A street view in Hong Kong, China, February 28, 2020. /Xinhua
Hong Kong announced Wednesday further relaxation of social distancing measures as daily new COVID-19 infections retreated to the lowest point in about two months.
Effective for seven days from Friday, a dine-in ban for restaurants will be extended to 10 p.m. local time, from the allowed 9 p.m. local, Sophia Chan, secretary for food and health of the government of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), said at a press conference Wednesday afternoon.
Gyms, massage parlors, and some indoor and outdoor stadiums can also reopen on condition of anti-disease measures, Chan said.
Some restrictions over social activities were already lifted last week. New cases stood at nine and 12 on Monday and Tuesday, respectively, down significantly from the peak of triple-digit growth.
The decision to loosen regulations came a day after the HKSAR began citywide free nucleic acid testing, a program that received help from the Chinese mainland and allows each of the city's 7.5 million residents to take one free test.
Nearly 800,000 Hong Kong residents have pre-registered for the mass testing as of Wednesday evening.
A testing station at Queen Elizabeth Stadium in Hong Kong, China, September 1, 2020. /Xinhua
More than 300 medical staff sent by the central government are helping the city fight the pandemic.
Hong Kong's Center for Health Protection reported eight new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, bringing the total confirmed cases to 4,830. All the new patients got infected locally, and four transmissions were untraceable.
Despite the loosening, mandatory mask-wearing rules in public areas and a ban on group gatherings over two will continue. Chan described fighting the COVID-19 as a protracted war and called on the public to remain alert and social distance.
Chan also called on residents to actively participate in an ongoing universal community testing program aimed at screening asymptomatic patients and cutting transmissions. The government said more than 120,000 people took virus tests on Tuesday, the first day of the program.
COVID-19 has taken 92 lives in the HKSAR, and about 300 patients are still hospitalized, with 25 in critical condition.
(With input from agencies)