The agency has assisted the affected individuals and enterprises by allowing them to temporarily suspend social insurance payments to the retirement and survivorship fund. It also covered all medical expenses for health insurance cardholders, preparedenough medicine for health clinics and hospitals that treated COVID-19 patients with health insurance cards; as well as helping people make electronic health declarations as required by the Ministry of Health.

Data from the agency shows that the agency has paid job-loss allowance worth VND2.1 trillion for 378,178 people; and paid expenses of vocational training, worth about VND18 billion, for 8,160 labourers in the first quarter of this year.

These significant figures have shown the important role of unemployment insurance policy, helping to ensure the life of labourers and their families during the pandemic.

Besides, the agency issued a legal document No.1020/BHXH-TCKT on March 30, permitting relevant agencies to combine pension, social insurance and unemployment insurance to beneficiaries of both April and May to pay one time.

The move aims to help people not have to travel and interact with many people during their social isolation. Especially, it helps them to have more money to cover their daily needs in difficult times.

The health insurance fund has covered all medical expenses for health insurance cardholders, who were treated for COVID-19 or showed suspected signs of the SARS-CoV-2 virus but then tested negative for the virus.

The agency also paid medical expenses in advance in the first quarter of this year for health clinics and hospitals to examine and treat infected cases with health insurance cards.

The agency continued issuing another legal document No.1046/BHXH-CSYT on March 31, instructing its units in provinces and cities nationwide to allow schools, agencies and organisations to use a part of the initial healthcare fund to buy hand sanitisers and masks to ensure health for labourers.

The agency’s officials and staff made a donation, worth VND2 billion, to the COVID-19 pandemic prevention fund on March 25 to support the Government in the fight against the pandemic.

Deputy Minister, General Director of Viet Nam Social Security Nguyen Thi Minh, on behalf of the agency, gave the donation to the fund via the Viet Nam Fatherland Front.

The agency also launched a voluntary blood donation programme to support the treatment of infected cases.

Statistics of the ministry show that 47,164 people applied for unemployment insurance in February, an increase of 59.2 per cent compared to January and an increase of 70 per cent compared to the same period last year.

In February alone, about 10 per cent of enterprises nationwide had to reduce their production scale. Especially, in the first two weeks of March, when the pandemic showed more complicated developments, over 15 per cent of enterprises had to reduce their production scale, the ministry said./.