Coronavirus | Hong Kong to ban all restaurant dining, mandate masks outdoors

According to local TV reports, the new rules will take effect from Wednesday.

People wearing face masks to protect against the new coronavirus eat at a partitioned restaurant in Hong Kong, on July 22, 2020.

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.

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.