Hong Kong’s food and beverage sector workers are facing a greater threat from the virus than anyone apart from frontline medical staff. They are terrified of being infected, but they're even more afraid of losing their livelihoods. So they keep their mouths shut and report for duty every night, dealing with food and drink orders shouted in their faces over loud music and handling potentially contaminated banknotes.

Still, a Change.org petition urging the government to provide assistance to the industry has struggled to attract even a few thousand signatures.

Last month, a one-off cash injection of HK$16.9 billion (US$2.15 billion) was announced to provide relief to businesses affected by the outbreak, and the food and beverage industry is included in the package. With Hong Kong’s financial reserves among the highest in the world at almost US$450 billion, we can afford to do more.

For example, the British government, which has less than half of Hong Kong’s reserves in the bank, announced last week that it would cover 80 per cent of affected workers’ wages as it ordered bars, clubs and restaurants to close.

Allan Zeman, the “father of Lan Kwai Fong”, whose group also operates restaurants in the entertainment area, told a television programme on Sunday that if people were not disciplined enough to observe social distancing, the government should limit the business hours of bars and restaurants, while also following Britain’s practice of covering the wages of affected employees.

Since Hong Kong’s party animals and foodies have shown they lack sufficient discipline, Hong Kong needs to go further than just limiting the hours of bars and restaurants, as some have advocated. It’s time to temporarily shut them down, throw a lifeline to the affected businesses and workers, and – as the globally trending hashtag advises – #staythef***athome.

Adam Wright is the Post’s entertainment editor