Coronavirus: Hong Kong allows restaurants and bars to stay open all night, but step ‘too little, too late’, industry leaders warn
- Residents have grown used to eating dinner earlier and cooking at home during the pandemic, industry leaders say
- Government urged to do more by easing restrictions on arrivals, allowing them to enter venues during first three days of medical surveillance
Hong Kong’s move to allow restaurants, bars and pubs to remain open past 2am is too little, too late, industry leaders have said, arguing residents have grown accustomed to eating dinner earlier and cooking at home more often during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The government should do more for the industry by easing restrictions on arrivals and allow them to enter venues off-limits to them during their initial three days of medical surveillance, they suggested.
After nearly three years of social-distancing curbs, the government on Thursday permitted eateries and drinking spots to once again set their own hours, just in time for the return of the Hong Kong Rugby Sevens tournament that kicks off on Friday.
Simon Wong Ka-wo, president of the Hong Kong Federation of Restaurants and Related Trades, predicted the change would improve business by at least 20 per cent for about 1,000 eateries that stayed open late or overnight, out of roughly 17,000 still in operation.
“Everybody is cautious as they don’t know if the relaxation of opening hours will achieve the ideal results as expected,” he said.
Previously, restaurants could operate until midnight with a maximum of 12 diners per table, while the city’s nightspots were required to close at 2am. Barbecue sites under government management will also reopen to the public.
Wong urged the government to end other Covid-19 rules on restaurants, including the cap on banquet capacity at 240 people and the requirement that they all show proof of a negative test.
