(Bloomberg) — Hong Kong is imposing new virus control measures for the first time in almost a year as the highly transmissible omicron variant seeps into the community and threatens to spur a winter wave.
The city will ban indoor dining after 6 p.m. and close some venues, according to reports from local media outlets including the South China Morning Post and Oriental Daily. The new rules return to social distancing restrictions that were in place a year ago and eased after Chinese New Year in 2021.
The tightening comes as the Asian financial hub this week preliminarily reported the first local coronavirus case that officials were unable to trace to its source. The government has been trying to contain an omicron cluster linked to a local restaurant, which triggered the first local transmissions in nearly seven months.
Hong Kong is one of the only places in the world that hasn’t experienced a delta outbreak. The growing number of omicron cases and a looming expansion of the vaccine mandate has enlivened the city’s stagnant immunization rollout. While 66% of the city’s population has received a first injection, just 22% of the over-80 population have started the immunization process.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2022 Bloomberg L.P.
