‘Remove jab requirement to jumpstart bar business’

The bar industry on Thursday said it wants the government to remove a requirement for customers and staff to be vaccinated against the coronavirus, saying it’s hurting business.

Cat Hou, the chairwoman of the Bartenders and Mixologists Union, said that since bars were allowed to re-open two weeks ago, they’ve only seen about 10 to 20 percent of customers return.

She said bars wanted to follow the same regulations as restaurants, but open and close at later times so they wouldn’t have to compete for customers.

Restaurants can serve unvaccinated people but will have limits imposed on their opening times and the number of persons at a table.

At present all bar staff and customers have to have had at least one Covid vaccine.

But some bars say the so-called vaccine bubble has not brought business back, and they’re urging the government to lift the vaccination requirement for customers.