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HONG KONG, Sept. 11 (SCMP): Crowds of people flocked to ice skating rinks, arcade centers and restaurants across Hong Kong on Friday, as the government eased social distancing measures implemented to combat the coronavirus.
In a move many hope will revitalize the city’s stagnant economy, officials lifted restrictions on how many people are allowed to eat together, how many can gather in public, and awarded a variety of businesses, including museums, lounges. mahjong and ice skating rinks. , as well as most indoor and outdoor sports facilities, permission to reopen.
However, bars and pubs, thermal baths, party rooms, clubs or discos, karaoke venues, swimming pools and beaches remain closed.
At around 10 a.m., in a large game center in Sha Tin, dozens of enthusiastic fans, from teenagers to the elderly, were already glued to their consoles.
In Tsim Sha Tsui, a major tourist and commercial neighborhood before the pandemic, more people were queuing for restaurants in shopping malls compared to those on main streets.
Under the latest rules, four people per table are allowed in restaurants, instead of two, but the ban on dinner services from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. remains unchanged, while public gatherings have been relaxed from two to four. persons.
A queue of more than 20 customers lined up for a table outside JS Foodies, a hamburger restaurant in the Harbor City Mall, just before 1 p.m. M.
Eve Leung and two of her colleagues who are on unpaid leave from a travel agency were among them.
“We believe it is now safe to eat together in restaurants because Covid-19 cases have been declining,” Leung said. “We can also use dinner coupons from the mall, with a discount of around HK $ 50 per person.
“Hopefully, the pandemic can go away soon, so more people can eat out and help out troubled restaurants.”
At NMC Noodles on Hau Fook Street, about 20 people waited for their take out orders while four small groups queued for a table.
Mary Chan and two other colleagues were among those waiting to be seated.
“It’s much more convenient now with the ease of the restrictions because before three of us still dined together, but we were separated into a table for two and an extra table for one person,” he said.
It was a different story at the Yuen Kee restaurant on Granville Road, with only a dozen diners seated one person per table for early lunch around 12.30pm.
“Business has not recovered in the last two weeks, even when we were allowed to open until 10 pm. Our location is in a tourist hotspot and we really suffered a lot when the tourists stopped coming, ”said a waiter, who gave her last name as Yau.
Yau said she expected groups of four to gradually return over the weekend, but added that office workers can choose to order as they could get a 15 percent discount on their takeout menu, which normally costs HK $ 60 per person.
At a different mall, Angel Lam and her friend Susanne Cheung said they were relieved that social distancing measures have been relaxed.
“Maybe we will invite more friends to dinner together in the next few weeks, we are not particularly scared by the coronavirus, but more because everyone is busy,” said Lam, who works in the hotel industry.
The couple, in their 30s, said food enthusiasts like themselves had waited months to get out to eat with friends. – South China Morning Mail
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