Hong Kong extends dine-in ban and social distancing measures until 25 August

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The Hong Kong government announced yesterday that the existing social distancing measures and dine-in ban will continue for another week, starting tomorrow.

It remains mandatory to wear a face mask in both indoor and outdoor public spaces, including public transport. The two-person limit for public gatherings is still effective, while eating in restaurants between 6pm and 5am will continue to be banned.

"It has been over a month since the beginning of the third wave and the public is understandably starting to be fatigued by the social-distancing measures. However, it is not yet time for relaxation and there is no room for complacency in epidemic control," a spokesperson of the Food and Health Bureau said. 

“The stubbornly high proportion of new cases with unknown sources of infection at some 40% … indicates that silent, or sub-clinical, transmission chains are prevalent in the community."

Professor Gabriel Leung, dean of the University of Hong Kong's faculty of medicine echoed this sentiment, citing that the transmission rate had started to rise again. 

“Now is definitely not the time to consider lifting any measures, we are at a critical stage and must hold our nerve for at least two more weeks,” he said.

As of Monday, Hong Kong has gone two weeks with fewer than 100 infections per day.