It's All Right To Ease Distancing Measures: Expert

An infectious disease expert said on Thursday that it's now an appropriate time to relax social distancing measures, given that 17 days have passed with no locally-transmitted cases of Covid-19.

From Friday, the size of public gatherings will be increased to a maximum of eight people, and venues, like gyms, cinemas, and beauty salons can re-open, and schools will resume towards the end of the month.

But Joseph Tsang said the virus situation outside Hong Kong remained "dangerous", saying cross-border students shouldn't be allowed to return to school here and border and quarantine measures shouldn't be relaxed.

"We have to keep the current measurements or requirements unchanged as regards to the border control - regardless of the nationality," he said, stressing that the government should not loosen those measures," said Tsang, who works in the private sector.

The government announced on Tuesday that anti-epidemic measures would be eased from Friday, with some restaurants immediately reporting a surge in reservations for Mother's Day.

Many businesses cheered the news, but some called for a further relaxation of the anti-coronavirus initiatives.