A five-star hotel is offering a generous cash bonus of HK$2,000 (US$258) for employees who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by the end of August.
The luxury Peninsula Hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui, owned by Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels Limited, launched the scheme hoping to encourage staff to get jabbed amid dismal vaccine uptake in the city.
Employees can get HK$2,000 (US$258) and two days of paid leave if they receive the two doses by August 31.
Their bonus will double to HK$4,000 (US$515) if the vaccination rate in the company reaches 70% by the end of August.
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“As many of them are frontline service staff in hospitality operations, vaccination would offer them protection against the disease, and would prepare us for the recovery of tourism and the resumption of international travel,” the hotels’ Public Relations Manager Elizabeth Yau wrote in an emailed statement to Coconuts.
She added that free pre-vaccination screenings will be offered to staff to determine whether they are suitable for the vaccination.
Despite Hong Kong’s efficient vaccination program, which allows the public to receive the COVID-19 jabs at dozens of hospitals and community centers for free, the city is reckoning with high degrees of vaccine hesitancy attributed to a lack of trust in the government and concern about potential side effects.
According to official figures, only 18.5% of the population has received their first dose of the vaccine as of Friday.
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