“The money in the public coffers is not unlimited and it is not the last time there will be an outbreak,” Secretary for Economy and Finance Lei Wai Nong remarked in the Legislative Assembly in late July, defending the cautious usage of the fiscal reserve. He revealed about half of the government’s expenditures in the past three years were covered by the fiscal reserve: public coffers covering about 49 per cent of the public expenses in 2020, 46 per cent in 2021and 57 per cent so far this year. Though the government stated it has spent over MOP167.8 billion from the fiscal reserve in the past three years, this reduction has not been clearly reflected in the public data yet.