Briefs: Macau Red Cross donates six ambulances to Yunnan

The Macau Red Cross president, Eddie Wong, said that the organization would donate six ambulances to six health centres in Yunnan province in order to provide medical support to the search-and-rescue operations being undertaken in the earthquake-affected region in Southwestern China. Wong also revealed that the disaster area is in urgent need of emergency family disaster relief kits. As a result, The Chinese Red Cross will be allocating more than 1,500 family kits from Sichuan and delivering them to earthquake victims. Until yesterday, the Macau Red Cross had received MOP14.99 million donated by local enterprises and residents for the Yunnan earthquake. A Macau Red Cross member said that the living conditions in the disaster-hit area are not good. Bodies are decomposing very quickly due to rainfall and high temperatures, and the lack of accommodation means that several families are sharing single tents.

Survey finds over 90 percent of students own smartphones

The General Association of Chinese Students of Macau (AECM) has interviewed 900 primary five to secondary three students in ten local schools, and found that 92 percent of them own a smartphone. More than 40 percent of the respondents spend more than four hours a day on their phones. The results of the survey show that the majority use their smartphones to surf the Internet, watch videos, play games and chat with their friends. Of the respondents, 26.4 percent claimed that they would feel unsettled if they stopped using their device for a few hours; 8 percent even claimed that they would feel distressed when leaving their smartphone for several minutes. AECM called on parents and schools to supervise students when using smart devices.

SSM calls on casinos to submit smoking room floor plans

The Health Bureau (SSM) director, Lei Chin Ion, has said that they have already pre-evaluated the draft plans submitted by 40 casinos for setting up smoking rooms in mass areas. Some casinos are yet to provide further information. One casino has decided not to hand in its draft plans, meaning that it will not be setting up a smoking room. Lei Chin Ion said that the Bureau wants each operator to hand in official floor plans for their smoking rooms no later than early September, so that the authorities have enough time to assess and approve them. From October 6 this year, smoking will be prohibited in casino mass areas. Casinos must finish building their smoking rooms before that date, or their customers will have to go outside to smoke.