A man wearing a face mask walks through Lan Kwai Fong in the central district of Hong Kong on March 21, 2020.
(ISAAC LAWRENCE / AFP)
HONG KONG - Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said on Monday morning that a reported April 2 gathering of about 40 people at a pub, in which a lawmaker took part, did not qualify for exemption from a current ban on the gathering of more than four people at a time in a public place. The ban, valid for 14 days, came into effect on March 29.
In a post on her social account, Lam said that exemption to the ban would only apply to proceedings in the Legislative Council or District Council. Legislators participating in or organizing group gatherings outside the council for whatever purpose would not be exempt, she said.
About 40 people, including opposition lawmaker Tanya Chan Suk-chong, were reported to have gathered at a bar amid a ban on public gatherings of more than four people
About 40 people, including opposition lawmaker Tanya Chan Suk-chong, were reported to have gathered at a bar on the night of April 2 after the two-week ban came to effect on March 29. Anyone defying the ban faces a maximum penalty of a fine of HK$25,000 and a jail term of up to six months, according to existing regulation.
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The reported gathering has drawn wide criticism from the community.
In response, Chan said, as a lawmaker, she qualified for exemption for having a meeting. She also said the gathering in a bar, with its shutter partially down, did not constitute a breach of the ban as the bar had not been open for business at that time.
A government spokesman said in a statement on Saturday that a public place refers to any place that people can access from time to time, including restaurants, bars and cinemas.
Thus, the bar in question might be considered a public place, the spokesman said. What’s more, the spokesman said, premises such as bars were considered high-risk venues in spreading the novel coronavirus that causes the deadly COVID-19.
READ MORE: HK sees 5 more bar-related infections as tally hits 845
Among the 573 confirmed cases recorded between March 19 and April 1, 132, or 23 percent, constituted local infections.
More than half of which, or 69 cases, involved bars and similar establishments, including in 28 cases in which the patients had visited different bars in Central. In addition, clusters of outbreak have been identified in bars in Wan Chai and Tsim Sha Tsui.
In light of these cases, the Secretary for Food and Health required the temporary closure of a number of public venues, including bars and pubs for 14 days, with effect from 6 pm on April 3.
