Prime Minster Thomas Thabane subsequently last month announced that the government would pay each of the 45 000 factory workers M800 per month from April to June 2020. Factory workers on Tuesday began receiving the M800 salary subsidy from the government to cushion them from the loss of their salaries during the Covid-19 induced lockdown. The workers were forced to stay at home when the government imposed a nationwide lockdown from 30 March to 5 May 2020 to prevent the spread of the virus. The money is meant to help workers pay for some of their basic needs.