Thrilled to be back

Thousands of citizens flocked to theme parks, temples, gyms, cinemas and museums yesterday, savoring the freedom from Hong Kong's most stringent Covid-19 restrictions that lasted more than three months.

Many parents with children in tow waited at the gates of the theme parks before opening hours yesterday, eager to for thrill rides and other fun at Disneyland and Ocean Park.

A boy named Tang said he was so excited to visit Disneyland that he could not sleep the night before. "I am going to find Iron Man first, and then ride on the Orbitron," he said.

A mother named Ho said she was not worried about the crowd as the pandemic had been going on for more than two years, and brought her children as they would have to return to school next week.

Some secondary school students took the chance to visit Disneyland in Sunny Bay before in-person classes resume for secondary students.

A teenage girl said: "I'm really excited. It's been months since we last came, and school is going to resume. We can finally come and relax."

At Ocean Park in Wong Chuk Hang, visitors said they were looking forward to seeing the penguins and get on the rides, while others said they would use consumption vouchers to buy souvenirs.

Ocean Park chairman Lau Ming-wai said it's good news for the park to reopen as Hongkongers are tired of fighting the pandemic.

"For the Water World, it has to wait for the government to reopen beaches and swimming pools," he said.

Under the latest social distancing measures, theme parks can operate only at half capacity. Visitors must make bookings before their visit, and people aged 12 or above must fulfill the vaccine pass requirement. Apart from eating and drinking, visitors have to wear masks all the time.

Disneyland will open five days a week, closing on Tuesdays and Thursdays, while Ocean Park will open six days a week except on Tuesdays.

Queues were also seen at Wong Tai Sin Temple as more than 40 worshipers - including candidates sitting in this year's Diploma of Secondary Education exams starting today - lined up outside the temple from 6am yesterday.

They were waiting to say their prayers and make their offerings, as well as ask for blessings and prosperity from the "Great Immortal Wong."

Visitors have to use the LeaveHomeSafe app and fulfill the vaccine pass requirement.

A worshiper said: "I want to pray for health as I suffer from a lot of pain and illnesses and I feel better after coming here."

Man Mo Temple also saw many parents and students as they prayed for their studies and exams.

The faithful attended mass at the Catholic Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Mid-Levels yesterday morning, but people who could not fulfill the vaccine pass requirement could only hear the mass outside the church.

Meanwhile, fitness fanatics rushed to work out in the early hours yesterday to celebrate the reopening of gyms, including a few who went to a gym branch in San Po Kong right after midnight.

But 4ward Fitness in Mong Kok announced its closure on Wednesday to transfer all members to chained gym Physical.

Visitors have also returned to public sports facilities under the Leisure and Cultural Services Department. They were mostly fully booked yesterday.

A basketball coach, Lau Ka-ho, said on a radio program that it's more difficult to book venues these days as some sports centers have been transformed into health-care facilities.

The limited supply has led to scalpers, he claimed, with the price for a session on a basketball court going up to HK$1,600 from HK$300.

The department said later it would ban scalpers from booking facilities for 90 days if they were found to have violated the rules - idling the sites they booked - twice in 30 days.

A total of 7,355 people visited M+ Museum in West Kowloon yesterday, with more than a dozen people queuing outside before it opened at 10am. Board chairman Bernard Chan welcomed the first batch of visitors yesterday.

A woman named Ho paid a visit during her lunch break. She had planned to go to the museum earlier but had to reschedule due to the Omicron surge.