Fighting poverty remains a top priority for the government, despite the risks posed to the country's economy by global challenges, said Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin in the State Duma. He presented his first report on the work of the government to the deputies.
He reminded that this topic is also under special control of the Russian President.
According to the Prime Minister, the crisis has affected everyone - people's incomes have fallen, businesses, including entire industries, have suffered serious losses.
"It was especially difficult for those who lost their jobs and families with children. We had to take care of them. At this difficult time, we had to make decisions with lightning speed," he said.
Mishustin said that the government had reduced the time for review and approval of documents to twenty-four hours, and officials had significantly eased the budget policy to launch all programs to support citizens and the economy.
"When revenues were reduced, the costs were not reduced. On the contrary - they even grew. As a result, the impact of the coronavirus has been softened," he reported.
The government has allocated more than 600 billion rubles for various forms of support for families with children, reminded the Prime Minister.
"The coronavirus has greatly changed the labor market. Since April 1, the number of unemployed, officially registered with the employment services, has increased by three and a half times. Now there are about 3 million of them, "- said the Prime Minister.
To support those who were unemployed before the coronavirus, the government extended the payment of allowances for three months. According to Mishustin, officials have "helped" about a million people, who lost their jobs after March 1, including by increasing unemployment allowance.
On June 11, Prime Minister expanded measures to support the unemployed, focusing on those who lost their jobs since March. In late June, Vladimir Putin instructed to fully restore the labor market in 2021.
Prime Minister noted that the recovery of the labor market is impossible without the development of the economy. "And we understood this well when we made a decision about who should be supported during the period of severe restrictions. It was necessary to reduce business costs as much as possible. To help entrepreneurs to maintain their business and not to lose business partners, "- he added.
Mishustin expressed his hope that the Russian COVID vaccine would appear in autumn
The Russian authorities expect to get a reliable domestic vaccine against COVID-19 in autumn, said Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin.
According to him, serious work on the vaccine is being done at all research institutions. The Ministry of Education and Science, the Health Ministry, the Federal Medical and Biological Agency, and Rospotrebnadzor are working on this, among others.
"At present, 17 scientific organizations and more than 26 types of vaccines are what we know today. Four vaccines for today, Rospotrebnadzor reported, have proved their safety," Mishustin said. He noted that clinical trials for two vaccines are now in the final stage, while two more are being prepared for such trials.
Prime Minister added that today it is important to prepare production sites and to ensure the safety of vaccines.
Mishustin also assured that the Russian health system is ready for a possible second wave of the coronavirus. "Our health care system is ready for such challenges. It has shown itself in this extreme period, I think, well," the prime minister said.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Russian Government
Based on materials from Interfax