Vaccine Pass Will Hit Public Markets Hard, Trade Says

Government plans to bar the unvaccinated from entering places such as public markets will hit already-struggling businesses hard, trade representatives told RTHK on Wednesday.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam had on Tuesday announced that a ‘vaccine pass’ initiative requiring people to have received at least one jab before they’re allowed access to a variety of venues such as restaurants, shopping malls and supermarkets, would start on February 24.

Those who have medical exemptions are also allowed in.

But Chan Kam-wing from the Federation of Hong Kong Kowloon New Territories Hawker Associations told an RTHK programme on Wednesday that vendors in public markets will be hit particularly hard, as many of their customers are unlikely to satisfy either criteria.

“Our customers are mostly older people – elderly people who live in the area, or long-time customers. Government data shows that most of those who are unvaccinated come from this age group, if you don’t count children. So this will have the greatest impact on our business looking forward,” Chan said.

He said the number of people visiting public markets had already plunged by some 30 to 40 percent after the government made it a requirement for visitors to use its LeaveHomeSafe mobile app.

When the new vaccine pass initiative is imposed in just over a fortnight’s time, Chan worries that there’ll be another drop of 20 to 30 percent.

He said even though some areas in the vicinity of public markets may look busy, the reality for market vendors is very different.

"Yes, more people are buying food, but they are not buying food at the markets. They are buying from shops outside the markets. Those stores are crowded, but markets are empty," he said.

Some restaurants, meanwhile, will bar the unjabbed starting on Thursday, as part of beefed-up anti-epidemic measures imposed in a bid to curb the rapid spread of Omicron across the territory.

Leung Chun-wah, who chairs the Association for Hong Kong Catering Services Management, told the same programme that business for some hard-hit eateries has already plummeted by 80 percent since dine-in services after 6pm were banned.

He urged the government to consider easing restrictions and allow restaurants to resume evening dine-in services, saying many businesses won’t last for long.

“We have no room to survive now,” he said.