A group of bar, karaoke and mahjong parlour owners have gone on a symbolic hunger strike in Hong Kong over anti-coronavirus measures that have kept them shuttered for most of the last year.

The four-day protest started on the pavement outside the Hong Kong government's headquarters on Sunday -- the one-year anniversary of when authorities first ordered a round of closures to stem infections.

Those taking part are refusing food in shifts, more an act of protest than a full hunger strike.

"People are queueing for beaches... restaurants are full but only we are in pain and barred from opening," Leung Lap-yan, founding president of the Licensed Bar and Club Association, told reporters.

Hong Kong's bars -- a major early source of infections -- have been hit particularly hard by social distancing measures that have been tightened and relaxed depending on infection rates.

Over the last year, they have been fully closed for 230 days, opened with restrictions for 101 days, and allowed to run normally for only 24 days.

The latest closures have been in place since November, meaning bar owners missed out on the usually peak Christmas, New Year and Easter holiday seasons.

Densely populated Hong Kong was one of the first places to be hit by the coronavirus, but strict social distancing and universal mask wearing has helped keep infections to just over 11,000 with 205 deaths.

Those measures have caused economic devastation, however, and prompted accusations that authorities are more willing to relax curbs for politically connected industries.

Restaurants have remained open in recent weeks -- with a cap on four people per table -- while Hong Kong's malls and theme parks have been packed.

Gyms have also been allowed to reopen despite being at the centre of a major recent cluster.

The protesting owners said their industries were willing to adopt stringent measures including capacity restrictions and even requiring customers to drink with a straw.

But so far they have not won any government approval to reopen.

Yuen Kwok-yung, one of the city's top microbiologists, said on Monday that he understood people's anger.

"But if you want a full restoration of business, you must have 28 consecutive days with zero local cases," Yuen said.

"Otherwise, once the restrictions are gone, it will come back."

Related Links
Epidemics on Earth - Bird Flu, HIV/AIDS, Ebola

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The Space Media Network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceMediaNetwork Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceMediaNetwork Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

WHO experts give nod to China jabs, boosting global vaccine drive
Geneva (AFP) March 31, 2021
Two Chinese coronavirus jabs are safe and effective, WHO experts said Wednesday after reviewing partial data, providing a potential boost to countries from Australia to Europe struggling to roll out vaccines fast enough. Fewer than 600 million jabs have been given out across the world, three months after vaccination programmes began in earnest in Western countries and leaders hailed the drugs as the only safe way out of punishing lockdowns. Vaccine specialists at the World Health Organization di ... read more