Bahrain will spend $570 million on paying salaries to all 100,000 of its citizens employed in the private sector from April to June to help soften the economic blow from the coronavirus outbreak, the government said on Wednesday.
The government would assist Bahraini citizens and businesses by also paying electricity and water bills and extending some tax breaks on properties and tourism.
“Bahrain has set up an electronic platform where businessmen will start subscribing on Apr. 8 to benefit from the government’s plan to pay workers in the private sector,” the Labor Ministry said of the initiative, part of an $11 billion stimulus package announced last month for the private sector.
Governments in the Gulf region have announced stimulus packages to support their economies as they implement drastic measures to combat the pandemic, including suspending passenger flights, imposing curfews and closing most public venues.
Gulf Arab states recorded new cases on Wednesday to raise the total number of infections in the six countries to over 9,800, with 67 deaths.
