Residents have their dinner in a restaurant in Tseung Kwan O on April 21, 2022 after the government allowed dine-in services until 10 pm. (CALVIN NG / CHINA DAILY)
A lawmaker from the catering sector says that the government should support a business environment that is conducive to the full-fledged recovery of the catering industry.
Such measures should include resuming quarantine-free travel with the Chinese mainland, allowing foreign labor into the city, and avoiding stringent social distancing measures in the future.
Last week, the Hong Kong government began to relax social distancing measures with the first of three stages. The first stage allowed dine-in services at catering outlets and restaurants until 10 pm, four hours later than before, with the maximum allowed number of people per table increased to four, up from two.
We expect the relaxation of the social distancing measures, coupled with the disbursement of the electronic consumption vouchers, should boost the catering sector to support the business recovery.
Tommy Cheung Yu-yan, legislative councilor representing the catering Functional Constituency
Some premises such as fitness centers and beauty parlors, as well as sports premises, museums, performance venues and libraries under the Leisure & Cultural Services Department, also reopened.
“We expect the relaxation of the social distancing measures, coupled with the disbursement of the electronic consumption vouchers, should boost the catering sector to support the business recovery,” said Tommy Cheung Yu-yan, the legislative councilor representing the catering Functional Constituency.
Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said on Tuesday that Hong Kong people and many restaurant operators are happy with the first stage of relaxed social distancing measures. She added the government will further relax social distancing measures in the second half of May as planned unless a sudden surge in COVID-19 cases occurs.
But the catering industry lawmaker warns that even though the relaxation measures boost businesses’ recovery, the positive impact is not as great as expected.
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“Even with the announcement of the second round of the Employment Support Scheme and the sixth round of the Anti-epidemic Fund, there are many eatery shops being shut down recently. The situation is severe,” Cheung told China Daily. “It is difficult for the catering industry to register the business receipt level that it was in the pre-pandemic period”, before January 2020.
The 2022 Employment Support Scheme will accept applications beginning on Friday, with the first batch of subsidies to be disbursed in early May.
The catering industry is facing a severe manpower shortage, Cheung said. Many restaurant employees are infected or in quarantine. Also, many employees who have quit their jobs during the fifth wave of the pandemic are being recruited by other industries, and they never return to the catering industry.
Lawmaker Tommy Cheung Yu-yan said resuming quarantine-free travel with the Chinese mainland is necessary to boost the catering sector. The government should consider importing foreign labor to enhance the industry labor supply
“The crux of the problem is that the catering sector cannot make adequate business revenue and does not have adequate labor to do the job,” Cheung said.
The lawmaker said resuming quarantine-free travel with the Chinese mainland is necessary to boost the catering sector. The government should consider importing foreign labor to enhance the industry labor supply. “The government also should avoid levying strict social distancing measures in the future as the industry finds it difficult to accommodate such harsh measures,” Cheung said.
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David Leung Chi-wai, chairman of Seafood Delight Group, which operates 17 restaurants in Hong Kong, says the catering sector witnessed an overall 30 percent increase in business receipts in the first weekend after allowing evening dine-in services from 6pm to 10pm.
“We hope the government can relax the social distancing measures much earlier than it has previously proposed. Chinese restaurants depend very much on the resumption of wedding banquets, birthday parties and group gatherings,” Leung told China Daily.
Leung said he hopes that the maximum allowed number of people per table can be increased to 12, and the number of participants allowed at wedding banquets can be boosted from 250 to 300.
In the second phase of the social distancing relaxation measures, premises such as bars and pubs, party rooms, and karaoke establishments as well as public beaches will be allowed to reopen. There will also be further relaxation of dine-in service hours at catering businesses to midnight, with the maximum number of people per table increased to eight.
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In the third and the last phase, the restrictions on the maximum number of customers, business and dine-in hours, as well as the limitation on the number of people per group gathering at all catering and scheduled premises, will be lifted.