At a Thursday press meet, Duong Anh Duc, deputy chairman of the municipal People's Committee, said the package would go to three groups: informal workers, poor families and poor workers, many of whom are migrants.

Specifically, the new package aims to give VND1.5 million ($65) each to 334,000 informal workers, 90,500 poor families and 170,000 others who lost their jobs due to Covid-19 impacts, live in rented apartments and residential areas under lockdown.

Le Minh Tan, director of the municipal Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, said the package would be paid until August 10 and no later.

Phan Van Mai, deputy secretary of the municipal Party Committee, said the city would also utilize other fund sources, including its own budget, to support the people.

HCMC is implementing two Covid-19 relief packages at the same time to support people affected by the pandemic: the federal package of VND26 trillion ($1.13 billion) for all affected localities; and the city’s own VND886 billion package.

As of August 2, more than 334,000 informal laborers had been given VND1.5 million each and more than 42,500 employees temporarily suspended from performing their labor contracts or taken unpaid leave had received VND1.8 million each.

In addition to informal laborers, the city has also used the VND886-billion package to help 60,000 vendors at wet markets, 9,000 business households, people sent to centralized quarantine camps, and frontline forces.