The Hong Kong government has launched a series of new financial aid measures, including $ 3.2 billion, to reduce the economic damage caused by the corona virus.

"The initiative to create a support fund with an estimated amount of US $ 3.2 billion is our commitment to the people of Hong Kong," Chief Executive Carrie Lam said at a press conference today.

The fund will include grants for various businesses that have been affected since the outbreak of Covid-19. Accordingly, travel companies and retail businesses can get a subsidy of about 10,300 USD, while the amount of money for restaurants will range from 10,300 to 200,000 USD.

Lam also announced that the government would grant the Hospital Administration and Research Institute an additional $ 650 million to deal with the corona virus disease. The Hong Kong Legislative Council will meet next week to discuss more details about the grant.

The Covid-19 outbreak, which began in December 2019 in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, has now spread to 26 countries and territories, leaving at least 1,383 people dead and more than 60,000 infected. Hong Kong today recorded three more cases of viral infections, bringing the number of people infected in the special zone to 56.

The plague hit the Asian financial center, especially in the aviation sector, when Cathay Pacific had to ask 27,000 employees to take up to three weeks unpaid leave, while Hong Kong Airlines was forced to lay off. 400 employees.

Lam decided to close 10 out of 13 border gates with mainland China from the afternoon of February 3, and announced a two-week isolation from all people from the region to prevent the corona virus from continuing to spread.

Countries with nCoV-infected patients. Click on image to see details.