Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
Hospital Authority proactively assists patients and majority of medical fee waiver applications approved on same day
The HA reported that 54 658 medical fee waiver applications have been approved to date, including 33 759 cases have completed assessment and received formal waiver certificates. Under normal circumstances, waivers will be issued within approximately one hour of submitting all required documents. For patients who require urgent medical services but are unable to provide the necessary documentation for financial assessment, the HA has exercised flexible arrangements. By signing a declaration stating their financial situation meets the medical fee waiver eligibility criteria, patients can receive approval for “conditional waivers” within as fast as 15 minutes. The HA has exercised flexible arrangements to approve 20 899 “conditional waivers”. These patients must submit the relevant documents for financial assessment within three months. If patients fail to submit the required documents within the deadline or do not meet the eligibility criteria, they will be required to settle all applicable fees (if any).
“Patients should allow sufficient time for medical fee waiver applications. For patients without immediate medical needs, it is advisable to begin the application process approximately one to two months before their scheduled appointments. Members of the public can also access information about medical fee waivers, including application procedures and required documents, in advance through the HA website or mobile application HA Go. They can also use the means test calculator to preliminarily evaluate their eligibility, ensuring a smoother application process,” the HA spokesperson reminded.
The spokesperson emphasised that the enhanced medical fee waiver mechanism is a crucial measure of the public healthcare fees and charges reform to strengthen protection for patients facing financial hardship, and therefore requires financial assessment and not everyone will be eligible. Each application must be handled with due diligence for the use of public money. Patients have the responsibility to provide complete, accurate, truthful, and appropriate information for assessment and verification, ensuring that assistance reaches those truly in need.
While ensuring that no patient is denied from medical care due to lack of means, it is also essential to uphold the principle of prudent use of resources to prevent the limited and precious public resources being abused. Moreover, the supporting documents required for medical fee waiver applications are similar to those required for other social welfare or government subsidy schemes.
Patients need to submit income and asset proof documents for financial assessment while applying for medical fee waivers. In addition to common documentary proof such as land or non-owner-occupied property, cash in hand, bank savings, investments in stocks and shares, some applicants may keep cash in other accounts such as e-wallets, Hong Kong Jockey Club betting accounts, or have accessible insurance savings. Patients are also required to provide relevant supporting documents for these assets to accurately assess their eligibility for medical fee waivers. To ensure appropriate use of medical resources and prevent abuse, the HA will conduct regular reviews of approved cases randomly.
The HA has relaxed eligibility criteria and simplified the application procedures with the implementation of enhanced medical fee waiver mechanism. Patients or their family members who are currently receiving Old Age Living Allowance may be exempted from submitting certain documentary proof for financial assessment, with details as follows:
Furthermore, if a patient has household members included in the financial assessment who already possess approved medical fee waiver, the patient will not need to undergo a complete financial assessment. The HA will refer to the financial information submitted during their household member’s medical fee waiver application and, depending on the actual circumstances, will only request necessary or missing information from the patient rather than conducting a full review from scratch. The patient will receive a waiver with the same validity period as their household member.
The HA is gradually enhancing its electronic system “Medical Fee Assistance Domain” (the domain) to support medical fee waiver applications. Patients can now upload required documents for financial assessment through the domain, receive push notifications about key application status, and check application details. Starting from the second quarter of 2026, patients will also be able to submit applications through the domain.
Issued at HKT 19:40
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Missing woman in Lok Ma Chau located
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
Missing woman in Lok Ma Chau located
A woman who went missing in Lok Ma Chau has been located.
The woman was located on Tai Tong Road, Yuen Long, last night (January 9). She was sent to hospital for examination. No suspicious circumstances were detected.
Issued at HKT 19:56
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CFS to follow up certain batches of powdered infant and young children formula with possible presence of Cereulide produced by Bacillus cereus
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) today (January 10) said that, it took initiative to meet with Nestlé Hong Kong again today, and confirmed the company’s today announcement of an additional batch of powdered infant and young children formula suspected to have possibly used the raw material concerned. Nestlé Hong Kong has voluntarily stopped sales, removed from shelves the affected products and has initiated a precautionary recall. The CFS has collected samples of powdered infant and young children formula from the market for Bacillus cereus testing, the test results so far were satisfactory. The Environmental and Ecology Bureau is also closely monitoring the supply situation of other formula milk powder and maintaining communication with other major suppliers. It is noted that there is sufficient formula milk powder to meet the demand.
The spokesman said, the CFS has been actively following up on Nestlé company’s voluntary and precautionary recalls of certain batches of its powdered infant and young children formula in certain areas in Europe due to possible presence of Cereulide produced by Bacillus cereus in the individual raw material. According to the latest information from Nestlé Hong Kong today, an additional batch of its powdered infant and young children formula imported into Hong Kong might have used the raw material concerned. The CFS had earlier enhanced surveillance in the market and collected a sample from the above batch for testing of Bacillus cereus. The test result of the sample was satisfactory. Nevertheless, as a precautionary measure, Nestlé Hong Kong has voluntarily stopped sales, removed from shelves the affected products and has initiated a precautionary recall.Batch number: 51670742F2
Best-before date: June 16, 2027
Place of Origin: GermanyEmail: consumerservices@hk.nestle.com
WhatsApp: 5283 4139 (NESTLÉ®️ NAN®️) / 2599 8871 (Wyeth®️ Nutrition)
Online form: forms.office.com/e/BhqMhWfsUG?origin=lprLink
Consumers may choose to bring along the products (brand new or opened) for refund at place of purchase, or at exclusive service counters of Nestlé Nutrition Services from January 13 (Tuesday) onwards, to settle the recall and refund of the batches of the products concerned. Details of the exclusive service counters are as follows:
Kowloon Services Counter
Address: G/F, Park Hovan Commercial Building, 18 Hillwood Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon (MTR Jordon Station Exit D)
Contact number: 3996 8196
Office hour: Monday to Saturday, 11am to 7.30pm; Sunday, 1pm to 5.30pm (except public holidays)Address: 1/F, Ka Nin Wah Commercial Building, 423-425 Hennessy Road, Hong Kong (MTR Causeway Bay Station Exit B)
Contact number: 3996 8197
Office hour: Monday to Saturday, 11am to 7.30pm (except Sundays and public holidays)
The CFS, through its Food Incident Surveillance System, noted earlier that certain batches of Nestlé powdered infant formula were being voluntarily recalled in Europe due to possible contamination with Bacillus cereus. Upon learning of the incident, the CFS has immediately initiated follow up actions, published food incident posts to inform the public and the trade about the issue, and has been actively following up on the incident and enhanced surveillance.
Bacillus cereus is commonly found in the environment. Unhygienic conditions in food processing and storage may give rise to its growth. Cereulide is a heat-stable toxin produced in food by some strains of Bacillus cereus. Consuming food contaminated with excessive Bacillus cereus or its heat-stable toxins may cause gastrointestinal upset such as vomiting and diarrhoea.
The spokesman urged members of the public not to let infants and young children consume the affected batches of the products, and to seek medical treatment for infants or young children who felt unwell after taking the products concerned. The trade should also stop using or selling the affected batches of the products immediately.
70th round of computer ballot registration for submitting applications for Northbound Travel for Hong Kong Vehicles to be open January 12 to 15
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
70th round of computer ballot registration for submitting applications for Northbound Travel for Hong Kong Vehicles to be open January 12 to 15
Eligible applicants for the scheme can register for computer balloting through the designated website (www.hzmbqfs.gov.hkIssued at HKT 10:00
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Autonomous vehicles drive HK forward
Source: Hong Kong Information Services
Autonomous driving technology is advancing rapidly, with the potential to boost traffic efficiency and improve road safety. To promote the technology in Hong Kong, the Transport Department has issued six autonomous vehicle pilot licences since 2024, allowing operators to conduct road tests in designated areas.
The first licence was granted to an intelligent driving technology company with more than a decade of experience in autonomous driving research and development. The firm has deployed its technology in 22 cities, spanning the Mainland and the United Arab Emirates.
Since receiving its licence in November 2024, the company has been testing across North Lantau, Cyberport and the Kai Tak Development Area. By utilising vehicle-mounted sensors, the company has collected data over more than 80,000km of safe driving.
Last month, the company began conducting cross-district tests in Kwun Tong and Kowloon City. Despite the high density of both vehicles and pedestrians in urban areas, the autonomous vehicles have maintained steady speeds, signalled and overtaken safely, and have even made smooth U-turns on narrow roads with the help of algorithms.
During the tests, a driver remains onboard as a backup operator, only taking control of the vehicle when necessary. The vehicles have typically operated with the driver’s hands off the wheel during routine travel.
System optimisation
The company’s Hong Kong Project Development Manager Nick Lau explained that as one of the most densely networked cities in the world, Hong Kong has complex and dynamic road conditions. The system has been optimised to comply with local traffic rules.
“Hong Kong is a right-hand-drive market. Our system has to fine-tune driving actions like stopping, overtaking and picking lanes so the vehicles handle right-side driving accurately. Second, there are conventional and spiral roundabouts in Hong Kong, which are different from those in other places. With strict traffic guidelines in play, our system has to learn these details to avoid any risks or violations,” he said.
Mr Lau also highlighted the challenges posed by unique traffic signals and temporary signs, such as hand-operated “Stop” and “Go” ones, which make recognition more difficult.
“We are continuing to fine-tune our machine-learning models to improve precision in these situations,” he added.
Technological advancements
Transport Department Electrical & Mechanical Engineer (Autonomous Vehicle) Ken Tang said that testing has progressed smoothly, with all vehicles maintaining stable performance.
Among the trials, the tests in North Lantau have achieved significant technological progress in four key areas: scaling the trials from a single vehicle to 10 vehicles operating simultaneously; designated passenger-carrying trials; expanded test area; and higher speeds.
“Trial routes for autonomous vehicles have steadily expanded, progressing beyond Airport Island to more complex highways and diverse communities. As the autonomous driving system has improved, vehicle speeds have gradually increased up to 50km per hour, depending on the posted speed limits of the relevant test sections,” he said.
The Transport Department has issued six pilot licences, covering 62 autonomous private cars and light buses being tested in various trial areas.
This year, it will progressively implement driverless operation of autonomous vehicles using only remote backup operators.
Based on the regular reports submitted by autonomous vehicle pilot operators, the department said it will review testing performance and safety, and require operators to conduct strict vehicle inspections to ensure the tests are performed in a safe and orderly manner.
Incoming passenger convicted and jailed for importing of duty-not-paid cigarettes (with photo)
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
Incoming passenger convicted and jailed for importing of duty-not-paid cigarettes (with photo)
Customs officers intercepted the incoming female passenger, aged 43, at Hong Kong International Airport yesterday (January 9), and seized 48 400 duty-not-paid cigarettes, with an estimated market value of $217,800 and a duty potential of about $160,000 from her personal baggage. The passenger was subsequently arrested.
Customs welcomes the sentence. The custodial sentence has imposed a considerable deterrent effect and reflects the seriousness of the offences. Customs reminds members of the public that under the DCO, cigarettes are dutiable goods to which the DCO applies. Any person who imports, deals with, possesses, sells or buys illicit cigarettes commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $2 million and imprisonment for seven years.
Members of the public may report any suspected illicit cigarette activities to Customs’ 24-hour hotline 182 8080 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hkIssued at HKT 16:00
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New requirements for mandatory fitting and wearing of seat belts and placing of mobile telecommunications devices while driving to be implemented from January 25 (with photos/videos)
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
The Government today (January 8) reminded members of the public that, starting from January 25, all public transport and commercial vehicles’ seated passengers must wear seat belts, and all drivers must not place more than two mobile telecommunications devices (MTDs) in front of them during driving, further enhancing road, passenger and driving safety.
All passenger’s seats in public and private buses, rear passenger’s seats in private light buses and goods vehicles (GVs), and driver’s seats and all passenger’s seats of special purpose vehicles (SPVs) must be equipped with seat belts in these vehicles first registered on or after January 25. Drivers and passengers occupying the seats of these vehicles (whether newly registered or not), where seat belts are fitted, are required to wear them. Studies show that wearing seat belts will reduce the risk of death and serious injury of drivers and passengers in head-on collisions by about 40 per cent and 70 per cent respectively.
Offending vehicle owners, drivers or passengers will be liable to a maximum fine of $5,000 and imprisonment for up to three months. All passengers occupying seats shall be responsible for wearing seat belts. Among them, any driver who still drives with a passenger aged under 15 seated in the rear seat of a GV or the passenger’s seat of an SPV without wearing a seat belt will be subject to a maximum fine of $2,000.
The Government noted that the transport trades are ready for the new requirements. In franchised buses, all seats in newly procured buses have been equipped with seat belts. Together with existing double-deck buses retrofitted with seat belts on the upper-deck seats by operators under government subsidy, to date, around 3 500 buses are now equipped with seat belts, representing about 60 per cent of the entire fleet in Hong Kong.
In addition, from the same day onwards, any driver must not place more than two MTDs (i.e. mobile phones, tablet computers or laptop computers) in front of them during driving. The diagonal length of each screen must not exceed 19 centimetres. The MTDs must not obstruct the driver’s view of the road and traffic, as well as any mirror, device or camera-monitor fitted for viewing the roads. Offenders will be liable to a maximum fine of $2,000.
The Government has stepped up publicity and public education since November 2025. The Transport Department (TD) has strengthened collaboration with the Police, the Education Bureau, the Information Services Department, the Road Safety Council and the transport trades including public transport operators to introduce the legal requirements through websites, videos, media, social media, the “e-Bulletin for Parents” and publicity posters on traffic signal controllers across various districts. Franchised bus operators have also strengthened publicity and broadcast inside compartments and at bus stops to alert passengers to the new requirement of wearing seat belts.
Members of the public may refer to the TD’s webpage on the new requirements on seat belts (www.td.gov.hk/en/road_safety/sb) and placing MTDs during driving (www.td.gov.hk/en/road_safety/mtd) or the Agent T Facebook page (www.facebook.com/AgentT.hk), or call the hotline 2804 2600 for details.
DH urges public to stay vigilant as summer influenza season concludes while winter influenza season approaches
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health (DH) today (January 8) announced that the summer influenza season has concluded. Seasonal influenza activity has continued to decline in the past few weeks and dropped below the baseline levels during the most recent week. However, influenza activity may rise again as the weather gradually turns colder. With the winter influenza season approaching, the CHP strongly urged those who have not yet received the 2025/26 seasonal influenza vaccination (SIV), particularly high-risk groups such as pregnant women, the elderly, children and those with chronic illnesses. These groups should receive their SIV promptly to reduce the risk of severe illness and death from infection.
Summer influenza season concludes and winter influenza season approaches
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“Hong Kong entered the summer influenza season in early September last year. Seasonal influenza activity peaked in mid-to-late October last year and has since been gradually declining. The latest surveillance data shows that the percentage of respiratory specimens tested positive for seasonal influenza viruses during the most recent week (December 28, 2025, to January 3, 2026) was 4.08 per cent, while the influenza admission rate in public hospitals was 0.23 cases per 10 000 population. As both indicators have dropped below the baseline levels (i.e. 4.94 per cent and 0.27 cases per 10 000 population respectively), the CHP confirmed that the summer influenza season has ended. Hong Kong entered the summer influenza season in September last year and it has lasted about four months. The summer influenza season started later than usual,” the Controller of the CHP, Dr Edwin Tsui, said.
“This summer influenza season has ended, meaning there was no overlap between the summer and winter influenza seasons. However, influenza activity may rise again as the weather gradually turns colder in the first quarter of this year and it cannot be ruled out that the circulating virus strains may change as the winter influenza season approaches. Therefore, I once again urge all individuals aged 6 months or older, except those with known contraindications, to act promptly if they have not yet received an SIV. This includes those who contracted influenza during the summer influenza season in order to guard against other circulating virus strains that may emerge during the upcoming winter influenza season. Furthermore, although there are some antigenic differences between the currently circulating influenza A (H3) virus strain and the virus strain contained in the vaccine, an SIV can still offer protection against the variant strain of subclade K, as well as the influenza A (H1) and influenza B strains included in the vaccine,” Dr Tsui said.
2025/26 SIV Programmes
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“Although the influenza activity has declined to below the baseline level at the moment, sporadic outbreaks caused by influenza viruses are still possible in schools and residential care homes. For children who did not join the SIV School Outreach Programme, parents should promptly bring their children to private doctors
Members of the public may refer to the CHP’s COVID-19 & Flu Express
CEDD commended by Ombudsman on slope safety work
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
CEDD commended by Ombudsman on slope safety work
On preparedness, applying a risk-based approach under the LPMitP, the CEDD systematically selects government man-made slopes for upgrading works and natural hillside catchments for mitigation measures annually. Starting from 2025, the CEDD has been progressively increasing the annual targets under the LPMitP and optimising the slope selection mechanism to strengthen resilience of slopes to heavy rain. The CEDD will review the LPMitP’s targets and effectiveness in response to environmental changes, ensuring the LPMitP’s continued efficacy.
The CEDD plans to fully roll out the Smart Slope Catalogue this year, integrating records of mitigation works, maintenance, rainfall endured, and landslides to expand comprehensive monitoring and data management related to slopes. By applying artificial intelligence for big data analysis, the catalogue will improve the functionality and efficiency of slope safety management, thereby better preparing for extreme weather.
On early warning, the CEDD will fully commission the AI Landslip Warning System in the wet season of this year. The system integrates Hong Kong’s rainfall data and information in the Smart Slope Catalogue, and applies machine learning and big data analytics, to boost the accuracy of the predicted number of landslides during heavy rain, thereby enhancing the capability for landslide risk assessment and improving the reliability of the issuance of Landslip Warning.
On emergency response and recovery, the CEDD will stay abreast of the technological advancements in slope safety, and developing and introducing innovative technologies. This includes piloting applications of a smart unmanned drone management system on slope monitoring and emergency management to expand data collection and analytics capabilities. The CEDD will also continue to strengthen collaboration with relevant departments, such as sharing on common maintenance issues and assessment of the impact of heavy rain on slopes, with a view to enhancing slope safety and reducing landslide risk.
The Office noted that the landslide incident rate for government slopes is relatively higher and that there are cases of repeated occurrences. In fact, this is mainly related to the categorisation of slopes and their potential impact, reflecting the government’s risk-based approach to slope management. The man-made slopes maintained by the government are distributed over an extensive area, possess diversified nature, and have different levels of risks. These include slopes with relatively high, medium, and relatively low potential impacts, categorised mainly by the risk of loss of life in the event of a landslide. To ensure public safety, the government will prioritise landslide prevention works on slopes that pose a higher potential impact. Some of the government slopes that fall into medium or relatively low potential impact categories may not be accorded priority because of their relatively remote locations or a lower risk of loss of life. As such, those government slopes with medium and relatively low potential impacts may also experience landslides under a risk-controlled condition. On the contrary, private man-made slopes are more similar in nature. Most of them are close to private residences and would pose greater impact on the residents in the event of a landslide. They are generally categorised as having relatively high potential impact and receive a higher level of attention. This explains why the overall landslide incident rate for government slopes appears higher, and why landslides may occur repeatedly on some individual slopes with medium or relatively low potential impacts.
In fact, between 2020 and 2024, the annual landslide incident rates for both government and private man-made slopes remained below one per cent (ranging from 0.1 per cent to 0.6 per cent for government slopes and 0.03 per cent to 0.3 per cent for private slopes), which is a very low level. Overall, an average of about 214 incidents were recorded annually over the past decade (2015 to 2024), representing a decrease of nearly one-third compared to the average of about 300 incidents between 1989 and 2014. This reflects the notable results achieved through the ongoing prevention and mitigation efforts.
In response to the landslide incidents triggered by the extreme rainstorm in September 2023, the CEDD has completed a systematic review and study, putting forward a number of recommendations to optimise the LPMitP. New measures include expediting the progress of LPMitP and prioritising, under a risk-based approach, the risk management of man-made slopes located along sole vehicular accesses and those with a greater potential impact on the public’s daily lives. The CEDD thanks the Ombudsman for recognising in its report the department’s timely review and adjustment of the direction of the LPMitP, acknowledging that such an approach is proactive and effective in adapting to changing circumstances.
The CEDD will continue to closely monitor slope safety in Hong Kong and remains committed to enhancing slope safety management through collaboration, driving Hong Kong’s development as a resilient and livable world-class city.
Issued at HKT 23:22
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DoJ establishes Expert Committee on Professional Services for Going Global
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
DoJ establishes Expert Committee on Professional Services for Going Global
Chaired by the Deputy Secretary for Justice, Dr Cheung Kwok-kwan, the 13 members of the Expert Committee comprise experts from the legal, financial, and accounting sectors from the Chinese Mainland and Hong Kong, as well as outstanding business and corporate representatives, for a term of two years. The Expert Committee will provide advice and assistance on enhancing the understanding of the needs of Chinese Mainland enterprises expanding overseas, and co-ordinating with Hong Kong’s professional services sectors, including the legal, accounting, and financial sectors, to support Chinese Mainland enterprises going global.
Dr Cheung said that the Hong Kong Professional Services GoGlobal Platform, initiated by the DoJ with the support of the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau, was officially launched on December 13, marking a new stage of collaborative support by Hong Kong’s professional services for Mainland enterprises going global. To support and promote the work of the Platform, the DoJ has established the Expert Committee on Professional Services for Going Global, gathering strategic advice from members of different professional services sectors to provide better assistance to Mainland enterprises in relevant work in going global.
The terms of reference and membership of the Expert Committee are set out in Annex 1 and Annex 2 respectively.
Issued at HKT 15:30
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