HSBC to Allow 30% of Staff in Hong Kong Offices From April

(Bloomberg) -- HSBC Holdings Plc will allow 30% of Hong Kong employees to work in the office from Friday, as banks in the city begin to ease Covid measures amid declining virus cases. 

Staff in the office must wear face masks in all areas of premises and return a voluntary negative rapid antigen test before coming into the office that day, the bank said Monday in an internal memo seen by Bloomberg News. 

“With the implementation of HSBC Safe Pass and further reduction in positive cases across the territory, HSBC will adjust its pandemic control measures,” the bank said in the note, referring to the vaccine mandate it laid down for staff earlier this month. 

HSBC to Close H.K. Retail Branches on Saturdays From March 5 

Retail branches and business banking centers will also enter the “first phase” of returning to business-as-usual operations, it added, without elaborating on what that entailed or giving a specific time frame.

HSBC is among the first banks to adjust pandemic control measures as the city’s cases drop to thousands a day from tens of thousands at the peak of the so-called fifth wave, fueled by the infectious omicron variant. Since Feb. 21, the bank had only allowed essential staff on its premises.    

The Hong Kong government has outlined a phased relaxation plan of current Covid curbs, including resuming flights from the U.K. and the U.S. next month, while keeping limitations on dining-out and other gatherings.  

A spokesperson for HSBC confirmed the content of the memo. 

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