Hong Kong has been handling the pandemic situation quite well. Travel restrictions apply: According to government guidelines, non-Hong Kong residents can enter the border IF they are arriving from mainland China, Macau, and Taiwan (subjected to 14-day forced quarantine). They cannot enter Hong Kong from any other areas.

But in terms of economic effects the effects are quite severe. The GDP dropped sharply by 9% from a year earlier, which is the worst decline on record.

Inbound tourism is completely gone. Domestic demand also weakened significantly. Private consumption expenditure also dropped by 10% over last year. Retail sales fell by 37%. Restaurant sales by 32% compared to last year. Clearly, airline, hospitality and retail businesses have suffered a huge drop in demand. There have been thousands of job losses in this sector.

Government schemes combatting the outfall of the Covid-19-crisis amounts to HK$71 Billion (which is about 9 Billion USD).

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