Major HK public services restored as pandemic abates

After a pandemic-induced shutdown of more than a month, most major public services in Hong Kong were restored on Monday morning.

The majority of the city's 170,000 civil servants will return to work in their offices on Monday. As of Sunday, the city had not seen a new case of COVID-19 transmitted locally for 14 days in a row.

On March 23, the government suspended most non-emergency public services and temporarily closed public places of leisure, and told civil servants to work from home to contain the transmission of virus.

About 4,800 civil servants had since worked from home and another approximately 30,000 had worked every other day to minimize the risk of coronavirus infection.

Outdoor sports grounds, public libraries and museums reopened in a phased manner on Monday. The current ban on gatherings of more than four people in public places at a time and the order to keep entertainment venues closed will remain in force through Thursday.

Visitors to any indoor public facility that reopened on Monday must wear masks, and will have their temperature checked.