HONG KONG - With daily Covid-19 infections hitting a new high of more than 600 and the public healthcare system “on the brink”, Hong Kong’s leader on Tuesday (Feb 8) declared the most invasive measure yet: a curb on gatherings in private premises - the first such rule to be implemented in the city.
From Feb 10 to Feb 24, gatherings at home will be capped at two families while the size of public gatherings will be halved to two people from four.
Describing the pandemic situation as “dire”, Chief Executive Carrie Lam said unvaccinated residents will be banned from shopping malls, supermarkets, wet markets, religious venues and hair salons.
Mrs Lam said these premises have been added to the vaccine bubble arrangement, which allows only those with at least one jab to enter.
The penalty for not following compulsory testing orders will be doubled from HK$5,000 (S$862) to HK$10,000.
From Feb 24 onwards, diners must have had at least one Covid-19 vaccination to be able to dine at any premises.
By the end of April, they must have at least two shots, and by end-June, those who have had two shots six months prior need to get their third jab to enter a restaurant.
All eateries will continue to stop offering dine-in services from 6pm to 5am, a rule that has been imposed since Jan 7.
Various premises including gyms, bars, cinemas and beauty salons will also continue to be closed.
Before the rules were tightened on Jan 7, life in Hong Kong had been largely normal for almost a year under the zero-Covid strategy, with bars and pubs open till 4am.
Mrs Lam had earlier pleaded with residents not to go out, even as she said the government must take into account the general tolerance of the public when formulating policy.
“We need your support, we need your cooperation,” she said at at a regular news briefing on Tuesday morning. “Please stay at home.”
Mrs Lam said the vaccination rate for people more than 70 years old is still less than 50 per cent, leaving more than 500,000 vulnerable residents at risk of severe illness or death and posing a huge risk to hospitals.
So far, 73 per cent of the city’s 7.4 million population have been fully vaccinated.
Hong Kong reported a record number of coronavirus infections on Monday, with cases doubling every three days to more than 600 currently.
Mrs Lam said Hong Kong would stick to the zero-Covid strategy to contain the coronavirus.
For now, she said, the best option was to adhere to the zero-Covid strategy employed by mainland China to suppress all coronavirus outbreaks as soon as possible.
“We should contain the spread of the virus as much and as fast as possible,” she said.
