Hong Kong to lift public gathering limit to 12 in reopening push

HONG KONG will increase the number of people allowed to gather in public, with the substantial tweak to one of its most criticised Covid rules marking another gradual step towards reviving its reputation as a financial hub.

As many as 12 people will be able to congregate together in public places starting Oct 20, the government said in a statement late on Tuesday (Oct 18). That’s up from the current limit of four people.

The change brings the rule in line with the cap for groups at restaurants, gyms and theme parks. But the ongoing limits have been criticised by health professionals as lacking scientific support given as many as 240 people are allowed to attend an indoor banquet.

Hong Kong residents have endured tight control over gatherings throughout the pandemic, with the city capping congregations at just two people when cases surged. But its Covid fight has coincided with a crackdown on dissent, and officials have used the limits on groups - kept at single digits even during last year’s almost seven-month streak of zero local infections - as reason to refuse applications for protests.

Officials have scrapped mandatory hotel quarantine for inbound travellers and allowed live performances and dancing to resume from Oct 20. But other rules that remain underscore the difficult balance authorities are attempting to strike between re-opening with a world that’s living with the virus, while not straying too far from the Covid Zero approach deployed in mainland China.

Business groups have repeatedly called for all remaining restrictions, including the stringent testing regimen for new arrivals, to be scrapped if Hong Kong is to salvage its economy and standing as a financial centre. A key test of how successful recent rule changes have been looms, with the city preparing to host a banking summit and an international rugby competition in early November.

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Still, Hong Kong has trailed the reopening efforts of all of its major financial hub rivals, especially regional rival Singapore. Many expatriates have left the city for Singapore, which started easing its own Covid Zero regime in the spring and stuck with it even as case counts rebounded. BLOOMBERG