Curb Opening Hours For Restaurants, Bars: Expert

An expert in infectious diseases said on Saturday that the government should consider limiting opening hours for restaurants and bars, if more people infected with the coronavirus are found to have visited diners and pubs.

Professor Hui, the director of the Centre for Emerging Infectious Diseases at Chinese University, said he expects a spike in confirmed cases as more people return to Hong Kong from overseas. adding that the risk of a community outbreak will rise, if returnees still go out to socialise instead of staying in quarantine.

Hui said that over the past few days there had been "quite a number of cases that were linked to bars or restaurants in Lan Kwai Fong.

"If the trend continues like that, the government may need to consider reducing the working hours - the opening hours - in these venues," said Hui, who's advising the government on how to handle the Covid-19 pandemic.

He said the government would need to negotiate this with the sector, and stressed that his comments also included people who had returned to the SAR recently before the deadline for quarantine was imposed.

However, the Health Secretary, Sophia Chan, said people would still go out if they choose, even if if shops were closed. But she's urging shops to close early or provide delivery services to limit the chances of social gatherings.

Health officials said earlier this week that they were worried that bars and restaurants in Lan Kwai Fong were becoming hotspots for the spread of Covid-19, after a person who tested positive had been in the area during the incubation period.

They said two women who tested positive had also told them they had visited the popular entertainment area recently.

On Wednesday, the authorities said a woman who had gone for drinks and dinner in Lan Kwai Fong had tested positive.

Health officials warned that gathering together to eat and drink is a high risk activity that can spread the virus.

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