Hong Kong has eased Covid-19 social-distancing rules limiting the size of many types of group gatherings for the first time in five months, but economists have warned the city still has a painful road ahead before the benefits of opening up begin to pay off. On the back of falling infections numbers, the government on Thursday increased the number of diners allowed to sit together in a restaurant from eight to 12, and raised the limit of patrons permitted at bar tables from four to six. Banquet hall capacity also doubled from 120 to 240, while gyms, yoga studios, karaoke lounges and party rooms were allowed to host groups of 12, also up from eight. Simon Wong Ka-wo, president of the Hong Kong Federation of Restaurants and Related Trades, said eateries, especially dim sum restaurants, enjoyed a roughly 10 per cent boost in reservations for parties of a dozen people, mostly for dinner. “There might be more dine-in customers at night than before,” he said. “The atmosphere may be better during the weekends. With the stock market rising yesterday … along with the release of the consumption voucher, it will simulate consumption. I am quite optimistic so far.” Residents last week received as much as HK$3,000 from the government to spend on meals, shopping and entertainment as part of an extended push to stimulate an economy mired in recession. Wong added that bookings for banquets with 200 guests or more, for company gatherings or weddings, had risen by about 30 per cent. Coronavirus infections have hovered around the 3,000 mark for about a week, down sharply from the 10,586 cases recorded at the start of last month. Authorities on Thursday reported 4,318 infections, 325 of which were imported, and six related deaths. The city’s Covid-19 tally stands at 1,787,655 cases and 10,200 deaths. Hong Kong can ease Covid social distancing now, adopt ‘0+0’ regime soon: experts Over at the One Cuisine dim sum restaurant in Ma On Shan, nine women were celebrating the birthdays of two in the group, which was the biggest seated at a single table. Virginia Fung, in her sixties, said the relaxed limit for gathering had pleased her tremendously. “I feel very excited right now, the atmosphere is so much better in a large group,” Fung said. “I will definitely gather in larger groups to dine out, maybe even 18 people at two tables.” King Harbour Restaurant, just across the road, was about 80 per cent full when a Post reporter visited in the morning, although the largest gathering was only six people. Hong Kong residents head to restaurants, malls eager to spend consumption vouchers Pau Fai, a retired construction worker enjoying morning dim sum with his wife, said the last time he dined out in a group of 12 was three years ago. But the retiree, in his sixties, said he did not expect the relaxed rule would entice many of his friends to dine out in large groups, as they were more worried about contracting the virus. “Most of my friends haven’t retired yet and they are worried about not being able to go to work if they catch Covid-19 from restaurants,” he said. Also sceptical of the economical benefits of the easing was Ray Or Chuen-ting, founder of Ray’s Muaythai Gym. While to a dozen customers could attend a class at a time, his business still had to enforce the vaccine pass scheme, which banned anyone who had not received three shots against Covid-19. “The new upper limit of 12 will not make a big difference for larger gyms to recuperate costs,” he said. Hong Kong’s jobless rate falls to 4.7 per cent as Covid situation improves Gary Ng Cheuk-yan, senior economist at Natixis Corporate and Investment Bank, said that while allowing larger groups at many types of service businesses could encourage greater consumption, the effect on the overall economy was expected to be minimal. “The catering industry is just one of the many sectors in Hong Kong’s economy. The relaxation so far may not be able to benefit other industries as a whole,” he said. “After almost three years of pandemic and social-distancing measures, a number of residents have changed their habits. Even if the rules are relaxed, they may not instantly swarm to attend large-scale gatherings.” Ng said overseas travellers might be deterred from visiting Hong Kong as some social-distancing restrictions remained. Chinese University economics Professor Terence Chong Tai-leung was also sceptical about the impact of the relaxed rule. “We have not opened the border with mainland China, and a number of flights are short of pilots.” he said. “Even if Hong Kong has fully opened up, it may take half or a whole year to return to half of what we had before [the pandemic].”