Hong Kong Book Fair Postponed After Virus Spike

The Hong Kong book fair, which was set to open on Wednesday, has been rescheduled due in wake of the latest coronavirus outbreaks in the city.

The organisers of the event, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), on Monday sent a notification to the participants in the fair saying that the events been postponed to a later date.

The council said even if it had taken various preventive measures, tracking cases would still be difficult, and people's health should be priority.

The council said it is postponing three other events that was scheduled for this month: sports and leisure expo, education and careers expo and HKTDC entrepreneur day.

But Jimmy Pang, a spokesman of the 2020 Book Fair Concern Group, said the decision came too late as losses had already been incurred.

He explained that exhibitors had already begun moving books to the centre, had decorated their booths, and now with the event cancelled, they will have to find storage for the books ordered.

Pang said it will follow up compensations with the council.

Pressure has been mounting on the organisers to postpone or cancel the book fair as Hong Kong started seeing a rising number of local coronavirus infections from last week.

Many of the exhibitors had raised concerns about the safety of its employees and customers as the event traditionally attracts tens of thousands of people to its regular venue at the convention centre.

But last week government officials had played down such risks, with Health Secretary Sophia Chan saying extra safety measures like mandatory face masks for visitors and temperature checks will be in place at the venue.

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