建立本港社區抗災韌性
其他相關資訊
行政長官林鄭月娥表示，《外國地區到港人士強制檢疫規例》生效後有不少人違反檢疫令，政府對有關人士採取零容忍政策，會竭力追捕並把他們送往封閉式檢疫中心，然後提出檢控。 林鄭月娥今早出席行政會議前會見傳媒時指，2019冠狀病毒病全球確診個案過去一星期增加約一倍至超過70萬宗，香港確診個案亦在七日內由約300宗增至逾600宗，新增個案主要是港人自海外返港後確診的輸入個案。 針對疫情全球爆發，政府早前根據《預防及控制疾病條例》訂立《外國地區到港人士強制檢疫規例》。 林鄭月娥表示，規例3月19日生效至今，政府發出超過五萬張檢疫令，而根據所掌握數字，有70多名接受家居檢疫人士違反檢疫令被送往檢疫中心，政府稍後會向法庭申請傳票以提出檢控。 裁判法院昨日對三宗違反檢疫令個案作出裁決，林鄭月娥表示，三名被告違反《若干到港人士強制檢疫規例》有關由內地抵港後需接受家居檢疫的規定，被法院判處即時監禁，留有案底，刑期最長一宗為入獄三個月。 她說，違反檢疫令後果嚴重，或影響事業和學業，希望所有接受家居檢疫人士認真考慮是否值得為此而影響前途。
傳染病直擊第17卷第6期 - 2020年第11至第12周 (2020年3月8日至3月21日)
下 午 6 時
天 文 台 錄 得：
氣 溫 ： 20 度
相 對 濕 度 ： 百 分 之 90
過 去 一 小 時 ，
京 士 柏 錄 得 的 平 均 紫 外 線 指 數 ： 0.1
紫 外 線 強 度 ： 低
本 港 其 他 地 區 的 氣 溫 ：
天 文 台 20 度 ，
京 士 柏 19 度 ，
黃 竹 坑 20 度 ，
打 鼓 嶺 18 度 ，
流 浮 山 18 度 ，
大 埔 18 度 ，
沙 田 18 度 ，
屯 門 19 度 ，
將 軍 澳 18 度 ，
西 貢 19 度 ，
長 洲 19 度 ，
赤 鱲 角 20 度 ，
青 衣 20 度 ，
石 崗 19 度 ，
荃 灣 可 觀 19 度 ，
荃 灣 城 門 谷 20 度 ，
香 港 公 園 19 度 ，
筲 箕 灣 18 度 ，
九 龍 城 19 度 ，
跑 馬 地 19 度 ，
黃 大 仙 20 度 ，
赤 柱 19 度 ，
觀 塘 19 度 ，
深 水 埗 19 度 ，
啟 德 跑 道 公 園 19 度 ，
元 朗 公 園 19 度 ，
大 美 督 18 度 。
刚果民主共和国的埃博拉病毒病疫情仍在继续。自2020年2月17日以来，没有报告出现埃博拉病毒病新病例。然而，由于以往疫情热点地区面临若干挑战，
The objective of this qualitative study was to explore the perspectives of school and preparedness officials on the feasibility of implementing a range of social distancing practices to reduce influenza transmission during a pandemic. In the summer of 2017, 36 focus groups were conducted by teleconference and webinar lasting...
By Sophie Hares, UNDRR – Americas and the CaribbeanMenaced by increasingly violent hurricanes, Caribbean countries face an enormous bill to better protect themselves disasters and need to weave a web of financing options to help insulate against shocks, said speakers at a regional conference.
Boosting lackluster economic growth, ramping up insurance and disaster funds, and embracing the private sector would help bolster countries which needed to invest more in resilience, said speakers at the Comprehensive Disaster Management Conference (CDM11) in Sint Maarten.
"Budgeting for disaster should be a must for us all," said Silveria Jacobs, prime minister of Sint Maarten, which was ravaged by Hurricane Irma in 2017.
A common disaster fund and a joint insurance plan to protect the small businesses that drive local economies could help the region, she told the conference, organized by the Caribbean Disasters and Emergency Agency (CDEMA).
"Government cannot definitely not go it alone… Business resilience drives the economy which ensures that islands can bounce back even faster," said Jacobs, who urged more investment in resilient infrastructure.
With many countries heavily indebted, creating layers of risk financing was key if countries are to limit the economic impact of disasters, which could also include flooding, drought, tsunamis and seismic activity, said speakers.
Risk financing layers should include funds shaved from national budgets, paired with fast-paying parametric insurance and access to lines of credit, said Ming Zhang, World Bank regional practice manager for urban and disaster risk management.
While new insurance products could help protect livelihoods and the fishing industry in the event of disasters, there was more scope to expand insurance to include households and small businesses, said Zhang in an interview.
"You cannot set up a contingency fund to address a Category 5 hurricane," said Zhang, who estimates disasters cost the Caribbean 1 percent of its gross domestic product each year.
"You need a risk financing strategy… each country should look at different layers and different contingencies, insurance and other mechanisms."
While countries such as St. Lucia and Grenada were looking to set up disaster funds bolstered by lines of credit, there needs to be more focus on how money was being spent in the region to better prepare for disasters, he said.
More advanced recovery planning was needed to make sure emergency shelters and supplies were available, while strengthening homes and infrastructure could help reduce economic impact down the track, he said.
"In the midst of borrowing for public investment, governments need to ensure that these funds are certainly being spent to ensure resilience," said Ronald Jackson, CDEMA executive director, said in an interview.
"That's one area that will drive down exposure and be a lower cost to government when these events occur."
NO SILVER BULLET
Emergency cash payments to small businesses, farmers and the most vulnerable after hurricanes in Barbados and Dominica helped stimulate the local economies and get people back on their feet, said speakers.
But countries needed to ensure adequate systems were in place to disperse social protection payments to make sure they reach the right people as quickly as possible, they added.
"No single financial instrument is the solution, we have to adopt a risk layering approach," Nicholas Grainger, programme associate at the World Food Programme, told the conference.
Given the private sector shells out for up to 85 percent of all investment and absorbs the lion's share of disaster losses, businesses should be closer involved in trying to driving down risk and promoting economic resilience, said speakers.
"It's very clear that reducing disaster risk cannot be done by one actor or sector alone," Nahuel Arenas, Deputy Chief of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), Regional Office for the Americas and the Caribbean, told the conference.
"Resilient investment is about integrating risk through business practices and investment decisions."
The UNDRR-backed business network, known as The Private Sector Alliance for Disaster Resilient Societies or ARISE, is growing quickly in the Caribbean where companies are increasingly aware that disaster risk reduction (DRR) makes sound business sense, said speakers.
Jeffrey Beckles, chief executive of the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce, said the private sector wanted a greater role in DRR given it was a major employer and driver of growth.
It also has a lot to lose. Businesses suffered some 90 percent of the massive losses in the Bahamas caused by Hurricane Dorian in September, he added.
"We bring to the table the ability to look further down the road than any single administration," Beckles told the conference.
"We bring to the table a much deeper, wider capacity for casting a longer-term strategy for resiliency and prospects for our country's stability,"
Developing the digital and blue economies, while finding ways to expand the benefits of industries such as tourism could help bolster the region's economy and ultimately make households more resilient, said speakers.
"Resilient people build resilient lives, and resilient communities and economies," said Sint Maarten's Jacobs.
Related links
https://www.cdema.org/cdm11/
https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/caribbean
https://cdema.org/
https://www.wfp.org/
https://www.thebahamaschamber.com/
