Coronavirus: Hong Kong businesses ‘do not know what to do’ as bar and pub shutdown kicks in
- Owners of bars serving food say they are not sure if they are covered by the ban, accuse government of delivering confused messages
- Those breaking the anti-contagion order face a HK$50,000 fine (US$6,450) and six months in jail
Bar and restaurant owners have accused the Hong Kong government of failing to provide clarity over its two-week closure of drinking venues even as it came into force on Friday night, with fears raised over how the social distancing law will be enforced.
They also reissued their plea to officials to cover 80 per cent of workers’ pay and subsidise rent after officials on Thursday ordered the shutdown to tackle Covid-19’s spread.
The ban takes effect at 6pm on Friday and targets any premises, including bars and pubs, which are “exclusively or mainly used for the sale or supply of intoxicating liquors for consumption in that premises”.
But it has left owners of bars serving food in limbo over whether they would break the law by staying open, risking a HK$50,000 fine (US$6,450) and six months in jail.
Gordon Lam Sui-wa, convenor of the Hong Kong Small and Middle Restaurant Federation, said while 1,100 bars would definitely close because their dominant business was selling alcohol, it was unclear how the regulations would apply to drinking venues also serving food, which are categorised as “bar and restaurants” on their liquor licence.