Entertainment venues to stay open

Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said the government would not force cinemas and entertainment venues to close, as Hong Kong is a free economy.

She said operators of these venues are very concerned about infection and there are sufficient precautionary measures to avoid infection.

"We are not going for compulsory closure because Hong Kong is a free society and I believe many of these operators are already taking very strong precautionary measures," Lam said.

She again urged citizens to stay at home as much as possible, and avoid social interaction.

This came one day after Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan Siu-chee on Monday urged operators of venues like cinemas, karaoke bars, tutorial schools and clubhouses to consider suspending business to reduce social interaction, especially during the "crucial period" in the coming two weeks.

All entertainment venues, including massage parlors were ordered to close since Lunar New Year Eve in Shenzhen.

Lam yesterday repeated the government has no plan to legislate the pricing and distribution of masks, echoing a government statement issued earlier.

She said the government is making every effort to purchase face masks from all around the world and plans to start local production of masks are pressing ahead. The government has arranged manpower to assist those interested in producing masks, she said before the weekly Executive Council meeting yesterday.

Sunny Ho Lap-kee, executive director of Hong Kong Shippers' Council, said it might not be suitable to limit the price of masks, as it would reduce the incentive for merchants to import masks and would not be helpful in increasing supply.

Lam also said it would not make sense to talk about "boundary closures" now, as the number of people crossing the borders has gone down over the past few days.

"The effect of further closing the boundary crossings would no longer be banning entries of people, but would ban those freight transports that we need," Lam said.

She added that those Hong Kong residents who need to come back would also be banned under such closures.

"It is now meaningless to talk about the so-called 'boundary closure' now, as the number of people crossing the borders have already been minimized," she said, adding only several dozen mainland visitors were entering Hong Kong daily over the past few days.

According to statistics on passenger traffic on the immigration department's website, 832 mainlanders arrived on Monday. Of those, 766 came through the airport, 10 through the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, and 56 through Shenzhen Bay.

Lam disagreed that those placed under compulsory quarantine were "spreading the virus" in the community, saying they were from the low risk group and did not have any respiratory symptoms.

She said that despite urging those under quarantine to be self-disciplined, the government also saw the importance of law enforcement, and had thus allocated more manpower and resources.

The government would consider charging people who do not obey the quarantine order, requiring them to wear an electric bracelet to track their location or putting them in quarantine centers, Lam added.