Of these, Ho Chi Minh City assisted 462,000 freelancers with nearly 694 billion VND, Dong Nai province supported 22,000 with 33 billion VND and Binh Duong province aided nearly 98,000 with 134 billion VND.

Nearly 42.46 billion VND was offered to 45,700 freelancers in Binh Phuoc province and over 60.2 billion VND was provided for more than 40,200 in Dong Thap as well as over 22.7 billion VND for 20,100 others in Vinh Long.

According to statistics of the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA), the southern provinces and cities are home to more than 10 million freelancers.

To reduce difficulties for people, southern provinces and cities have issued assistance plans for those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, including supporting policies for freelancers. Special policies have been designed for different groups such as those selling lottery tickets, drivers of motorbike taxis, street vendors as well as workers at business facilities without labour contracts.

Social distancing which is extended for nearly two months in many provinces and cities has been greatly affected the lives of freelancers, mostly labourers from other provinces, whose monthly income is unstable and does not have saving money.

Therefore, the MoLISA suggested that provinces and cities pay attention to implementing social assistance policies for these groups to help them stabilise their lives./. VNA