The 12-customer rule will also apply to premises such as gyms conducting group activities and yoga classes, as well as party rooms and karaoke lounges, which at present only allow eight people together.

“The number of local coronavirus cases remains stable for the time being … We hope to gradually lift some anti-pandemic measures, while safeguarding the health of the people, Hong Kong’s economy, residents’ lives, and to revitalise international and mainland connections,” Undersecretary for Health Dr Libby Lee Ha-yun said on Friday.

The government announced the latest round of eased curbs in more than four months just a day before the second batch of HK$5,000 (US$635) in consumption vouchers was scheduled to be distributed on National Day.

Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po on Friday said he hoped the latest round of consumption vouchers would help to revive the city’s economy by bringing more businesses to the hospitality and retail industries.

“As the pandemic turns stable, as long as we are united and get vaccinated as soon as possible, we will definitely take a bigger step towards returning to normality and the recovery of the catering industry will be just around the corner,” Chan said in a speech at a ceremony.

The number of daily coronavirus cases has remained below the 5,000 mark this week. Health authorities on Friday logged 4,023 new infections, 213 of which were imported.

The total number of virus-related fatalities reached 10,161 after eight more deaths were recorded, while the overall tally of cases rose to 1,765,404.

Hong Kong can ease Covid social distancing now, adopt ‘0+0’ regime soon: experts

Under existing social-distancing rules, restaurants can only operate until midnight, with a maximum of eight diners per table. Diners in groups of more than eight must all show a negative rapid antigen test result for entry. A cap of 120 guests is also in place for banquets.

But catering sector lawmaker Tommy Cheung Yu-yan, also an Executive Council member, said there was a need for further easing, even though more banquets could be held under the social-distancing relaxation and the sector would also get a boost from the distribution of consumption vouchers.

Cheung said that restrictions limiting hours for restaurants, as well as bars, which are allowed to open until 2am, should also be loosened.

“The relaxation will be beneficial to large-scale Chinese restaurants but is of limited help to normal restaurants and bars. I urge the government to loosen the restriction on operating hours and allow live performances to be resumed,” Cheung said.

Asked whether the government would further loosen other social-distancing rules, such as the mask mandate, Lee appealed for the public to remain patient as the government had to gauge the effects of hotel quarantine being axed for arrivals for at least a few weeks.

She explained that repeated tightening and relaxing of social-distancing rules was “actually not quite helpful or useful for the industry or for Hong Kong citizens, so that’s why the whole government wants to introduce the relaxation step by step, slowly”.

She added: “I cannot promise that the government will only relax instead of tightening social-distancing curbs in the future as it will depend on the epidemic situation.”

Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu last week announced the scrapping of all hotel quarantine measures for overseas arrivals, replacing a “3+4” scheme with the current “0+3” arrangement, which was launched on Monday. Travellers have to undergo three days of home medical surveillance with their movement citywide limited.

The government has come under mounting pressure from the business sector, with representatives calling for the city to reopen to claw back its competitive edge.

Hong Kong not ready to remove all Covid travel curbs, health minister says

But the Undersecretary for Health did not give further details on the scrapping of the cruise ship suspension mechanism at a press conference on Friday.

Cruises were banned earlier this year as the city battled an Omicron-fuelled fifth wave of infections. Before that, cruise businesses could operate at 50 per cent capacity, with trips called off and the vessel having to return to port if a suspected coronavirus infection was detected on board.

The Post has contacted cruise line Royal Caribbean International for comment.

The cruise line was expected to abandon plans to relaunch a “cruise to nowhere” service, where ships put out to sea, but make no visits before returning to their home ports, the Post learned earlier.

Tourism sector lawmaker Perry Yiu Pak-leung said an end to the cruise ban would create favourable conditions, but a total cancellation of arrival quarantine measures would be crucial to the revival of the tourism industry.

Yiu appealed to the government to implement a “0+0” policy in October.

The Hospital Authority said it would reduce the number of beds designated for Covid-19 patients to below 2,500 and suspend the operation of the AsiaWorld-Expo patient treatment centre from Friday because of the city’s stable pandemic situation.