‘Kill the virus, not the business’ – Hong Kong bar owners angry at lack of government help despite two-week shutdown
- Most Hong Kong bar and nightclub owners support the two-week closure, but still need to pay the rent and staff
- The government has not replied to owners’ requests for financial aid
“Kill the virus, not the business” is one of the only printable messages Hong Kong pub owners and bartenders have for Chief Executive Carrie Lam in a YouTube video uploaded after the administration closed the city’s bars last week.
All bar owners the Post talked to support the shutdown, acknowledging that around 70 local coronavirus cases have been linked to bars or pubs in nightlife areas such as Lan Kwai Fong and Soho. But in an industry already hit hard by the 2019 anti-government protests, many venues are facing financial ruin from the shutdown and their owners are asking: now what?
If the Hong Kong government knows, it hasn’t told the industry yet. So far there has been no reply to the sector’s request for Hong Kong to follow the lead of the British government and cover 80 per cent of workers’ pay and subsidise rent in the notoriously expensive city.
Singapore is also cited as a good example of a country looking out for its shuttered businesses, with the Lion City so far committing S$59.9 billion (US$42 billion) to deal with the crisis. The Hong Kong government has to date announced a coronavirus relief package of HK$30 billion (US$3.8 billion), but this was revealed before the bar shutdown and does not include relief for their costs such as wages and rent.
