Evening dine-in ban to ease, cinemas and sports venues to open Friday

August 25, 2020

Secretary for Food & Health Prof Sophia Chan. (SCREENSHOT: isd.gov.hk)

As Hong Kong’s daily tally of coronavirus cases goes down, health authorities announced the relaxation of some social distancing measures Tuesday.

Starting Friday, Aug. 28, nighttime dine-in services will be allowed until 9 p.m., and some venues such as cinemas, beauty parlors, and some outdoor sports premises will be opened.

Secretary for Food and Health Prof. Sofia Chan in a press conference said it is “almost not possible” to wait until there are no longer any local coronavirus transmissions in the city before relaxing measures.

Mandatory mask use will also be relaxed. People in country parks and those exercising strenuously in public no longer need to wear them.

The two-person limit to public gatherings will still be in place under the Prevention and Control of Disease Ordinance.

The Health Secretary said the government preferred easing the social distancing measures gradually since people are mobile.

But Chan reminded that easing social distancing rules is not a reason for the public to let their guard down. She encouraged the public to avail of the Universal Community Testing program, scheduled to begin Sept. 1, which aimed to detect silent carriers of the coronavirus in the city.

Eight of the 19 positive cases recorded Tuesday had no known source of infection.