Hong Kong fourth wave: closed under social-distancing rules, dying bars urge authorities to let them restart business as Covid-19 pandemic eases

Lan Kwai Fong Group chairman Allan Zeman says bars are on ‘life support’ and ‘will do anything the government wants’ in order to restart their business

Roden Wong of Licensed Bar and Club Association says 60 per cent of city’s 1,400 licensed bars are at risk of closing for good

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The Lan Kwai Fong nightlife area has been deserted amid the coronavirus pandemic. Photo: Dickson Lee

Published: 11:33pm, 13 Feb 2021Updated: 8:31am, 14 Feb 2021

Hong Kong’s frustrated bar owners have urged the government to let them reopen “as soon as possible”, with some saying they are on the brink of closing for good while many have already shut amid the Covid-19 heath crisis.

Lan Kwai Fong Group chairman Allan Zeman said that while he understood the need for the government to reopen venues gradually, bars were on “life support” and “will do anything the government wants” to restart their business. Many in the industry also admitted to feeling frustrated at being treated differently to restaurants.

Health authorities said they intended to relax social-distancing measures after the Lunar New Year holiday on February 18, provided the daily coronavirus caseload remained stable and no untraceable cases or clusters emerged. That would allow restaurants to offer dine-in services until 10pm and seat four people to a table. Gyms, cinemas and other premises could also reopen from that day.

The easing will come with new preventive measures for venue operators, including regularly testing employees and requiring customers to either scan QR codes through the government’s “Leave Home Safe” contact-tracing app or leave their personal details at establishments they are visiting.

Secretary for Food and Health Professor Sophia Chan Siu-chee declined to comment on Friday on whether bars and pubs would be allowed to reopen, fuelling anxiety in the stricken sector that has been closed since mid-November.