Hong Kong to resume public services next week, city chief Carrie Lam said, but no word on ending social isolation.
Public services will start to return to normal next Monday when most of the officials return to their offices, city chief Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said.
But the CEO would not confirm whether the restrictions on social eviction and arrivals on the continent, which both expire on May 7, will be extended, noting that any release should take place gradually.
“I want to emphasize that there are fluctuations in the number of cases,” said Lam on Tuesday. “So we couldn’t completely repeal these restrictions [all at once], and we could only do so gradually.
“We must reapply these restrictions when necessary, until a vaccine is found and most people are immunized, only then can we let down our guards.”
Confirming the Post’s report, Lam said most of the 180,000 government workers would stop working from home and that all utilities would resume normal working hours, noting that the number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the city had decreased in recent weeks.
“The government has decided internally that we will resume public services next Monday,” said Lam. “Public services are already slowly resuming and will resume normal operation next week.”
She added that libraries, museums and outdoor spaces for public facilities, such as sports fields, will reopen next week.