Dear Colleagues and Students,
Happy New Year! The Health, Safety and Environment Committee wish you stay healthy, happy and safe. Following the latest announcement made by the HKSAR Government, the Committee would like to update colleagues and students on the following:
Maintaining the Social Distancing Measures under Prevention and Control of Disease Ordinance
As the COVID-19 epidemic situation in Hong Kong remains serious, the Government has decided to maintain the social distancing measures currently in place under the Prevention and Control of Disease Ordinance. The measures will take effect on 7 January 2021 for a period of 14 days till 20 January 2021. The Government will review the various measures in place from time to time in accordance with the development of the epidemic situation, and make suitable adjustments taking into account all relevant factors.
Catering business and scheduled premises: Catering business premises will cease to provide dine-in services from 6:00p.m. to 4:59a.m. of the following day. No more than two persons may be seated together at one table within any catering business premises. Mask-wearing requirement: The mandatory mask-wearing requirement under Cap. 599I will remain valid. Group gathering: Group gathering with more than two persons in public places will be prohibited.
For details, please refer to the press release:
https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/202101/04/P2021010400721.htm?fontSize=2
Specified Conditions Imposed on Inbound Travellers
The Government has announced that effective from 0:00am 25 December 2020, all persons who have stayed in the United Kingdom (UK) or South Africa for more than two hours in the past 21 days will not be allowed to board for Hong Kong. All persons arriving at Hong Kong (either via the airport or land boundary control points) who have stayed in places outside China on the day of arrival at Hong Kong or during the 21 days before that day have to undergo compulsory quarantine for 21 days in designated quarantine hotels. They should stay at the designated quarantine hotels until the test result is available. Under Prevention and Control of Disease (Regulation of Cross-boundary Conveyances and Travellers) Regulation (Cap.599H), an inbound traveller who, on the day on which the traveller boarded a civil aviation aircraft that arrives at, or is about to arrive at Hong Kong (specified aircraft), or during the 21 days before that day, has stayed in any very high-risk specified places (i.e., Bangladesh, Belgium, Canada, Ecuador, Ethiopia, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Romania, Russia, South Africa, Turkey, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and the United States of America ), must provide the relevant documents and undergo mandatory quarantine at the designated hotels.
For details including the latest conditions and the listed hotels, please visit the website:
https://www.coronavirus.gov.hk/eng/high-risk-places.html
https://www.coronavirus.gov.hk/eng/designated-hotel.html
Health Advice
All members are urged to stay home to the extent possible, avoid going out unless necessary, dine out less often, reduce the frequency of all mask-off activities, and stop all unnecessary social activities, especially meal gatherings across family bubbles and friends.
To assist contact tracing, keep a diary of your schedule, for example, write down the taxi license plate number you take. You may also use the “LeaveHomeSafe” mobile app to keep your visit records.
All members should wear mask as far as feasible and keep appropriate social distance with others when in common facilities (e.g. common room, conference room, pantry etc.). In case wearing mask is not feasible, for example when having meal or shower or performing heavy manual work, staff should keep at least 1.5 meters with others.
It is recommended not to have meals with others; if unavoidable, such as having meals at own workstation in open office or common rooms, please pay special attention on the followings: Keep distancing of at least 1.5 meters and avoid sit direct face-to-face with others when having meals. Perform hand hygiene before meal, removing or putting on mask. Avoid talking without mask while having meals as far as possible. Talk only after finishing meals and after putting on masks.
Resources Corner
For information on COVID-19, please refer to the following links:
- Webpage of Health, Safety and Environment Committee https://www.ln.edu.hk/hse
- HKSAR’s Thematic webpage on COVID-19 at: www.coronavirus.gov.hk/eng/index.html
- Government sets up website to facilitate public to download electronic testing record
https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/202101/03/P2021010300468.htm - Webpage on Mental Health Infostation at the following link:
https://shallwetalk.hk/en/news/covid-19-and-mental-health/
- Online Health Declaration Form: all students and staff shall complete this before coming to campus or when there is any change in status after last submission.
For students: https://www.ln.edu.hk/sys/regbuilder/registration/Student-Online-Declaration-Form-for-Health-Protection ;
For staff: https://www.ln.edu.hk/sys/regbuilder/registration/Staff-Online-Declaration-Form-for-Health-Protection
If you are being suspected or confirmed infected or under mandatory quarantine, please notify your department / office or any of the following teams as soon as possible:
Thank you for your kind attention.
Best Regards,
Weixin Shang
Chairman, Health, Safety and Environment Committee