(Bloomberg) -- Hong Kong will allow swimming pools and public beaches to reopen from Thursday and relax some other Covid-19 related social distancing rules, after the city brought a recent outbreak involving the business and expatriate community largely under control.

Capacity at movie theaters and theme parks will be increased to 75%, officials said at a briefing on Monday. Authorities will also propose easing curbs on religious gatherings, they said. Bars and karaoke venues will remain closed.

The Asian financial hub has seen Covid cases fade over the past week, after tamping down the surge of infections linked to a gym through measures including cordoning off certain residential buildings, ordering employees at dozens of workplaces to take compulsory tests and sending hundreds of people -- including children -- into government quarantine facilities.

Monday’s move is the latest step to relax strict virus-related measures that have been in place for months and are some of the toughest in the world. Hong Kong loosened some Covid-related requirements in February, opening venues including sports centers, beauty parlors, theme parks and cinemas -- the first easing of restrictions in nearly three months.

Hong Kong Vaccine Rollout Hampered by Reliance on Chinese Shots

Despite being one of the world’s densest cities -- and home to some 7.5 million people -- Hong Kong has had a relatively low number of coronavirus infections compared to hot spots around the world, and saw early success containing Covid-19 last year. But waves of cases have stopped it from being able to fully reopen an economy battered by both the pandemic and historic protests in 2019.

The government is also facing public hesitation as it ramps up its vaccination campaign -- crucial to achieving herd immunity -- amid public distrust in both the Beijing-backed government and Chinese-made vaccines. The inoculation campaign suffered a further blow last week when the city temporarily halted the use of shots developed by BioNTech SE and Pfizer Inc. after finding packaging defects in a small number of vials.

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