Allow Bars To Operate Till 6am: Tommy Cheung

Catering sector and Liberal Party lawmaker Tommy Cheung has called on the government to ease social distancing restrictions for bars, like allowing four people per table and allowing them to open from 6pm to 6am.

Cheung's comments as a number of venues such as bars, party rooms, karaoke lounges, and night clubs prepare to open their doors for the first time in two months under the latest round of eased anti-epidemic measures.

But these venues will have to abide by social distancing restrictions such as bars only being allowed to fill up to 50 percent capacity and close at midnight.

Karaoke operator Red Mr and the Bar Industry Alliance said the restriction means that they won't even reach half of their normal business levels, as the peak business time for these venues happens around midnight.

Cheung said that some of these premises often won't have customers until 11pm.

"Twenty years ago when I have curfew on my daughter, I said you have to be at home at 12 o'clock. My daughter complained that 'they just get started at 12, how can you make me come home at 12?'"

"So that will tell you basically even 20 years ago, young children [don't] go out clubbing until close to midnight, so to ask all these scheduled premises to close at midnight, it's not helping out," he said.

Cheung said that the sector is already introducing epidemic prevention measures such as taking the temperatures of guests and requiring them to fill health declaration forms, while some will only accept only electronic payment from patrons.