The Hong Kong Sports Institute has been closed since late March.

Strict precautionary measures needed to be observed by athletes and staff who remained at the centre.

According to the South China Morning Post, around 100 athletes opted to remain in the institute to continue training.

Badminton player Angus Ng Ka Long was among those to stay at the centre.

"It has been a novel experience as I seldom spend the night at the Sports Institute," he told the South China Morning Post.

"It really helped in terms of consolidating some of your skills and sharpening others as life was simple during this period with no distractions – only badminton.

"We had to struggle a bit in the beginning under this special environment before we could totally settle in."

Athletes and staff could leave the centre after no local infections had been recorded for 19 days.

Hong Kong has had 1,048 coronavirus cases in total since the pandemic began, with four deaths recorded to date.

The number of cases has dropped in Hong Kong, while 982 are reported to have recovered.

This includes three athletes and two coaches from the Hong Kong karate team, who tested positive following their return from training camps in Europe during March.

Lee Chun-ho was the last to be discharged from hospital, having spent over 50 days recovering.

"I really want to thank the medical staff for their selfless dedication to me," Lee wrote on Facebook.

"Now, after a lot of effort to see the light, we hope that some of the medical care workers who are afraid of returning home will have a chance to reunite with their families.

"This unexpected battle of my life is finally over, hopefully we can slowly get back to the same rhythm of life,"

"Now I want to feel my life well, then get back to official training.

"I have the opportunity to share my feelings and experience here."