New Measures Will Hit Bars' "golden Hours"

Bar industry representatives say they will be hit hard in the pocket after the government tightened virus control measures for bars on Saturday, saying they will be forced to shut during their most lucrative time slots.

Under the tightened measures, bars will have to shut at midnight. The number of customers permitted per table will be cut from four to two, and people were banned from drinking away from their tables.

The Licensed Bar and Club Association's Leung Lap-yan says he is upset and angry. He believes the sector will earn less than 20 percent of normal revenue, if dine-in services are only available before midnight.

Since October 30, the government has been allowing bars to open until 2 am. Leung described these two extras hours as "golden".

"Customers can only enjoy an hour at the bar under the new restrictions," he said.

Leung also doubted whether the two hours' difference would make much difference in terms of virus control.

"We can see that since September, when bars were able to reopen, no large scale outbreak was found in bars," he said. He is expecting more bars to close down.

The chairperson of the Bartenders and Mixologists Union, Cat Hou, shares Leung's view about the extra trade these two hours bring.

"The customer flow is better if bars can open until 2 am, as people will have their dinner earlier and come into the bar afterwards, according to what I have heard from some bar tenders," she said.

She said the government had not consulted the sector before tightening the social distancing measures.