Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor meets the media at the Central Government Offices, Tamar, Feb 4, 2022. (PHOTO/HKSAR GOVERNMENT)

HONG KONG - The Hong Kong government announced on Friday that it will launch a new, sixth round of the Anti-epidemic Fund, with the financial aid to be at least HK$20 billion ($2.57 billion).

READ MORE: HK sees 131 new COVID-19 cases, 45% untraceable

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said at a news conference that compared with the fifth round, the new round of funding will include more businesses and individuals affected by the tightened social-distancing measures.

CE Carrie Lam said compared with the fifth round, the new round of funding will include more businesses and individuals affected by the tightened social-distancing measures

Lam added that the Legislative Council’s Finance Committee is expected to discuss the issue at its meeting in mid-February.

ALSO READ: HK to increase COVID-19 daily testing capacity

The fifth round of relief under the Anti-epidemic Fund was released on Jan 14. The targets of those relief measures included premises that have been closed since Jan 7; restaurants, which are forbidden to provide dine-in service after 6 pm; and travel agencies, which continue to struggle financially because of continued disruptions to the flow of people into and out of Hong Kong since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.