Laos: More than 84,000 people driven into poverty due to pandemic

VIENTIANE, May 28 (Vientiane Times/ANN): Statistics indicate that 84,418 people are unemployed and suffering severe financial hardship across the country as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, including many who have been laid off from jobs in other countries.

The figures were obtained by village authorities after they surveyed poor and lower-income households in an attempt to assess the number of people in urgent need of government assistance.