Bahrain: Bahrain's government said on June 29 that it would pay 50 per cent of salaries for private company workers in sectors that were hard-hit by the coronavirus pandemic, state news agency BNA reported.

The new payments would start in July and continue for a three-month period, the government said, adding that it would extend its assistance to Bahraini citizens by also paying electricity and water bills.

Bahrain had said it was spending $570 million (Dh2.1 billion) 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.