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The Social Welfare Department has written to welfare service units that an additional $10 million will be allocated to them to step up cleanliness and precautionary measures against human swine influenza.
"Following the confirmation of the first cluster of local cases of human swine flu, we would like to remind welfare service units to continue and further step up precautionary measures to provide a cleaner, healthier and safer environment for the elderly, young children and other service users as well as the carers looking after them," a spokesman for the department said today (June 12).
The grant will cover more than 3,000 welfare service units, including residential care homes for the elderly and people with disabilities, day elderly services units, day rehabilitation services units, child care centres and integrated youth services centres.
Each welfare service unit will receive materials or $3,000 for the purpose of purchasing cleaning and disinfectant items. The grants will be released within seven days.
"We have attached great importance to the prevention of human swine influenza at welfare service units and have been working closely with the Centre for Health Protection."
"All these units should step up precautionary measures with reference to the latest guidelines issued by SWD on the prevention of the spreading of influenza as well as the health advices issued by the Centre for Health Protection," the spokesman said.
The department had allocated $10 million for the first time in early May for welfare service units to step up cleanliness and guard against the disease.
Ends/Friday, June 12, 2009
Issued at HKT 17:34
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