LeaveHomeSafe Mandatory At Eateries From December 9

The government announced on Tuesday that the use of its LeaveHomeSafe app will be mandatory in all restaurants from December 9, as well as in gyms, hotels, cinemas and other regulated premises.

That means people can no longer opt to jot down their personal details instead of using the app when they enter these places.

Authorities said in a statement the measure is needed to boost the efficiency and accuracy of its tracing and testing work to tackle the variant strains of Covid-19.

"We will closely liaise with the relevant trades in the coming two weeks to ensure the smooth implementation of the relevant measures," a government spokesperson said.

"We appeal to the public to co-operate and comply with the relevant requirements in order to further enhance the anti-epidemic capacity of Hong Kong."

Meanwhile, officials also announced that more people will be allowed to join "cruise-to-nowhere" trips from December 1.

Citing the stable epidemic situation, the smooth operation of these trips and the tight infection-control measures on board, officials said the cruises' passenger capacity limit will be allowed to go up from the current 50 percent to 75 percent.