Hong Kong confirms it will ease curbs as number of COVID cases fall

Hong Kong confirmed on Thursday it will ease some of the world's most stringent COVID-19 restrictions, allowing beauty parlours, cinemas and gyms to reopen from April 21 as infections in the global financial hub hover below 2,000 per day.

The Chinese-ruled city has been hit by a fifth wave of coronavirus since early this year that has battered business and led to more than 8,600 deaths, many in the past two months, although cases have dropped in recent days.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and her officials announced the long-awaited plan on Thursday morning, detailing the first stage of a phased exit from restrictions imposed during the fifth Covid-19 wave.

From April 21, restaurants can operate dine-in services until 10pm with four people per table. Bars will remain closed. Catering staff must be vaccinated and undergo rapid antigen tests every three days

Gyms, beauty massage parlours, cinemas, game centres, theme parks and places of worship to reopen, but will be limited to four people per group. Cinema-goers and staff must have had three vaccine doses if the operator wants to serve food and drinks.

Public sports venues, libraries, museums and children’s playgrounds will reopen, however, public beaches, pools and barbeque sites will remain closed.

The city reported 1,260 cases in the community on Wednesday, down more than 95% from the peak of the outbreak in March, when over 30,000 daily infections were reported.

Lam said the city is now “much, much better prepared” to handle another wave if it hits, due to increased levels of vaccination and more facilities to handle patients, such as community isolation and treatment centers.

Lam also said the government has not given up on mass testing for the city, but that timing was important.

Hong Kong's border has effectively been shut since 2020 with few flights able to land and hardly any passengers allowed to transit, isolating a city that had built a reputation as a global hub.