Snooker, Rugby Go Ahead; But Marathon Is Uncertain

The Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, Kevin Yeung, said two international sports events - a snooker and a rugby sevens tournament - will be held in the city as scheduled, but the authorities have not decided if they will green-light the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon.

Speaking on an RTHK radio programme on Saturday, Yeung said he is confident the Hong Kong Masters snooker tournament and Hong Kong Sevens will go ahead in October and November.

The minister noted that the number of athletes coming to Hong Kong to take part in the two events will be limited, and a bubble arrangement will be in place.

He said risks will be controllable as long as athletes and the audience are separated.

But the marathon, he said, would be different from the two events, as many people would take part in it.

"We are talking about possibly around 20,000 people [running together] in a short period of time, and the race can't drag on for too long because roads will be closed and that will affect others," he said.

"So can we accept the risks after considering these factors? What can we do to reduce the risks to an extent that our medical experts find acceptable? Actually the government very much wants to see it happen... but we must take into consideration the whole community."

The minister said there could be a bigger impact for society if Covid cases surged after the marathon and authorities considered rolling out social distancing measures.

Asked if Hong Kong's reputation as a host city of mega events would be affected, Yeung said the government needs to strike a balance between organising events and controlling the Covid situation, noting that the SAR has been reporting about 10,000 infections a day recently.

He said Hong Kong will try to host more international competitions when the pandemic outbreak stabilises.