Minister Uttama Savanayana said after the meeting there will be a Bt1,000 payment per month for two months for low-income earners, farmers and people who do freelance work. The handout will begin in April.

The number of people eligible has yet to be calculated, he said.

The cash handout is among the ministry’s first set of relief measures coming in response to an economy staggered by the Covid-19 virus outbreak.

It will present the full package to the Cabinet next week.

Uttama had said earlier that other measures included soft loans to commercial banks from the Government Housing Bank to be distributed among affected businesses, and tax incentives to discourage companies from laying off employees.