Specified Persons Allowed to Adopt Alternative Measure under the LeaveHomeSafe Requirement and Warm Reminders Relating to the Air Change Requirement

10 December 2021

To licensees/persons-in-charge of Catering/Scheduled Premises

Specified Persons Allowed to Adopt Alternative Measure under the
LeaveHomeSafe Requirement and
Warm Reminders Relating to the Air Change Requirement

Further to this department’s letter dated 8 December 2021, we write to you again to provide further information relating to item (a) under the above caption, and take this opportunity to provide you with a warm reminder relating to item (b) under the above caption.

Starting from December 9, all customers and users of catering premises and scheduled premises under the Prevention and Control of Disease (Requirements and Directions) (Business and Premises) Regulation (Cap. 599F) are required to use the "LeaveHomeSafe" Mobile Application to scan the “LeaveHomeSafe” Venue QR Code (LHS). The Government understand that some individuals may not be able to meet the requirement of using of the LHS due to a legitimate reason, the following three categories of persons may complete a specified form as an alternative measure for complying with the LHS requirement:
(a) persons aged 65 or above and aged 15 or below;
(b) persons with a disability; and
(c) other persons recognised by the Government or organisation(s) authorised by the Government as eligible for the above arrangement (Recognized Persons).

Tailor-made Plastic Folder

To assist the visually impaired persons to scan the LHS venue QR code, the Government has prepared LHS Venue QR Code Tailor-made Plastic Folder which would be provided to premises operators for use by those in need. The User Guide for LHS Venue QR Code Tailor-made Plastic Folder is attached for reference (Annex).

Certificate of Recognized Persons

Regarding the proof on the identity of a Recognized Person, a Recognized Person must hold a Certificate of Recognized Persons (Certificate) issued with a caption “Persons recognised by organisation(s) authorised by the Government as eligible for the arrangement”. The front page will set out the name of the Recognised Person together with a Case Number and be coupled with the organisation chop, contact number and date. The overleaf page will be a letter issued by the Food and Health Bureau on 7 December with its official chop, certifying that the organisation is authorised by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government to recognise the concerned person as eligible for the arrangement under the LHS requirement under Cap. 599F and issue certification to them.

At present, the following four organisations are authorised by the Government to issue the Certificate:
(i) St. James’ Settlement Integrated Services for Street Sleepers;
(ii) The Salvation Army Integrated Services for Street Sleepers;
(iii) Christian Concern For The Homeless Association; and
(iv) The Society for Community Organization.

Alternative Measures and Specified Form

The requirements, declaration form and the FAQ have been uploaded onto the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department's “vaccine bubble” thematic webpage (www.fehd.gov.hk/english/events/covid19/vaccine_bubble_FP.html).

Warm Reminders on Air Purifiers in Catering Premises

The Air Change Requirement in Catering Premises has been implemented for over half a year. The Working Group wishes to take this opportunity to remind all that under the Directions issued under Cap. 599F, a responsible person of catering premises must, after the air purifiers have been installed at the premises, properly switch on, operate, maintain and repair the air purifiers in accordance with the manufacturer manual when the premises is opened for business.

As we have mentioned in the reference video uploaded onto FEHD’s webpage in Q2 of 2021, for HEPA air purifiers, one must regularly maintain the device as per the manufacturer's instruction, and regularly replace the HEPA filter according to the interval recommended by the manufacturer; whereas for UVC air purifiers, one must regularly maintain the device as per the manufacturer’s instruction, and, after having the UVC light switched off, clean the shields using proper equipment and remove the dust inside the device.

Summing Up

It is of utmost importance that licensees and operators of catering premises should always observe and comply with the latest Directions in a concerted and persistent manner. The Government will closely monitor the implementation on use of LHS in all premises regulated by Cap. 599F and will adjust the measures when necessary.