Coronavirus: 470,000 applications for Hong Kong government’s HK$10,000 unemployment handout ‘far beyond’ expectations
- Number of applications for Temporary Unemployment Relief scheme is a 57 per cent jump from anticipated figure
- Authorities aiming to pay out all successful applicants in coming three to four weeks
The number of applications from Hong Kong residents for a one-off relief grant amid the Covid-19 pandemic was “far beyond” expectations, the government revealed on Wednesday.
A total of 470,000 residents applied for the HK$10,000 Temporary Unemployment Relief (TUR) – a 57 per cent jump from an anticipated 300,000 applicants. The scheme is aimed at helping those who lost their jobs in a coronavirus-hit economy.
The initiative, under the sixth round of the government’s anti-epidemic fund, opened for applications between March 23 and Tuesday. Successful applicants will receive a lump sum to ease their financial burden.
Doris Ho Pui-ling, head of the Policy Innovation and Coordination Office, told a radio programme on Wednesday that the number of applications was “far beyond” expectations.
“It seems that the unemployment situation in March was worse than February, so more people applied,” said Ho, whose office supervises the secretariat administering the scheme.
She added that employees working at venues forced to close in the fifth wave of coronavirus infections might have contributed to the surge.
But authorities currently had no plan to relaunch the scheme as “the outbreak has now stabilised, and the government is confident such venues can gradually resume business after April 21,” Ho said.
