Hong Kong restaurants skirting seating limits with plastic barriers at tables may fall foul of Covid-19 regulations, industry leaders say
- Desperate for business, many eateries and bars are operating on the edges of the city’s social-distancing rules by subdividing individual tables
- But some in sector complain the government’s definition of ‘effective partition’ is nebulous at best
The Wednesday warning was aimed squarely at the many eateries around the city that have separated diners at the same table with small acrylic panels in order to serve more than allowed, rather than using them to segregate tables as mandated by the law.
From what I’ve observed, most restaurants adopt this seating arrangement to serve more customers. I think this is crossing the line
Under the city’s existing social-distancing rules, eateries and bars can serve a maximum of four and two people per table, respectively, while operating at no more than 50 per cent of seating capacity.
Venues are to keep a distance of at least 1.5 metres between tables or install “effective partitions” to serve as a buffer. Business operators flouting the rules face a maximum fine of HK$50,000 and imprisonment for six months.
Under a new measure effective on Wednesday, diners can now also be held liable for breaching the rules, and subject to a fixed penalty of HK$2,000.
