Bar-trade players have warned that Hong Kong’s “vaccine bubble” will get off to a chaotic start on Thursday, with a lack of documents and tools leaving many struggling business operators worried about whether they can even reopen without breaching the law. Some told the Post many businesses were not ready to restart operations, as they were still grappling with new rules. They estimated just 20 per cent of 700 party rooms and half of the city’s 1,280 bars would be able to open on Thursday after being closed for about five months. Secretary for Food and Health Professor Sophia Chan Siu-chee on Tuesday announced the reopening of bars, party rooms, mahjong parlours and other entertainment venues from Thursday. Social-distancing restrictions on restaurants can also be relaxed under a complicated new set of rules. The multi-tiered system, which in many instances requires both customers and staff to be inoculated, is intended to boost the city’s flagging Covid-19 vaccination drive . The government will roll out a new app allowing businesses to verify customers’ Covid-19 vaccination records on Thursday. Faking records will be a criminal offence punishable by a fine of HK$5,000. Staff must also have received at least one vaccine dose, while those seeking an exemption on medical grounds will need to fill in a government declaration form stating the reason and attach a medical certificate. Patrons, except for diners aged 15 or below and over 65, must use the government’s contact-tracing app “Leave Home Safe”. Wing Chin Chun-wing, president of the Hong Kong Bar and Club Association, predicted Thursday would be chaotic because the government had failed to send out the declaration forms, while its vaccination app was still unavailable. “I can say many businesses and bars will be in complete chaos [on Thursday],” he warned. “The bar industry hasn’t really sorted out the complicated and ambiguous rules. There’s a lack of detailed planning from the government and everything is hastily rolled out.” Chin said without the vaccination app, many bars did not know if they could reopen. “Even if the app is available, what if it suddenly breaks down or encounters a bug? Then how can we enforce the vaccine bubble rules? Would we be considered breaching the law?” he said. “We once suggested the government offer an alternative, such as allowing patrons to produce their vaccine cards, but health officials said we could just take it or leave it.” To boost business, he said some of the association’s members would give away HK$100 cash coupons to customers. Ben Leung Lap-yan, charter president of the Licensed Bar and Club Association of Hong Kong, estimated about half of the roughly 20,000 workers in the industry had already been vaccinated, but some businesses were hesitant to reopen. “Some bars are worried over police enforcement of the new rules as there is a lack of details and guidelines about the execution of the rules,” he said. “I expect only half of the city’s 1,280 bars will be able to reopen on Thursday. They don’t expect to have many patrons in the beginning so they are not in a rush to open their doors.” Hong Kong’s vaccination rate remains low at around 11 per cent of the 7.5 million population. Leung said the requirement for staff to produce a medical certificate when seeking a vaccination exemption had also caught people off guard. Hong Kong Medical Association president Dr Gabriel Choi Kin said on Wednesday doctors had yet to receive guidelines from the government on who was eligible for exemption or how long the medical certificates should be valid. Leung said: “Last week we all expected staff could seek an exemption without the medical certificate. We were all in shock at the government’s sudden change of mind. Many have wondered if they could really get a medical certificate for that.” Vaccinations a must for future travel bubbles, minister says Brian Chui Wai-ho, co-founder of party room booking platform ReUbird, said many of the industry’s 4,000 staff were unwilling to receive jabs just to secure their jobs. “They are really concerned about the risks and possible side effects of taking the shots so this is a dilemma for them,” he said. He estimated about 20 per cent of some 700 party rooms would be able to reopen on Thursday as others still needed to sort out staff deployment and bookings. Hong Kong in travel bubble talks with Macau but obstacles exist, Carrie Lam says Alex Ko Kin-luen, chairman of the Hong Kong and Kowloon Mahjong Shops Association, said about 70 per cent of workers in the sector had been vaccinated. Others had either booked a vaccination appointment or were getting paperwork from doctors to say they were unfit to get a shot. Ko said operators were doing their best to avoid shutting down for good to preserve a sunset industry that had been a traditional Chinese pastime for generations. The number of parlours has dwindled to just 66 in recent years. Simon Wong Kit-lung, who runs 39 eateries employing 700 people under the LH Group, wrote on Facebook that his restaurants would stick to the existing model of opening until 10pm only as they could not force employees to get vaccinated. Separately, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department has rolled out a fourth round of subsidies to support businesses affected by months-long social-distancing rules. Applications opened on Wednesday and will run until May 27 for bars, karaoke venues, nightclubs and commercial bathhouses. About 1,100 bars, nightclubs and karaoke lounges were expected to benefit from the HK$250 million worth of subsidies, ranging from HK$100,000 per HK$500,000 per venue depending on their licensed area. Some 50 commercial bathhouses would also be eligible for a one-off HK$100,000 subsidy.