Explainer | Hong Kong is opening up again – here’s what you can and cannot do amid relaxed coronavirus rules

Restaurants can serve till 10pm, gyms will be open and families can once again visit theme parks, but some social-distancing rules will remain in place

Meanwhile, some venues, such as bars and clubs, party rooms, karaoke lounges and swimming pools, will remain closed

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Restrictions on dine-in hours at restaurants are among the social-distancing rules being relaxed on Thursday. Photo: Dickson Lee

Published: 9:00am, 18 Feb 2021Updated: 10:51am, 18 Feb 2021

After months of tighter restrictions, stepped-up mandatory testing and “ambush-style” lockdowns, Hong Kong is finally experiencing a significant reduction in new coronavirus cases – enough for officials on Thursday to relax tough social-distancing rules for the first time since the outbreak of the fourth wave of infections in November.

But that doesn’t mean all the rules are going out the window. Here’s what you can – and cannot – do under the relaxed social-distancing regulations kicking in on Thursday.

Can you go out for dinner and a late-night drink?

Starting Thursday, dine-in service at restaurants is being extended by four hours, to 10pm, with a maximum of four people allowed per table, up from the previous limit of two. But masks must be worn at all times on the premises, except when eating or drinking.

Bars and pubs, however, will remain closed. Live music and dance performances at restaurants are also banned.

Sports facilities and fitness centres are among the establishments reopening on Thursday. Photo: K. Y. Cheng