The following is issued on behalf of the Judiciary:

     The Judiciary today (May 20) said that a person wearing an electronic wristband/monitoring wristband was found on the lower ground floors of the High Court (HC) Building this morning. The incident has been referred to the Police.

     The HC Registry and the Resource Centre for Unrepresented Litigants were closed this afternoon for cleaning. Court users who have taken tickets for relevant services can return to LG4/F tomorrow (May 21) according to the "Real-time queue status for the High Court Registries" on the Judiciary website, without queuing for tickets again.

     Services of other registries inside the HC Building, including the Probate Registry and the Appeals Registry, are not affected this afternoon.

     The Judiciary will heed the advice of Centre for Health Protection to step up cleaning and disinfection, including sterilising the places in the court building that the person concerned has visited and nearby public places with diluted household bleach.

     Parties, legal representatives and other court users who are subject to any quarantine requirement or medical surveillance should not come to the Judiciary premises. They should as soon as practicable apply to the court for permission of absence or inform the court with reasons for absence as appropriate.

     Since early February, the Judiciary has put in place appropriate preventive measures to enhance the environmental hygiene of court buildings. The Judiciary will constantly review the situation and introduce any new measure as appropriate.

Ends/Wednesday, May 20, 2020
Issued at HKT 14:50

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