Hong Kong to Allow Dancing, Bigger Gatherings, in Reopening Push

Jinshan Hong
·2 min read
3

(Bloomberg) -- Hong Kong is set to remove more Covid-19 restrictions and will allow live performances and dancing to take place indoors from next Thursday as the city’s government considers increasing the limit on the number of people allowed to gather in public.

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Theme park visitors will also be allowed to eat outdoors, though people dancing will be required to wear masks and performers will be required to be frequently tested and stay distanced from attendees. The public-gathering cap may also be eased so that a dozen people can meet, up from four currently, though this is subject to amendments to pandemic-related law clauses and an announcement will be made when the government confirms the plan, Libby Lee, Hong Kong’s under secretary for health, said in a briefing Thursday.

At the same time the number of Covid cases, both local and imported, registered in Hong Kong have increased by about 30% in the past week, officials reported. Lee added that the government was concerned about new omicron variants that have been are detected among travelers.

“We hope to relax anti-Covid rules in an orderly manner,” she said. “If the Covid situation is not deteriorating, we can consider more.”

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While Hong Kong has slowly lifted some Covid curbs, including mandatory hotel quarantines for incoming travelers in late September, the city’s economy and standing as a global financial center has yet to recover from its attempts to broadly mirror mainland China’s Covid Zero policies.

Business groups have repeatedly called for all remaining restrictions to be scrapped in order to revive Hong Kong’s reputation. A key test of how successful officials have been in their efforts to lure people back to the hub looms, with the city preparing to host a banking summit and an international rugby competition in early November.

The new relaxations came after another set of small revisions occurred earlier this month, when city authorities allowed 12 people to sit at each table in restaurants. The size of groups allowed in gyms, theme parks, beauty salons and massage parlors were also expanded to 12 people from eight in the last round of easing.

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