The catering trade expressed understanding of the Hong Kong government’s decision to extend dine-in service restrictions at local restaurants, saying it is necessary to prevent further worsening of the raging pandemic.
Restaurateurs told China Daily that they hoped the measures will help to control the outbreak, restore normal social life and win back tourists. That is the ultimate way to revive the embattled industry, they said.
The remarks came after the government extended social distancing measures for a further seven days until Aug 25. Restaurants can still only serve takeout food from 6 pm to 5 am and can seat no more than two people at each table.
The third wave of outbreaks continued in Hong Kong as the city recorded 44 new COVID-19 infections on Monday, including 31 locally transmitted cases, bringing the overall tally to 4,524. The city’s death toll stood at 69. Almost half of the new patients contracted the coronavirus at social or family gatherings.
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The pandemic is still going on and I don’t see any other way (other than by extending the restrictions).
Kwok Wang-hing, chairman of the Eating Establishment Employees General Union
There have been at least seven restaurant-linked clusters that include more than 15 confirmed patients. Among the infected groups, the biggest one, believed to have originated at a birthday party at a restaurant in Tuen Mun, had involved 44 people.
“The pandemic is still going on and I don’t see any other way” other than by extending the restrictions, Kwok Wang-hing, chairman of the Eating Establishment Employees General Union, said.
Restaurant owners and employees share society’s concerns about an outbreak in a restaurant caused by gatherings of customers, said Kwok, who works in a local restaurant in Causeway Bay.
Kwok hopes the strict measures will help the city overcome the virus and restore business. He said the Chinese mainland’s anti-pandemic measures were once stricter than Hong Kong’s, and included an all-day ban on eating in restaurants.
However, most mainland cities have resumed normal economic and social life after the society made a concerted effort and eliminated the spread of the virus in the community, he added. He suggested Hong Kong learn from such resolve and solidarity.
The owner of another local restaurant, Kate Lee Hoi-wu, told China Daily that she agrees that the government should not relax dine-in service restrictions too early, as the pandemic remains volatile.
Lee acknowledged that maintaining the ban will hurt her business, but she insisted that public safety should come before any personal interests.
Lee said the key task for society is to unite to combat the virus, and once the pandemic is under control, businesses will recover naturally.
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