Unable to afford going to restaurants, they end up eating or resting near toilets, in rubbish collection points, at the back of stuffy staircases, or outdoors in parks and even along busy streets.

“This problem has been there for years,” says Leung Tsz-yan, organiser of the Cleaning Workers Union. “Their work environments do not have a proper place for them to eat and rest. It is unsanitary and exposes them to viruses and bacteria.”

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Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan Siu-chee admitted that the complete dine-in ban proved less than ideal. “We thought many people worked from home, but after the ban was implemented, we realised that many people still had to go to work,” she said.

Sampson Wong, an assistant professor in urban studies at UOW College Hong Kong, says: “An indirect consequence of the health crisis is that it has exposed the unique situation in Hong Kong – the city design has not considered the well-being of its people.”

There is a severe lack in free public spaces and facilities such as tables and chairs, as well as shelters for people to rest, according to Wong.

The city’s design has long shaped social habits to focus primarily on dine-in activities, he says, and those who cannot afford to eat at restaurants or shopping malls are left out.

That means few choices for ordinary workers.

Street cleaner Cheng, 71, who works in public toilets, parks and streets in Causeway Bay, says he has never had a fixed place for his lunch break.

Asking to be identified only by his surname, he says he buys takeaway food from restaurants at noon and eats wherever he happens to be at lunchtime, including at a toilet or in a park.

“Dirty or not, I don’t have better options. This is how I have been coping,” he says.

Eating in the heat and rain 

Other workers also forced to eat outdoors or in ill-equipped surroundings are deliverymen, construction site workers and bus drivers.

A porter who gave his name as Ah Keung, in his 60s, was soaked in sweat as he wolfed down a burger under the noon sun along a street in Ap Lei Chau, in Southern district.

He says after a morning’s strenuous work delivering boxes of drinks that day, he gave himself 10 minutes for a quick lunch, in case he missed the company van taking him to his next destination.

Having worked like this for 28 years, he says he always eats wherever the job takes him, mostly outdoors.

“I don’t have time to enjoy a proper meal in restaurants. It has been like this for decades, and I have got used to it,” he says.

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Wong Ping, chairman of the Hong Kong Construction Industry Employees General Union, says construction workers usually eat in restaurants or on building sites.

With social-distancing rules tightening the capacity of restaurants, more workers are eating on-site, including in unhygienic environments. Although some sites have rest areas, these are too small to accommodate all workers at mealtimes.

Cheng Chi-ho, 39, a bus driver of three years, used to have his dinner at a restaurant, but now eats takeaway food or a packed home-made meal.

Working the 2pm-to-midnight shift, he usually has his one-hour break at around 6pm and eats dinner at the bus terminus he happens to be at, using the kiosk provided for drivers to rest.

But the room, no bigger than 30 to 100 sq ft, is poorly ventilated and too small for drivers to eat together, he says.

The problem of drivers having no proper place to eat and rest has long existed, he says, but the pandemic has made it worse with more drivers cramming into the small space.

Cheng, who is secretary of the Citybus Employees Union, says that since the pandemic, the bus company has set aside a vacant bus at some terminuses for drivers to eat and rest.

Call for better work environment

Infectious diseases expert Dr Joseph Tsang Kay-yan says eating outdoors may be safer these days compared to being in a crowded, poorly ventilated restaurant where diners are not wearing masks and speaking as they eat.

But eating outdoors has its risks too, mainly when people gather and speak with one another over their meal.

“For workers who eat in toilets or construction sites, the health risks are not only from the coronavirus, but also other viruses in unsanitary environments,” he says.

His advice is for workers to choose clean, open outdoor places to eat alone, and to avoid gathering.

Union leaders have begun looking for solutions beyond the pandemic.

Leung from the cleaning union wants the government and cleaning companies to provide proper, well-ventilated spaces in cleaners’ workplaces for them to eat and rest.

Wong Ping from the construction workers’ union hopes the authorities and companies can provide bigger rest areas on work sites for workers.

Urban design scholar Sampson Wong is encouraged to note that the pandemic has ignited some creativity in providing workers decent spaces for lunch.

The Kowloon Motor Bus Company set up stools at three bus terminals for people to eat meals from noon to 2.30pm. More churches and community centres are welcoming the public during lunchtime, and the Eaton HK hotel in Yau Ma Tei also opened its empty ballroom from 11am to 3pm daily for members of the public to use as a place to have their takeaway meals.

“It is true that Hong Kong faces a serious shortage of land, but all these measures show that improvement need not come only from the government or the higher-ups. The community can also be innovative,” Sampson Wong says.

These short-term measures to help during the pandemic showcased the city’s lively spirit, he says.

“Now, that the community knows there are potential resources we can use, we can rethink how to shape these spaces or come up with more long-term ways to solve the space shortage problem,” he says.

“We can take this crisis as an opportunity to improve the well-being of the city. We can make some changes in the world starting from here.”