Some Indoor Leisure Venues & Cultural Facilities to Reopen 11 March

Light at the end of the tunnel? Some indoor recreation facilities, libraries and museums will partially re-open next week.

7 Mar 2020 — By Catherine Stewart / Activities / Essential HK / What's On

Indoor Sports Facilities, Limited Library Services and Some Museums are Set for Partial Re-opening Next Week

The Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) announced today that some indoor leisure venues and cultural facilities will be reopened on 7 March

Partial Opening of Indoor Leisure Venues

Indoor leisure venues to be reopened include badminton courts, squash courts, table tennis rooms/tables, a cycling track, indoor golf driving bays, indoor bowling greens, indoor jogging tracks and indoor tennis courts.

The public can book the above facilities via the Internet Booking Service of Leisure Link within 10 days in advance from 9 March, or attend counter booking at the leisure venues from11 March.

To encourage social distancing, the LCSD will adopt special measures at the sports facilities to be reopened. The measures include limiting the number of users at venues, closing spectator stands, cancelling organisation bookings for competitions, and opening alternate courts/rinks/tables for badminton courts, bowling greens and table tennis tables. Disinfectant carpets and alcohol-based handrub will be in place and cleaning measures will be stepped up at the venues. People entering the venues will have to go through temperature checks. Changing rooms and showering facilities at leisure venues will be temporarily closed to reduce the risk of the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

But These Indoor Leisure Facilities Remain Closed

Other team games facilities at multi-purpose arenas in the venues listed in the Annex (such as basketball courts, volleyball courts and netball courts), activity rooms (including those inside multi-purpose squash courts), dance rooms, fitness rooms, children’s play rooms, study rooms, sport climbing walls, American pool rooms (including those inside multi-purpose squash courts), the billiard centre and gymnastics training hall at Shun Lee Tsuen Sports Centre, the Sanshou Training Hall at Lei Yue Mun Sports Centre and the contact sports centre at Pei Ho Street Sports Centre will continue to be closed until further notice.

Outdoor Leisure Facilities

Non-fee charging land-based leisure facilities, including parks, playgrounds, outdoor hard-surface pitches, skateboard grounds, skateparks, roller skating rinks and cycling grounds, will maintain services. Some outdoor leisure venues, including tennis courts, bowling greens, running tracks in sports grounds (for jogging only), Ngau Chi Wan Park Archery Range, Shek O Obstacle Golf Course and the archery range, golf driving range and practice greens at Tuen Mun Recreation and Sports Centre, have already been reopened.

Libraries

The adult, young adult and children’s libraries of Hong Kong Central Library and six other major public libraries, namely City Hall Public Library, Kowloon Public Library, Tsuen Wan Public Library, Sha Tin Public Library, Tuen Mun Public Library and Ping Shan Tin Shui Wai Public Library, will partially open on 11 March and implement special opening hours. The opening hours of the seven libraries will be 1pm to 8pm from Monday to Saturday and 9am to 5pm on Sundays and public holidays. To avoid people gathering, the libraries will arrange admission by sessions, with each session lasting about one hour. Admission slips will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis for entry to each session. Children under 12 will only be allowed to enter when accompanied by an adult. Limited services, including lending and returning of library materials and picking up reserved library materials, will resume. The newspaper and periodical areas, Reference Libraries, Computer Information Centres, computer facilities and study rooms will remain closed. Please visit www.hkpl.gov.hk/en/index.html for details. Public libraries will continue to provide online services such as e-Books and e-Databases.

Museums

The Hong Kong Museum of Art, the Hong Kong Heritage Museum, the Hong Kong Film Archive and the Flagstaff House Museum of Tea Ware will partially open their exhibition facilities on 11 March, with interactive exhibits and public programmes temporarily suspended. Special opening hours from 10am to 5pm daily (except on the regular closing day) will be implemented. Among the four museums, the Hong Kong Museum of Art and the Hong Kong Heritage Museum will arrange visits by sessions, each lasting two hours, to limit visitor flow. Visitors will be able to enter the museums on a first-come, first-served basis. Children aged under 12 must be accompanied by an adult. For details, please visit www.lcsd.gov.hk/en/facilities/facilitieslist/museums/lcsdmuseums.html.

Visitors to the libraries and museums are advised to wear their own masks and will be subject to temperature checks before admission. Enhanced measures including cleaning between sessions will be conducted.

Many Facilities Remain Closed

Various LCSD cultural and leisure facilities, including sports grounds (except for running tracks), grass pitches, artificial turf soccer pitches, public swimming pools, beaches, the Adventure Park at Tuen Mun Recreation and Sports Centre, water sports centres and holiday camps, will continue to be temporarily closed. Recreational, sports and cultural programmes to be held will also be cancelled until further notice.

All major facilities of performance venues will not be opened before the end of the month. All music centres of the Music Office will remain closed. Apart from the above-mentioned public libraries and museums, the rest of the relevant cultural facilities will continue to be temporarily closed.

The LCSD says it will continue to monitor the situation closely and review the arrangements in a timely manner, you can check their website for further updates.