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To tie in with the commencement of the swimming season, the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) will launch a new set of TV and radio Announcements in the Public Interest (APIs) as from today (April 29) to drive home the important message that children should be accompanied by adults at all times when swimming in public swimming pools, as well as messages about cleanliness.
"In recent years, it has been observed that some children are not closely supervised by adults when children are using public swimming pools," an LCSD spokesman said today.
"It has become necessary to educate parents and guardians to take good care of their children at all times to avoid accidents," he said, adding that swimmers would also be advised not to run on the pool deck or dive into swimming pools.
Noting the increasing incidence of temporary closure of swimming pools in recent years due to contamination by vomitus and faeces, the spokesman said the API would also serve to educate people about the importance of keeping the pool water clean from contamination to protect public health.
In separate Cantonese and English versions, the API will be broadcast on local TV stations starting from April 29. The API can also be viewed at LCSD's website (www.lcsd.gov.hk) and ISD's YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/isdgovhk). Radio APIs in different language versions (English, Cantonese and Putonghua) will also be broadcast from the same day.
To boost publicity, posters and banners titled "Let's keep our swimming pools safe and clean. Enjoy your swim!" will also be displayed in the public swimming pools.
Ends/Tuesday, April 29, 2014
Issued at HKT 11:01
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