Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc chairs a government meeting in March, 2020 (Photo: VGP/ Quang Hieu)

Under the Ministry of Planning and Investment’s proposal, more than 2.2 billion USD would be allocated to six groups of individuals and businesses and the rest would be used to support businesses facing difficulties.

The proposal mostly sets out cash payments during a three-month period starting April through June.

The beneficiaries include people with meritorious services to the revolution, poor and near-poor households, people on unpaid leave because their employers face financial difficulties caused by COVID-19.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said that the Government “highly supports” the proposal and stressed its priority remains solely on the hardest-hit Vietnamese who lost their jobs or are unemployed.

More than half of the amount will be sourced from the State budget, while the remainder will come from “mobilisation of other sources,” according to the Government.