Hong Kong’s social distancing rules will be extended beyond April 23 for 14 days despite a drop in the number of coronavirus cases, Chief Executive Carrie Lam announced on Tuesday.
The decision came a day after authorities recorded no new daily infection cases for the first time in six weeks.
The anti-epidemic measures included a ban on gatherings of more than four people in public places, a cap on the number of customers per restaurant to 50 per cent capacity, and the closure of entertainment venues such as cinemas and gyms.
“In striking [a] balance, we have to take science as a basis,” Lam said. “I have come to this view that for the time being the better balance to be struck and the safer approach to ensure all of the successes Hong Kong has achieved over the past three months, is to extend these social distancing measures for another 14 days.”
In total, Hong Kong has recorded 1,026 cases and four deaths from Covid-19 which was first detected in Wuhan, China. New cases have been in the single digits over the past week as social distancing measures were enacted.
Lam said that there had been 34 prosecutions of restaurants and 131 fixed penalty notices issued over violations of the prohibition on group gatherings, leading to three prosecutions.
“The SAR government understands that citizens are upset about the halt in social activities. It is causing inconvenience to daily life, leisure, entertainment and gatherings with friends. Please be tolerant,” she added.
“Since we never carried out a complete lock down of the city, daily life is relatively better than in other places.”
Additional reporting: Rachel Wong