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Govt to give cash aid to 4.1 million people affected by COVID-19 in Greater Jakarta
"The beneficiaries will receive Rp 600,000 [US$37.11] per person [that is supposed to be sufficient] for three months," said Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati on Tuesday.
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A student distributes food to a seller at Gamping Market in Yogyakarta on March 28. (JP/Bambang Muryanto)
T
he government is preparing cash aid for 4.1 million people in Greater Jakarta whose livelihoods have been affected by the COVID-19 outbreak.
"[The aid is to be given to] 3.7 million people in Jakarta. [Cash aid for] the other 1.1 million people is to be provided by the Jakarta administration," Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said on Tuesday.
In addition to Jakarta, the government will also distribute aid to 1.64 million people in the capital's satellite cities, such as Bogor, Depok and Bekasi in West Java, as well as Tangerang in Banten, she added.
"The beneficiaries will receive Rp 600,000 [US$37.11] per person [that is supposed to be sufficient] for three months," Sri Mulyani said.
Read also: Avoiding quarantine will inflict greater economic harm, says survey
Social Affairs Minister Juliari Batubara also said the government was preparing staple food aid for around 9 million people across the country.
"We'll distribute a package of staple food that is worth Rp 600,000. However, we're still calculating the exact number of beneficiaries," Juliari said.
The food aid, he said, would be given to people who were not receiving similar financial assistance from the government, such as through the Family Hope Program (PKH), the non-cash food assistance program (BPNT) and the pre-employment card.
Juliandri said the government would focus the distribution of the food aid in Jakarta, the national epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak, and its neighboring cities.
"The staple food packages should be sufficient for the next three month. We'll start the program two weeks from now," he said.
Read also: Indonesia’s COVID-19 stimulus playbook explained
While waiting for the program to kick off, the Social Affairs Ministry will start delivering staple food aid worth Rp 200,000 per package for 200,000 people on Wednesday.
Villages, Disadvantaged Regions and Transmigration Minister Abdul Halim Iskandar said he would also allocate village funds for villagers affected by COVID-19.
"We'll distribute funds for the villagers who have not yet received other types of aid. Those who have lost their livelihood because of COVID-19," Abdul Halim said.
Indonesia has recorded 2,738 COVID-19 cases, with 221 deaths and 204 recoveries as of Tuesday.
