【明報專訊】With the fifth wave of the pandemic impacting all sectors and people's livelihood, the fight against the pandemic is of overriding importance. The new budget is also focused on aiding citizens and alleviating their hardships. The government has launched a series of one-off relief measures worth hundreds of billions of dollars, and the amount of the consumption vouchers has been increased to $10,000. The first $5,000 will be given out in April. For grassroots citizens who have lost their jobs during the pandemic, this is a relatively sensible and beneficial measure. However, the employment protection measures proposed in the budget are too indirect. A subsidy of salary payment, in contrast, seems more practical.