Starting Saturday, food and drink establishments in Taoyuan must operate at 50% capacity. The Taoyuan City government announced the decision on Friday, citing a surge in local COVID cases. Restaurateurs say the measure will take a heavy toll on their business. But locals are clamoring for even stiffer measures, including a blanket ban on dining in.

We’re at a breakfast shop with about a dozen tables. Due to COVID, Taoyuan has ordered restaurants to operate at half capacity starting Saturday.

Taoyuan resident
That’s fine. I’d just get my food to go. I’d feel more at ease taking it home anyway.

Taoyuan resident
With COVID getting so bad, eating in and ordering to go each have its pros and cons. But to protect myself, I’d rather get takeaway.

These locals say they’d feel safer getting food to go. Case numbers have soared in Taoyuan, and many infections have been traced back to local restaurants. Taoyuan’s mayor has already announced that starting Jan. 29, restaurants will have to operate at half capacity. Masks must remain on whenever leaving the table, and karaoke machines in eateries must not be used.

Restaurateur
Usually families come out to eat together. If we don’t have enough tables and it looks like there’s not enough space, they’d rather not eat in at all. This restriction will have a big impact on us. This is comparable to the Level 3 ban on dining in, which was ruinous for our business.

Food and drink operators fear the impact of the new rule, and they say they hope Level 3 is not imposed again. Meanwhile, one local says Taoyuan’s new rule leaves too much room for interpretation and will have limited impact. He’s calling for a jump to Level 3 and a ban on dining in altogether.

Taoyuan resident
They should ban dining in immediately. The local government says 50%, but in actuality, practically speaking, there’s no way for them to ensure that the restaurant operates at half capacity. Reducing capacity by 50% is not as good as banning it altogether.

Cheng Wen-tsan
Taoyuan mayor
Although there are some cases with an unknown source of infection, we are following up on them with a very thorough investigation. We want this outbreak to be within a controllable scope.

The mayor says that some infections are still being investigated, and that it’s not yet considering a ban on dining in. Restaurateurs say a blanket ban would deal a crippling blow to their livelihoods.