HONG KONG (Reuters) – JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:) is offering to pay some of its Hong Kong-based staff up to $5,000 each for their hotel quarantine stay for personal trips, a memo from the Wall Street bank to employees seen by Reuters showed.

This is the likely first announcement by a financial institution of this nature in the city. The Asian financial hub’s COVID-19 rules, the most strict in the country, have been said to cause business problems.

This is because Jamie Dimon (the bank’s chief executive) visited Hong Kong for 32 hours last week after being granted a government exemption to quarantine.

This memo stated that staff from the Executive Director level or below will be eligible for the one-off payment to cover a single quarantine visit in Hong Kong.

This program will take place from December 1st to November 2022. The memo stated that it is only for personnel returning from visits to immediate relatives overseas.

The memo stated that “we recognize that the expensive quarantine measures in Hong Kong as part of COVID-19 has impacted many people with regard to visiting loved ones and family overseas.”

JPMorgan spokesmen confirmed that the memo contained the same contents as the South China Morning Post’s initial report on Monday.

Hong Kong’s rules currently require that visitors and residents from many countries spend at least two weeks in quarantine.

Although the Chinese-ruled Chinese city has seen a decrease in infections over recent months, there are still strict regulations and tight borders.

Hong Kong had 12,402 pandemic-related cases in Hong Kong, while the rate of double vaccination stands at 66% according to a government site.

Hong Kong’s biggest businesses have been hit hard by tight rules. Financial lobby groups have asked the government for relaxation of some quarantine restrictions.

Cathay Pacific released 111 employees from mandatory quarantine after being deemed to be close friends of three German pilots infected by COVID-19 while on a layover.