New Curbs 'will Drive More Eateries Out Of Business'

Catering sector representatives said the trade would take a further battering because of tighter curbs announced by the government. They warned that more eateries would close moving forward.

Simon Wong, the president of the Federation of Restaurants, says the measures announced by government on Monday – including a total ban on dining-in – are the toughest restrictions the trade has ever encountered.

He told RTHK's Frances Sit that the industry would lose $5 billion in turnover as a result, and warned of a fresh wave of restaurant closures should the situation fail to improve soon.

"If the restrictions continue until mid-August, even late August, the whole August business would drop by about 80 percent," Wong said. "That is alarming to the catering industry."

Wong made it clear the industry needs immediate help. "I'm voicing out to the government that this is a very urgent time to give a helping hand... and I also voice out to the landlords to reduce the rent or (offer) free rentals for certain periods of time."

Tommy Cheung of the Liberal Party, the catering sector's most recent representative in the Legislative Council, appealed for greater government relief for the battered trade.

He also said the industry has been singled out unfairly.

"The unfortunate thing was we were doing our best in the last two weeks to help the government to contain the virus, so you don't see any outbreaks in our restaurants. So we were basically very disappointed that the government, in fact, included us and 'chopped off' our luncheon sit-down and not allowed us to do it," Cheung said.

Gordon Lam, the convenor of the Small and Medium Restaurant Federation and a Civic Party member, echoed Wong's concerns about the impact on businesses over the dine-in ban.

"I think over 70 percent of restaurants, they can only have 20-30 percent of revenue (if the ban is in effect for the whole day)."

Lam also called on the government to roll out a new round of subsidies as soon as possible. "I hope that they can give the cash to each industry immediately, within one month," he said.

Wong, of the Federation of Restaurants, said the catering trade is now paying the price for what he sees as the government's failure to prevent the spread of the virus by overseas seamen and pilots in recent weeks.

Both Cheung and Lam are candidates in the catering constituency in the upcoming Legco election.