The Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) announced today (May 10) that, in view of the latest situation of COVID-19, more leisure and cultural venues of the LCSD will be reopened on May 21. Some recreation and sports programmes as well as outreach music classes will also resume from June 1.
Leisure facilities to be reopened on May 21 (Thursday) include most of the public swimming pools (only for selected swimming pool facilities such as main pools and secondary pools), dance rooms/activity rooms, fitness rooms, sports climbing facilities, billiard/American pool tables, a gymnastic training hall, barbecue sites, Pui O camp site, water sports centres, sports climbing and rope course facilities at Tuen Mun Recreation and Sports Centre. Details of the facilities to be reopened will be announced in due course.
In addition, changing rooms and shower facilities in reopened LCSD fee charging venues, such as sports grounds, sports centres, squash courts, tennis courts, bowling greens, Tuen Mun Recreation and Sports Centre, will be reopened from tomorrow (May 11). Special measures will be adopted such as opening alternate shower cubicles or shower heads, arranging body temperature screening and stepping up regular cleaning and disinfection of the shower cubicles and storage cabinets.
Members of the public can book the reopened indoor leisure facilities via the Internet Booking Service of Leisure Link, Leisure Link Booking Office of the District Leisure Services Offices, Leisure Link Booking Office of the reopened facilities and Self-service Kiosks starting from May 20 (Wednesday). Leisure Link Booking Office of the water sports centres will resume booking services on the same day of reopening of leisure facilities.
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.
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. The LCSD will adopt special measures at leisure facilities to be reopened. Measures including stepping up cleansing work, arranging body temperature screening for all people entering indoor venues, limiting the numbers of users at venues, and opening alternate tables or with specific distance.
The LCSD will also resume some recreation and sports programmes at outdoor and indoor venues as well as those organised at the water sports centres from June 1 (Monday). These include tennis, golf, tai chi, lawn bowl, badminton, squash, table tennis, aerobic, multi-gym fitness, social dance, canoeing and windsurfing, etc. To reduce the social contacts and the risk of infection, the number of participants for each programme will limit to eight people (including tutors) or the number of people as stipulated by the law.
Members of the public could make enrolment on a first-come-first-served basis from 25 May 2020 (Monday) via internet, booking counters at the LCSD's District Leisure Services Offices and leisure venues with Leisure Link Services and self-service kiosks. Details of programmes and enrolment will be uploaded onto the LCSD website later. The public can also approach District Leisure Services Offices for enquiries.
Processing and acceptance of individual and block booking applications for the department's non-fee charging land recreation and sports facilities, block booking applications for the fee charging land recreation and sports facilities, applications for use of wedding venues, amphitheatres and non-fee charging leisure venues for non-designated use/sales activities are suspended until further notice.
The arrangement of block booking of swimming pool facilities after reopening of public swimming pools is to be announced.
Regarding cultural venues, the adult and children's libraries of another 12 district libraries will partially reopen on May 21 and implement special opening hours. They include the Aberdeen Public Library, Chai Wan Public Library, Lockhart Road Public Library, Lai Chi Kok Public Library, Lam Tin Public Library, Ngau Chi Wan Public Library, Yau Ma Tei Public Library, Fanling Public Library, Tai Po Public Library, Tiu Keng Leng Public Library, Tsing Yi Public Library and Tung Chung Public Library. The opening hours of these 12 district libraries will be 1pm to 8pm from Mondays to Saturdays and 9am to 5pm on Sundays and public holidays.
To avoid people gathering, the libraries will arrange admission by sessions, with each session lasting about one hour. Admission slips will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis for entry to each session. Children under 12 will only be allowed to enter when accompanied by an adult. Limited services including lending and returning of library materials and picking up reserved library materials will be offered. Some of the computer facilities will resume service and open for telephone booking. The newspaper and periodical areas will remain closed.
The students' study rooms of the 12 abovementioned public libraries and the five major libraries which have reopened (including Kowloon, Ping Shan Tin Shui Wai, Sha Tin, Tsuen Wan, Tuen Mun Public Libraries) will resume service on the same day. The students' study rooms will implement special opening hours same as the abovementioned libraries. Admission is arranged by sessions with each lasting about three hours and the number of users limited.
The self-service library stations at Island East Sports Centre Sitting-out Area, the Hong Kong Cultural Centre and Tsuen Nam Road, Tai Wai, and all book drop services of the Hong Kong Public Libraries including those at MTR Central, Kowloon Tong and Nam Cheong stations have resumed service. Public libraries will continue to provide online services such as e-Books and e-Databases. Please visit www.hkpl.gov.hk/en/index.html for details.
In addition, a few outreach music courses for adults organised by the Music Office will resume on June 1 with a limit to eight participants (including tutors) or the number of people as stipulated by the law within a class.
Visitors to the public libraries and Music Office's Music Centres will need to use hand sanitizer and will be subject to temperature checks before admission, they are also advised to wear their own masks. Enhanced measures including cleansing 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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