The Hong Kong government has made its check-in app mandatory for most adults in bars and restaurants, the latest expansion of coronavirus tracing tech at a time of heightened privacy concerns in the city.

The international finance hub has kept infections at bay thanks to mostly closed borders, some of the world's strictest quarantine rules and ongoing social distancing rules.

From today, all adults under 65 must use the city government's Covid app, scanning QR codes to log their presence at 18 types of premises — including eateries, cinemas, gyms and karaoke venues.

The logs can be used to trace infections if there is an outbreak.

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