Temperature checks and contact tracing as Hong Kong’s temples welcome Lunar New Year throngs amid coronavirus pandemic

At Wong Tai Sin Temple, one of the city’s biggest, visitors registered for contact-tracing before entering and steps were taken to keep crowds manageable

Most on hand said the process had gone smoothly, with many adding they planned to keep the size of family celebrations to a minimum this year

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Worshippers make their first offerings of the Lunar New Year at Hong Kong’s Wong Tai Sin Temple on Friday. Photo: Sam Tsang

Published: 4:34pm, 12 Feb 2021Updated: 5:01pm, 12 Feb 2021

Thousands of Hongkongers flocked to Wong Tai Sin Temple on Friday for the first day of the Lunar New Year, though this year’s search for blessings and good fortune came amid new crowd and infection control measures demanded by the coronavirus pandemic.

Many worshippers told the Post their wish for the Year of the Ox was simply good health and an end to the pandemic, while some said they planned to follow health authorities’ advice in reducing the size of their celebrations and family gatherings this year to a small circle.

For contact-tracing purposes, visitors entering the temple – one of the city’s largest – were asked to register using the government’s contact-tracing “Leave Home Safe” app, their Octopus cards or manually with the help of temple volunteers.

Worshippers registered for contact-tracing via a new government app, their Octopus cards or manually with volunteers at Wong Tai Sin Temple on Friday. Photo: Sam Tsang

Worshippers were also required to have their temperatures screened and wear masks inside, while a one-way route was implemented so temple management could better track the number of visitors.

When the crowd inside reached 1,000, an alarm sounded and no one else was allowed to enter until the numbers had thinned.