R500bn to deal with coronavirus in SA: Ramaphosa

R500bn will be spent to support South Africans dealing with the consequences of the coronavirus.

President Cyril Ramaphosa made the announcement during an address on Tuesday night. He said this amounted to "about 10% of our GDP".

He described it as "massive social and economic support".

He said the impact of the coronavirus required an "extraordinary budget".

"This will include the reprioritising of about R130bn within our current budget. The rest of the funds will be raised from both local sources, such as Unemployment Insurance Fund, and from global partners and international financial institutions," said Ramaphosa.

He said the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Brics bank and the African Development Bank had been approached and are working with the Treasury on "various funding transactions".

This is a developing story.