Coronavirus: Hong Kong bars expect to reopen on Friday after two-month ban imposed under social-distancing rules
- Industry leaders say stringent new rules will include restricting customers’ stay to two hours and installing plastic partitions between tables
- Bar trade association tells government official: ‘We cannot afford to be closed any longer’
Industry leaders said on Saturday that the measures would include restricting customers’ stay to a maximum of two hours and installing plastic partitions between tables, as well as keeping people’s details for future contact tracing if needed.
Business magnate Allan Zeman, a major property owner in the Lan Kwai Fong entertainment district, said the government had told him during a recent meeting that bars could be allowed to reopen on Friday.
“I was told if the number of Covid-19 infections continues to drop, potentially they will open next Friday,” he told the Post. “This [closure] is driving me crazy … I told them if the bars are kept closed they will die and many people will lose their jobs.”
His warning came with the city’s about 1,280 bars and pubs on the brink of collapse following the reimposition of social-distancing measures in July. Although the government eased some restrictions on Friday, including increasing the number of people allowed at public gatherings from two to four and reopening entertainment venues such as game centres and mahjong parlours, bars and pubs were not included.