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/202104/13/P2021041300846.htm
4. Outreach Vaccination Arrangement for RCHs
The Outreach Vaccination Arrangement for Residential Care Homes (RCHs) under the COVID-19 Vaccination Programme (outreach arrangement) started on April 13. Outreach teams and visiting medical officers (VMOs) will visit the RCHs for the elderly that are participating in the outreach arrangement, which provides free vaccination services at the RCHs for their residents and service users of the day service units attached to the premises of the RCHs who have agreed to receive a vaccination and have been assessed by medical doctors as suitable for receiving a vaccination.
Residents who choose not to participate in the outreach vaccination arrangement will not be vaccinated in the RCHs, but they can still make bookings by themselves and receive a vaccination at Community Vaccination Centres or other locations.
For details, please refer to:
https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/202104/13/P2021041300415.htm
More information on COVID-19 vaccines:
www.covidvaccine.gov.hk
We would like to solicit your support to disseminate the information to your colleagues, work associates and/or business partners so that they could adopt proper preventive measures. Thank you very much for your support.
Department of Health
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敬啟者：
2019冠狀病毒病及疫苗的最新資訊
1. 抗疫新路向及 《預防及控制疾病條例》下的社交距離措施
自去年11月下旬出現的第四波疫情已明顯受控，政府未來將採取抗疫新路向，以「疫苗氣泡」為基礎調整各項防控措施，並鼓勵市民盡快接種疫苗，讓香港逐步回復正常運作，早日恢復與內地和海外的人員往來。
但為繼續遏制疫情，並考慮到早前放寬社交距離措施及長假期市民頻繁聚會對疫情帶來的反彈壓力，為謹慎起見，政府仍然需要於未來兩周維持現行的社交距離措施。
2019冠狀病毒病疫苗接種計劃已順利推行一段時間，部分餐飲業務處所或表列處所的員工已完成疫苗接種（即是接種了兩劑疫苗並過14天後讓抗體產生）。因應接種疫苗帶來的保護，員工在完成2019冠狀病毒病疫苗接種後的第14天起，將無須進行適用於相關員工的定期檢測。然而任何人士如有病徵應該盡快求醫並接受檢測。有關員工須保留疫苗接種紀錄作為已接種疫苗的證明。完成疫苗接種後的第14天是由有關人士接種所有建議劑量的疫苗後的次日作第一天起計。例如，若一名未曾感染2019冠狀病毒病的人士在四月十五日接種第二劑疫苗，「第一天」為四月十六日，而「第14天」則為四月二十九日。
如疫情持續穩定，政府會以『疫苗氣泡』為基礎，有序地調整社交距離措施。具體細節會稍後公布。
https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/202104/12/P2021041200827.htm
https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/202104/13/P2021041300855.htm
2. 政府就《預防及控制疾病（規管跨境交通工具及到港者）規例》下的指明刊憲
全球疫情仍然嚴峻，從三月下旬至四月初的兩星期內，全球新增個案超過七百九十萬宗，而新增死亡個案亦超過十三萬八千宗。香港的入境防控措施不能鬆懈。食物及衞生局局長會刊憲更新在第599H章下作出的指明，將埃及列入屬高風險的B組指明地區。有關指明將於四月二十日生效，直至另行通知。
就相關指明地區分組和相應的登機及強制檢疫要求的詳情，可參閱：
https://www.coronavirus.gov.hk/chi/high-risk-places.html
3. 政府實施多項措施改善新冠疫苗接種流程
為了讓市民清楚知悉其應該前往的疫苗接種地點，各接種中心和醫院管理局指定普通科門診診所均已獲編派獨有的場地編號，科興（Sinovac）疫苗接種中心的場地編號會以「S」字母開首，復必泰（BioNTech）疫苗接種中心的場地編號會以「B」字母開首。例如：接種科興（Sinovac）疫苗的香港中央圖書館社區疫苗接種中心，其編號為S01；而接種復必泰（BioNTech）疫苗的中山紀念公園體育館社區疫苗接種中心，其編號為B02。政府向預約接種人士發送的電話短訊，亦會開首顯示接種中心的編號，有關場地也會在入口當眼處張貼場地的獨有編號。以上措施可有效讓接種場地的接待人員和市民分辨後者是否身處正確的接種場所。
詳情可參閱：
https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/202104/13/P2021041300719.htm
4. 院舍外展接種安排
「2019冠狀病毒病疫苗接種計劃」院舍外展接種安排於四月十三日開展。外展疫苗接種團隊及到診註冊醫生會陸續到訪參與外展安排的安老院舍，為已表示同意及經過醫生評估適合接種疫苗的院友及附設於院舍的日間服務單位的服務使用者在院舍內免費接種疫苗。
不擬參與的院友將不會被安排於院舍接種疫苗，但可自行預約及前往社區疫苗接種中心或其他地點接種疫苗。
詳情可參閱：
https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/202104/13/P2021041300412.htm
更多新冠疫苗資訊：
www.covidvaccine.gov.hk
希望你可以將有關資訊與你的同事、合作者及／或業務伙伴分享，讓他們都能採取合適的預防措施。非常感謝你的支持。
衞生署
