People who have lost their jobs or had their salaries cut as a result of Sars may be eligible for help from a multi-million dollar war chest to combat the impact on Hong Kong.
Those eligible also include self-employed workers such as travel and insurance agents and tutors.
'We're looking for families that have suddenly been severely affected by the Sars outbreak,' said Pamela Chan Wong-shui, a committee vice-chairman of the Community Chest of Hong Kong, which is managing the funds.
'Some families may have means to tide them over, but others may have difficulties.'
The funding comes from Operation Unite, a private campaign which has raised $10 million. Ten per cent of those donations will go towards purchasing protective gear for frontline workers in the social welfare sector.
The rest would be used to assist three sectors or schemes: workers and families, non-medical staff working in hospitals, and Sars-related educational and preventive programmes.
