Brazil extends emergency aid to workers till 2020 end

Brasilia, Sep 2 (IANS) Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro announced that he was extending emergency financial aid to workers affected by the coronavirus pandemic, through the end of the year.Those who have lost their jobs or are earning less due to lockdown measures will receive monthly payments of 300 reals ($56 ) for the remaining four months in the year, Xinhua news agency quoted Bolsonaro as saying on Tuesday.The aid will be given to workers in the informal sector, individual micro-entrepreneurs, the self-employed and the unemployed during the health crisis.The initial emergency payments, which began in April, amounted to 600 reals.According to government figures, a total of 67.2 million Brazilians have received the emergency aid, and around 4.4 million households managed to get by in July solely on the funding.Brazil currently accounts for the second highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths, just after the US.As of Wednesday, the total number of cases in the country stood at 3,950,931, while the death toll increased to 122,596.It is also the country with the maximum amount of infections and fatalities in Latin America.Sao Paulo, the most populated state in the country and the epicentre of the pandemic, has registered over 814,000 confirmed cases and 30,375 deaths, followed by Bahia, Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais and Ceara.
--IANS ksk/