The Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) announced that, in view of the first phase of relaxation of social distancing measures announced by the Government, some leisure and cultural venues will be reopened from April 21 (Thursday).
Leisure venues
Members of the public can book the above fee-charging facilities to be reopened via the Internet Booking Service of Leisure Link from April 16 (Saturday). The Booking Office of the District Leisure Services Offices (DLSOs) will resume operation from April 19 (Tuesday). Counter bookings and self-service kiosks at the above venues to be reopened will resume operation on the same day of reopening (April 21). Regarding the booking of leisure facilities, the LCSD will adjust the quota of individual booking from a maximum of four hours play per day to a maximum of two hours play per day during non-peak hours for the same type of facility at individual venues. The quota of individual bookings per day during peak hours remains the same (a maximum of two hours play per day for the same type of facility). Moreover, the standby arrangement for non-fee charging land recreation and sports facilities will also resume from May 20.
Some leisure facilities will continue to be closed until further notice. They are public beaches, public swimming pools, water sports centers, barbecue sites, and the Pui O Campsite. Please refer to the annex for the list of sports centers to be reopened.
On the other hand, applications from schools or organizations for use of amphitheaters and leisure venues for non-designated use/sales activities, and applications from schools or organizations for road safety towns will continue to be suspended until further notice.
Cultural venues
All public libraries will resume services from April 21 and apply admission quotas. Facilities to be reopened include the adult, young adult and children's libraries, the newspapers and periodicals areas, the Toy Library of Hong Kong Central Library and computer facilities. Students' study rooms will be reopened on April 19 early with extended opening hours until May 31. All book drop services of public libraries and those located at MTR Central, Kowloon Tong and Nam Cheong Stations as well as the self-service library stations at Island East Sports Centre Sitting-out Area, the Hong Kong Cultural Centre and Tsuen Nam Road, Tai Wai, will maintain services. The counting of overdue fines shall resume from May 5. Please visit the public libraries website for details (www.hkpl.gov.hk/en/index.html).
All museums (except the Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defence and the Sheung Yiu Folk Museum) will be reopened on April 21. Admission quotas will be implemented to limit visitor flow. Public programs will resume gradually.
All performance venues (except for Tai Po Civic Centre, Sheung Wan Civic Centre and Sai Wan Ho Civic Centre) will be reopened for performances or activities with live audiences from April 21 with special seating arrangements. The number of audience members in major facilities of the venues such as concert halls, theatres, auditoria, cultural activities halls, and arenas will be limited to half of the original capacity. Consecutive seats will be limited to four. Performers who are unable to wear masks during rehearsal or performance must take a government-recognized reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction nucleic acid test for COVID-19 and obtain a negative test result within seven days before their first entry to the performance venues, and undergo a rapid antigen test for COVID-19 every day before the entry into the premises. For activities to be held in minor facilities of the performance venues such as music/dance studios and lecture/function/conference rooms, the number of users will be limited to half of the original capacity in most cases. For the number of users, the number of participants in each cluster and other details, please refer to the notifications of individual venues. Eating and drinking are not permitted inside the hiring facilities. All hiring activities open to the public at outdoor facilities will remain suspended.
URBTIX will maintain Internet and mobile app ticketing and hotline services. URBTIX outlets and ticket dispensing machines at LCSD performance venues will resume operation together with the reopened venues from April 21 onwards. Ticket holders of canceled events are advised to contact the respective event organizers or check their latest announcements on refund arrangements. For events for which organizers choose to arrange refunds at URBTIX outlets, details will be announced on the URBTIX webpage in due course.
All music centers of the Music Office will resume counter services from April 21. All instrumental music training classes, musicianship classes, and some outreach music courses organized by the Music Office will resume face-to-face classes on the same day. In light of public health considerations, both Chinese and Western wind instrumental classes will continue to be conducted online until further notice.
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