Providing more relief aid for poor people

The People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City has proposed the Government provide the city with nearly 28 trillion VND (1.2 billion USD) and 142,000 tonnes of rice to assist poor people and labourers during the period of social distancing under the Prime Minister’s Directive No. 16.

The assistance aims to assure that poor residents and labourers, who are facing difficulties due to COVID-19, comply with pandemic prevention and control regulations and do not leave the city or return to their homelands.

According to the municipal People's Committee, the number of poor households that will get support is 1,580,110 and the number of poor labourers is 4,740,330. The food expense allowance is 50,000 VND per household a day, and rental assistance is 1.5 million VND per household a month and 15kg of rice are allocated to each person.

HCM City is the centre of the fourth wave of COVID-19 infections with the number of patients and deaths increasing rapidly. The pandemic imposed a big influence on activities of agencies, organisations and businesses and left a negative impact on the city’s socio-economic development and budget collection.

The city's budget revenue decreased gradually from May and June and might not meet the target assigned by the government for this year.

In particular, the pandemic has seriously affected the lives of people and poor labourers, forcing many of them to leave the city to other provinces and cities or return to their hometowns. It is estimated that the city has 1,580,110 poor households facing difficulties due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

To cope with the situation, the city has implemented many measures, including the application of social distancing measures since May 31. The city went into lockdown under the Prime Minister’s Directive No. 16 starting July 9 and has extended its strict social distancing measures until mid-September.

The Standing Board of the HCM City Party Committee August 15 asked authorities of Thu Duc city and all districts to quickly provide support, including cash and free food, to needy people affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The city said it would help the poor, students, and migrant workers who have to stay in the city during the lockdown period.

During an online conference on August 15 hosted by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Thanh Phong said the city has been making more effort to ensure an uninterrupted supply of food and essential goods to meet residents’ demand.

The city has piloted the opening of centres to receive and provide essential goods for residents in districts 5, 7 and 12. It is also opening more centres, support groups and relief teams to support people in need./.