Coronavirus: Hong Kong gyms, restaurants, beauty parlours and bars reopen but owners not convinced they will fully recover
- Social-distancing measures eased, allowing eight types of establishment to open
- But more than a month without customers means future remains uncertain for some
Hong Kong started returning to normal on Friday as the city eased the social-distancing rules brought in to help combat the spread of Covid-19.
For the first time in more than a month, residents were able to go to gyms, beauty parlours, bars, cinemas, and other public venues which the government previously forced to close.
With local transmission of the virus levelling off over the past two weeks, officials have allowed a partial reopening of eight types of business, but with conditions attached.
Restrictions on the number of people that can meet in public, or sit together at a restaurant, have also been relaxed, with the limit doubled to eight.
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But saunas, karaoke lounges, party rooms and nightclubs must remain closed for at least another two weeks, while the owners of some venues that were allowed to open lacked confidence in how long they could stay in business.
Wing Shun Kum-ying, 45, opened her salon, Wing Nail in Causeway Bay, for the first time since March with 20 bookings for Friday, a sharp increase from the five to six per day before the closure.