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Hong Kong Products Exhibition, where sections on food handling, domestic hygiene and cleanliness, and other modern practices in public health could be displayed for the benefit of the approximate one million persons who normally visit the Hong Kong Products Exhibition. Would the Urban Services Department be prepared to organize such a Health Exhibition Display at the forthcoming Hong Kong Products Exhibition on a much larger scale than the single stall which was displayed at the 1960 Hong Kong Products Exhibition?
If the answer is in the affirmative, would the Chairman agree to make the necessary preparations forthwith, calling upon the assistance of the Government Information Services as well?
THE CHAIRMAN replied as follows:
"I must point out first that the size and location of the stall for the Urban Services Department's display at the Annual Exhibition of Hong Kong Products have been determined by the fact that the Chinese Manufacturers' Association very generously provided the space free of charge. I see no objection in principle to the mounting of a larger Health Exhibition Display in conjunction with the Medical and Health Department and the Information Services Department, but this can only come about if the Chinese Manufacturers' Association is willing to provide the necessary space.
And I think that if the Association is kind enough to make more space available, we will presumably have to be prepared to pay for it.
As a first step I will inquire from the Association as to the possibility of obtaining a larger stall this year. At the same time the question of having a larger and more comprehensive health display will be referred to the Health Education Select Committee for consideration.
Members may be interested to know that the Health Staff are now considering a suggestion that a mobile 'exhibition', featuring models of objects of health interest to the public (for example, stages in the life of a mosquito) should be prepared for display in Government buildings frequently visited by the public."
MR. CHEONG-LEEN: Mr. Chairman, may I ask through you, whether our colleague Mr. Ernest WONG, who is concurrently Vice-Chairman of the Chinese Manufacturers' Association, would be prepared to give us his co-operation in this matter?
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MR. ERNEST WONG: I shall try my best, Mr. Chairman.
MR. H. CHEONG-LEEN asked the following question:
"Since the Urban Services Department staff has been taking prompt measures to reduce within the Department's particular sphere the danger of cholera spreading in Hong Kong, will the Chairman state:
(a) whether his staff has received sufficient co-operation in this respect from restaurants, hawkers, market stall holders and others concerned; and
(b) what further co-operation does the Urban Services Department still require from members of the public?"
THE DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF MEDICAL AND HEALTH SERVICES replied as follows:
"In general, co-operation from restaurants, stall-holders, etc., has been good. At the beginning of the cholera outbreak an exception was provided by many roast meat shops and cooked food stalls where no amount of warning convinced the proprietors that their wares must be protected from flies. After the policy of seizure of offending goods started, the position improved.
Further co-operation by the public in the following ways is highly desirable:
(a) Too much rubbish is still being thrown on the streets and in scavenging lanes. All should co-operate in putting the rubbish into the proper receptacles.
(b) Although the number of flies to be seen has declined considerably, further improvement in this respect is still possible and desirable. We would urge the public to 'Swat All Flies'.
(c) We would again urge that all concerned in the distribution, preparation and serving of food and drinks should ensure that the strictest hygienic measures are enforced. Advice and help from Urban Services Department staff is readily available on request. In particular managements should see that all staff have been inoculated against cholera. Any acute gastro-intestinal illness should be reported immediately.
(d) Many people, particularly roof and hillside squatters depend on stored water supplies for drinking and washing. They should boil all such water before consumption."
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