Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor holds a press conference at the Central Government Offices in Hong Kong on Sept 15, 2020. (PARKER ZHENG / CHINA DAILY)

HONG KONG - Hong Kong on Tuesday announced the third tranche of virus relief stimulus worth HK$24 billion as the city reported no new coronavirus cases for the first time since the third wave of the epidemic began in early July. 

The government also announced that it will further ease virus curbs starting Friday.

In a press briefing, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and senior officials said the government will spend HK$4.5 billion to help affected industries, HK$13 billion on virus prevention measures and HK$6 billion on rent cuts and other fee waivers.

The relief measures include HK$11.7 billion that will be set aside for the procurement of vaccines, to which elderly care home workers, medical workers and people with chronic illnesses will be given priority.

The city’s hard-hit industries that will receive HK$4.5 billion in subsidies include catering, tourism, aviation and transportation. 

Also, the rent for government-owned properties will be reduced and 27 types of government fees will be waived, which is equivalent to about HK$5 billion.

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The fresh funding would add to nearly HK$290 billion in direct COVID-19-related relief measures since the pandemic began, including cash handouts, tax relief, industry subsidies and funding for hospitals and other virus control policies.

The fresh funding would add to nearly HK$290 billion in direct COVID-19-related relief measures since the pandemic began, including cash handouts, tax relief, industry subsidies and funding for hospitals and other virus control policies 

The government had previously launched two separate rounds of relief funding, as well as targeted measures in its budget.

Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said that, with the total expenditure involved in the three rounds of financial relief measures topping HK$300 billion, the government’s fiscal reserves will drop to over HK$800 billion.

He predicted that the latest relief measures can support the city's economic growth by more than 5 percentage points.

The government also announced that it will further relax the city’s social distancing rules, including the reopening of bars, starting Friday. Lam said that the third wave of infections “seems to have been controlled”.

Bars, theme parks and entertainment venues such as karaoke lounges and party rooms that had been closed to curb the spread of the virus can reopen, Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan Siu-chee said in a media briefing. 

Restaurants will be allowed to offer dine-in service from 5 am to 12 pm, a two-hour extension from the existing regulation that expires on Thursday. Bars and karaoke facilities will also be allowed to open until midnight.

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A ban on public gathering of more than four people and a mandatory mask-wearing requirement in public places will be extended until Sept 25.

The city’s universal coronavirus testing that ended on Monday uncovered directly 32 COVID-19 cases, which led to the identification of another 10 related cases. The testing costs the government HK$530 million. The central government will bear the cost of lab testing.

Two women walk past a cafe in a shopping mall where anti-infection measures are put in place in Hong Kong, July 22, 2020. (CALVIN NG/CHINA DAILY)

Earlier in the day, the Centre for Health Protection reported four new COVID-19 cases, all of them imported. This is the lowest reported daily count since the third wave of infections began. 

The four imported cases involved two men and two women aged between 32 and 43 who arrived in Hong Kong from Japan, the Philippines, Rwanda and India. The city’s infection tally stood at 4,979.

With inputs from Agencies