Coronavirus: Hong Kong set to relax some social-distancing rules as Covid-19 situation improves locally
- Sources say government will permit gatherings of up to eight people in public and in restaurants, double the number previously allowed
- Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam and ministers are expected to provide details on distributing reusable masks to all residents
Hong Kong on Monday recorded one imported Covid-19 case involving a 27-year-old woman who had returned from the United States, bringing the city’s tally to 1,040. It has now been 15 days since the last locally transmitted infection was reported on April 19.
However, Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the Centre for Health Protection’s communicable disease branch, warned it was still too early to say the situation was under control, given the disease’s long incubation period of 14 days.
“The situation is getting better, but we cannot conclude that the local transmission chain has been cut off,” she said.
With the improved situation, two sources said the government would permit gatherings of up to eight people in public and restaurants, double the number previously allowed, starting on May 8. But the requirement to space restaurant tables 1.5 metres (about five feet) apart would remain in effect to avoid overcrowding, they said.
The administration was also considering allowing the reopening of a number of establishments, subject to precautionary measures. But a resumption of operations for karaoke lounges and bars, where infection risks are higher, might not be on the cards.