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| HK musicians hope popular night spots like Lan Kwai Fong will come alive again - soon |
In a further sign that the coronavirus threat in Hong Kong has eased, health authorities announced today,
Jun 16, that the gathering ban will be relaxed further, allowing up to 50 people to
get together in public starting Friday, Jun 19.
Further, restaurants may now all operate at full capacity,
and pubs and nightclubs may now offer live shows and singing, although
performers must wear masks and keep a distance from patrons.
This latest piece of information has buoyed the spirits of
Manuela D. Lo, chairperson of the Hong Kong Musicians Union, whose 120-plus
members have all lost their jobs as a result of the ban on live performances,
imposed since late Apr 3.
“I am so thankful for this. Although I am not expecting
instant relief, I hope that in due time, we can all go back work,” Lo said.
She has been at pains to offer help, not just to HKMU
members, but also to musicians on temporary work visas, many of whom were
affected when Covid-19 swept across four bars where they worked.
Of these musicians, 24 tested positive for coronavirus, and were
hospitalized for weeks. A further 49 were put under quarantine. All of them
were eventually sidelined when the bars they worked at were shut, and live
performances were banned.
But at least, their employers are still providing them
rent-free accommodation, said Lo.
Musicians who are permanent residents are worse hit because they have to pay rent and provide for family members despite losing their jobs, she added.
Apart from helping the stricken musicians get whatever
financial relief was available from both the Philippine and Hong
Kong governments, HKMU has also done its own lobbying to revive
the entertainment industry.
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| Lo says musicians hope they can all go back to work in due time |
Last week, Lo said she and her fellow HKMU officers met with
Legislative Councilor Tommy Cheung who represents the catering industry, to
appeal for help in getting live performances back in pubs and other public
venues.
By this time, the outlook had gotten really grim for most,
if not all, musicians in Hong Kong , she said.
Most hotels, including the big ones like the Peninsula and Hyatt Regency in Tsim Sha Tsui, Grand Hyatt
in Wanchai and the Marriott in Admiralty, had stopped live entertainment,
leading to massive job cuts that affected even to the most seasoned musicians.
Another fallout came just last week, said Lo, when BB Jazz,
which is located in the same building as the Covid-infected Insomnia bar,
decided to lay off all its staff after holding off closure for nearly three
months.
“Hopefully the resumption of live performances will convince
the owner to reopen the club,” said Lo.
In due time, she also hopes the entertainment scene which Hong Kong used to be famous for, will come alive again.
In a further sign of normalcy, Disneyland is set to reopen
after nearly five months, following Ocean
Park
Hong Kong Book Fair, which has traditionally attracted
thousands of visitors, will also open as scheduled on Jul 15.
Meanwhile, no new case of Covid-19 was reported today,
keeping the total tally at 1,113. Yesterday, three imported cases were reported, involving
residents who flew in from Russia
and Indonesia
Two of the patients, aged 10 and 47, were asymptomatic while
the third, a 32-year-old woman who flew in from Indonesia
