Kindergartens and schools for the disabled have been suspended on Wednesday as Tropical Storm Mulan skirts past Hong Kong. The Observatory said the Strong Wind Signal No. 3 would remain in force until at least noon, unless the approaching storm intensified significantly or veered closer to the city. Vicky Wong reports:

National security police say they have arrested two men they suspect violated the sedition law by posting social media messages "promoting ill-will between different classes of Hong Kong people". They are said to be among a group of government workers involved in a Facebook page, as Mike Weeks reports:

The Health Secretary, Lo Chung-mau, says cutting the quarantine period for arrivals will not lead to an increase in Covid cases in Hong Kong, especially given the prevalence of the virus in the community. But he refused to be drawn on when hotel quarantine might be scrapped altogether. The government announced on Monday that hotel quarantine would be halved to three nights. Wendy Wong reports:

A hotel operator says they have received more than a thousand inquiries in the past 24 hours, after the government announced the reduction in hotel quarantine. Mael Vastine, the Director of Operations at Ovolo Hotels, says 14 guests with shortened stays had already checked out of its two hotels in Central and Wong Chuk Hang, and another 43 were expected to shorten their stays on Wednesday. He told Samantha Butler that the quarantine change might bring in more business people but probably would not make much difference to leisure travellers:

The head of the Travel Industry Council says the only real way to revive Hong Kong's tourist trade is to lift all quarantine restrictions. Fanny Yeung said under the eased quarantine rules, the number of Hong Kong people taking overseas vacations should rise, but that more should be done to attract incoming visitors. Mike Weeks reports:

The chair of the Hong Kong Employers of Domestic Helpers Association says the shortened quarantine period will help cut the backlog of helpers waiting for quarantine hotel spots to come to Hong Kong to work. But Betty Yung said some employers were worried about an increased risk of infection from Covid to their families. She told Joanne Wong that the government should give employers more guidance on how they can protect themselves:

Hospital Authority staff returning to work after a trip out of Hong Kong have been told not to eat with their hospital colleagues during their four days of medical surveillance after leaving quarantine hotels. They have also been told to closely monitor their health, as Natale Ching reports:

Premises where vaccine passes are required, such as restaurants, will need to ensure their scanners are connected to the internet to ensure the health code status of patrons is properly checked. But an official sought to play down any privacy concerns, as Frank Yung reports:

Macau's Chief Executive Ho Iat-seng says the SAR will not adopt special schemes for quarantine-free travel, because its anti-Covid measures have to be in sync with those on the mainland. He told lawmakers that this was its top priority in order to revive its economy. Damon Pang reports:

One of Hong Kong's oldest dim sum restaurants has become a casualty of Covid. The Lin Heung Tea House on Wellington Street closed down yesterday along with the Lin Heung Tsan restaurant in Tsuen Wan. The Labour Department says it is very concerned about the case and that some Lin Heung Tea House employees have reached out for assistance. It has urged the parent company to clear any outstanding wages. Timmy Sung reports:

An anthropologist who studies local food culture says the government needs to do more to protect older Hong Kong restaurants. PhD student, Samuel Lai, said the Lin Heung Wellington Street eatery was iconic because of its history, dating back more than 100 years, and it represented the old-style tea house that was popular during the 1980s. He spoke to Ben Tse:

The Financial Secretary’s Office says the government has no plans to relax stamp duties on home purchases. It came out with the clarification just hours after Exco convenor Regina Ip said it was among policies under consideration to shore up the local economy. Damon Pang reports: