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Minister of Social Affairs Juliari P Batubara. (Kemensos)

Film workers and artists who are affected by COVID-19 will be receiving social assistance, in the form of food packages from the government.

"These film workers have had no income for almost four months, as there are no film or soap opera productions, (they are) certainly very affected," said Minister of Social Affairs Juliari P Batubara in Jakarta on Monday.

He made the decision to provide assistance to artists and those working in the arts industry following discussions with various parties.

"We are waiting for the data, I hear there are around 2,000 (people)," he continued.

He further explained that in terms of the distribution of social assistance, the Ministry of Social Affairs will cooperate with communities of senior artists, including the Indonesian Film Artists Association (Parfi).

He said that by cooperating with the community, he would be able to obtain accurate data on those individuals who have been left unemployed due to the spread of the coronavirus, at the same time making sure that the time used in distributing packages is effective.

Social assistance packages are normally distributed through local governments, though that process might take longer.

"Once we obtain the data from them, we will check and 'cleanse' them, making sure that the data is appropriate and that there are no repeat listings with social assistance recipients from other groups," the Minister said.

The Ministry of Social Affairs collaborates with communities and community organizations that maintain networks and data related to recipients in distributing social assistance for Indonesians who are affected by COVID-19. (ANTARA)