By The SUN
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| Churches will be allowed to resume masses starting Wednesday |
Churches will be
allowed to hold religious gatherings starting Wednesday, the first of several venues to be allowed to resume services under the more relaxed social distancing measures
announced by Hong Kong officials on Monday, Mar 29.
This comes ahead of the
long Holy Week holiday, one of the most important dates in the Christian
calendar.
But in line with
strict gathering rules, no eating and drinking will be allowed, and according
to Health Secretary Dr Sophia Chan, this means the ritual of communion will not
take place.
All religious venues
should also be filled only up to 30% of their capacity.
Secretary for Home
Affairs Caspar Tsui said the decision to allow churches to resume services was reached
after several meetings with religious groups.
On Thursday, more
venues will be reopened, including swimming pools, beaches, libraries and
museums. Tsui said the Leisure and Cultural Services Department will
progressively open other venues, depending on the epidemic situation.
Cinemas, performing
venues and theme parks will also be allowed to fill up to 75% of their capacity from
the present 50%.
However, other
venues classified as “high risk” such as bars, karaoke lounges and mahjong
parlours will remain closed for at least two more weeks
Also, the longstanding demand of travelers for the 21-day hotel quarantine to be eased
will not happen anytime soon, except for those coming from only three countries
deemed as low-risk: Australia, New Zealand and Singapore.
For travelers coming
from these places, which will include non-residents for the first time, the
hotel quarantine will be cut to 14 days. However, they will be required to
undergo self-monitoring for a further 7 days, and get tested on the 19th
day.
Those coming from
countries deemed as “medium risk” can also skip the third week of hotel
quarantine if they have received two doses of an anti-Covid-19 vaccine and
waited for at least 14 days before their travel.
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| Travelers from the Philippines will still have to undergo 21-day hotel quarantine |
For those flying in
from high risk countries which presently include the Philippines, Indonesia,
India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, South Africa, the United States and several others, the 21-day hotel
quarantine will be kept in place.
Residents stranded in
Britain will be allowed to return home by mid-April, but will have to undergo
21 days of hotel quarantine.
The Return2HK’
program will be extended by allowing Hong Kong residents to skip quarantine if
they return via air travel from anywhere in mainland China compared with just
Guangdong and Macau previously
Workers in “scheduled
premises” like restaurants and construction sites, as well as school teachers,
can get exemption from regular Covid-19 tests if they get if vaccinated.
Those who receive
two doses of the vaccine, may, after an extra 14 days, be allowed to visit patients
in public hospitals and care homes, subject to the further requirement of
testing negative in a rapid test.
Chan urged Hongkongers
to get vaccinated so the city can receive herd immunity and resume travel and
other social activities soon.
She also said the easing
of restrictions was not a “relaxation”, which experts have warned the
government against, despite several days of single-digit infections
“We are not
relaxing, we are simply adjusting,” she said, adding that an assessment was
made of the risk, and the need to promote people’s physical and mental
well-being.
“So we are doing minor adjustments on some of
the activities that we have very carefully assessed the risk, and this is also
something that is related to people's mental health, so we are not only looking
at physical health,” she said.
In a stark reminder
of the risk of premature relaxation, Monday ended two days of zero local infections in Hong Kong.
A young student at
Baptist University tested positive on Sunday, after developing sore throat.
During the incubation period, he attended classes, taught football to a group
of primary school students, and did one-on-one tutoring, all intense activities
that led to about 50 people being sent to quarantine.
