Xinhua News Agency, Hong Kong, March 16th: Hong Kong in the epidemic: difficult but hopeful
Xinhua News Agency reporter Ding Zizhen
Under the shroud of the epidemic, people on the streets of Hong Kong have put on masks to keep a distance from others and try to maintain a normal pace of life. The SAR Government has also vigorously launched a series of anti-epidemic measures to cope with the difficulties of the people.
Pay reductions, closing shops, unpaid leave
Wang Xingda, who lives in a public housing estate in Shatian, is a chef, his wife is a cleaner, and he has a son and a daughter. The two people's daily income adds up to more than 20,000 Hong Kong dollars, which saves money and saves money. But since the second half of 2019, Wang Xingda's income has become less and less.
"In order to keep the rice bowl, I had no choice but to accept these arrangements." Wang Xingda said that he originally worked 5 to 6 days a week. If he didn't take leave throughout the month, he could get an extra 1,000 Hong Kong dollars for work attendance. But in recent months, the restaurant he works in has shortened his business hours. He not only won no attendance award, but was forced to take two to three days of unpaid leave per week.
Although Mrs. Wang ’s income can be guaranteed, she faces another difficulty: the company requires employees to bring their own protective supplies such as masks. Therefore, Mrs. Wang ’s monthly cleaning supplies expenses have greatly increased. ".
On the 14th, the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Lin Zhengyue, transferred a group of masks donated by the outside world to the SAR government earlier to two volunteer self-help organizations and parents of people with disabilities. Previously, she went to Hong Kong to distribute masks and daily necessities with various government officials.
"Mutual support from all walks of life is an important part of the concerted efforts to fight the epidemic." Lin Zhengyue said that the government ’s Steering Committee on Anti-epidemics has set up a public participation working group to donate masks to the public. The number of masks donated has exceeded 3 million.
In addition to Wang Xingda's catering industry, Hong Kong's retail, tourism, and hotel industries have suffered unprecedented hits. According to the latest data from the Tourism Development Bureau, there were only 3,000 visitors to Hong Kong in a single day in February, which plummeted 98% year-on-year, and the overall hotel occupancy rate was only 20%.
To assist the industry through the difficult times, the SAR government launched a total of HK $ 30 billion in "epidemic and anti-epidemic funds" with as many as 24 measures. The Travel Agent Funding Scheme under the Fund will provide HK $ 80,000 in funding to each eligible travel agent, and the Licensed Hotel Funding Scheme will also provide relevant hotels with HK $ 50,000 and HK $ 80,000 in funding.
The HK $ 16.9 billion in the Epidemic Prevention Fund was used to assist enterprises and citizens, benefiting multiple industries such as retail, catering, transportation, tourism, and construction. More than HK $ 10 billion was used to allocate additional funds to public hospitals, assist in the production of local masks, Purchasing protective equipment and supporting home quarantine.
Masks, takeaway, hiking
Every night when I return home from work, Hong Kong citizen Ms. Wong will disinfect with alcohol first, then quickly take a bath, put on clean clothes and dry her hair before eating. She now packs and takes home three meals a day, and her shopping cart is full of protective supplies such as alcohol, disinfectant, masks, toilet paper.
Shen Sijia, who lived in the downtown area of Wan Chai, originally rented a suite with two girls. One of the girls had to return to work in the Mainland. One of the bedrooms was vacant.
Circle of friends, "Hong Kong drift" circle ... Lease advertisements have been out for more than a week, but no one cares. According to Shen Sijia, according to previous years, her house can be rented out in two or three days. But in the epidemic, no one dared to visit the house. If the situation persists, she can only share the rent of an empty room with another roommate at HK $ 6,000 per month.
"Happily, the government will send us 10,000 Hong Kong dollars to alleviate a lot of pressure." Shen Sijia said.
The SAR Government announced its budget at the end of February and introduced counter-cyclical measures of more than 120 billion Hong Kong dollars to support the economy and relieve the people. Measures include: the payment of HK $ 10,000 to permanent residents aged 18 or above will benefit 7 million people; substantial relief from salaries tax and housing rates; and an additional one-month social security allowance.
At the time of the epidemic, on the one hand people reduced their gathering activities and on the other they chose to go out for a mountain trip. The number of hikers in the past two months has increased by 20% to 30% compared with the past.
"Hong Kong's housing area is small, and it is easy to be upset when you stay at home for a long time. So I went out to take a look at the scenery and changed my mood." Mr. Li, a citizen, put on a mask and gloves with his family on the morning of the 14th and took a boat from Central Pier to Mui Wo.
In addition to the mountains, the parks and seaside on weekends are also quite lively. Children running with masks, old people playing Taijiquan, owners of walking dogs ... People try to maintain the daily rhythm of life and overcome the difficulties together.
"The SAR Government will do its utmost to fight the epidemic through multiple measures." Lin Zheng Yue'e previously said that the Hong Kong epidemic is currently under control, but it also requires efforts by Hong Kong citizens to maintain personal hygiene and minimize social contact, and calls on all sectors of society to strongly support the SAR government. Various initiatives.
Online lessons, games, long winter holidays
Cycling on the cycling track in the Tai Po Garden every night is the happiest time of the day for 12-year-old Xiao Ting and his brother. Every morning, Xiaoting takes 3 hours to take Chinese, English and math online courses, do homework in the afternoon, and can watch TV, play computer, and use her mobile phone the rest of the time.
The Education Bureau of the SAR Government recently announced that primary and secondary schools and kindergartens in Hong Kong will resume classes no later than April 20. This is the longest winter vacation that Xiaoting and her brother have missed, from January 23 to April 20, for nearly three months.
Affected by the suspension, many kindergartens in Hong Kong have experienced a “tidal wave.” Some private kindergartens have had to close because of reduced income and pressure on rents. Although many private kindergartens have notified parents that tuition fees are halved and tuition fees are waived, parents have dropped out of school in order to reduce losses.
To alleviate the pressure on schools and parents, the SAR Government ’s Epidemic Prevention Fund has raised 900 million Hong Kong dollars to increase student allowances for this school year, benefiting about 900,000 primary and secondary students. In terms of supporting schools, the Education Bureau provides epidemic prevention subsidies ranging from 10,000 to 25,000 Hong Kong dollars for public, direct-funded, private primary and secondary schools and kindergartens in Hong Kong, with 2,200 schools expected to benefit.