With the ongoing roll-out of COVID-19 vaccines and a $15 billion relief package revealed in a budget in February, the economy in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) is expected to rebound.
Turn a difficult corner
By pumping $15 billion to stimulate the economy, Mr. Paul Chan Mo-po, the financial secretary, said the government aims to see a five-percent expansion in its economy by the end of 2021.
"I believe the worst is behind us. I am very optimistic that Hong Kong's economy will recover gradually as more and more Hong Kong residents are vaccinated," Adrian Cheng, executive vice-chairman and chief executive of New World Development, said at a briefing on Friday, when the special administrative region started its mass COVID-19 inoculation campaign.
Taking the $645 electronic consumption voucher for residents in the budget into consideration, New World Development forecast that retail sales are likely to surge by double digits in the second half of the year.
Hong Kong's unemployment rate hit seven percent – the highest in nearly 17 years – for the three months from November to January, compared with 6.6 percent in the previous quarter, with almost 253,300 people out of work, according to data released by the Census and Statistics Department in February.
Due to the decrease in COVID-19 cases, social distancing restrictions in the special administrative region have continued to be eased in recent days, as many businesses, cinemas, and restaurants have begun to resume operations after having closed during the height of the pandemic.
Two tourist landmarks, Ocean Park Hong Kong and Hong Kong Disneyland, announced reopening on February 18 and February 19 respectively.
Residents wait to receive COVID-19 vaccine in a community vaccination center in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, February 26, 2021. /CFP
Mass vaccination underway
More than 20,000 residents in the special administrative region have been inoculated with the mainland-developed Sinovac vaccine, 1 million doses of which arrived in Hong Kong from Beijing on February 19, said Secretary for the Civil Service Patrick Nip Tak-kuen on Monday.
Nip Tak-kuen told China Media Group (CMG) that at least 135,000 residents have booked vaccination appointments since the start of the COVID-19 inoculation campaign on Friday.
In an interview with CMG, residents expressed their appreciation for the Chinese central government, saying the arrival of the COVID-19 vaccines enhanced their confidence in the fight against the pandemic.
Pang Ailan, the community vaccination center consultant at the Yuen Wo Road Sports Center, said the center, as the largest of the five centers in Hong Kong, ushered about 1,400 people for the vaccination on Friday.
"Thanks to the support of our country, Hong Kong has the determination to fight the pandemic with the vaccines," said Pang, encouraging residents to take the shots so as to help the community return to a normal life.
A resident surnamed Li told CMG that he lined up for the vaccine at 7:45 a.m. on Friday, and that the injection did not hurt.
"I am indescribably happy. Thank our motherland," Li said.
(Reporter Richard Kimber contributed to the story)