HONG KONG: Hong Kong confirmed on Thursday it will ease some of the world’s most stringent COVID-19 restrictions, allowing beauty parlors, cinemas and gyms to reopen from April 21 as infections in the global financial hub hover below 2,000 per day.
The Chinese-ruled city has been hit by a fifth wave of coronavirus since early this year that has battered business and led to more than 8,600 deaths, many in the past two months, although cases have dropped in recent days.
Coronavirus restrictions have battered businesses and helped fuel a net outflow of around 70,000 people in February and March, up from nearly 17,000 in December, raising concerns over the city’s status as a global financial center.
The government said on Thursday up to four people could gather at any time from April 21, up from two currently, and restaurants could stay open until 10 p.m., extending opening hours for dining venues across the city from 6 p.m. Schools are also due to resume face-to-face classes from next week.
Bars, beaches and barbeque sites remain closed.
“Cases have dropped from a peak of over 70,000 a day to over 1,000 today; if the ... government still doesn’t relax (the restrictions), I think it’ll have a big impact to Hong Kong’s society and economy,” Chief Executive Carrie Lam said at a press briefing.
The number of daily infections in Hong Kong have been below 2,000 for a week, and the city recorded 1,272 cases on Wednesday.
Hong Kong’s border has effectively been shut since 2020 with few flights able to land and hardly any passengers allowed to transit, isolating a city that had built a reputation as a global hub.
For some businesses, the relaxations may be too late as many restaurants say they have had to lay off staff as they struggle to pay rent in one of the world’s most expensive real estate markets.
Until this year, Hong Kong had been far more successful at controlling the coronavirus than many other cities its size, but the latest wave of infections swamped its world-class medical system, and public confidence in the city government is at an all-time low.
Hong Kong confirms it will ease COVID-19 restrictions from April 21
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Hong Kong confirms it will ease COVID-19 restrictions from April 21
- Coronavirus restrictions have battered businesses and helped fuel a net outflow of around 70,000 people in February and March
- Hong Kong’s border has effectively been shut since 2020 with few flights able to land
Bangladesh’s religio-political party open to unity govt
- Opinion polls suggest that Jamaat-e-Islami will finish a close second to the Bangladesh Nationalist Party in the first election it has contested in nearly 17 years
DHAKA: A once-banned Bangladeshi religio-political party, poised for its strongest electoral showing in February’s parliamentary vote, is open to joining a unity government and has held talks with several parties, its chief said.
Opinion polls suggest that Jamaat-e-Islami will finish a close second to the Bangladesh Nationalist Party in the first election it has contested in nearly 17 years as it marks a return to mainstream politics in the predominantly Muslim nation of 175 million.
Jamaat last held power between 2001 and 2006 as a junior coalition partner with the BNP and is open to working with it again.
“We want to see a stable nation for at least five years. If the parties come together, we’ll run the government together,” Jamaat chief Shafiqur Rahman said in an interview at his office in a residential area in Dhaka, days after the party created a buzz by securing a tie-up with a Gen-Z party.
Rahman said anti-corruption must be a shared agenda for any unity government.
The prime minister will come from the party winning the most seats in the Feb. 12 election, he added. If Jamaat wins the most seats, the party will decide whether he himself would be a candidate, Rahman said.
The party’s resurgence follows the ousting of long-time Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in a youth-led uprising in August 2024.
Rahman said Hasina’s continued stay in India after fleeing Dhaka was a concern, as ties between the two countries have hit their lowest point in decades since her downfall.
Asked about Jamaat’s historical closeness to Pakistan, Rahman said: “We maintain relations in a balanced way with all.”
He said any government that includes Jamaat would “not feel comfortable” with President Mohammed Shahabuddin, who was elected unopposed with the Awami League’s backing in 2023.
