RE:Shorts having to pay the dividendMost everyone agrees that the dividend is not necessarily a wise decision, but the fact is that anyone with short shares hasn't made anything, yet. They first must cover. Consider that on Dec 22, 2023 there were 4.4 million shares short, and now there are 7.2 million shares short, I would say that waiting for the share price to drop below 64 cents while paying interest and dividends, in order to make a profit, is foolish. It would take a couple of weeks to cover that many shares IF they caould purchase all of the available shares.
So while those that initially shorted are likely covered, those now holding shares short must be getting a tad bit nervous as the share price stays range bound. You can hold your shorts and wait, try to cover now, or hope that the share price falls further. Good luck.