No Further Easing Of Covid Rules For Now: Carrie Lam

Chief Executive Carrie Lam said on Tuesday that the government will not further relax social distancing measures for the time being, as the city’s Covid situation remains "stagnant".

Authorities had planned to implement the final phase of the easing of Covid rules in late June, but Lam said it will likely be postponed since the daily coronavirus tally hasn't dropped much for a month.

"We are in a sort of stagnant situation with the number of positive cases staying around 200 and 300, but there have already been over 10 infection clusters in the community, especially the most recent two cases involving bars," she said.

"So we would have to take a very prudent approach. My position at this moment is we probably will not introduce the third and final stage of the social distancing relaxation before the end of June."

She added most people would not be affected by these measures.

The planned relaxation would have let businesses operate at full capacity, lifted the cap on the number of attendees at banquets, and allowed people to dance and perform at bars.

Meanwhile, the CE noted that the number of people getting their third Covid jabs had reached a record of 51,000 on Monday – a day before the tightening of the vaccine pass kicked in.

People aged over 12 now have to be triple-jabbed, or to have had their second dose within the past three months, to enter venues such as restaurants, supermarkets and shopping malls.

Lam said it shows the vaccine pass is effective in boosting the city's vaccination rate.