(To watch the full press briefing with sign language interpretation, click here.)

The Government today announced that designated staff canteens and catering businesses providing meals for staff members to eat in will be exempted from the restrictions on dine-in services starting tonight.

From July 15, restaurants ceased to provide dine-in services from 6pm to 4.59am of the following day. They can only offer takeaway services and deliveries during that period.

At a press briefing this afternoon, Under Secretary for Food & Health Dr Chui Tak-yi explained that the exemption is not a relaxation of anti-epidemic measures made in accordance with the Prevention & Control of Disease (Requirements & Directions) (Business & Premises) Regulation (Cap 599F).

“It is based on the need for special settings. For example, for some designated staff canteens, the staff have little choice because of the location being quite far away from other catering services and they may need to work 24 hours.

“They can restrict the use of those premises only to their staff. In those settings, if they observe all the conditions that we impose under Cap 599F on catering, for example, only four per table, 1.5 metres between tables and all the other hygiene measures, that is also acceptable from the public health perspective.”