COVID-19: ATMs dispense rice to people in Indonesia amid pandemic

- Those in need of rice in Indonesia can now walk to an ATM machine that dispenses it

- The Indonesian government has made "rice ATMs" available to the people of the country

- Daily wage earners, the unemployed, those who do not own a house and people who live below the poverty line are those eligible to be given

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The Indonesian government is rolling out "rice ATMs" in a bid to ensure access for those in need of the essential staple as the country battles COVID-19.

The pandemic has left millions of Indonesians struggling to make ends meet, CNA reports.

YEN.com.gh gathers that a 28-year-old expectant mother simply identified as Syafri was among the many who lined up at a military base in Depok, on the outskirts Jakarta, for their 1.5kg rice ration.

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She said: "I was laid off by my company last week and my husband was laid off too without severance pay. Although it (the rice subsidy) is not that much, it is very helpful in this situation."

Those eligible for the rice ration include daily wage earners, the unemployed, those who do not own a house and people who live below the poverty line.

The tall automated teller machines look much like normal cashpoints, only that they are stashed with kilos of rice which they pump out to those in need of it.

In other news, a nurse based in the United States has said she and other Nigerians living in the North American country do not believe that coronavirus back home is real.

The nurse identified as Yetunde Ifelowo said Nigeria's population is just like New York, adding that Nigeria would have had more cases than the United States if the virus is real back home.

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She said the United States is more equipped than Nigeria, adding that the latter does not have a functioning hospital that could admit patients.

Speaking about cases being reported in Nigeria, she said: "Who is really taking care of these people? Who are the nurses? Which hospital were they in? How many days were they in the hospital?

"So to me and some other Nigerians, we do not believe that Nigeria has the case. I think because of the herbs and home remedies that we are taking, I think it really helps. And this very virus doesn't survive under heat - so maybe that could be an advantage."

In another report, Rose Atitedese, a physically challenged Ghanaian woman who men wanted to take advantage of and has also been unable to fend for her household has been helped greatly.

The benevolent gesture was undertaken by the Crime Check Foundation that has become a force to reckon with when it comes to charity in Ghana.

Led by Ibrahim Oppong Kwarteng, the team gave out exactly GHC 25,430 to help the woman launch her career and fend for herself and the children decently.

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Source: YEN.com.gh