Hong Kong govt staff to WFH for the third time this year

This will be the third time this year government employees, excluding those in emergency services, have been mandated to work from home.

In addition to closing government offices, Hong Kong has also closed swimming pools and schools, as well as limiting public gatherings to two persons.

These measures come in the wake of a “very severe” upsurge in COVID-19 cases. There were 76 new confirmed cases on Monday, nine of which were untraceable; another 115 were reported on Sunday.

“I don’t want the public to mistakenly reckon that the peak of the epidemic is over already,” Lam said.  She also urged private companies to allow their staff to WFH as much as possible, reported The China Post.

Two hotels with a total of 800 rooms have been designated by the government as quarantine centres, Lam said, adding that three government facilities with 600 to 700 beds earlier utilised for quarantine purposes will be reopened.

READ: COVID-19 subsidy only for workers in Hong Kong without paid sick leave

For restaurants, the dine-in limit per table will be set to two persons, and the closing timing for business will be shifted from midnight to 10 pm. For gyms, only two persons are allowed in the premises at any one time.

Fines for violations will increase, Lam said, but she gave no details.
“We are now closing everything, almost everything, except the restaurants because we are meeting the daily needs of the people,” she said.