Chan also said that during dozens of consultation sessions, many people had told him the coming budget, expected to be revealed on February 23, should be carefully balanced.

Hong Kong’s jobless rate drops to 3.9 per cent, but Covid-19 curbs could change this

“While alleviating the impact of the epidemic, we must also focus on promoting economic development and improving people’s livelihoods,” he said.

Chan added Hong Kong’s economy had always been “highly resilient and flexible”, and that as long as the pandemic was under control and the outlook for mainland China and the rest of the world was positive, it would be able to recover.

Earlier on Sunday, industry representatives had called on the government to provide more support to workers and businesses, with the stricter social-distancing measures brought on by the latest coronavirus outbreak unlikely to be eased any time soon.

Lawmaker Chau Siu-chung, of the Federation of Hong Kong and Kowloon Labour Unions, reiterated calls for the government to offer direct subsidies to workers affected by the measures.

“For many workers from different industries, they can rely on their savings after losing a job for two to three months, but no one can survive if it continues for two to three years,” he said.

“It would be better if the government could offer HK$10 billion [US$1.3 billion] in the fifth round of anti-epidemic funding and subsidise frontline workers.”

He also urged authorities to fulfil their promise to create 60,000 temporary jobs, pointing to a lack of manpower in implementing a five-day lockdown at the Omicron-hit Kwai Chung Estate.

The five-day lockdown was imposed on two buildings there – Yat Kwai House and Ying Kwai House – after nearly 120 residents tested positive or preliminary-positive. Overnight lockdowns were also ordered for four other blocks with preliminary-positive cases.

Meanwhile, a Delta cluster centred around a pet shop has grown to 11 cases. Another three recent cases are untraceable.

Chau said people who were unable to go to work because of the lockdown could obtain sick leave proof from the health authorities.

“They can apply for sick leave allowance from the insurance company through their employers. According to the law, they can get back the equivalent of 80 per cent of their salary,” he said.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor on Saturday said a relaxation of social-distancing measures by February 4, the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, was unlikely.

Federation of Restaurants and Related Trades president Simon Wong Ka-wo said the industry lost an estimated HK$4 billion worth of business in January due to the social-distancing curbs, with some eateries especially those focusing on banquets, on the brink of closing.

“Many restaurants received bookings before Lunar New Year but those banquets were all cancelled,” he said.

“With the outbreak at Yat Kwai House, it is quite impossible for the measures to be relaxed, even if the vaccine bubble is introduced after February 4.”

Hong Kong should roll out more e-vouchers, relax eligibility for aid: IMF

Wong added that even if some restaurants were full during the day, before the ban on evening dine-in services kicked in at 6pm, that only accounted for 30 per cent of their overall business. Takeaway orders were not enough to make up for the losses, he said, saying the government should roll out another round of employment support.

Hong Kong Wholesale Florist Association chairman Lai Wing-chun said the tightened measures had not hit his industry as hard, as the cancellation of flower markets in various districts had meant people visited the one in Mong Kok instead.

However, unease over the outbreak also led shoppers to stay for less time, he said.

“Before the cancellations, we had already asked landlords and developers to help find vacant shops where farmers could sell their flowers,” he said.