HK to close beaches after uproar over maskless users

HONG KONG • Hong Kong will close most of the city's beaches, leader Carrie Lam said yesterday, after photos of maskless residents enjoying sun and surf sparked outrage in mainland China.

The city is already facing its most stringent measures since the pandemic started in 2020. Gatherings of more than two people are banned, most venues - including schools - are shut, and masks are compulsory everywhere, even when exercising outdoors.

Mrs Lam, the city's Chief Executive, told reporters: "As we see a surge of people going to beaches, we have to take appropriate measures in order to protect our system, to reduce the public's movements to ensure safety."

The authorities said they will begin taping off beaches today.

Mrs Lam's announcement comes amid anger from Chinese social media users, who blame the spread of Covid-19 in the mainland on Hong Kong's sluggish epidemic response.

The city - which recorded nearly 750,000 cases in less than three months - has not gone into a full lockdown. But tens of millions of people in mainland China were abruptly placed under stay-at-home orders this week, after the emergence of more than 3,000 daily new cases as Beijing battles to maintain its "dynamic zero" Covid-19 strategy.

Nearby Shenzhen, with 17 million people, was locked down on Monday after an Omicron flare-up in factories and neighbourhoods linked to Hong Kong.

"How can they be so carefree and go to the beach while Shenzhen is under lockdown? So selfish," one user wrote on Weibo.

Researchers estimate that the infection toll in Hong Kong is significantly higher than official figures, likely already reaching half its 7.4 million population.

Mrs Lam has taken hits from all sides on her handling of the crisis, with the spiralling deaths of a largely unvaccinated elderly population and unclear messaging about lockdown and mass testing.

Mrs Lam - whose job is up for grabs in a few months - has not said if she will run for another term. The selection process was initially scheduled for March but was postponed to May because of the wave of Covid-19 cases.

She told a daily media briefing yesterday that legally speaking, there was room to further delay the election. "A further delay cannot be decided by the Hong Kong special administrative region itself, it depends on how the central government sees it," she said.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS