How About RATs for Restaurants?

Tsang suggesting diners show RAT results at restaurants

There are now eight people who tested positive in a cluster from eating in a restaurant in Yuen Long. They had eaten breakfast at Peony Golden Court last Sunday.

Seven of them were triple jabbed, one had two doses, and they all had mild or no symptoms.

Based on this, an infectious diseases expert is suggesting to the government that people not only use the Leave Home Safe app to prove they are vaccinated, but also show a negative rapid antigen test in places where masks are exempted, like restaurants. 

People take off masks to eat in restaurants

On a program on RTHK, Joseph Tsang Kay-yan said taking masks off in places like restaurants involves risk of transmission. 

"We ask visitors to the hospitals to show their RAT result of the day of visit because we're very worried they may be asymptomatic patients. Children also need to do RAT before going to school in the morning," he said.

"I don't know if the government will, after what happened [in Peony Golden Court], require people to show a negative RAT result before entering the scheduled premises where they can take their masks off, in order to prevent such incidents from happening again."

How is Hong Kong supposed to inch towards normalcy if experts like Tsang are putting more roadblocks in front of the public? Students are going to school all day, or at least longer than most meals, so it's understandable that they should get a RAT.

But what if someone needs to get a quick bite at a cha chaan teng, or a coffee with someone in a cafe? Do they need to produce a RAT for a 15-20 minute visit?

Getting RAT every time they dine is tedious

Here in Vancouver I attended a dinner with 16 people sitting at one table. Granted we were the only customers left in the dining area for a very late meal, but still, we all sat together, and not two tables of eight with plastic barriers in between.

That said, the restaurant closed at 10pm and we were out of there half an hour later.

Nevertheless, people in Hong Kong are tired of the extreme caution. There is the possibility the Yuen Long cluster will grow larger, or that it won't. 

If RAT is required, then there will be more people fabricating results, or recycling old ones because they can't be bothered to test everyday. Why create more opportunities for loopholes?

At least everyone who is dining out these days is vaccinated, which is the most important thing.