Coronavirus: more Hong Kong bars to close permanently as social-distancing rules leave businesses struggling to survive

Name: Hong Kong officials to probe possible infection spread in city’s entertainment hub of Lan Kwai Fong
Uploaded: 2021-02-21T14:22:02.000Z
Duration: 1 min 20 s
Description: Hong Kong officials to probe possible infection spread in city’s entertainment hub of Lan Kwai Fong

Survey by industry association says 70 bars to shut for good after Lunar New Year holiday

Closures follow 140 establishments that shut last year with Covid-19 restrictions meaning bars and nightclubs were unable to open for 200 days

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Bars in Hong Kong were struggling even before the latest shutdown began in November. Photo: K.Y. Cheng

Kathleen Magramo

Published: 10:22pm, 21 Feb 2021Updated: 7:04am, 22 Feb 2021

Some 70 bars across Hong Kong are to close for good after the Lunar New Year holiday, as tough social-distancing rules gutted the city’s once-bustling nightlife scene, according to an industry poll.

The Hong Kong Bar & Club Association said the city was experiencing a second wave of business closures, as bars and nightclubs had not been able to open for nearly 200 days since the coronavirus pandemic hit the city.

A poll released by the association on Sunday found that 70 bars had plans to shut down after the traditional holiday, on top of about 140 establishments that closed last year. The industry group estimates about 210 out of about 1,400 licensed bars, or 15 per cent of venues, have cumulatively closed down.

Wing Chin Chun-wing, the association’s vice-president, said the industry had “fallen into a deep abyss” as revenues dropped to zero for months because of the government-imposed closures.

“The nightlife industry should not be the one footing the bill for the entire pandemic,” Chin said, adding it was unfair that bars were always among the first to be ordered to shut and often among the last allowed to reopen.

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Hong Kong officials to probe possible infection spread in city’s entertainment hub of Lan Kwai Fong

Chin said it would need another round of government subsidies, totalling about HK$500,000 (US$64,500) per establishment, to rescue premises amid the prolonged closures.