Press TV - Iran’s chief banker says cheap loans for businesses struggling with the new coronavirus pandemic will be available in late May as the country tries to cushion the economy against the impacts of the disease.

Central Bank of Iran Governor Abdolnasser Hemmati said on Sunday that businesses and firms will receive the cheap loans based on the number of workers and staff they have preserved during the pandemic.

Hemmati said around 500 trillion rials (more than $3.1 billion) will be granted to businesses that have suffered from the spread of the disease in Iran.

“These loans will be given to enterprises that have preserved their workforce,” he said, adding that each firm will receive 120 million rials (around $750) per person it has avoided to lay off during the pandemic.

Iran has rolled out various schemes to mitigate the economic impacts of COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus which have affected tens of thousands in the country.

Among them was a one-off cash handout worth $62.5 that was delivered to nearly 20 million households last month.

On top of that, the government has offered up to $130 in loans and cash to some seven million households who have been directly affected with the lockdown measures that were imposed in early March to contain the pandemic.

Nearly 100,000 have been tested positive for COVID-19 since the disease started in Iran in late February.

Iranian health ministry said on Sunday that more than 78,000 patients have recovered and released from the hospitals while a total of 6,203 have died from the illness.