Several of Hong Kong’s biggest brokers and banks have shut their branches, as the financial hub hunkers down for the toughest social-distancing rules yet to combat a fresh wave of Covid-19 outbreaks that sent daily infections into four digits for the first time.

Bright Smart Securities, operator of the city’s largest brokerage network, said it stopped letting customers have in-person access to trading rooms in 14 branches starting from February 8. Bank of China (Hong Kong), one of the city’s three currency-issuing banks, shut 50 branches, while Bank of East Asia shut 15 outlets.

“We want to avoid social gatherings to prevent the spread of the [Covid-19] disease,” said Bright Smart’s chief executive Edmond Hui Yik-bun, in an interview with South China Morning Post. “Many investors like to meet their friends at our branches to socialise and chat about investments. These gatherings should be avoided during the current health crisis.”

Hong Kong recorded 1,161 new infections on Wednesday in the biggest jump in cases since the pandemic. It also saw two deaths, the most in six months. To rein in the outbreak, health authorities instructed supermarkets, wet markets and department stores to serve only vaccinated customers, starting on February 24. Places of worship and hair salons were ordered to be shut until then.

Residents queuing to get tested for the coronavirus at a temporary facility in Hong Kong on Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2022.

Banks, insurance firms, wealth management firms and stockbrokers have been spared from the draconian rules, but financial firms said they are not taking any chances.

“Most of our clients are conducting their trading online anyway, so the new measures would not have any impact on our business,” said Hui.

A Bank of China (Hong Kong) branch shut in the middle of the day in the Central financial district on Monday, 7 February 2022.

Everbright Securities International, formerly known as Everbright Sun Hung Kai, closed its two wealth management centres and stopped trading at its premises for customers, according to the spokeswoman of the brokerage.

Financial regulators such as the Insurance Authority, the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority, and the Financial Reporting Council said they would adopt the government’s “vaccine pass” policy of serving only vaccinated customers, beginning on February 16.

UBS, Citi, DBS and other lenders are following guidelines issued by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) for their to be vaccinated, or be regularly tested for Covid-19.

“Over 90 per cent of our staff in Hong Kong are vaccinated as of today, while those who are unfit to receive vaccination on medical grounds must undergo Covid-19 testing every two weeks,” said a spokeswoman at Citi, which employs more than 4,500 staff in Hong Kong.

DBS said 90-per cent of its employees are vaccinated. “With the surging number of the Omicron variant, staff who are suitable to work from home are strongly urged to continue to do so,” a spokeswoman said. “A series of precautionary measures, including rapid testing kits for employees, are well in place.”

UBS said it requires its 2,500 staff to be either vaccinated or be tested every two weeks.

HSBC, the largest of Hong Kong’s currency issuers, this week launched a service that allowed customers to withdraw cash from automated teller machines (ATMs) through scanning QR codes on their smartphones, taking a small step towards shortening queues and reducing transaction times.