Hong Kong government to close all pubs and bars

Closure set to impact gambling as a large number of gaming machines and tables are located in entertainment venues.

Hong Kong.- Gambling in a pub or bar will be strictly forbidden in Hong Kong as the government introduces more lockdown measures to battle Coronavirus.

Beginning Friday 3rd April from 6pm, the pub and bar closures are the latest in a series of mandatory shut-downs targeting entertainment venues in a broadening effort by the government to help slow the Covid-19 outbreak.

The new order includes sections of restaurants or club-houses that mainly serve alcohol and where many gambling machines are situated.

A government statement said that so far there have been 62 confirmed Covid-19 cases in Hong Kong that have been linked to local bars, leading to 14 further infections — including a 40-day-old baby boy.

The new order comes a week after the government extended a 14-day ban on games arcades and other entertainment venues like cinemas and icen rinks.

Violators of the new lockdown order face six months in prison and a maximum fine of HK$50,000.