Vietnam offers up to $1.27bn in cash aid
HANOI: Vietnam will offer up to US$1.27 billion (42 billion baht) in cash to lowincome earners hit by the coronavirus pandemic, the government said.
Poor families and household businesses forced to close during the pandemic will each receive 1 million dong (about 1400 baht) a month in the second quarter this year, it said in a statement, adding that people who lost jobs are also eligible for the aid.
The move came after Hanoi issued a range of stringent social distancing measures, including restricting people from leaving home, suspending public transportation and banning gatherings of more than two people on Tuesday.
The new rules issued by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc will apply nationwide for 15 days, starting yesterday, in order to limit the spread of Covid-19 that has showed no signs of abating, with 212 cases confirmed in the country as of yesterday.
“The principle is that each family isolates itself from other families, one village from other villages, one commune from other communes, one province from other provinces,” the directive said, according to Vietnam News Agency.
Only factories, businesses and service establishments that produce and provide essential goods and services are allowed to stay open, while companies are encouraged to let employees work from home.
The directive said people should only leave home in case of emergencies, to buy food or medicine, or to go to work at factories and essential services that are not suspended — and when doing so, they should keep at least 2 metres between each other.
Vietnam has already banned foreigners from entering the country, but since the number of infected people has not stopped increasing, it has been determined that stricter measures are necessary.
VNA earlier quoted Mr Phuc as saying at a meetingthat the country is now only at the pre-emergency stage in dealing with the pandemic and the government is not yet thinking of locking down major cities to contain the virus’ spread.