THE EAST HEALTH

HONG KONG REOPENS BEACHES, BEIJING RELAXES QUARANTINE RULES

HONG KONG REOPENS BEACHES, BEIJING RELAXES QUARANTINE RULES
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Ekeomah Atuonwu

Hong Kong reopened beaches and pools on Thursday as part of a relaxation of COVID-19 restrictions, while China’s capital Beijing began relaxing quarantine rules for foreign visitors.

Hong Kong had closed water sports venues due to an outbreak of the highly transmissible omicron variant, but has eased restrictions as the number of new cases falls. COVID-19-related deaths have dropped from nearly 300 per day in March to zero in recent days.

Restaurants can now have up to eight customers per table, a jump from four previously, and masks are no longer required during outdoor exercise, a change that will primarily benefit organizers of group sporting events.

People wearing face masks line up for COVID-19 tests on the third consecutive day of mass coronavirus testing in Beijing, Thursday, May 5, 2022. Hong Kong on Thursday reopened beaches and pools in a relaxation of COVID-19 restrictions, while China’s capital Beijing began easing quarantine rules for arrivals from overseas /AP/

“We’re looking forward to Mother’s Day, and being able to have up to eight people sitting at a table,” said William So, Assistant General Manager of the London Restaurant, a long-time destination for traditional dim sum. Dim sum is a large range of small Chinese dishes that are traditionally enjoyed in restaurants for brunch.

A new round of relaxation is set to begin on May 19, when bars and clubs will be allowed to reopen and restaurants in the southern Chinese city will be allowed to serve customers until midnight.

All residents are required to undergo three virus tests throughout the week as authorities seek to detect and isolate cases without imposing the sort of sweeping lockdowns seen in Shanghai and elsewhere. A negative test result obtained within the previous 48 hours is required to enter most public spaces.

China has maintained its hardline “zero-COVID” policy, but has imposed fewer onerous restrictions on the capital than in other cities such as Shanghai, where millions have been placed under strict lockdown.

Arrivals from other countries will now be required to stay in a hotel for 10 days before returning home for another week of isolation.

People wearing face masks line up for COVID-19 tests on the third consecutive day of mass coronavirus testing in Beijing. Hong Kong on Thursday reopened beaches and pools in a relaxation of COVID-19 restrictions, while China’s capital Beijing began easing quarantine rules for arrivals from overseas /AP/ 

Previous regulations mandated 21 days of isolation, at least 14 of which had to be spent in a hotel, followed by seven days of regular health reporting.

With only a handful of daily international flights into Beijing, the rule change is expected to have little practical effect. Symbolically, however, it appears to show a willingness to compromise with demands for a less intrusive and economically damaging policy.

Beijing on Thursday reported just 50 new cases, eight of them asymptomatic.

Shanghai also saw a drop to 4,651 new cases, all but 261 asymptomatic, with an additional 13 deaths. China’s biggest city recorded a daily peak of 27,605 new cases on April 13.

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Ekeomah Atuonwu

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