Coronavirus Hong Kong: course operators, security guards among those seeking clarity on ban on cross-household gatherings
- Property management companies say the security guards are unsure how they should handle residents or visitors who violate ban on cross-household gatherings
- Elderly say the ban has made their lives more difficult as they cannot meet friends in parks
Hong Kong’s ban on cross-household gatherings has left small businesses operating in private places wondering if they will be caught out by the latest round of social-distancing curbs, while security guards working at residential properties say they are confused about their role in enforcement.
Frontline police officers, meanwhile, have been told to step up action against those who breach the two-person public gathering limit and the mask mandate.
The tightened restrictions, which reduced the number of people who could convene in public from four to two, and restricted private gatherings to two households, took effect on Thursday as authorities reported another 986 new infections, mostly involving the Omicron coronavirus variant. They were among the city’s toughest social-distancing measures in two years.
But property companies say they are confused as to how security guards in their buildings should deal with residents or visitors if they violate the ban on cross-household gatherings.
Johnnie Chan Chi-kau, immediate past president and spokesman of the Hong Kong Association of Property Management Companies, said frontline guards had no legal power to deny entry, but they should have an obligation under the law to ensure social-distancing rules were observed.
Health officials had on Tuesday said enforcement action would be taken only when rule-breakers were identified during contact-tracing of Covid-19 cases, and they would not knock on residents’ doors to check. But Chan said the lack of clarity could put security guards in a difficult position especially if there were complaints from residents.