Accordingly, Binh Phuoc province will receive 559.74 tons, Bac Lieu 636.975 tons and Soc Trang 2,921.085 tons of rice.

Earlier, at an online conference between the Government and ministries, agencies and localities on August 15, Minister of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs Dao Ngoc Dung said that he would submit to the Prime Minister for approval a plan to allocate rice to help pandemic-hit localities across the country, especially provinces that are implementing social distancing.

The Minister suggested that Ho Chi Minh City provide "1 million social security bags" to its people, so that they can feel secure at home. The “social security bag,” which includes essential goods, must be enough for families to use for a week. He asked all ministries and agencies to jointly support Ho Chi Minh City.

Ho Chi Minh City has requested that the Government provide the city with VND28,000 billion and more than 142,000 tonnes of rice to support poor labourers affected by COVID-19.

The municipal administration says millions of local poor labourers have fallen victim to COVID-19 during the social distancing period, and they therefore need emergency aid to afford daily food and pay house rents.

According to its calculations, the city currently has 1,580,110 households of poor labourers, an equivalent to 4,740,330 people. It is expected to assist each household with VND50,000 /day to purchase food and VND1.5 million per month to pay accommodation rent. In addition, each poor labourer will also get 15 kg of rice.

Thanh Nam