Residents form a long line outside the community testing center at Henry G Leong Yaumatei Community Centre on Feb 16, 2021. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

HONG KONG - Hong Kong will relax its social-distancing rules starting Thursday as the city reported eight new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday.

In a briefing, Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan Siu-chee said the government will extend restaurant hours, double the number of people allowed to sit at one table, and reopen certain venues beginning Thursday, formalizing its plan to roll back restrictions as cases dwindled during the Chinese New Year.

Restaurants will be permitted to extend dining-in services until 10 pm, four hours longer than the current limit, Chan said. The city will allow four people to sit at the same table in restaurants, up from the current limit of two.

Restaurants will be permitted to extend dining-in services until 10 pm, four hours longer than the current limit. The city will allow four people to sit at the same table in restaurants, up from the current limit of two

ALSO READ: HK sees 9 COVID-19 cases, lowest since mid-Nov

Sports venues will also be allowed to reopen, together with beauty parlors, theme parks and cinemas. Businesses will be required to have their staff regularly tested for the virus, while their customers’ visits will need to be registered.

“Thanks to efforts by all the residents in Hong Kong, the local epidemic has cooled down,” said Chan. “We hope residents’ lives can gradually return to normalcy.”

The moves come as a welcome step for businesses and residents that have endured months of restrictions. The Asian financial hub has been battling its longest virus wave by re-introducing strict social-distancing measures since the end of November, putting pressure on the city’s battered economy.

Winter Wave Recedes

Hong Kong has seen infections fall to no more than a dozen in the past few days, after it deployed compulsory testing and neighborhood lockdowns in an attempt to achieve zero cases in the community. Officials last week said the city would officially relax its measures if the virus remained contained over the New Year holidays.

The limit of public gathering of no more than two people will be extended until March 3, Chan said, though the government is seeking to relax the measure. Party rooms, bars and swimming pools will remain closed.

Hong Kong residents have already been taking more public transportation and doing more shopping in the past week to celebrate the traditional festival, despite warnings from officials that the drop of cases came as less testing took place during the four-day public break.

ALSO READ: CE: Class resumption, reopening of leisure venues eyed after CNY

In a statement issued on Tuesday afternoon, the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) said the new infections included two imported cases while there were three untraceable local infections. 

A total of 302 infections were recorded in the past 14 days, including 261 local cases, of which 81 were from unknown sources, according to the Centre for Health Protection 

The CHP said the first untraceable case involved a 39-year-old housewife who  developed a fever and headache on February 9. She sought medical attention on February 13 and submitted a deep throat saliva sample on February 14. 

The second case of unknown origin involved a 53-year-old senior fireman at Kwai Chung Fire Station. He developed headache, cough and sore throat on February 4 and went to Pok Oi Hospital on February 14. He last went to work on February 10, the CHP said.

The third untraceable case involved an eight-year-old female student who is asymptomatic, it added.  

The CHP said a total of 302 infections were recorded in the past 14 days, including 261 local cases, of which 81 were from unknown sources.

Meanwhile, the Hospital Authority said a COVID-19 patient has passed away on Tuesday, taking the number of COVID-19 patients who died in public hospitals to 188.

The 82-year-old female patient with chronic diseases was admitted to Princess Margaret Hospital on January 20 due to dizziness, chest discomfort and a sore throat. She then tested positive for COVID-19.

Her condition continued to deteriorate and she passed away on Tuesday morning.

With Bloomberg inputs