HONG KONG • Hong Kong introduced the city's toughest public gathering restrictions in months and decided to send civil servants back to work-from-home arrangements, as the authorities battle a fourth wave of infections.
Public gatherings will be limited to two people - down from four - including at restaurant tables and at sports venues, Chief Executive Carrie Lam said at a briefing yesterday.
The new measures will go into effect tomorrow and last two weeks, she said.
The slew of restrictions comes as Hong Kong recorded 76 new coronavirus cases, with most of them being local transmissions and nine cases being untraceable.
The financial hub has maintained bans on large group gatherings for much of the year and has shuttered various industries when cases have spiked.
The measures have helped keep infections to just over 6,300 in the city of 7.5 million, with 109 deaths.
But daily cases have risen above 100 in recent days, prompting the authorities to usher in stricter measures similar to those announced in July, when the city faced its worst outbreak.
"This new wave of Covid-19 has hit Hong Kong very quickly," Mrs Lam told reporters.
The current resurgence has already delayed a planned air travel bubble with Singapore, and the onset of colder weather may mean that the spread of the virus is harder to curb.
The city's 170,000 civil servants will work from home unless their jobs are considered essential, and Mrs Lam asked private businesses to follow suit where possible.
When civil servants were told to work from home during the last wave of Covid-19 cases, government services such as work-visa extensions were delayed.
Mrs Lam also announced the closure of venues such as mahjong parlours, swimming pools and amusement parks. And restaurants will have to shorten dine-in hours, ending them at 10pm.
Hong Kong earlier announced that schools would shut again from tomorrow. Bars and nightclubs had also been ordered to close.
Gyms and beauty parlours can remain open, but with stricter limits on people per venue or class.
Mrs Lam said fatigue had set in among Hong Kongers, a community that took the coronavirus seriously from the get-go.
The authorities plan to increase the current HK$2,000 (S$345) spot fines and will launch a hotline for people to report social distancing breaches.
The police will also play a more proactive role in stopping breaches and going after private venues hosting parties or large gatherings, Mrs Lam said.
One of the super-spreader events that helped cause the current wave was linked to ballroom dancing nights popular with many well-heeled residents.
"They went out in groups, they did not wear masks, they continued to enjoy themselves in parties," Mrs Lam said of the recent breaches. "They danced in close contact... So we need to raise the fine," she added.
BLOOMBERG, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
