We are optimistic that the team members would conduct a direct and thorough check on those receiving the funding assistancePekanbaru, Riau (ANTARA) - The Riau provincial government has assigned financial assistance fund of Rp191.6 billion to help households bearing the acute brunt of the ongoing novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in 12 districts and cities across the province.
The funding aid, allocated in the province's 2020 budget, was stipulated in the Riau Governor's Letter No Kpts.848/V/2020, according to the provincial administration's information that ANTARA received in Pekanbaru on Wednesday.
Of the total amount of financial assistance fund, some Rp26.695 billion was disbursed to 31,170 households in Pekanbaru, the capital of Riau Province; while the remaining funds were provided for 23,892 households in Bengkalis District; and 33,325 households in Dumai City.
The funding assistance was also distributed to 14,844 households in Indragiri Hilir District; 22,378 households in Indragiri Hulu District; 7,614 households in Kampar District; and 12,294 households in Meranti Islands District.
Eligible recipients of the funding aid also comprised 21,111 households in Kuantan Singingi; 7,113 households in Pelalawan; 9,050 households in Rokan Hulu District; 34,291 households in Rokan Hilir District; and 18,567 households in Siak District.
Riau Governor Syamsuar urged the provincial government's team members to ensure that the funding assistance was precisely distributed to all eligible households.
"We are optimistic that the team members would conduct a direct and thorough check on those receiving the funding assistance," he remarked.
The coronavirus outbreak initially struck the Chinese city of Wuhan at the end of 2019, but it then spread to various parts of the world, including countries in the Asia-Pacific region.
The Indonesian government officially announced the country's first confirmed cases on March 2.
Since then, central and regional governments across the country have continually striven to flatten the curve by imposing healthcare protocols and social restrictions.
In breaking the chain of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Indonesian Health Ministry has approved the Pekanbaru city government’s request to impose large-scale social restriction and distancing measures.
The COVID-19 patients in Riau Province included two toddlers, who were hospitalized in Dumai City, one of the COVID-19 clusters in the province, according to the Riau Health Office.
The two COVID-19-infected toddlers are identified as Patient 29 and 47 from families in Dumai City, spokesman of Riau Province's COVID-19 Task Force, Indra Yovi, confirmed recently.
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EDITED BY INE
Translator: FB Anggoro, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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