Lunchgoers Find Refuge At Community Centres

Strict social-distancing and hygiene measures are in place at 19 community halls open across the city on Thursday for people to have their lunch, following a total ban on dining-in at restaurants.

An RTHK reporter visited the Henry G Leong Yau Ma Tei Community Centre soon after it opened at 11am, where several construction workers were seen arriving with lunch boxes.

Staff members measured their temperature and provided them with hand sanitiser before they were allowed in.

Eighteen benches were placed 1.5 metres apart inside the venue. Two people sit on each side of the bench, with white cardboard put up in the middle as partition.

And on each bench there's a bottle of sanitiser.

When a man tried to leave his seat and chat with a friend nearby with his mask pulled down, a staff member immediately intervened, preventing him.

Every time someone finished eating, staff used disinfectant to clean the table and seat.

One worker RTHK talked to said he was happy with the arrangement. He said he feels safe and comfortable having lunch here.

Over at the Wan Chai Activities Centre on Queen’s Road East, a worker who came here from a nearby wet market said he was impressed with the facilities here.

He said there's enough space here and it was not crowded.

"It's a much better place to have lunch compared with eating in the park on Wednesday," he said.

While some workers expressed relief that the scramble for a place to eat lunch is over – thanks to the government announcement that the dine-in ban during the day will be lifted from Friday – this wet market worker said he would still prefer to eat here at the community centre rather than at restaurants.

But a security guard who came to the centre at Queen’s Road East said the location is not convenient for him and other colleagues, as most of them work near Southorn Playground and along Lockhart Road.

He urged the government to close the borders to stop arrival of visitors into the city, who he said was spreading the “toxic thing” in the city.