Closures Extended, Beauty Parlours Added To List

The government announced on Wednesday that restrictions on public gatherings, entertainment venue closures, and various rules to ensure social distancing will be extended until April 23, while beauty and massage parlours will also now have to shutter their doors.

The Food and Health Bureau noted that many of the 935 confirmed Covid-19 cases in Hong Hong involve people who were infected locally rather than overseas and said it is therefore necessary to continue to implement social distancing measures.

A four-person limit on gatherings in public places, whether indoors or outdoors, will continue to be enforced for the next two weeks.

Meanwhile, bars, gyms, cinemas, karaoke lounges, mahjong parlours and nightclubs will all have to remain closed, along with beauty salons and massage parlours.

The first of these businesses were shut at the end of last month, with the list of places affected gradually lengthening.

Health Secretary Sophia Chan said on Wednesday that the measures are aimed at reducing social gatherings, and the risk of infections at high-risk facilities.

"This is to cut the transmission chain at critical times," Chan said.

Civic Party lawmaker and doctor Kwok Ka-ki welcomed the latest additions to the list of business closures. But he said there should also be extra measures regarding people arriving in the city from the mainland.

He called for Covid-19 checks on anyone arriving from virus epicentre Wuhan, "to prevent another wave of infections", and warned of dire consequences if the SAR lets its guard down.

"The social distancing would never end and all sectors in Hong Kong and all citizens in Hong Kong would need to suffer and bear the burden," Kwok said.