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Following is a question by the Hon Wong Kwok-hing and a written reply by the Secretary for Home Affairs, Mr Tsang Tak-sing, in the Legislative Council today (November 26):
Question:
It has been reported that 27 primary school students collectively suffered from acute gastroenteritis earlier and prior to that, they had drunk water from the drinking fountains in Tai Po Waterfront Park. This incident has aroused public concerns. Regarding the hygiene conditions of the drinking fountains in the public parks under the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD), will the Government inform this Council:
(1) given that the authorities have, in response to the aforesaid incident, taken water samples from some drinking fountains in Tai Po Waterfront Park for laboratory tests, of the relevant test results (including whether the drinking fountains concerned have been contaminated);
(2) of the respective numbers of reports received by LCSD in the past three years about members of the public seeking medical treatment and being hospitalised for feeling sick after drinking water from the drinking fountains in public parks; the number of complaints received by LCSD about the hygiene conditions of the drinking fountains, as well as the mechanism for following up such complaints;
(3) whether LCSD regularly conducts tests on the quality of water from the drinking fountains in public parks; if it does not, of the reasons for that; if it does, the manpower so deployed and the amount of expenses so incurred in the past three years, and whether the test results indicated that the water quality met the standards for drinking water;
(4) whether LCSD will enhance the sanitisation and maintenance of the drinking fountains in public parks, so as to improve the quality of drinking water from the drinking fountains; if it will, of the details, including whether it will allocate additional manpower and financial resources to carry out such work; if not, the reasons for that; whether the sanitisation and maintenance for the drinking fountains in public parks are currently carried out by outsourced contractors; if so, whether it will consider deploying civil servants to carry out such work instead, with a view to improving the hygiene conditions of the drinking fountains; and
(5) given that some experts on infectious diseases have pointed out that drinking fountains can easily become the agents for spreading pathogens, whether LCSD will replace all the drinking fountains in public parks, so as to enhance the protection for public health; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
The Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) attaches great importance to the hygiene of drinking fountains and has laid down guidelines on their maintenance and sanitisation. My reply to the five parts of the question is as follows:
(1) Regarding the recent outbreak of acute gastroenteritis in a primary school, the Centre for Health Protection pointed out that as yet there was no evidence of any relation between the incident and the drinking fountains in the LCSD Tai Po Waterfront Park. Nevertheless, LCSD has arranged for the relevant works department to inspect the drinking fountains in Tai Po Waterfront Park. The results indicated that the drinking fountains were functioning properly. The works department also took water samples for laboratory tests, which are still in progress. The staff of Tai Po Waterfront Park has been following the LCSD guidelines by sanitising the drinking fountains on a daily basis, including disinfection with alcohol or with one part to 99 diluted household bleach. Regarding maintenance, the filter cartridges and ultra-violet lamps inside the fountains are replaced regularly to ensure that the water quality meets hygiene standards.
(2) In the past three years (from January 2012 to October 2014), LCSD has not received any reports about members of the public seeking medical treatment and being hospitalised due to their feeling ill after drinking water from the drinking fountains in public parks. During this period, LCSD received 10 complaints about the hygiene of the drinking fountains, mostly involving unpleasant taste or odour in the water, dirty drinking fountains or abnormal water quality. Upon receipt of a complaint of this kind, LCSD will immediately inspect the drinking fountain concerned, require the relevant works department to perform a detailed inspection, and conduct tests on the water quality as necessary to ensure the water quality meets hygiene standards. The cleaning procedures and deployment of cleaning staff will also be reviewed to make sure the guidelines for the maintenance and regular sanitisation of the drinking fountains are followed.
(3) LCSD does not normally collect water samples from all the drinking fountains in public parks for water quality tests. Nevertheless, the relevant works department performs regular inspections of the drinking fountains and takes water samples for laboratory tests when necessary to ensure that the fountains are functioning properly. LCSD did not receive any reports of abnormal water quality from the works department in the past three years.
(4) At present, the sanitisation and maintenance of the drinking fountains in the LCSD leisure venues are undertaken by cleaning contractors and the relevant works department. LCSD has reminded the staff concerned to carry out the maintenance and regular sanitisation according to the guidelines, which includes cleaning the drinking fountains (including the mouthpiece and press-button area) on a daily basis, and before and after the opening hours of the venues, disinfecting the fountains thoroughly with alcohol or one part to 99 diluted household bleach before rinsing them through with water. To keep a drinking fountain clean, its filter cartridge and ultra-violet lamp have to be replaced every three and six months respectively. LCSD venue managers will closely monitor the contractors' sanitisation work to ensure that the responsible staff maintain and clean the drinking fountains according to the guidelines.
(5) According to advice from the Department of Health, it is important to keep the mouthpiece and protective guard of drinking fountains free from contamination by oral or respiratory secretions. Therefore, in addition to requiring the staff concerned to carry out the maintenance and regular sanitisation specified in the guidelines, LCSD also displays in its venues the advice of the Department of Health to remind the public about the proper use of drinking fountains. LCSD currently has no plan to replace all the drinking fountains in public parks as they are generally functioning properly and are maintained regularly.
Ends/Wednesday, November 26, 2014
Issued at HKT 11:41
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