A rice ATM in HCM City offers free rice for poor people during the COVID-19 pandemic. VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI – More than 8.6 million people in 24 provinces and cities in Việt Nam need emergency food relief due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Ministry of Labour, Invalid and Social Affairs.

The ministry has proposed the Prime Minister take more than 130,000 tonnes of rice from the national reserve to allocate to the affected people.

If the proposal is approved, each beneficiary will get 15 kilos for a month.

Further support will be considered if difficulties caused by the pandemic continue.

According to the ministry, the fourth wave of COVID-19 in Việt Nam seriously affected people’s lives, especially laid-off workers or those who lost their jobs and had their incomes reduced, making them face the increasing threat of hunger.

The ministry received reports from 24 provinces and cities that are implementing social distancing orders under the Prime Minister’s Directive 16. The 24 localities have asked for a total of more than 216,600 tonnes of rice to support over 8.6 million people.

Of that, Đắk Lắk asked for 534.3 tonnes for 35,626 people; Đắk Nông 577.1 tonnes for 38,474 people; Đồng Tháp over 5,883 tonnes for 392,231 people; and Tây Ninh 336.2 tonnes for 22,417 people.

The southernmost province of Cà Mau asked for over 2,862 tonnes for 190,822 people; Vĩnh Long 2,103 tonnes for 140,213 people; Long An 807 tonnes for 53,800 people; Kiên Giang 2,278 tonnes for 151,878 people; and Trà Vinh 1,739 tonnes for 115,930 people.

On August 16, Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính agreed to distribute more than 4,117 tonnes of rice from national reserves to support pandemic-hit people in three provinces of Bình Phước, Bạc Liêu and Sóc Trăng. VNS