The Government today announced that aside from staff providing emergency and essential public services as well as those involved in anti-epidemic efforts, all government employees will continue to work from home until January 27.

It said in view of the local COVID-19 epidemic situation, it is necessary to continue to take measures to reduce people flow and social contact to stop the virus from spreading in the community.

The Government will review the arrangement before January 27 and its ultimate goal is to resume full public services when conditions permit.

Noting that the reduction in public services may cause inconvenience, it appealed for public understanding and encouraged people to use the post, drop-in boxes or online channels to receive the services they need.

Meanwhile, from January 21, if a staff member is confirmed to have contracted COVID-19, all staff working on the same floor and those who have worked with the patient despite not being on the same floor must undergo COVID-19 testing as soon as possible within a prescribed period.

They are also required to work from home until their testing results are confirmed negative.

The Government said such measures aim to further safeguard the health and safety of government employees, adding that relevant bureaus and departments are also making preparations to arrange regular testing for their frontline staff and staff of high-risk work to identify asymptomatic patients as soon as possible.