Restaurant Restrictions Could Be Eased Soon: Expert

Top microbiologist Ho Pak-leung said on Thursday that the restrictions for restaurants may be relaxed in the next few weeks if there were signs that the spread of the disease had been halted.

He told Commercial Radio that the authorities could consider such a move if there are no new Covid-19 infections with an unknown source by, say, Mother's Day - which falls on May 10 this year.

On Wednesday, Hong Kong health officials said that for the fourth day in a row, the SAR had had no new coronavirus cases.

The Centre for Health Protection said that as of Wednesday the number of confirmed cases in Hong Kong stood at 1,037.

Ho, the head of Hong Kong University's Centre for Infection, said it's unavoidable that more people are going out on public holidays, but warned that they shouldn't let their guard down.

He reminded people joining religious events on Buddha's birthday to keep their masks on, noting that a cluster of infections linked to a temple in North Point earlier had involved at least two rounds of transmission.