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| HONG KONG — Perry Lam felt confident that his business had weathered the worst of the pandemic. Several rounds of bar closures in Hong Kong had dimmed the city’s vibrant nightlife, threatening to destroy his brewery. But things seemed better late last year. |
| 香港——林浩熙原本坚信他的生意已经熬过了疫情最严重的时期。香港的几轮酒吧倒闭使这个城市充满活力的夜生活黯然失色，也威胁到他的啤酒厂的生存。但去年年底情况似乎有所好转。 |
| After the government’s relentless effort to stamp out the virus, there were no local infections, bars began ordering kegs of his lager again and money was coming in. “You saw the silver lining,” said Mr. Lam, 34. |
| 在政府不懈努力消灭病毒后，当地没有发生感染，酒吧又开始订购他的桶装啤酒，他的收入也开始增加。“看到了一线希望，”34岁的林浩熙说。 |
| That changed this month when Omicron started spreading, and officials returned to the trusted zero-Covid playbook that Hong Kong shares with mainland China. Restaurants were forced to shut down by 6 p.m. Small animals were culled. Flights from eight countries were suspended. Imports came to a standstill. |
| 本月，奥密克戎开始传播时，情况发生了变化，官员们重新使用了经过考验的措施，也就是香港和中国大陆都在用的新冠病毒清零政策。餐馆被迫在下午6点前关闭。小动物遭到扑杀。来自八个国家的航班被暂停。进口陷入停滞。 |
| Hong Kong is chasing the same dogged virus strategy as China, hoping this will strengthen ties to Beijing and allow it to declare victory over Covid-19. But in the process, a place once known as “Asia’s World City” has cut itself off from the outside world, crushing an economy reliant on international trade at a time when the global supply chain is already deeply strained. |
| 香港采取与中国同样强硬的防疫战略，也是希望借此加强与北京的联系，并使北京能够宣布战胜新冠病毒。但在这个过程中，这个曾经被称为“亚洲国际都会”的地方与外部世界隔绝了，在全球供应链已经严重紧张之际，这个依赖国际贸易的经济体受到了沉重打击。 |
| Now, local businesses that held on through several outbreaks are trembling as their highflying metropolitan hub transforms into what feels more like another isolated Chinese city. |
| 如今，在几次疫情暴发中幸存下来的当地企业都在瑟瑟发抖，因为他们繁荣的大都市中心变得更像是另一个与世隔绝的中国城市。 |
| Hong Kong has reported around 300 cases of Omicron, most detected from overseas visitors during their quarantine. In recent days, however, local infections have jumped and emerged from unexpected origins, putting health officials on edge. In all, it has recorded 13,096 virus cases and 213 deaths since the start of the pandemic. |
| 香港已报告约300例奥密克戎病例，大多是在隔离中的入境人士中发现的。然而，最近几天，本地的感染病例猛增，并出现了意想不到的来源，令卫生官员感到不安。自大流行开始以来，香港总共录得13096例病毒病例和213例死亡。 |
| These low numbers have been too much for Beijing’s zero-tolerance line, a seeming prerequisite for Hong Kong to reopen its border with the rest of China — a top priority for local officials who are under pressure to make the former British colony more like the mainland. |
| 这样低的数字对于北京的清零政策来说已经太高，该政策似乎是香港重新开放与中国其他地区边境的先决条件——对于香港地方官员来说，这是一项首要任务，他们正面临着让这个前英国殖民地变得更像大陆的压力。 |
| The fallout for local business has been staggering. Economists at Wall Street banks have lowered their estimates of the city’s economic growth for the year. Fitch, the ratings agency, warned that the ban on foreign travel would severely threaten Hong Kong’s economic future. |
| 这对当地商业的影响是惊人的。华尔街银行的经济学家降低了对该市今年经济增长的预期。评级机构惠誉警告称，外国旅行禁令将严重威胁香港的经济未来。 |
| In the days after the city announced its latest virus measures, several small businesses, including a rotisserie chicken chain, a popular wine bar, a craft beer shop and a gastro pub, said that they would close. Mr. Lam said he is determined that H.K. Lovecraft, his brewery, is not next. |
| 在该市宣布最新病毒防控措施后的几天里，一些小企业表示将会关闭，包括一家烤鸡连锁店、一个受欢迎的红酒酒吧、一家精酿啤酒店和一家美食酒吧。林浩熙说，他坚信自己的啤酒厂H.K. Lovecraft不会是下一个。 |
| “I’ve tried to hold out as long as possible,” he said, “but we are losing money.” |
| “我已经尽量坚持了，”他说，“但我们正在赔钱。” |
| Just a few years ago when he was studying to become a brewmaster in Germany, Mr. Lam had much bigger dreams: “I wanted to have something that belongs to Hong Kong, that is locally made,” he said. |
| 几年前，林浩熙还在德国学习成为酿酒师，那时他有更大的梦想，“我想拥有一些属于香港的东西，是本地制造的，”他说。 |
| He returned to the city and with his own money built a brewery with special equipment shipped from Germany. If he had known what was to come, he might have waited, he said. “It seems like it’s not getting any better and there have been times when I have been pondering how we should proceed.” |
| 他回到这个城市，用自己的钱建造了一个啤酒厂，使用从德国运来的特殊设备。他说，如果他早知道未来会发生什么，他可能会等一等。“看来情况没有任何好转，我也多次考虑过应该怎样继续下去。” |
| Even before the latest round of virus measures in Hong Kong, the cost of shipping malts and hops had become a challenge for many brewers. When the pandemic put pressure on the global supply chain, prices soared. |
| 甚至在香港采取最新一轮疫情措施之前，麦芽和啤酒花的运输成本就已令许多酿酒商为难。当疫情给全球供应链带来压力时，价格也出现飙升。 |
| Ships stuffed with raw materials remain stuck at sea. There are more delivery trucks than there are drivers. |
| 满载原材料的船只仍被困在海上。开送货卡车的司机人手不足。 |
| Ian Jebbitt, who started a Hong Kong brewery called Gweilo Beer in 2015 with his wife and a friend, said before the pandemic he used to pay around €2,000 for a container of hops. “I just agreed to pay €15,500,” he said, or more than $17,500. |
| 2015年，伊恩·杰比特与妻子和一个朋友在香港创办了一家名为“鬼佬啤酒”的啤酒厂。他说在大流行之前，购买一集装箱的啤酒花仅需大约2000欧元，“我刚刚同意支付15500欧元，”他说，这笔钱约合人民币11万元。 |
| The rising costs of goods, rent and labor, as well as the lockdown measures, have made Hong Kong one of the hardest markets to operate in, said Mr. Jebbitt, who has expanded his business to other markets, including Britain and Australia. “I am surprised there haven’t been more casualties.” |
| 杰比特说，商品、租金和劳动力成本的上升以及封锁措施使香港成为最难经营的市场之一。他已将业务扩展到英国和澳大利亚等其他市场。“现在只有这么几家店遭殃已让我挺意外了。” |
| The Hong Kong Association of Freight Forwarding and Logistics said the city’s 21-day quarantine and the effort to stamp out Omicron have created a deficit of aircrew that will most likely cause prices to go up by 30 to 40 percent in the coming weeks. |
| 香港货运物流业协会表示，香港21天的隔离期和消灭奥密克戎的努力造成了空勤人员短缺，这很可能导致物价在未来几周内上涨30%至40%。 |
| Carrie Lam, the city’s chief executive, has acknowledged the problem and warned that the cost will be felt by everyone. “We almost have no goods entering via cargo flight,” she said last week. |
| 香港特首林郑月娥已承认这一问题，并警告称，每个人都将感受到这一问题的代价。“现在香港几乎没有货运透过货机输港，”她上周表示。 |
| Motorino, a popular pizzeria with two locations in the city, is running out of tomato sauce. |
| 在该市有两家分店的人气披萨店Motorino的番茄酱即将用完。 |
| A pallet of the sauce left Naples, Italy several months ago, but has been delayed four times, said Syed Asim Hussain, a co-founder of Black Sheep Restaurants, the group that owns Motorino and 28 other restaurants. |
| 拥有Motorino和其他28家餐厅的集团黑羊餐厅的联合创始人赛义德·阿西姆·侯赛因说，公司订购的一托盘番茄酱几个月前就已离开意大利那不勒斯，但抵达日期已经被推迟了四次。 |
| The number of diners is dwindling, too. |
| 外出用餐者也在减少。 |
| When he calculated his daily revenue across all restaurants after the new pandemic restrictions were announced, Mr. Hussain said it was less than what one of his restaurants brought in at lunchtime just a month ago. |
| 侯赛因计算了新疫情限制措施宣布后他所有餐厅的每日收入，他说，这个总收入比一个月前他的一家餐厅午餐时间的收入还要少。 |
| In the background, Hong Kong is still navigating the aftermath of the 2019 pro-democracy protests that divided the city and his 1,000 employees. |
| 还有一个背景是，香港仍在应对2019年民主抗议活动的余波，这些抗议使得香港这座城市以及他的1000名员工产生了分歧。 |
| At Carbone, another one of Mr. Hussain’s Italian restaurants, December was punctuated by farewell dinners for people leaving the city, rather than raucous holiday parties. “No one in business school teaches you how to deal with two black swan events like this,” he said. |
| 在侯赛因的另一家意大利餐厅Carbone，12月里不时有为离开这座城市的人举办的告别宴会，而不是热闹的节日派对。“商学院里没有人教你如何处理这样的两个黑天鹅事件，”他说。 |
| Another obstacle to relaxing Covid-19 restrictions is the city’s vaccination rate, which is low compared with many developed countries. Only 70 percent of residents are fully vaccinated, with many saying they are suspicious of the government. |
| 放松新冠限制的另一个障碍是该市的疫苗接种率，与许多发达国家相比，这里的接种率较低。只有70%的居民完全接种了疫苗，很多人表示对政府持怀疑态度。 |
| The estimated loss for the current virus measures, which are expected to last for several more weeks, is at least $1.2 billion over a four-week period, according to Tommy Cheung, a legislative councilor who represents the catering sector in Hong Kong. |
| 代表香港餐饮行业的立法会议员张宇人说，目前采取的防控措施预计将持续数周，预计在四周的时间里造成至少12亿美元的损失。 |
| “This isn’t going away like SARS,” he said, referring to the coronavirus that devastated Hong Kong in 2003 and helped shape the city’s response to Covid-19. “This is one tunnel where I don’t see the light at the end. All these restaurants that ask me to their ribbon cutting, I keep saying that, ‘You guys are too damn brave.’” |
| 他说：“这不会像SARS一样消失。”他指的是2003年在香港肆虐的冠状病毒，它从某些方面塑造了香港应对新冠的方式。“这是一条看不到尽头的隧道。对于所有邀请我参加剪彩仪式的餐馆，我总是说，‘你们太勇敢了。’” |
| Mrs. Lam last week announced a $500 million pandemic relief fund for restaurants, retailers and travel agencies, but many businesses say it won’t be enough. |
| 林郑月娥上周宣布为餐馆、零售商和旅行社提供5亿美元的疫情救援基金，但许多企业表示这还不够。 |
| Rob Cooper, who owns four restaurants under the Enoteca Group, said he received four rounds of government support between November 2020 and May 2021, but managed to break even in this year only because of generous landlords and some savings. |
| 拥有Enoteca集团旗下四家餐厅的罗伯·库珀表示，他在2020年11月至2021年5月期间获得了四轮政府支持，但他今年才实现了收支平衡，这还是因为房东的慷慨，加上以前的积蓄。 |
| Now that fewer chefs and other restaurant workers are willing to move to Hong Kong and brave the quarantine, he’s unsure he’ll be able to survive another outbreak under the zero-Covid policy. |
| 现在，愿意搬到香港并勇敢面对隔离的厨师和其他餐厅员工越来越少，他不确定自己能否在清零政策下度过另一场暴发。 |
| “We’ll never open up,” Mr. Cooper said. “The next variant is around the corner. That’s just science, isn’t it? How do you open up an economy if everything is imported? The rest of the world is riddled with Omicron.” |
| “我们永远没法开门，”库珀说。“下一个变异即将到来。这就是科学，不是吗？如果一切都是进口的，你要怎么开放一个经济？世界上其他地方到处都是奥密克戎。” |
| For Mr. Hussain, a fifth-generation Hong Konger, losing the small mom-and-pop restaurants, diners and outdoor eateries that make his home so vibrant will irrevocably change the city. |
| 对于第五代香港人侯赛因来说，失去让他的家乡充满活力的那些小型夫妻店、餐馆和户外餐馆将会不可逆转地改变这座城市。 |
| “The old-timers assure me that we are going to be OK. But I worry as a restaurateur, as an entrepreneur,” he said. “I worry about the soul of the city.” |
| “老一辈人向我保证，我们会没事的。但作为餐馆老板和企业家，我很担心，”他说。“我担心这座城市的灵魂。” |
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