The U.K. has announced it will subsidize workers for much of their wages if they were left unemployed by the coronavirus.
The country's Finance Minister Rishi Sunak said Friday the government will cover 80% of workers' salaries for the next three months as the coronavirus outbreak forces businesses to close. Sunak said the government will cover up to nearly $3,000 a month — which he said is above the "median income."
"For the first time in our history, the government is going to step in and help to pay people wages ... Any employer in the country, small or large, charitable or non-profit, will be eligible for this scheme."
The U.K. announced this plan as it called for hundreds of restaurants, cafés and pubs to close their doors.
The U.K. is trying to curb the economic downfall of the pandemic. The country reported nearly 4,000 cases as of Saturday morning.
