'We're Stuck In Cycle If Shutdown Happens Again'

University of Hong Kong microbiologist Siddharth Sridhar said he supports the easing of social-distancing measures announced by the government on Thursday, and he also warned of the impact of shutting down premises again if cases rebound in future.

Sridhar told RTHK it’s the right time to relax the curbs, with Hong Kong now at the end of the fifth wave of the pandemic and the number of infections heading down.

He also said it’s inevitable that cases will rebound in future, but shutting down premises again would mean “we’re stuck in the cycle”.

“What we have to focus on is the larger picture of reducing the impact of Covid-19 on society at large, and the way we do that is by protecting the people who need the most help. Those are the elderly and with the chronic conditions,” Sridhar said.

“In the meantime, I’m not saying we’re living with the virus. We’re probably not there yet. We’re still going to need sensible social-distancing measures.”

A representative of the catering industry, Richard Feldman, chairman of the SoHo Association, welcomes the return of nighttime dine-in at restaurants from next Thursday. He said revenue could go up by more than 60 percent as a result.

Feldman also said he hopes the authorities will provide clear guidelines for bars and pubs so they can reopen soon.

“For the bar industry, obviously they’re hurting, I would say, the most.

“I think if there were some guidelines that were in place so that they could open, in other words what steps do they need to do so that they can open, so it’s safe for the public, it’s safe for its staff, people have confidence and life can get back to ‘new normal’… then I think they would support it 100 percent.”