The Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) announced today (July 1) that, in view of the latest situation of COVID-19, more leisure facilities and venues will reopen from July 3 (Friday), and some restrictions on the reopened facilities will be relaxed. Meanwhile, the percentage of seating capacity in all LCSD’s performance venues will be expanded starting from the same date, and all public libraries will resume normal opening hours from July 7 (Tuesday) onwards.
Among the leisure venues, amphitheatres, spectator stands of indoor and outdoor leisure facilities will reopen for individual leisure use/individual use from July 3. Two more swimming pools will reopen on the same day. They are Mui Wo Swimming Pool and North Kwai Chung Jockey Club Swimming Pool. Please refer to www.lcsd.gov.hk/en/beach/common/documents/reopen_annex1_703.pdf for the list of reopened swimming pools. For details of facilities being opened in swimming pools, please refer to notices displayed at venues. Reopened swimming pools will operate from 6.30am to 10pm daily, for three sessions with two breaks.
Four more gazetted beaches will be reopened from July 3, namely South Bay Beach on Hong Kong Island and Approach Beach, Lower Cheung Sha Beach and Clear Water Bay First Beach in the New Territories. Please refer to www.lcsd.gov.hk/en/beach/common/documents/reopen_annex2_703.pdf for a list of reopened beaches. Lifeguard services will be provided daily at the reopened beaches from 9am to 6pm. Extended lifeguard services, 8am to 7pm, are provided on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays during peak period from June to August. Apart from the previously reopened gazetted beaches and the beaches to be reopened as mentioned above, all other beaches will remain closed with lifeguard services suspended. The public should neither swim nor gather at the closed beaches for reasons of social distancing and safety.
The LCSD appeals to venue users to comply with the Prevention and Control of Disease (Prohibition on Group Gathering) Regulation (Cap 599G) on the prohibition of group gatherings of more than the number of people as stipulated by the law.
Shower cubicles or shower heads with partitions in reopened leisure facilities will fully open (no longer open alternately) from July 3. Shower heads without partitions will open but continue maintaining 1.5 metres apart. The LCSD will continue to step up cleansing work at reopened leisure facilities and arrange body temperature screening for all people entering indoor venues.
Processing and acceptance of booking applications for amphitheatres and non-fee charging leisure venues for non-designated use/sales activities are suspended until further notice.
　　
Regarding cultural venues, the limit on the number of audiences/users in all LCSD’s performance venues will be relaxed starting from July 3, with seating capacity to be increased from 50 to 80 percent of the original. Consecutive seats will be limited to 16. All bookings for speech day events can resume. Eating or drinking is not allowed in the facilities of all performance venues. For details please refer to the notifications of individual venues.
For public programmes to be held at museums and cultural venues, including the Cinema of the Hong Kong Film Archive, the limit on the number of audiences/users and other arrangements will be the same as the above-mentioned performance venues, with capacity increased to 80 percent. Children facilities remain closed.
All Hong Kong Public Libraries and their Students’ Study Rooms will resume normal opening hours from July 7 onwards. To help ensure public safety, libraries will continue to implement precautionary measures, including arrangement of cleaning session during opening hours. Please visit www.hkpl.gov.hk/en/index.html for details.
Visitors to facilities of the performance venues, museums and public libraries will need to use hand sanitiser and will be subject to temperature checks before admission. Audiences will need to wear their own masks in the venues. Children under 12 will only be allowed to enter exhibition facilities, museums and libraries when accompanied by an adult. People with fever, respiratory symptoms or sudden loss of taste or smell should avoid going to the venues. Enhanced measures including cleaning and disinfection between sessions will be conducted.
The LCSD will continue to monitor the situation closely and review the arrangements in a timely manner.
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