Cash handouts to Thais being proposed

“Those Thais with social security will be taken care of by the Social Security Office, while those who are not insured under the social security scheme will be taken care of by the Ministry of Finance. We are planning to use an emergency budget from fiscal 2020 of around 20 billion baht to provide cash handouts to people affected by the Covid-19 preventive measures (closures).”

There will be cash handouts for those financially affected by the Covid-29 coronavirus, Finance Ministry Permanent Secretary Prasong Poontaneat said today. If passed, the aid will benefit those who have become unemployed or been affected by the closure of businesses, as part of measures to limit travel and help prevent the spread of the virus.

Prasong says he will make the proposal at tomorrow’s regular weekly Cabinet meeting, to help people affected by the government’s order to shut down businesses. explaineing that the proposed plan aims to hand out cash of 2,000 baht per person for two months, meaning each person will get 4,000 baht.

“We expect that there will be around five million people who will be eligible for the handouts.”

Kobsak Pootrakool, deputy secretary-general to the PM for political affairs, says that the Cabinet will discuss measures to help affected people and stimulate the economy with related ministries and departments

“The foundation of the Thai economy is still strong despite the Covid-19 outbreak, which has also affected several countries. I believe the impact from Covid-19 will be short-term, and when there is a vaccine available, the situation will gradually improve and the Thai economy will start to grow again.”

SOURCE: The Nation