ULAN BATOR, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- The Mongolian government on Wednesday rejected a proposal by the president on providing financial support to all households across the country amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mongolian President Khaltmaa Battulga on Tuesday submitted an official letter to Prime Minister Ukhnaa Khurelsukh to develop a program to provide financial support of 1 million Mongolian tugriks (about 350 U.S. dollars) for each household in the country by Jan. 1 next year.

"The government has been taking all possible measures to support the country's economy and people's livelihood. In fact, this pandemic is a heavy blow to the state budget," Finance Minister Chimed Khurelbaatar said at a press conference after the government's meeting.

"We hope our people will understand the situation," the minister said.

Mongolia entered a state of public disaster preparedness and imposed a nationwide 24-hour lockdown from 6:00 a.m. local time Thursday (2200 GMT Wednesday) with effect until Dec. 1 after reporting the first locally transmitted COVID-19 case.

As of Wednesday, the Asian country has registered 455 COVID-19 cases, including 37 locally transmitted cases.

So far, the locally transmitted cases have been reported in the capital city Ulan Bator and three provinces, namely Selenge, Darkhan-Uul and Govisumber. Enditem

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