Coronavirus: Hong Kong bar trade renews attack on proposed alcohol ban as city leader says legal work still being studied

Industry representatives warn the planned ban affecting thousands of restaurants and bars could trigger a wave of business closures and lay-offs

Chief Executive Carrie Lam defends controversial decision but says government will continue to listen to different views

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A number of coronavirus infections have been linked to Lan Kwai Fong. Photo: Robert Ng

Published: 6:59pm, 24 Mar 2020Updated: 6:59pm, 24 Mar 2020

Hong Kong’s food and drinks sector again blasted a proposed ban on alcohol sales in bars and restaurants to tackle the spread of the coronavirus, as the city’s leader said on Tuesday the government needed a few more days to study the legal work before it was enacted.

Industry representatives warned that the planned ban affecting thousands of restaurants and bars could trigger a wave of business closures and lay-offs. They said the proposal unfairly targeted the trade and called for more government support.

Speaking ahead of her weekly meeting with her advisory body the Executive Council, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor defended her controversial decision to mostly target bars.

Citing health authorities, Lam maintained that bars were the most worrying sector in the industry as about 10 infected patients had visited such premises.

“When a bar cannot sell alcohol, it can do other things as many hold restaurant licences as well,” she said.

But Lam said the government would continue to listen to different views.

“After all, our legal work will take at least a few days for in-depth study,” she said, without giving a date on when the ban would come into effect.