Category: MIL-OSI

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

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.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

     Demands for rates and/or Government rent for the quarter from January to March 2026 have been issued, and payment should be made by January 30, 2026.
      
     Payment can be made:
 
(1) by using autopay, the Faster Payment System (FPS), PPS, Internet banking or bank automated teller machines (ATMs);
 
(2) by uploading an e-Cheque/e-Cashier Order via the Pay e-Cheque portal (www.payecheque.gov.hk);
 
(3) by sending a crossed cheque to the Treasury, PO Box No. 28000, Sham Shui Po Post Office, Hong Kong (mail with insufficient postage will be rejected); or
 
(4) in person at any post office or designated convenience store in Hong Kong (i.e. 7-Eleven, Circle K or U select). For the addresses and opening hours of post offices, please call the Hongkong Post enquiry hotline on 2921 2222 or visit its website (www.hongkongpost.hk).
 
     If payers have not received the demands, they may obtain replacement demands or enquire as to the amount payable by (i) visiting the Rating and Valuation Department (RVD)’s website (www.rvd.gov.hk); (ii) calling 2152 0111; (iii) faxing 2152 0113; or (iv) visiting the RVD, 15/F, Cheung Sha Wan Government Offices, 303 Cheung Sha Wan Road, Kowloon.
      
     There will be no rates concession for this quarter. The total amount due is shown on the demand. Non-receipt or late receipt of the demand does not alter the requirement that the total amount due must be paid by January 30, 2026. A surcharge of 5 per cent will be imposed for late payment. A further surcharge of 10 per cent will be levied on the amount (including the 5 per cent surcharge) which remains unpaid six months after the last day for payment.
      
     For payment by autopay, the rates and/or Government rent will be debited from payers’ bank accounts on January 30, 2026. Payers should ensure that there are sufficient funds in their bank accounts to meet the payments on that date until settlement.
      
     To support environmental protection, payers are encouraged to utilise the RVD’s free eRVD Bill service to receive e-bills and make payments, and to settle bills by autopay or other means of e-payment (e.g. FPS, PPS, Internet banking, e-Cheque/e-Cashier Order or ATMs) to save queuing time. Application forms for autopay can be obtained by downloading from the RVD’s website, visiting the RVD, District Offices and banks or by calling 2152 0111.

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

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

     The Hospital Authority (HA) spokesperson announced today (January 9) that in addition to the 600 000 people who have been benefiting from medical fee waivers both before and after the reform (including Comprehensive Social Security Assistance recipients, Old Age Living Allowance recipients aged 75 or above, and holders of Residential Care Service Voucher Scheme Level 0 vouchers), as of January 7, the HA has approved 49 310 medical fee waiver applications. This figure is 3.5 times of approximately 14 000 patients who received medical fee waivers in previous year, demonstrating that the enhanced medical fee reduction mechanism has significantly strengthened support for low-income families and underprivileged groups. Over the past week, many patients have benefited from the enhanced medical fee waivers mechanism, receiving immediate fee reduction when using Accident and Emergency Departments (A&E), outpatient and inpatient services.
 
Medical fee waivers take effect covering more than 10 000 poor patients
      
     As an essential component of the public healthcare fees and charges reform, the HA expanded its medical fee waivers mechanism at the same time, which significantly increased the number of eligible individuals from approximately 300 000 to about 1.4 million – around 4.6 times the previous number of beneficiaries. This ensures that limited medical resources can be more precisely directed to help those most in need: the poor, acute, serious, and critical patients. As of January 7, among the 49 310 medical fee waiver applications approved by the HA, 32 249 cases have completed assessment and received formal waiver certificates valid for up to 18 months but claimed . For patients who claim to meet the medical fee waivers eligibility criteria but are unable to submit supporting documents for financial assessment, the HA has exercised flexible arrangements to approve 17 061 “conditional waivers”, allowing patients to obtain immediate medical fee reductions when using public healthcare services. These patients must submit relevant documentation within three months.
      
     After the fees and charges reform, many patients are benefited for the first time from the expanded medical fee waivers mechanism, changing from paying full fees to receiving free services. From January 1 to 7, excluding the number of Comprehensive Social Security Assistance recipients, Old Age Living Allowance recipients aged 75 or above, and holders of Residential Care Service Voucher Scheme Level 0 vouchers who can continue to use their medical fee waivers, there are over 11 200 patients benefitted from the enhanced medical fee waivers mechanism, including:
      

• About 500 poor patients at A&Es, who were triaged as urgent, semi-urgent and non-urgent, received medical fee waivers, triple of last year’s figure;
• About 2 100 poor patients received medical fee waivers for inpatient services, 3.5 times of last year’s figure; and
• About 8 600 poor patients received medical fee waivers for specialist outpatient services, six times of last year’s figure.

     The HA spokesperson stated, “The data concerned shows obviously that the enhanced medical fee waivers mechanism, which is newly introduced in line with the public healthcare fees and charges reform, can allocate resources more precisely to strengthen protection for poor, acute, serious and critical patients, ensuring that no patient is denied from medical care due to lack of means.” 
      
     The current situation regarding patients’ applications and usage of medical fee waivers aligns with the HA’s projection. The HA will continue to strengthen its manpower to provide assistance to patients in need. To ensure the integrity of the medical fee assistance system and prevent abuse, the HA will conduct regular reviews of approved cases.
      
Number of non-urgent A&E patients reduced significantly while treatment efficiency for emergency patients improved
      
     Regarding A&E services, from January 1 to 7, 32 147 patients attended the 18 A&Es under the HA, significantly decreased by about 11.9 per cent of the same period last year. Among the cases, 1 807 patients were classified as critical and emergency cases, and 14 077 patients were classified as urgent cases, showing a slight increase compared to the same period last year. The remaining 16 263 patients were classified as semi-urgent and non-urgent cases, showing a significant decrease of 17.8 per cent compared to the same period last year. Since the implementation of the public healthcare fees and charges reform, the operations of public hospital A&E services has initially met expected results, including:
 

• Significant decrease in average daily A&E attendances by about 11.9 per cent;
• In the past seven days, about 1 800 critical and emergency patients exempted from A&E fees under the new fees and charges reform. These patients were required to pay the fees before the reform;
• For patients classified as urgent cases, the percentage of those being treated within 30 minutes – meeting the service pledge target – increased from 82.7 per cent last year to 88.8 per cent, with average waiting time reduced from 22 to 19 minutes; and
• Among the five triage categories, semi-urgent and non-urgent patients decreased from 54.2 per cent in the same period last year to 50.6 per cent.

      
     The HA spokesperson said, “The service data of the past week shows that the fees and charges reform allowed A&Es to perform their emergency care function more effectively. A&Es can better concentrate resources, treat patients with urgent medical needs more effectively, and improve treatment efficiency for urgent cases.”
      
     The HA will continue to closely monitor the fees and charges reform as well as the overall operations of services of public hospitals, in order to ensure achieving the aim of protecting poor, acute, serious or critical patients.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region