Photo/Illutration A man wearing a mask to protect against the coronavirus, runs along the waterfront of Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong, Monday, Oct. 26, 2020. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

HONG KONG--Hong Kong will reopen public beaches and increase the number of people allowed to sit together in bars and restaurants starting Friday as the city continues to unwind strict COVID-19 rules put in place in July. Sophia Chan, the Chinese special administrative region’s health secretary, said that six people would be allowed to sit together in restaurants, up from four. Bars will be able to seat four people together, up from two.

All dining facilities will be able to stay open until 2 a.m., later than the current midnight closing time.

Chan said public beaches would reopen Friday with social distancing measures, including masks and bans on large gatherings, still in place. “The epidemic situation has continued to subside over the past two weeks,” Chan told a news briefing. She cautioned that residents needed to remain vigilant to fight the virus, as there are still unknown transmission chains in the community.

The relaxation of measures comes as the Asian financial hub has maintained single digit or no new local cases in recent weeks. However, the city has continued to register imported cases.

“Globally, there is a worsening epidemic situation that may continue to pose some public health risk to Hong Kong,” she said.

The government began to relax restrictions on dining, sports facilities and theme parks in September after a mass testing program organized by the Chinese government found 42 cases.

The program screened 1.8 million people--almost a quarter of Hong Kong’s population.

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