Anti-epidemic Fund Steering Committee convenes second meeting

     The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, chaired the second meeting of the Anti-epidemic Fund Steering Committee today (March 18).
 
     At the meeting, the Steering Committee examined the progress of the 24 measures under the $30 billion Anti-epidemic Fund (the Fund). 
 
     The Steering Committee noted that various measures under the Fund had been rolled out progressively.    
 
     At the meeting, Mr Cheung stressed the importance of fully implementing the initiatives as soon as practicable.
 
     "All bureaux and departments should press ahead with the initiatives at full steam. We should aim to disburse the subsidies under the array of relief measures expeditiously. We need to provide timely support for enterprises and members of the public hard hit by the current epidemic or affected by anti-epidemic measures," he said.
 
     The Steering Committee noted that the $5.6 billion Retail Sector Subsidy Scheme, which is expected to benefit some 70 000 retailers, will be launched on March 23 (Monday). The first tranche of payment will be made within April this year. Under the scheme, each eligible retail shop will be given a one-off subsidy of $80 000.
 
     The Steering Committee is chaired by the Chief Secretary for Administration, and members include nine relevant Directors of Bureaux.   The Steering Committee seeks to monitor the implementation of the measures and the use of Fund, and to examine the progress reports from relevant bureaux and departments.