'Rice ATMs' provides free food for unemployed in Vietnam during COVID-19 pandemic

'Rice ATMs' provides free food for unemployed in Vietnam during COVID-19 pandemic

Rice ATMs have been set up around Vietnam to help those who need it most during the coronavirus pandemic.

The video shows hundreds of people waiting in line to get rice from the free automatic rice generator.

Those waiting in line are required to stand six feet apart from each other and they must use hand sanitiser before receiving their rice.

A Vietnamese entrepreneur in Ho Chi Minh City has invented a 24/7 automatic dispensing machine providing free rice for people out of work following an ongoing nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.

In Hanoi, rice contained in a large water tank pours out into residents' bags from 8 a.m.

To 5 p.m.

The machine distributes a 1.5 kg bagful of rice from a small silo, many of whom are street sellers, people poor and unemployed.

Vietnam has reported 268 COVID-19 cases and no deaths so far, but as a result of a 15-day social distancing program, many small businesses have been shut and thousands of people temporarily laid off from work.

The video was shot in Hanoi City, Vietnam on April 16.