The Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) announced today (September 8) that, in view of the latest situation of COVID-19, some leisure venues will be reopened in phases fromSeptember 11, while some museums, performance venues and public libraries will reopen gradually from September 14.
Outdoor leisure facilities to be reopened on September 11 (Friday) include skateparks, skateboard grounds, roller skating rinks, model car play areas, model boat pools, cycling facilities, outdoor badminton courts, outdoor table tennis tables, fitness equipment, pebble walking trails, the sports climbing wall and rope course facilities at Tuen Mun Recreation and Sports Centre, as well as sports grounds (for athletic training only).
Indoor leisure facilities to be reopened on September 17 (Thursday) include sports centre arenas (for badminton courts only), squash courts, table tennis rooms/tables, lawn bowl greens, golf driving bays, tennis courts, the cycling track of Hong Kong Velodrome, indoor jogging tracks, dance rooms/activity rooms, fitness rooms, billiard tables/American pool tables, gymnastic training halls, sports climbing facilities, the contact sports centre at Pei Ho Street Sports Centre, the Sanshou Training Hall at Lei Yue Mun Sports Centre and study corners in sports centres. Water sports centres will also reopen on the same day. Please refer to www.lcsd.gov.hk/en/common/pdf/reopen_sports_facilities_sep_en.pdf for details of the facilities to be reopened.
The Internet Booking Service of Leisure Link will resume on September 16 (Wednesday) for the public to book the above fee charging facilities. Counter bookings and self-service kiosks at the above leisure venues will resume operation on the same day of reopening. The Leisure Link Booking Office of the District Leisure Services Offices has resumed booking services earlier.
The LCSD will adopt special measures at leisure facilities to be reopened. Measures include limiting the number of players permitted to stay in the courts/lanes, closing spectator stands, cancelling organisation bookings for competitions and opening alternate rinks/bays. Furthermore, disinfectant carpets and alcohol-based hand rub will be in place and cleaning measures will be stepped up at the venues.
Various LCSD land-based and aquatic leisure facilities will continue to be temporarily closed. These facilities include team game facilities such as soccer pitches and basketball courts, children's play equipment, barbecue pits, public swimming pools and beaches. Recreational and sports programmes will also be cancelled until further notice.
Processing and acceptance of individual and block booking applications for non-fee charging land recreation and sports facilities as well as block booking applications for fee charging land recreation and sports facilities are maintained. Processing and application for use of amphitheatres and non-fee charging leisure venues for non-designated use/sales activities are suspended until further notice.
For refund arrangements in relation to earlier venue closures (there is no reallocation arrangement), the hirer may submit a completed refund application form together with the original booking permit to the reopened LCSD leisure venue or a Leisure Link Booking Office at a District Leisure Services Office. The application form can be downloaded from www.lcsd.gov.hk/en/aboutlcsd/forms/refund.html.
For cultural venues, LCSD museums (except the Hong Kong Science Museum and the Hong Kong Space Museum) will partially reopen their exhibition facilities on September 14, with interactive exhibits, public programmes and children facilities temporarily suspended. Special opening hours from 10am to 5pm daily (except on the regular closing day) will be implemented for all venues, including the box office of the Hong Kong Film Archive. All museums will apply visitor quota, with the Hong Kong Museum of Art, the Hong Kong Heritage Museum and the Hong Kong Museum of History applying visits by sessions to limit visitor flow.
On September 14, major facilities of the LCSD's performance venues such as concert halls, theatres, auditoriums, cultural activities halls and arenas will open for hirers' rehearsal use and performances or activities without live audiences. Among them, Hong Kong City Hall and Queen Elizabeth Stadium are now serving as community testing centres. They will be reopened on September 17 after the completion of the Universal Community Testing Programme and upon thorough cleaning and sterilisation. Moreover, having regard to the development of the epidemic situation, the LCSD's performance venues are expected to be opened for performances or activities with live audiences from October 1 onwards with special seating arrangements. The number of audience members will be limited to half of the original capacity.
The number of users in minor facilities of the performance venues such as rehearsal rooms, music/dance studios and lecture/conference/function rooms will be limited to half of the original capacity in most cases. For activities to be held in minor facilities, no more than four participants including the instructor in a cluster could be conducted, with appropriate distance maintained between groups. For details, please refer to the notifications of individual venues. All exhibition facilities in the LCSD's performance venues will also reopen. To avoid the gathering of people, no ceremonies will be allowed in the exhibition facilities. Visitor flows in exhibition facilities will be limited by arranging quotas. All hiring activities open to the public at outdoor facilities will remain suspended.
URBTIX will maintain Internet and mobile app ticketing and hotline services. URBTIX outlets and ticket dispensing machines at LCSD performance venues will resume operation together with the re-opened venues from September 14 onwards with special opening hours (from noon to 6.30pm daily). Ticket holders of cancelled events are advised to contact the respective event organisers or check their latest announcements on refund arrangements. For events that organisers choose to arrange refunds at URBTIX outlets, details will be announced on the URBTIX webpage in due course.
The Hong Kong Central Library (HKCL), six other major public libraries and 31 district libraries will be reopened on September 17 and will implement special opening hours. The opening hours will be 1pm to 8pm from Mondays to Saturdays and 9am to 5pm on Sundays and public holidays. To avoid the gathering of people, the libraries will arrange admission by two sessions. The two sessions for Mondays to Saturdays will run from 1pm to 4.30pm and 5pm to 8pm, while the sessions on Sundays and public holidays will run from 9am to 12.30pm and 1pm to 5pm. The students' study rooms of the above-mentioned libraries will resume service on the same day. The study rooms will implement the same special opening hours as the libraries. Admission will be arranged by sessions with the number of users limited. Reference libraries in the HKCL and six other major public libraries will also be reopened on the same day with reference enquiry services resumed.
Limited services, including lending and returning of library materials and picking up reserved library materials, will resume. Some of the computer facilities will resume service and will be open for telephone bookings. The newspaper and periodical areas and children facilities will remain closed. Please visit www.hkpl.gov.hk/en/index.html for details.
All music centres of the Music Office will resume counter services on September 17.
Visitors to facilities of museums, performance venues, libraries and music centres will need to use hand sanitiser and will be subject to temperature checks before admission. They also need to wear their own masks. Children under 12 will only be allowed to enter libraries, museums and exhibition facilities when accompanied by an adult. 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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