Hong Kong to ease Covid restrictions for vaccinated people

Hong Kong plans to ease social-distancing rules for those vaccinated against the coronavirus to incentivize more people to get inoculated so the city can further reopen for business.

Now that Hong Kong’s outbreak is "obviously contained,” the government will consider "vaccine bubbles” that allow vaccinated people greater freedom of movement, Chief Executive Carrie Lam said at a briefing Monday. If more people get vaccinated, restaurants could extend dine-in hours to 2 a.m. and as many as eight people would be able to sit at a table, up from four now, she said. "I hereby encourage all citizens to get vaccinated and support our new direction in fighting the pandemic to protect ourselves and family members,” Lam said. "Hong Kong’s vaccination rate can be improved further. In other words, it’s not ideal, especially considering that we have very sufficient supply and convenient infrastructure.”