인도네시아에서도 쌀 자동 배급기 설치…코로나19로 어려움 겪는 빈곤층에 공급

The COVID-19 pandemic is also very real half way across the world in Indonesia, as well.
With millions of Indonesians struggling to make ends meet due to the pandemic,... authorities there have set up so-called 'rice ATMs.'
Yoon Jung-min tells us more.
People are gathering at a military base on the outskirts of Jakarta to receive their daily 1-point-5 kilogram rations of rice.
To help those worst affected by the COVID-19 outbreak, the Indonesian authorities have rolled out these so-called "rice ATMs".
"I was laid off by my company last week and my husband was laid off too without severance pay. Although the amount of rice is small, it is very helpful in this situation."
The Indonesian government has set up 10 rice dispensers in and around Jakarta,... adopting a similar system used in Vietnam.
Those eligible for the free rice include daily wage earners, people who have lost their jobs and the homeless.
"Each day we prepare 1.5 tons of rice for around 1,000 residents. We will continue doing it everyday, without rest, even on weekends, we will distribute non-stop."
Indonesia announced a 25-billion U.S. dollar stimulus package in March to help shoulder the burden caused by COVID-19,... pledging money for food supplies and for discounts on electricity tariffs.
Reuters say that more than 14-thousand Indonesians have contracted the virus since March, with a death toll of almost one-thousand....the highest fatality rate in East Asia outside of China.
The media say that Indonesian President, Joko Widodo, is eager to resume economic activity,... but critics have pointed out that it's still too early to return to normal.
Yoon Jung-min, Arirang News.