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3 imported COVID-19 cases identified

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The Centre for Health Protection today said it is investigating three additional imported COVID-19 cases involving patients who arrived from Qatar, Germany and the United Arab Emirates.   One case, a 53-year-old man who arrived from the United Arab Emirates, lives at Aigburth, Mid-Levels. He received two doses of the BioNTech vaccine in April in Hong Kong.   The patient tested negative in Hong Kong on August 30 and travelled to India on August 31 via Emirates flight EK385.   He returned to Hong Kong on September 13 on flight EK384 and his specimen collected upon arrival at the airport that same day tested negative.   His sample collected on September 15 tested positive for COVID-19 with the L452R mutant strain but not the N501Y or E484K mutant genes. The patient remains asymptomatic.   He works at Unit 1506A, International Commerce Centre, 1 Austin Road West, Tsim Sha Tsui and last went to work on August 27.   The buildings where he stayed and worked in Hong Kong during the
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Ronald Lam to be Director of Health

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The Government announced today that Centre for Health Protection Controller Dr Ronald Lam will take up the post of Director of Health on September 21, succeeding Dr Constance Chan who will start her pre-retirement leave.   Secretary for the Civil Service Patrick Nip said he is confident that Dr Lam will be able to lead the Department of Health to meet the challenges ahead.   “Dr Lam possesses profound professional knowledge and experience, and has proven leadership and management skills.”    On the retirement of Dr Chan, Mr Nip praised her for her contributions.   "Dr Chan has served with professionalism and commitment in the civil service throughout the past 33 years. As Director of Health, Dr Chan has made sustained efforts in leading the department to safeguard the health of the community through promotive, preventive, curative and rehabilitative services.”   Mr Nip added that in the face of the severe COVID-19 pandemic, Dr Chan has displayed resolve and perseverance
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8.27m COVID-19 jabs given

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About 8,278,400 doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered to the public, with about 4,376,100 people receiving their first dose and around 3,902,300 getting their second dose.   Among those given the first dose of vaccines, about 1,589,300 people have received the Sinovac jab and about 2,786,800 people got the BioNTech one.   For the second dose, about 1,429,200 people have received the Sinovac vaccine, while about 2,473,100 people have been administered the BioNTech jab.   About 30,700 people received jabs under the COVID-19 Vaccination Programme today.   Around 3,300 people received their first dose of the Sinovac vaccine and around 7,400 people received their second dose.   For the BioNTech vaccine, about 5,400 people received their first dose and around 14,700 people got their second dose.   The overall percentage of people who received the Sinovac vaccine at community vaccination centres is about 96% while it is about 94% for the BioNTech one.   As of 8pm, ab
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July goods exports up 20.1%

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The volume of Hong Kong's total goods exports increased 20.1% year-on-year in July, the Census & Statistics Department announced today.   The volume of goods imports for the month rose 19.5% over July 2020.   Prices of goods exports and imports increased 5.6% and 5.5% year-on-year for the month.   On a seasonally adjusted basis, the volume of goods exports fell 5.3% in the three-month period ending July compared with the preceding three months, while the volume of goods imports decreased 0.8%.   Comparing the first seven months of the year with the same period in 2020, the volume of goods exports rose 25.3%, while that of goods imports increased 22.7%.   Prices of goods exports for the period increased 3.4%, while that of goods imports rose 3.3%. http://dlvr.it/S7hKgK
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National security seminar held

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The Civil Service Bureau held a seminar on the topic of national security, the National Security Law and improving the electoral system today.   It was the third and final seminar in its series of seminars for directorate and senior civil servants under the theme of Understanding the Constitutional Order & Safeguarding National Security. Today's seminar was delivered by former Secretary for Justice and former Vice-Chairperson of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Basic Law Committee of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress Elsie Leung.   It covered the holistic view of national security, the responsibility of the Hong Kong SAR to safeguard national security, the background to the enactment and the key elements of the National Security Law, improving the electoral system and the local implementation of the principle of “patriots administering Hong Kong”. Addressing the seminar, Secretary for the Civil Service Patrick Nip quoted the important
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8.24m vaccine jabs given

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About 8,247,600 doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered to the public, with about 4,367,400 people receiving their first dose and around 3,880,200 getting their second dose.   Among those given the first dose of vaccines, about 1,586,000 people have received the Sinovac jab and about 2,781,400 people got the BioNTech one.   For the second dose, about 1,421,800 people have received the Sinovac vaccine, while about 2,458,400 people have been administered the BioNTech jab.   About 29,600 people received jabs under the COVID-19 Vaccination Programme today.   Around 3,800 people received their first dose of the Sinovac vaccine and around 7,400 people received their second dose.   For the BioNTech vaccine, about 4,500 people received their first dose and around 13,900 people got their second dose.   The overall percentage of people who received the Sinovac vaccine at community vaccination centres is about 97% while it is about 96% for the BioNTech one.   As of 8pm, ab
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Voucher scheme monitored

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The Government will continue to monitor the implementation of the Consumption Voucher Scheme to ensure that it operates smoothly, Secretary for Financial Services & the Treasury Christopher Hui said today.   He made the remarks when answering questions from lawmakers at a Legislative Council meeting.   The scheme received about 6.9 million registrations, with the first voucher of $2,000 disbursed on August 1 and September 1 to a total of about 6.3 million eligible people.   Mr Hui noted that the consumption vouchers disbursed have effectively produced a stimulating effect on the market and significantly boosted the business of merchants, adding that the community's overall response is very positive.   For the remaining 600,000 or so registrations, half of them were from ineligible people or duplicated, while the other half were not further processed due to incomplete or incorrect information provided.   More than 280,000 registrants had either provided supplementary i
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