Experts Split On Relaxing Restaurant Restrictions

Health experts differed on whether or not the government should relax some restrictions on restaurant dining services in Hong Kong, following reports that the government may soon relax some of the measures for the sector.

Restaurants in Hong Kong are currently subject to a number of restrictions, including a ban on dining in at restaurants from 6pm to 5am. But some media reports said that the government may in future relax the measures to allow dining-in during the evening hours.

However, this will not happen until Tuesday next week at the earliest, as the government announced that all current measures will remain in place until August 25, saying the epidemic situation in Hong Kong remains "highly severe."

Professor David Hui, a Chinese University infectious diseases expert, said the authorities should keep all measures unchanged for a longer period.

Hui, who advises the government on its anti-epidemic efforts, said he understands that the government needs to consider the economy and the needs of the public, but warned that an extension of dining-in hours could compromise the government's universal testing scheme.

"We are still seeing quite a large number of confirmed cases every day, together with a significant proportion of cases of unknown source, so the situation is not yet under control. If we relax the dinner service, that will encourage more people to come out, that would not help the infection control," he said.

"The government is starting the universal testing very soon, and yet there is no stay-at-home order, and by opening the dinner time, this may even further compromise the aim of this universal testing."

Hui also told an RTHK radio programme that the chain of transmissions linked to restaurants has been broken since the dining restrictions took effect.

He said if the authorities decide to extend dining-in services, then they need to keep in place restrictions such as allowing no more than two people per table, and ensure diners don't spend more than an hour to an hour-and-a-half at the restaurant.

But while the president of the Medical Association, Dr Choi Kin, agreed that most restrictions should remain at restaurants, he thinks a slight easing of dining-in hours could help the embattled catering sector and improve the mood in the SAR.

"I eat out every night and I see that most restaurants are on the verge of bankruptcy," he said.

"If you keep this up too long, citizens will not be able to manage themselves, in fact we are seeing a lot of patients who have mood problems, depression, and phobia and all sorts of psychiatric problems after the arrival of Covid."

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