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PROVISIONAL URBAN COUNCIL
Part 1 of the question asks whether the Council and the Department are promptly aware of the details of the EV71 infection case and what measures have been taken. As a member of the Interdepartmental Working Group on Enterovirus Infections (the Working Group) which was formed in 1998 under the chairmanship of the Deputy Director of Health, the Department was notified by the Department of Health (DH) on 21 May 1999 of an outbreak of Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease in Hong Kong, affecting children of a child care centre in Yuen Long. As informed by the DH, a total of 8 children from the child care centre were affected. Its investigation revealed that one of the cases involved a two-year-old boy who passed away on 14 May 1999. Preliminary laboratory investigation suggested that the boy was infected with EV71. To prevent the spread of EV71, the Department has taken the precautionary measures recommended by the Working Group as detailed in the following paragraphs.
Part 2 of the question asks about the precautionary measures taken by the Department in respect of the Council's recreational venues such as swimming pools, indoor children's playrooms, activities rooms, beaches, etc. which could become an agent to transmit the virus. It also asks which of these measures have been enhanced; whether inspections have been stepped up and to what extent; and whether timely reviews will be made regarding the effectiveness of the measures.
In managing public swimming pools, the Department has observed the recommendation of the DH that sample tests on pool water should be conducted at hourly intervals to ensure that the pool water quality is up to the international hygiene standards, i.e. to keep the free residual chlorine level at a minimum of 1 part per million (ppm) for pools using chlorine as primary disinfectant and 0.55 ppm for those using ozone. Such levels of free residual chlorine content will not cause harm to the human body. In order to enhance preventive measures against the spread of EV71, the Department has been liaising closely with the DH to ensure that the existing measures on hygiene can effectively prevent transmission of the virus at the pools. Besides, the pool staff have stepped up inspections and would forbid people with symptoms of skin or other communicable diseases from entering the pool.
Activities rooms are provided in PUC indoor games halls. In some indoor games halls, children's playrooms and ball pools are also provided. In order to keep these places clean and to comply with the set hygiene standard, the cleansing contractors must arrange for the facilities and equipment of the children's playrooms and activities rooms to be cleaned twice daily by their cleansing staff with cleansing agents containing disinfectant. When places in the children's playrooms are soiled carelessly by children, the cleansing staff will clean up those places immediately. As for the 'ball pools' provided in children's playrooms, the cleansing staff will clean all the plastic balls in the pools once daily with cleansing agents containing disinfectant. Besides, the venue staff will also forbid people with symptoms of communicable diseases.
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