Starved for company: Long cooped up patrons crowd dining and drinking venues

Many restaurants and bars were teeming with patrons on Friday night, with wildly irregular or zero application of health regulations, the Sunday Times found.

Restaurants and bars registered with the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority were approved for partial re-opening “under strict guidelines” and a priority vaccination programme on July 5, 2021.

This newspaper visited multiple restaurants on July 9 and on July 16. While the social scene seemed dry and recreational areas mostly empty on July 9, the numbers had picked up significantly on July 16. Compliance to regulations was mixed. Some restaurants were shut, and some followed the rules, while others disregarded the 25 percent capacity cap and one-metre social distancing rule.

A bar in Nugegoda with an airy rooftop restaurant and an enclosed air- conditioned room was packed to the hilt. Access was via a cramped lift or stairs. There were no hand sanitisers, no social distancing and no masks (only the waiters wore them, minus face shields) despite scores of people milling about in close proximity. Food was shared off plates.

Another venue on Galle Road, that has multiple restaurants, showed no uniformity in the application of rules. One restaurant had every bar stool table occupied and placed less than a foot apart from the next. The outdoor tables of other venues were completely full as the spaces inside were also taken up. These were compact spaces where different groups drank and laughed in the absence of any health precautions. There were no hand sanitizers to be seen, and the registering of contact information did not seem to be taking place.

Multiple sources said that other restaurant-heavy areas like Rajagiriya were also taking in more than 25 percent of their capacity. Video footage of star hotels along Sir Chittampalam A Gardiner Mawatha showed them packed to the brim.

“It is not really the restaurant’s fault,” insisted a source that regularly patronises a star hotel in Colombo. “I often see certain people with political influence come in and intimidate staff into allowing their large parties inside, despite clear signage that this isn’t allowed.” It was not an option for these hotels to call the police as they would be harassed. The rooftop restaurant also served significantly more than 50 percent of its capacity, the source said.

The Sunday Times noted hotels along the Galle Road hosting grand events, some of which had military security. At one venue, people in party attire emerged from vehicles with army number plates and made their way into the reception hall.

The move to reopen the industry was a result of a meeting among industry stakeholders and the Central Bank, during which the Colombo City Restaurant Collective ( CCRC) requested financial relief and early reopening to avoid a complete shutdown of the crippled industry, which employs approximately 30,000 people.

The industry presented a 9-point document identifying the assistance they needed, said Harpo Gooneratne, CCRC President. It asked that it be allowed to reopen and entertain 50 percent of the total capacity. But approval was only granted for restaurants and bars to serve 25 percent of their capacity, with group dining limited to eight people per group.

Mr Gooneratne was surprised to hear of violations and held that, while the industry’s need for revenue was understandable, guidelines must be adhered to. “Another lockdown will make this a dead industry,” he warned, pointing out that both restaurants and patrons had a responsibility to ensure things didn’t go wrong. Patrons that feel unwell should stay home, while restaurants and bars should stick to the rules so that the needs of the few do not compromise the livelihoods of many. While the vaccination of frontline hospitality workers was ongoing in some areas, it isn’t taking place in Colombo yet.

Many financial concessions were doled out to the hospitality industry, but the restaurant industry couldn’t take full advantage as banks claimed that restaurant equipment was not suitable collateral. “We made a request to the Central Bank about this, but they did not make a commitment in that regard,” Mr Gooneratne said.