HK's Latest Virus Curbs Make No Sense, Says Expert

An infectious disease expert said on Wednesday that Hong Kong's latest set of social distancing measures to prevent coronavirus infections make no sense, with certain groups now allowed to gather, while others are still banned.

The government announced on Tuesday that worshippers will be able to attend temples, churches and mosques again from Friday.

But karaoke parlours, nightclubs, party rooms and bathhouses must remain closed until May 28, and the eight-person limit on public gatherings will stay in place up to and including June 4.

The chairman of the advisory committee on communicable diseases at the Hong Kong Medical Association, Leung Chi-chiu, said while it is not up to him to speculate whether there are political considerations behind the decision to relax some restrictions but not others, the inconsistency makes no sense.

"If you allow the aggregation of far more than eight people within indoor premises, I do not see a good reason why we should continue to limit the number of people gathering in the streets in open space, that is something that I cannot understand," Leung said.

He said that in an indoor environment, people would be more likely to be gathering in a poorly-ventilated environment, and even if venues can only operate at half their capacity there could still be a lot more than eight people inside.

"That is something that we need to reexamine to see whether we can maintain a more consistent approach to limit the number of persons gathering together in line with the usual public health policy," he told RTHK's Priscilla Ng.

Officials have dismissed suggestions that the 14-day extension to the eight-person public gathering limit was influenced by politics. The move will prevent the annual vigil the city has held for three decades to remember those killed in and around Beijing's Tiananmen Square during the student uprising of 1989.