State to bridge gap left by private sector

From mid-March up until the end of May at the earliest, the state looks set to be the main - if not the only - income provider for about 3 million households in Greece, or 70 percent of all families.

The reduction of the private sector's contribution toward the country's total income is unprecedented and the gap will have to be bridged (although not covered) by the state budget.

Besides the 2.5 million pensioners and at least 650,000 workers in the broader public sector, many hundreds of thousands of private sector workers must also be maintained via state cash: They constitute about 1.5 million private sector employees whose contracts have been suspended (over 650,000 private employees have already applied for the 800-euro handout), up to 750,000 self-employed professionals who in the coming days will apply either for the 800-euro benefit or a 600-euro voucher for...