Hong Kong authorities will ‘act first’ to prevent chikungunya fever: minister

Hong Kong’s hygiene officers will adopt an “act first” approach by clearing stagnant water in unattended private places to tackle the threat of chikungunya fever, the city’s environment minister has said.

Secretary for Environment and Ecology Tse Chin-wan on Wednesday pledged to eliminate mosquito breeding grounds, even in places where responsibility for maintenance was unclear.

“This is a critical time for disease prevention. I believe the public is most concerned about private alleyways where no government department is clearly responsible,” Tse told a radio programme, a day after the city recorded its sixth imported case of chikungunya fever.

“If the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department sees stagnant water or a potential mosquito problem, but cannot find the person in charge as the management of private streets and buildings can sometimes be unclear, it will act first to clean it.”

Tse referred to “three-nil” buildings that have neither an owners’ corporation nor a residents’ organisation and do not employ a property management company.

He added that other government departments were expected to adopt the same mindset, tackling issues as they arose and avoiding delays caused by jurisdictional disputes.