Our priority is to protect the citizens’ income amid the ongoing fight against the coronavirus outbreak, and we have been taking steps one by one to ensure this, Treasury and Finance Minister Berat Albayrak said Wednesday.

In video footage he shared on his Twitter account, Albayrak said they have been implementing measures to ease the economic impact of the outbreak from the very beginning, especially with the stimulus package announced by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on March 18.

He said officials from the ministry have been evaluating the requests received from the citizens and tradesmen, starting with those most affected by the negative impact of the virus.

Albayrak added that the steps taken include all sectors regardless of occupational groups, and their priority is to protect the citizens’ income while compensating for their losses.

One such step is that more than 2 million small income households will benefit from the aid package for their needs such as rent and bill payments. While the amount of aid would be increased, it will be provided to families with an income of under TL 5,000 ($748) in varying amounts.

Albayrak noted that tax and social security payments of the tradesmen were postponed, adding they want employers to keep the employment rates the same and avoid layoffs. Treasury-backed finance support was also launched via pubic lender Halk Bank to compensate for the tradesmen’s losses.

It was also announced previously that the employees whose working hours have been shortened because of the pandemic will be provided financial support, and around 19,000 firms have already applied for the support package.

Albayrak highlighted that they encourage each and every employer to apply for the support package rather than laying off any employees or giving unpaid time off.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which are some of the most vulnerable businesses during economic stagnation, are also benefiting from tax postponement, and a treasury-backed support package was released for their capital fund needs. The financial support will be provided via public banks with a TL 25 billion treasury bail limit and up to TL 450 billion in liquidity.