The cabinet yesterday approved an 8.5-billion-baht relief package to help ease the impact of the government's latest Covid-19 control measures, including a ban on dining in at restaurants and closures of construction sites in the capital and five surrounding provinces.
The cabinet also approved the expansion of relief packages to cover entrepreneurs in other sectors, including spas, hotels, entertainment, repair shops, laundry shops, beauty shops and pet care clinics, in addition to eateries and construction firms.
Danucha Pichayanan, secretary-general of the National Economic and Social Development Council, said of the 8.5 billion baht, 5 billion will be drawn from the 1-trillion-baht emergency loan decree, with the rest allocated from the Social Security Fund.
Those eligible for the new relief package are required to register through the Social Security Fund or Thung Ngern mobile application in July.
According to Mr Danucha, at the meeting yesterday the prime minister ordered his economic team to study additional measures to assist freelancers and small and medium-sized enterprises affected by the economic impact of the pandemic.
Published in the Royal Gazette late on Saturday night, the government's latest Covid-19 control measures, including the ban on dining in at restaurants in high-risk areas, came into force on Monday.
The restrictions cover Bangkok, Nakhon Pathom, Nonthaburi, Samut Prakan, Samut Sakhon, Pathum Thani, Narathiwat, Songkhla, Pattani and Yala -- provinces which have been classified by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration as "strict control zones" or "dark red" zones.
The restrictions, according to the announcement, will be in effect for 30 days.