Bahrain to pay 50% of wages for private firms hit by coronavirus - BNA

DUBAI, June 29 (Reuters) - Bahrain's government said on Monday it would pay 50% of salaries for private company workers in sectors that were hard-hit by the coronavirus pandemic, state news agency BNA reported.

The new payments would start in July, BNA said, adding that the government would extend its assistance to Bahraini citizens by also paying electricity and water bills.

Bahrain had said it was spending $570 million on paying salaries to all 100,000 of its citizens employed in the private sector from April to June to help soften the economic blow from the coronavirus outbreak.

(Reporting by Lisa Barrington; Writing by Aziz El Yaakoubi; Editing by Edmund Blair)