Hong Kong to ban all restaurant dining, mandate masks outdoors

Hong Kong on Monday will announce further restrictions to curb the surge in coronavirus cases, including a total ban on restaurant dining and mandated facemasks outdoors, media reported.

The new rules will take effect from Wednesday, local television channels Cable TV and Now TV said, as authorities warned it was a critical period to contain the virus, Reuters reported.

This will be the first time the city has completely banned dining in restaurants. Since late January, more than 2,600 people have been infected in Hong Kong, 19 of whom have died.