Sun Dong visits compulsory quarantine support center

The Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, Professor Sun Dong, visited the Compulsory Quarantine Support Centre set up by the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer (OGCIO) in Wong Chuk Hang today (August 12) to encourage the hard-working OGCIO colleagues.

Accompanied by the Deputy Government Chief Information Officer, Tony Wong, Professor Sun inspected the operation of the center to learn about how the OGCIO used the electronic wristbands pairing with the "StayHomeSafe" mobile application to help monitor persons under home isolation to ensure that they stay in the designated premises during the isolation period.

Professor Sun said that technology plays an important part in anti-epidemic work. The Government uses technologies to combat the epidemic with precision, and the use of the electronic wristband is an example. Coupled with the Red Code launched on Monday, the electronic wristband helps monitor and prevent confirmed cases from leaving the designated isolation premises and minimizes the risk of the spread of infection.

Starting from July 15, persons under home isolation have to wear electronic wristbands. The OGCIO has arranged for service providers to assist persons under home isolation to wear electronic wristbands and install the "StayHomeSafe" mobile app, according to the list provided by the Centre for Health Protection.

Professor Sun chatted with frontline colleagues to learn about the support they provide to confirmed cases under home isolation during the monitoring period. He noted that apart from OGCIO personnel, staff of the Hong Kong Police Force, the Customs and Excise Department, and the Immigration Department also assisted in the work of wearing electronic wristbands during the initial stage of the implementation of relevant measures. This allowed the OGCIO to have more time to make prompt and timely arrangements for the distribution and wearing of electronic wristbands. At present, except for confirmed cases received by the OGCIO in the evening, over 80 percent of confirmed cases can receive and wear their electronic wristbands, and activate their "StayHomeSafe" mobile application, on the same day that the cases are received from the Centre for Health Protection.

Professor Sun said, "The OGCIO has been using the 'StayHomeSafe' application together with the electronic wristbands to carry out monitoring work on persons under home quarantine since the outbreak of the epidemic. Four monitoring centers were set up and over 700 serving and retired civil servants from various departments, as well as volunteers from the information technology sector, had offered assistance to the monitoring work amid the service surge. I would like to express my gratitude to civil service colleagues from various departments for their dedicated efforts in supporting the anti-epidemic work of Hong Kong over the past two years, demonstrating the team spirit of the whole Government in fighting the epidemic together."