The phased return of residents to Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po entered its sixth day today, with the reopening of five middle-zone floors at Wang Cheong House and 11 high-zone floors at Wang Yan House.

Through the “one social worker per household” service, 459 people from 124 households returned to their units, exceeding the 444 individuals from 123 households who had initially registered. The Government said the access arrangements as orderly.

Residents spent an average of two hours and 33 minutes entering and leaving the buildings. The shortest stay recorded was 21 minutes, while the longest was four hours and eight minutes.

In terms of duration, approximately 65% of residents remained in the buildings for less than three hours, while 27% stayed for less than two hours. About 4% of residents concluded their visits in under an hour.

Regarding resident movement, 125 individuals from 54 households made multiple trips to and from their units. Specifically, 83 people from 30 households made one additional trip, while 27 people from 15 households made two. A smaller number of residents – 15 people from nine households – made three or four additional trips.

The integrated enquiry counter handled 10 requests for assistance today, including nine cases requiring police attention and one involving a resident who felt physically unwell.

The police assistance cases primarily concerned suspected property loss, involving items such as watches, jewellery, cash and gold. Officers were immediately deployed to assist with searches, successfully recovering lost property in six of the cases. In the remaining three cases, the units involved were severely damaged; following investigations, residents believed their property may have been destroyed by fire.

The Government noted that over 1,000 personnel are deployed daily to support residents returning to their units. The multi-departmental team includes staff from Police, the Civil Aid Service, the Fire Services Department, the Auxiliary Medical Service, the Home Affairs Department, the Social Welfare Department, the Housing Department and the Housing Bureau, alongside members of District Services & Community Care Teams.

Additionally, under the Government-wide Mobilisation mechanism, the Civil Service Bureau co-ordinated nine departments to form the Government Quick Response Unit to facilitate the access arrangements. Civil servants mobilised today were drawn from the Electrical & Mechanical Services Department and the Leisure & Cultural Services Department.