Coronavirus: Hong Kong restaurant group calls for border closure, says virus fears hurting business more than protests
● Business at some restaurants down by half compared to last year, restaurant group representative says
● One restaurant owner says he has only enough masks to stay open another five to six days
Gordon Lam Sui-wa, convenor at the 40-member Hong Kong Small and Middle Restaurant Federation, on Friday warned of a potential wave of eatery shutdowns, saying business at some restaurants has been nearly halved from last year’s post-Lunar New Year holiday period.
Lam demanded the government shut the border completely to prevent mainlanders from entering in large numbers, and said the city should provide masks and hand sanitisers not only for medical staff, but public and private sector employees who deal with the public.
Restaurant owners who spoke to the Post said buying high-priced masks for staff amid the shortage had increased operational costs, with one saying he had only enough masks to stay open five or six more days.
“If the government still does not close the borders completely to shut out the virus source, Hong Kong will only become an epidemic area. By then, no one will spend money in the streets,” Lam said at a press conference joined by other food sector representatives.
“The food and drinks sector will only face a severe environment, just like a repeat of 2003, when severe acute respiratory syndrome [struck Hong Kong], or even worse.”
From Thursday, the government had closed six of 15 border checkpoints.
Hong Kong mask prices soar as residents scramble to stock up amid virus fears
Lam said while some restaurants in residential areas were largely unaffected by the protests triggered by the now-withdrawn extradition bill, people were more likely to stay home if they feared infection.
“When there is a community outbreak of the disease, we are very worried that over half of the restaurants will no longer be able to operate any more,” he said, referring to those in tourist areas such as Causeway Bay and Mong Kok.
He said if officials failed to address their calls, they could not rule out taking more concrete action, such as urging the city’s restaurants to switch their lights off for an hour. Pressed on the possibility of a strike, he said that was a question that would require liaising with other unions, though running out of masks would make staying open impossible.
“The lack of masks is very serious. Without masks, we will be forced to stop working,” he said.
Still, Cat Hou Chui-shan from Bartenders and Mixologists Union also refused to rule out a strike, saying if officials kept neglecting the health of locals, her union, which also has about 40 members, and other groups could launch collective action.
Ma Ming-hei, who owns a cha chaan teng, a local Chinese cafe, said his business needed 90 masks a day for his 30 employees and that he spent as much as HK$280 for boxes of masks that normally sell for HK$50. Now, he has only enough stock for five to six days.
He said one employee had requested to take a day off to buy masks. “Hongkongers need to go as far as taking a day off and queue hours for a box of masks at 4am,” he said.
Thai restaurant boss Sae Ngow Vasunt said he paid a deposit to purchase masks from Thailand, only for the company to give back the money, something numerous Hongkongers have experience in recent days. He suspected it was related to the mass demand in the mainland.
