Chloe Cheung, owner of a boutique outlet in Island Beverley mall, said she saw little hope for the future of her shop.

“There has been zero business for two months, I’m running on a deficit,” said Cheung, who has been operating her own business in the mall for a decade.

The 42-year-old owner said she had stopped ordering new stock last month as business in January had plunged 80 per cent compared with last year.

“There is absolutely no one here [in the mall], not even on weekends. Most shops here are closed,” she said, adding that she planned to shut down when the lease expired in June.

“The lockdown is not that necessary. It is a ghost town now.”

At least 21 outlets in the mall were closed, with many displaying notices directing customers to their social media accounts for online shopping.

Notices of temporary closure due to Covid-19 have been seen on shopfronts and at restaurants across the city.

A cafe on Pak Sha Road displayed a closure notice saying an employee had tested positive on Tuesday. The cafe will remain closed until all staff have tested negative.

A Starbucks branch in Wan Chai also displayed a closure notice, saying a staff member had been identified as a close contact of a patient.

An employee at snack shop chain Aji Ichiban who wished to stay anonymous told the Post about 10 frontline staff had to self-isolate at home. “There would usually be three to four of us in a shop at one time, but now it’s only the two of us,” the worker said.

Annie Tse Yau On-yee, chairwoman of the Hong Kong Retail Management Association, said she expected retail sales to drop at least 50 per cent compared with the same period last year.

“The economic gloom for the retail market is the worst ever,” Tse said. “In the previous outbreaks, the only concern was fewer customers. But now shops are forced to close down because staff have tested positive for Covid-19.”

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She said she agreed that stringent policies were needed to combat the pandemic, including a lockdown.

“More shops are already closed. A lockdown for a few days will have little impact on overall business under the current economic downturn,” Tse said, adding that landlords should ease rental pressure on shops.

Hong Kong confirmed a record 55,353 infections on Wednesday, bringing the total tally of cases to 281,099.

The outbreak has also dealt services a fresh blow. Hongkong Post said only 25 out of its 123 post offices would provide services on Wednesdays and Saturdays, effective from Thursday.

Bank of China (Hong Kong), HSBC and Hang Seng Bank temporarily closed at least 43 branches on Wednesday because of staff infections.

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The MTR Corporation recorded 168 confirmed cases involving its train service and maintenance personnel as well as contractor staff on Wednesday, taking the total number of infections to about 1,500.

The rail giant on Wednesday announced it would further cut weekday services on eight lines, and the weekend and public holiday services on the East Rail from Friday, which would result in extra waiting times of about one to four minutes.

It also reduced the service frequency on the Tuen Ma line on Wednesday with trains running every 4½ minutes during the morning rush hour.

The Transport Department said the city’s five franchised bus firms would suspend a total of 104 routes from Friday to March 16 as they faced a “critical manpower shortage”.

Kowloon Motor Bus said more than 2,000 employees could not report for duty either because of quarantine or testing positive, including more than 1,500 bus service staff. The company will suspend 88 routes and cut services on another 46 from Friday.

Sister firms Citybus and New World First Bus recorded 490 infections while 238 close contacts of confirmed cases had been quarantined, accounting for more than 15 per cent of the total workforce

Sun Ferry also said its services on routes from North Point to Hung Hom and Kowloon City would be suspended as a number of staff had been affected by quarantine rules.

Some electricians are also suspending home visits or charging higher prices, citing higher risks. One company, Master Key Service, quoted a HK$1,200 (US$156) fee just for an inspection. The company typically charges between HK$600 and HK$800, according to its website.

“We don’t have enough technicians, we need to do [Covid-19] tests every day,” an employee said.

Another company, I’m Hong Kong Electrician, turned down client visits for two weeks after some staff members tested positive.

Earlier this week, the city’s two largest supermarket chains said they would shorten their opening hours due to the pandemic.

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ParknShop, with more than 200 branches, said its opening hours had been adjusted, with most outlets closing at least two hours earlier than usual at around 8pm. Twelve outlets operate only from 9am to 3pm.

Most of Wellcome’s 320 branches now close four hours earlier than usual.

Mannings, one of the city’s two largest pharmacy chains, announced earlier that it would close more than 50 of its 300 outlets to protect the health of staff and customers.

Restaurant chains have also been hit by surging infections and the city’s social-distancing rules, including a ban on dining-in after 6pm and a two people per table rule.

McDonald’s Hong Kong said its 24-hour overnight service had been suspended and at least 20 branches were temporarily closed. Fast-food chains, including Cafe de Coral and Fairwood, have also either adjusted their business hours or suspended dine-in services. Tao Heung Holdings also announced the temporary closure of all of its restaurants.

Additional reporting by Rachel Yeo and Fiona Sun