Today the government updated the gazetted directions and specifications under the Prevention and Control of Disease (Requirements and Directions) (Business and Premises) Regulation (Cap. 599F) to further tighten social distancing measures.
The updated directions are effective from 00:01, 18 February, 2021
Restaurants
Allowed to open to 10pm and a maximum of 4 persons will be allowed per table. Staff to ensure that customers…
Wear masks
Check their temperature
Do not allow more people than permitted
Use hand sanitiser
Make sure people are socially distanced.
ALL patrons may only enter if they have scanned using the Leave Home Safe app or leave with the outlet their last name, mobile phone number and the time that person entered and exited the premises. All records must be kept for 31 days.
Restaurants must also ensure that all working staff members are tested every 14 days. All test records must be kept for 31 days.
For those restaurants that have not complied with all of the new conditions, these outlets will only be allowed to open till 6pm and a maximum of two people will be allowed on each table.
Restaurants that fail to comply with these new rules could be fined up to HKD 50,000 or imprisoned for up 6 months.
Premises That May ReOpen:
All sports ground both indoor and Outdoor
Beauty parlours
Gyms
Massage parlours
Cinemas
Amusement parks
Video Game Centers
Ice Skating Rinks
Bowling Alleys
Premises That Remain Closed:
Party Rooms
Bathhouses
Discos/Night Clubs
Karaokes
Mahjong Parlors
Swimming Pools
Beaches
Public Gatherings:
No more than 2 persons can gather together at any one time.
Kung Hei Fat Choi 恭喜發財 All of us here at bc magazine would like to wish our readers, advertisers, and suppliers a Happy, Healthy, Prosperous and Covid free Year of the Ox
The Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA) announced today that from 11 February 2021 leisure facilities including badminton courts, table tennis tables, tennis courts, gateball courts, fitness equipment and peddle walk trails… will REOPEN!
The HA reminded people that the group gathering ban is still in force and that unless exempted, group gatherings of more than the permitted number in public places are strictly prohibited.
Members of the public are required to wear a mask when using these facilities.
As part of Black History Month, Larger Than Life: The American Civil Rights Movementin Documentariestakes place online from 25 February to 1 March 2021. To raise awareness and promote cultural and racial harmony in Hong Kong, this free film showcase introduces major figures in the African-American civil rights movement from the 1950s to the 1970s, including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, the Black Panthers and Shirley Chisholm.
Their philosophies still affect racial, class and gender relations in America and the world to this day. The documentaries explore their influential roles in contributing to the social progress towards greater political and cultural understanding. There will be after-screening talks and a talk on racial relations in Hong Kong.
Brilliant! The undoubted highlight of Biden’s presidential inauguration ceremony was the 6-minute recital of The Hill We Climb by Amanda Gormon. Listen to it, read it…
The Hill We Climb
When day comes we ask ourselves, where can we find light in this never-ending shade? The loss we carry, a sea we must wade We’ve braved the belly of the beast We’ve learned that quiet isn’t always peace And the norms and notions of what just is Isn’t always just-ice And yet the dawn is ours before we knew it Somehow we do it Somehow we’ve weathered and witnessed a nation that isn’t broken but simply unfinished.
We the successors of a country and a time Where a skinny Black girl descended from slaves and raised by a single mother can dream of becoming president only to find herself reciting for one And yes we are far from polished far from pristine but that doesn’t mean we are striving to form a union that is perfect We are striving to forge a union with purpose To compose a country committed to all cultures, colors, characters and conditions of man.
And so we lift our gazes not to what stands between us but what stands before us We close the divide because we know, to put our future first, we must first put our differences aside We lay down our arms so we can reach out our arms to one another We seek harm to none and harmony for all.
Let the globe, if nothing else, say this is true: That even as we grieved, we grew That even as we hurt, we hoped That even as we tired, we tried That we’ll forever be tied together, victorious Not because we will never again know defeat but because we will never again sow division.
Scripture tells us to envision that everyone shall sit under their own vine and fig tree And no one shall make them afraid If we’re to live up to our own time Then victory won’t lie in the blade But in all the bridges we’ve made.
That is the promise to glade The hill we climb If only we dare It’s because being American is more than a pride we inherit, it’s the past we step into and how we repair it We’ve seen a force that would shatter our nation rather than share it Would destroy our country if it meant delaying democracy And this effort very nearly succeeded But while democracy can be periodically delayed it can never be permanently defeated.
In this truth in this faith we trust For while we have our eyes on the future history has its eyes on us This is the era of just redemption We feared at its inception We did not feel prepared to be the heirs of such a terrifying hour but within it we found the power to author a new chapter To offer hope and laughter to ourselves So while once we asked, how could we possibly prevail over catastrophe? Now we assert How could catastrophe possibly prevail over us?
We will not march back to what was but move to what shall be A country that is bruised but whole, benevolent but bold, fierce and free We will not be turned around or interrupted by intimidation because we know our inaction and inertia will be the inheritance of the next generation Our blunders become their burdens But one thing is certain: If we merge mercy with might, and might with right, then love becomes our legacy and change our children’s birthright.
So let us leave behind a country better than the one we were left with Every breath from my bronze-pounded chest, we will raise this wounded world into a wondrous one We will rise from the gold-limbed hills of the west, we will rise from the windswept northeast where our forefathers first realized revolution We will rise from the lake-rimmed cities of the midwestern states, we will rise from the sunbaked south We will rebuild, reconcile and recover and every known nook of our nation and every corner called our country, our people diverse and beautiful will emerge, battered and beautiful When day comes we step out of the shade, aflame and unafraid The new dawn blooms as we free it For there is always light, if only we’re brave enough to see it If only we’re brave enough to be it.
After originally cancelling the Lunar New Year (LNY) fairs. The Government has backtracked and announced new arrangements for the sale of New Year flowers from 6-11 February.
The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) will now set up points of sale at the 15 sites originally designated for the LNY fairs. The number of stalls at the sites selling flowers will be reduced by approximately half.
A spokesman for the FEHD said, “The points of sale of New Year flowers will be opened during the period from 6-11 February. Stall operators may use the sites for free, but must comply with the ground rules and anti-epidemic measures, e.g. provision of hand sanitisers at stalls, provision of a list of staff and their contact information for tracing of confirmed cases, etc.”
“To make our anti-epidemic efforts effective, the footfall at points of sale will be monitored with the use of technology and various anti-epidemic measures will be strictly enforced. Stall operators and their staff at points of sale will also be required to undergo virus testing within 48 hours before the opening of the points of sale. The FEHD will provide one-off free testing services for them,” the spokesman added.