The Electoral Office of Jamaica (EOJ) has assisted roughly 6,000 Jamaicans to collect state benefits as they grapple with the economic fallout from the deadly coronavirus pandemic locally.

EOJ boss Glasspole Brown told The Sunday Gleaner that the EOJ provided temporary identification for some 6,000 individuals who were approved for the benefits under the COVID Allocation of Resources for Employees (CARE) Programme, but did not have a driver’s licence or passport to prove their identities.

“Although we closed early March because of the COVID-19 outbreak, we knew that this was a national effort, and so we opened our doors to assist,” Brown said last week.

The closure of the EOJ’s offices islandwide on March 13 has also delayed the publishing of the latest voters’ list, which should have been ready today.

Finance Minister Dr Nigel Clarke last week expressed gratitude to the EOJ for assisting the beneficiaries of the state assistance programme.