Some $7 billion in the upcoming 2020 national budget has been earmarked for COVID-19 assistance nationwide, according to President Irfaan Ali, who says that government is moving to improve the country’s response to the pandemic.
Ali, who announced a $25,000 direct cash transfer for households as part of government’s COVID-19 relief efforts, reported that an increase in the number of cases which has been observed over the last month does not indicate that the problem is “getting larger.” Instead, he told a news conference that it means that the systems put in place are now producing the results of the input that the government has put in place. However, when asked about the measures being taken to address the significant increase in deaths that has occurred over the past month, Ali did not respond directly to the question.
