Coronavirus: More help on the way for businesses, workers and families

DPM Heng said there will be additional support for households and vulnerable groups. PHOTO: ST FILE

Additional support for businesses, workers and families will be announced by Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat next week, when Parliament sits from Monday.

This will be "over and above" what have been provided in both Budget 2020 and the supplementary budget announced earlier, he said in a Facebook post yesterday.

The new support measures will "help businesses retain their capacity and their workers, so that they can resume activities once the circuit breaker is lifted", he said, referring to the stricter measures announced earlier in the day.

"We will also give additional support to households and vulnerable groups," added DPM Heng, who is also the Finance Minister.

The aid for these various groups will help tide them through the weeks ahead, up to at least a month, he said.

DPM Heng's Facebook post elaborated on some of the measures announced by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong yesterday in an address to the nation. These "circuit breaker" measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus in Singapore include a shutdown of most workplaces and schools.

PM Lee acknowledged the measures will severely impact businesses and workers. "This is already a very difficult time for them. We will help them come through this," he said in his address.

Expressing the same sentiments, DPM Heng said businesses have also felt the pain of the earlier safe-distancing measures. "These are already trying times, and the additional measures will add to their burden. Workers are also worried about their jobs and their livelihoods. I understand your anxieties," he added.

Next week, legislation will also be introduced in Parliament to require landlords to pass on property tax rebates in full to their tenants.

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In addition, new temporary legislation will be proposed to let businesses and individuals defer certain contractual obligations for a period, including on paying rent and loans as well as meeting work deadlines.

Yesterday, Minister for Social and Family Development Desmond Lee also gave an update on the Temporary Relief Fund, which will give a one-time cash grant of $500 to those who have lost their jobs or income because of the coronavirus outbreak.

More than 60,000 applications for the Temporary Relief Fund have been submitted since applications opened on Wednesday. Applications can be made till the end of the month.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on April 04, 2020, with the headline Coronavirus: More help on the way for businesses, workers and families. Subscribe