Coronavirus: Hong Kong golfers scramble to play again after clubs given go-ahead to reopen
- Hong Kong has 100,000 golfers but nowhere to play since the government closed all venues in March
- Operators have to adopt stringent health precautionary and social-distancing measures when reopening facilities
Thousands of golfers were scrambling to get tee times on Wednesday after the government agreed to reopen nearly all courses following an improvement in the pandemic situation in Hong Kong.
The Home Affairs Bureau informed lessees of private recreational leases, under which most golf clubs in Hong Kong operate, they can reopen their sports facilities from next Monday. This also includes the South China Athletic Association which runs multi-sport facilities in Causeway Bay, including a two-floor driving range.
“This is a definitely good news for our golfers,” said Hong Kong Golf Association chief executive Danny Lai. “We have 20,000 members and an overall total of 100,000 golfers in Hong Kong who have been deprived of the opportunity of playing the sport since March because of the pandemic. Now it seems the situation is under better control and hopefully we can get back to business as usual as soon as possible.
“Golf is a non-contact and outdoor sport with no more than four people in a flight each time. We will take all the precautionary measures to minimise the opportunity of infection and make sure it is safe to play again,” he said.
The government requested facility operators adopt the necessary health precautionary and social-distancing measures, such as stepping up cleansing works, arranging temperature checks for people entering the venues, limiting the numbers of users and the use of changing rooms and showering facilities.
