Jobless People Apply For HK$10,000 Subsidy

People who applied for the government’s

on Wednesday said they hope the coronavirus outbreak can be brought to an end quickly so that they can get back on their feet.

Many of them headed to five government centres to sign up for a one-off subsidy of HK$10,000 as applications for the financial relief opened.

The scheme, estimated to cost the government around HK$3 billion, is expected to benefit some 300,000 people who had been put out of work by the current outbreak.

Officials said they'd received more than 65,800 applications as of 6pm.

The applicants said they hope life can return to normal as soon as possible so that they won't have to rely on government help.

One cleaner said he lost his job amid the Omicron outbreak.  

“The subsidy could help me for a while… I hope Hong Kong will return to normal so I can look for a new job,” he said.

A woman from the catering industry also told RTHK she had stopped working since restaurants were badly hit by strict social distancing rules.

“The cash subsidy is better than the spending vouchers as the money could be used more flexibly. I hope the government can contain the outbreak soon,” she said.

The application period for the cash assistance will last for three weeks until April 12.

Those who need help in submitting their online applications may visit five service centres in North Point, Mong Kok, Kwun Tong, Tai Po and Yuen Long.