Relief work for victims of the Wang Fuk Court fire in Tai Po progressed rapidly on the eighth day since the tragedy, with 99 percent of the 1,930 affected families getting their HK$10,000 ($1,285) emergency cash handouts, officials said.

The special administrative region government-established support fund has so far accumulated HK$2.4 billion in donations and start-up capital.

ALSO READ: HK resumes election forums, fatal fire tops concerns

Clarence Leung Wang-ching, undersecretary for the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau, told local radio that the fund will provide continuous, long-term assistance to affected residents. He added that an additional living allowance of HK$50,000 per household is being distributed through a “one social worker per household” support arrangement. As of Wednesday, 326 households had received the HK$50,000 living allowance.

Over 2,900 residents have been relocated to government-provided youth hostels, hotel rooms, or transitional housing units as of Wednesday.

In a social media post, the Home Affairs Department expressed gratitude for the supplies donated by the community, adding that employees are working around-the-clock to sort and distribute items. The first batch of bedding and electrical appliances has been delivered to residents’ new temporary accommodations. The department said that damaged or unhygienic second-hand clothing and footwear have been removed from the stockpile on health and safety grounds.

Since the launch of the government-backed online donation platform on Sunday, more than 1,100 registration offers had been received as of Wednesday, featuring items that include food, clothing, and daily necessities. The centralized system is coordinating the contributions to meet residents’ needs. Designated social workers will help address special requirements, such as students’ stationery and laptops.

The government also announced flexible handling of fees and charges for affected families, including waivers of property taxes, government rent, water and sewage fees, and hospital charges for those injured in the fire.

In addition, utility providers, including power, telecommunications, and gas companies, have announced policies to waive electricity tariffs or refund customer deposits to help ease the financial burden on victims.

READ MORE: Wang Chi House residents allowed to collect belongings

Meanwhile, residents of the sole unaffected tower at Wang Fuk Court, Wang Chi House, were allowed to return to their homes to retrieve personal belongings on Wednesday and Thursday.

More urgently needed supplies from the Chinese mainland, including protective goggles and waterproof gloves, were delivered to Hong Kong on Wednesday to support fire relief efforts. The supplies were provided by the Ministry of Emergency Management, under the coordination of the Hong Kong and Macao Work Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee.

The death toll in Hong Kong’s Tai Po blaze reached 159 on Wednesday, with 140 victims identified, 49 men and 91 women, ranging from ages 1 to 97, as the Hong Kong Police Force completes search operations at all seven fire-ravaged towers.

The deceased include one firefighter who died in the line of duty, 10 foreign domestic workers, and five on-site workers. Forty-two injured people have been released from hospitals, while 37 remain hospitalized — four in critical condition, nine serious, and 24 considered stable. Thirty-one people are still missing.

Joe Chow Yat-ming, commissioner of police of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government, said search operations will be conducted later under the collapsed scaffolding to check for possible victims. Remains discovered in some units at the scene will be sent to forensic examiners and government laboratories for further testing to determine whether they are human or animal, while DNA analyses will be used for identification purposes.

Preliminary investigations into the fatal fire suggest that substandard protective mesh netting around the buildings may have contributed to the fire’s rapid spread. The HKSAR government has ordered the netting around all buildings undergoing major renovations across the city be immediately removed.

FOLLOW LIVE UPDATES: Tai Po fire

The Buildings Department also aims to issue a new guideline next week, requiring all mesh netting materials delivered to construction sites undergo on-site sampling by designated labs before they are approved for installation and use.

Also on Tuesday, police arrested six additional people aged 44 to 55, on suspicion of making false representations to the Fire Services Department by claiming that fire alarms in the fire-hit buildings would be activated during maintenance.

The police and the Indepedent Commission Against Corruption have now arrested a combined 21 suspects related to the complex’s maintenance work.

Contact the writer at stacyshi@chinadailyhk.com