HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
meetings which, I feel, occur only when a piece of paper arrives and summons a meeting, I would like to feel that a degree of initiative was left with the City District Officers to initiate suggestions and to bring forward matters from the ground upwards when they feel a question arises.
CHAIRMAN: -I think I speak on behalf of the Secretary for Home Affairs, here, to say that City District Officers always take the initiative when they can.
SECRETARY FOR HOME AFFAIRS: -Perhaps, Mr. Chairman, I should make it quite clear that the responsibility for controlling hawkers is fairly and squarely the Urban Council's. The City District Officers would be very pleased to be able to assist in the way of co-ordinating local opinion, both official and unofficial.
MR. SALES: -Mr. Chairman, are the Minutes of such meetings sent to the Select Committees, and also to the Ward Councillors so that they may intervene if required?
CHAIRMAN: -I think I am right in saying that it has not been the practice so far to send copies of the Minutes of the meetings to anybody, but if members would like them sent to Wards and also to Select Committees, there is no trouble about doing so.
MR. BERNACCHI: -Mr. Chairman, the Minutes of at least the two meetings in Eastern were sent to me as Ward Councillor for Eastern.
MRS. ELLIOTT: -Mr. Chairman, the Wong Tai Sin City District Office keeps me informed and invites me to the meetings.
CHAIRMAN: -I am glad to hear that. Things are even better than I thought.
MR. SALES: -Mr. Chairman, in Tsim Sha Tsui likewise, but I have not seen any Minutes of meetings of the Consultative Committee. I to understand that there are no hawkers in Tsim Sha Tsui?
(11) MR. H. M. G. FORSGATE asked the following question:-
(a) Will the Chairman please inform the Council of any special measures taken by the various divisions of Urban Services Department to assist in eradicating, or at least containing, the current cholera epidemic?
(b) Has there been noticeable co-operation received from the public, especially from Council-licensed market stalls, food shops and hawkers, in the Department's efforts
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
generally to improve sanitation during the cholera epidemic? If so, have there been any notable exceptions to this co-operative public spirit?
THE CHAIRMAN, URBAN COUNCIL, replied as follows:
In the recent cholera outbreak, the burden of precautionary measures as far as the Urban Services Department is concerned fell upon the Hygiene Division, with the Cleansing Division and the Abattoirs, Hawkers and Markets Division close behind. These measures included the following:-
(a) Daily chlorination of wells still used for drinking water (for instance, at Shek O), with District Health Inspectors checking the chlorine Lavibond instruments. The notices put up some time ago by Kaifong associations, warning people to boil the well water before drinking, were repainted or replaced where necessary.
(b) District Health Inspectors checked vacant building sites and served Statutory Notices on owners where refuse was found to have accumulated. In addition, the Fly Control Gangs took direct action against any flies found on these sites and elsewhere.
(c) Particular attention was paid to stopping hawkers from selling prohibited food and restricted food without the necessary permission. Additional labourers were loaned by the Cleansing Division to help seize and destroy this food, sometimes with the aid of Police escorts.
(d) The supervision of licensed cooked food stalls and restaurants was intensified to ensure that food handlers had received cholera inoculations, that food was hygienically prepared, that all cooked food was covered and protected from contamination by flies, and that utensils were properly sterilized. Personal hygiene was repeatedly stressed.
(e) Samples of sea water from gazetted bathing beaches and Government swimming pools were sent to the Pathological Institute for detection of cholera vibrio; all samples were happily negative.
(f) During the week commencing on 21st July, the Department took part in a major clean-up co-ordinated by the City District Officers of the Mong Kok and Yau Ma Tei districts where a number of the cholera cases had occurred. Because continued sampling of
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to the end of the text. Here is the corrected version:HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
meetings which, I feel, occur only when a piece of paper arrives and summons a meeting, I would like to feel that a degree of initiative was left with the City District Officers to initiate suggestions and to bring forward matters from the ground upwards when they feel a question arises.
CHAIRMAN: -I think I speak on behalf of the Secretary for Home Affairs, here, to say that City District Officers always take the initiative when they can.
SECRETARY FOR HOME AFFAIRS: -Perhaps, Mr. Chairman, I should make it quite clear that the responsibility for controlling hawkers is fairly and squarely the Urban Council's. The City District Officers would be very pleased to be able to assist in the way of co-ordinating local opinion, both official and unofficial.
MR. SALES: -Mr. Chairman, are the Minutes of such meetings sent to the Select Committees, and also to the Ward Councillors so that they may intervene if required?
CHAIRMAN: -I think I am right in saying that it has not been the practice so far to send copies of the Minutes of the meetings to anybody, but if members would like them sent to Wards and also to Select Committees, there is no trouble about doing so.
MR. BERNACCHI: -Mr. Chairman, the Minutes of at least the two meetings in Eastern were sent to me as Ward Councillor for Eastern.
MRS. ELLIOTT: -Mr. Chairman, the Wong Tai Sin City District Office keeps me informed and invites me to the meetings.
CHAIRMAN: -I am glad to hear that. Things are even better than I thought.
MR. SALES: -Mr. Chairman, in Tsim Sha Tsui likewise, but I have not seen any Minutes of meetings of the Consultative Committee. I to understand that there are no hawkers in Tsim Sha Tsui?
(11) MR. H. M. G. FORSGATE asked the following question:-
(a) Will the Chairman please inform the Council of any special measures taken by the various divisions of Urban Services Department to assist in eradicating, or at least containing, the current cholera epidemic?
(b) Has there been noticeable co-operation received from the public, especially from Council-licensed market stalls, food shops and hawkers, in the Department's efforts generally to improve sanitation during the cholera epidemic? If so, have there been any notable exceptions to this co-operative public spirit?
THE CHAIRMAN, URBAN COUNCIL, replied as follows:
In the recent cholera outbreak, the burden of precautionary measures as far as the Urban Services Department is concerned fell upon the Hygiene Division, with the Cleansing Division and the Abattoirs, Hawkers and Markets Division close behind. These measures included the following:-
(a) Daily chlorination of wells still used for drinking water (for instance, at Shek O), with District Health Inspectors checking the chlorine Lavibond instruments. The notices put up some time ago by Kaifong associations, warning people to boil the well water before drinking, were repainted or replaced where necessary.
(b) District Health Inspectors checked vacant building sites and served Statutory Notices on owners where refuse was found to have accumulated. In addition, the Fly Control Gangs took direct action against any flies found on these sites and elsewhere.
(c) Particular attention was paid to stopping hawkers from selling prohibited food and restricted food without the necessary permission. Additional labourers were loaned by the Cleansing Division to help seize and destroy this food, sometimes with the aid of Police escorts.
(d) The supervision of licensed cooked food stalls and restaurants was intensified to ensure that food handlers had received cholera inoculations, that food was hygienically prepared, that all cooked food was covered and protected from contamination by flies, and that utensils were properly sterilized. Personal hygiene was repeatedly stressed.
(e) Samples of sea water from gazetted bathing beaches and Government swimming pools were sent to the Pathological Institute for detection of cholera vibrio; all samples were happily negative.
(f) During the week commencing on 21st July, the Department took part in a major clean-up co-ordinated by the City District Officers of the Mong Kok and Yau Ma Tei districts where a number of the cholera cases had occurred. Because continued sampling of
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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
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Page 83 of 237
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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
meetings which, I feel, occur only when a piece of paper arrives and summons a meeting, I would like to feel that a degree of initiative was left with the City District Officers to initiate suggestions and to bring forward matters from the ground upwards when they feel a question arises.
CHAIRMAN: -I think I speak on behalf of the Secretary for Home Affairs, here, to say that City District Officers always take the initiative when they can.
SECRETARY FOR HOME AFFAIRS: -Perhaps, Mr. Chairman, I should make it quite clear that the responsibility for controlling hawkers is fairly and squarely the Urban Council's. The City District Officers would be very pleased to be able to assist in the way of co-ordinating local opinion, both official and unofficial.
MR. SALES: --Mr. Chairman, are the Minutes of such meetings sent to the Select Committees, and also to the Ward Councillors so that they may intervene if required?
CHAIRMAN:-I think I am right in saying that it has not been the practice so far to send copies of the Minutes of the meetings to any- body, but if members would like them sent to Wards and also to Select Committees, there is no trouble about doing so.
MR. BERNACCHI:-Mr. Chairman, the Minutes of at least the two meetings in Eastern were sent to me as Ward Councillor for Eastern.
MRS. ELLIOTT:-Mr. Chairman, the Wong Tai Sin City District Office keeps me informed and invites me to the meetings.
CHAIRMAN: -I am glad to hear that. Things are even better than I thought.
Am
MR. SALES: ---Mr. Chairman, in Tsim Sha Tsui likewise, but I have not seen any Minutes of meetings of the Consultative Committee. I to understand that there are no hawkers in Tsim Sha Tsui?
(11) MR. H. M. G. FORSGATE asked the following question:-
(a) Will the Chairman please inform the Council of any special measures taken by the various divisions of Urban Services Department to assist in eradicating, or at least containing, the current cholera epidemic?
(b) Has there been noticeable co-operation received from the public, especially from Council-licensed market stalls, food shops and hawkers, in the Department's efforts
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
145
generally to improve sanitation during the cholera epidemic? If so, have there been any notable exceptions to this co-operative public spirit?
THE CHAIRMAN, URBAN COUNCIL, replied as follows:
In the recent cholera outbreak, the burden of precautionary measures as far as the Urban Services Department is concerned fell upon the Hygiene Division, with the Cleans- ing Division and the Abattoirs, Hawkers and Markets Division close behind. These measures included the following:-
(a) Daily chlorination of wells still used for drinking water (for instance, at Shek O), with District Health content with Inspectors checking the chlorine Lavibond instruments. The notices put up some time ago by Kaifong associations, warning people to boil the well water before drinking, were repainted or replaced where necessary.
(b) District Health Inspectors checked vacant building sites and served Statutory Notices on owners where refuse was found to have accumulated. In addition, the Fly Control Gangs took direct action against any flies found on these sites and elsewhere.
(c) Particular attention was paid to stopping hawkers from selling prohibited food and restricted food without the necessary permission. Additional la- bourers were loaned by the Cleansing Division to help seize and destroy this food, sometimes with the aid of Police escorts.
(d) The supervision of licensed cooked food stalls and restaurants was intensified to ensure that food han- dlers had received cholera inoculations, that food was hygienically prepared, that all cooked food was covered and protected from contamination by flies, and that utensils were properly sterilized. Personal hygiene was repeatedly stressed.
(e) Samples of sea water from gazetted bathing beaches and Government swimming pools were sent to the Pathological Institute for detection of cholera vibrio; all samples were happily negative.
(f) During the week commencing on 21st July, the De- partment took part in a major clean-up co-ordinated by the City District Officers of the Mong Kok and Yau Ma Tei districts where a number of the cholera cases had occurred. Because continued sampling of
Page 83 of 237
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