HONG KONG (BLOOMBERG) - Hong Kong will close its beaches starting Thursday (March 17), local media reported, days after residents enjoying the sand and waves caused an outcry across the border where authorities were locking down the Chinese tech hub of Shenzhen.
Beaches will be cordoned off by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department to prevent the public from entering, the Hong Kong Economic Times and other outlets reported, without citing sources.
The city previously closed its beaches in July 2021 for several months during an earlier flareup.
Facilities such as bathrooms and lifeguard services have been suspended since January as local transmission of the virus continue.
The city's renowned country parks also shut down all barbecue and camping sites, while groups of more than two people are forbidden.
The decision to close beaches came as new infections continued to batter the city and many local schools are closed for most of March and April, rather than the normal summer holidays in July and August.
It also follows complaints stemming from pictures of residents at the beach, many unmasked, that went viral on the Chinese social media platform Weibo.
The post attracted more than 126,000 likes and 5,000 comments on Monday before it was removed.
Many slammed Hong Kong residents as selfish and called for the withdrawal of support, including health workers who are coming to help care for the infected.
The Leisure and Cultural Services Department declined to comment on the closure, saying in a statement that any changes to Covid curbs will be announced in due course.
Mainland China reported more than 5,000 local infections on Tuesday, the biggest increase in two years. Cities such as Shenzhen, Hong Kong's neighbour with 17.5 million people, and the north-eastern province of Jilin, with 24 million residents, have been locked down.
Hong Kong announced more than 27,700 new cases and about 220 deaths on Tuesday. Two teams of 375 mainland Chinese health workers are arriving in the city this week to help provide care to patients, mostly in the Asia World Expo isolation facility.
