Hong Kong tightened its coronavirus restrictions on Monday, limiting the size of public gatherings to two people and closing some entertainment venues.

Announcing the stricter measures, Chief Executive Carrie Lam also ordered most of Hong Kong’s civil servants to work from home. Restaurants must limit tables to only two customers at a time, and must close their dine-in service by 10 p.m., she said.

The measures will become effective on Wednesday and continue for at least two weeks. Hong Kong recorded 76 new cases on Monday, including nine local cases that could not be traced, officials said.

The tighter restrictions include closing theme parks, games arcades, karaoke lounges, mahjong parlors and swimming pools. Government performance venues may be used only for rehearsals and performances that are streamed online.

Gyms and beauty parlours can continue to operate, but with tighter restrictions. Only two people will be allowed to use sports facilities together.

Lam also said the government was mulling heavier fines for breaching social distancing rules, because the current HK$2,000 (US$258) fixed-penalty ticket is not a strong enough deterrent.

The government has also set up a hotline for people to report unlawful behavior, Lam added.

Asked if her administration had been slow to respond to the fourth wave of coronavirus cases, Lam said: “I don’t think we were particularly fast or slow. We worked according to our procedures … some things need to be done with due process, such as legal amendments that must be done by the Executive Council,” Lam said.

Lam backed down from earlier suggestions of mandatory citywide virus testing, saying she had consulted four medical experts who all advised against it.

A compulsory testing program for all Hong Kong residents would create many problems, requiring complete border closures and quarantining of people until results are available, she said.

Click here for Chinese version

---------------------------------

Apple Daily’s all-new English Edition is now available on the mobile app: bit.ly/2yMMfQE

To download the latest version,

iOS: bit.ly/AD_iOS

Android: bit.ly/AD_android

Or search Appledaily in App Store or Google Play