Restaurant runner bewildered by suggestion to remove partitions to improve ventilation

A catering veteran said he was bewildered by a government advisor's suggestion to remove partitions in restaurants to improve ventilation. 

Government adviser Gabriel Leung Cheuk-wai, also the dean of HKU’s faculty of medicine, earlier suggested that partitions separating diners at different tables should be removed, as they could block ventilation and facilitate the spread of Omicron via airborne transmission.

He said restaurants should instead space out their tables. The city’s current Covid rules mandate that there must be a distance of at least 1.5 meters between tables at restaurants, or operators can put partitions up to act as buffers.

Simon Wong Kit–Lung, chairman of the Institution of Dining Art, said on Monday that it is unrealistic for restaurants in Hong Kong to space out their tables given the small premises they have.

He called on health authorities to reconsider the suggestion, adding that the catering industry, or even citizens, would soon experience anti-pandemic fatigue with the tightening measures.

Wong also suggested the SAR government hand out a new round of consumption vouchers to stimulate local economy.

Respiratory expert Leung Chi-chiu disagreed with Leung, saying the partitions are crucial in stopping the virus traveling from one table to another.

He said as long as diners do not share tables with others, the risk for airborne transmission remains the same. Removing barriers in restaurants will not make any big difference in ventilation, he said.