New World Closes a Hong Kong Mall After Virus Cluster Emerges

An entrance to the K11 Musea shopping mall, developed by K11 Group Ltd., a unit of New world Development Co., stands illuminated at night in Tsim Sha Tsui district of Hong Kong, China, on Sunday, Dec. 15, 2019. The K11 Musea opened amid months of anti-Beijing protests held back spending by tourists and locals alike. Photographer: Paul Yeung/Bloomberg , Bloomberg

Shawna Kwan, Bloomberg News

Feb 28, 2021

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(Bloomberg) --

New World Development Co. has closed its flagship mall in Hong Kong for two days after a cluster of new Covid-19 cases centered there emerged over the past week.

The developer shut the K11 MUSEA shopping center -- located in the Tsim Sha Tsui section of Kowloon -- on Sunday to begin deep cleaning, it said in a statement. It’s to remain shut through Monday.

This marks the first time a Hong Kong landlord has closed a mall because of virus concerns.

A cluster of 44 infections has been found from a Chinese restaurant in the mall, health officials said on Sunday. A worker in the restaurant is believed to have passed the virus to coworkers and patrons more than a week earlier.

The landlord said it would offer free Covid-19 testings for its staff and tenants Sunday.

The K11 MUSEA mall, opened in 2019, is one of the latest additions to New World’s retail portfolio. Retail sales in its K11-branded malls increased by more than 50% in the last six months of 2020 from the year before, Chief Executive Officer Adrian Cheng said in an earnings briefing Friday.

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