Home Affairs Department continues to take stringent enforcement actions relating to anti-epidemic regulations and prosecutes club-house for suspected violations of anti-epidemic regulations

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     A spokesman for the Home Affairs Department (HAD) said today (October 24) that the Office of the Licensing Authority (OLA) under the HAD continued to step up inspections of premises licensed by the OLA (including hotels, guesthouses, club-houses and amusement game centres). The licence holders, customers and guests are required to strictly comply with the requirements and directions under the Prevention and Control of Disease (Requirements and Directions) (Business and Premises) Regulation (Cap. 599F), the Prevention and Control of Disease (Vaccine Pass) Regulation (Cap. 599L) etc., including the requirement on the Red Code and Amber Code under the Vaccine Pass; and customers of catering premises participating in a banquet activity have to comply with the rapid antigen test requirement. The OLA will proactively take stringent enforcement actions on an ongoing basis. Premises operators and the public are urged not to defy the law, but to work together to reduce the risk of virus transmission in the community.

     In the past two weeks (from October 10 to October 23), the inspection and enforcement figures of the OLA in respect of scheduled premises licensed by it are set out below:

Premises	Number of inspections	Initiation of prosecution actions against operators of premises	Fixed Penalty Notices issued to patrons/staff of premises
Hotels	125	-	-
Guesthouses	384	-	-
Club-houses	557	1	4
Amusement Game Centres	38	-	-

     The OLA required the club-house found with irregularities as shown in the table above to, on the subsequent day of being identified of the irregularities by the enforcement officers, take corresponding measures for reducing the risk of transmission (i.e. closure of the relevant part of the premises for three days).

     Besides, the OLA applied to the court for summonses against the licence holder and two managers of a club-house today in accordance with the Prevention and Control of Disease (Requirements and Directions) (Business and Premises) Regulation (Cap. 599F) for non-compliance with the relevant anti-epidemic regulations prevailing at the time of the case. The OLA conducted a blitz enforcement operation against the club-house on June 10 this year and found suspected irregularities, including having arranged live performances at the premises, allowing dancing activities at the club-house, not properly switching on the air purifiers when the premises was opened for business, not keeping records of rapid antigen test results of employees, not ensure scanning of "LeaveHomeSafe" venue QR code by customers before entering the club-house and not complying with the requirements applicable to club-houses under the Vaccine Pass arrangement. The case will be heard in the court.

     The HAD strongly appealed to all persons-in-charge and patrons of the premises again to stay vigilant and continue to comply with the relevant regulations on prevention and control of disease in a concerted and persistent manner, with a view to keeping their staff, customers and the public safe, and controlling the epidemic situation. The HAD will continue to strengthen its publicity efforts and enforcement actions. All trades are reminded to exercise self-discipline and comply with the regulations to fight the virus together.

Ends/Monday, October 24, 2022
Issued at HKT 22:45

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