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PROVISIONAL URBAN COUNCIL
603
Fourth, at present, restaurant customers are generally provided with towels before or after meals. There seems to be no requirement that such towels should go through disinfection at a certain temperature before being given to customers for use. I have observed that there are different standards of hygiene for such towels. If we do not pay attention to this, the towels, when used repeatedly may become a transmission agent for viruses such as EV71. Have the Council and the Department taken note of this situation? If yes, what measures should we take? If no, what follow-up action will be taken? We are worried that in the coming summer, when these towels are used repeatedly by customers in the restaurants, they may very likely become transmission agents for viruses.
Fifth, for drinking water currently provided for restaurant customers before meals, there will certainly be no problem if it is boiled. But we have noticed that some restaurants offer only distilled water or even substandard filtered water to customers. Under such circumstances, hygiene problems may arise. Have the Council and the Department taken note of this? If yes, what measures have been taken? If no, what action will they take?
Lastly, in relation to the questions raised today, will the Council, for the purpose of stepping up precautionary measures, ask the Department to prepare a paper so that the PH SIC can take more concrete and specific follow-up actions at its meeting?
MR. JOSEPH CHAN YUET-SUT (in Cantonese): Mr. Chairman, I thank Mr. WONG for asking those follow-up questions. Are privately run ball pools required to keep a stock of balls in reserve? There is no such requirement unless the licensing conditions state that they should be provided. In fact, the most important thing is to ensure that all the balls are thoroughly disinfected rather than to keep a large stock of balls in reserve. Even if a lot of balls are kept in reserve, they will not be of use if they are not up to the hygiene standard. Unless it is stated in the licensing conditions, operators do not have the responsibility to keep a stock of balls in reserve.
Secondly, with regard to visual inspections, Mr. Chairman, accuracy is not guaranteed unless the staff have magic eyes like the Monkey God in the 'Pilgrimage to the West' and their eyes can perform the function of a microscope. Otherwise, they will not be able to tell if there are bacteria on the balls. But I do not think they have this supernatural power. In fact, our licensing conditions do not require the staff to have magic eyes like the Monkey God.
Thirdly, if what the media report quoted is correct, then I think the Department can follow up this. It may be necessary to require the children to wear socks because their feet may get injured if they are barefooted. Therefore, the requirement for wearing socks is probably in the interests of the children. But will the symptoms of Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease not be observable when the children wear socks? Actually the symptoms may not be confined to
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Page 459 of 606