thestar.com.my (16.03.2020) Meanwhile, Muhyiddin said that the RM200 payment for Bantuan Sara Hidup (BSH) recipients will be brought forward to March 16 from its initial date in May. “The BSH payments amounting to RM760mil will benefit 3.8 million BSH households." He also announced that an additional RM100 will be paid to BSH recipients later in May, adding that it will involve RM500mil which will benefit five million BSH recipients.

thestar.com.my (16.03.2020) Employees who are affected will receive financial assistance of RM600 each month for a maximum period of six months, said Muhyiddin. Workers who are given notice to take unpaid leave beginning March 1 will be eligible for the financial assistance, said Muhyiddin. “This involves an allocation of RM120mil, and as many as 33,000 workers are targeted to receive this benefit, ” he said during a press conference at the Prime Minister’s Office in Putrajaya on March 16 (Monday). Muhyiddin also said that affected employees with salaries under RM4,000 a month are also allowed to withdraw from the Employee Insurance System (EIS).

en.an-japan.com (27.02.2020) Now in late February 2020, the novel coronavirus is spreading around the globe and impacting people and business. Japan is also hit severely by the virus that stops influx of Chinese tourists and has many events and gatherings cancelled or postponed. Some businesses have to consider down-sizing operations and lay-off. 　

Employment Adjustment Subsidy is to support employers who are suffered from the business downturn but maintain employment by paying leave allowance and letting employees take partly paid leave, rather than firing them. The subsidy reimburses two third for a SME employer or a half for a large enterprise of the leave allowance. The subsidy is however capped at an upper limit, which is JPY 8,335 a day per employee on the leave as of late February 2020.

mainichi.jp (18.03.2020)

OSAKA (Kyodo) -- The city government of Osaka officially decided Wednesday to offer free school lunches to all of its public elementary and junior high school students from April to alleviate the financial burden on households caused by the spread of the novel coronavirus. The plan, the first by a major Japanese city, will cover 165,000 students. The city estimates the program will save parents and guardians between 50,000 yen ($470) and 60,000 yen per child each year.

jamaica-gleaner.com (16.03.2020)

As part of its education in emergencies response plans, the Ministry says , in collaboration with school leaders, teachers and educational partners, it has already provided significant support to enable continued teaching and learning while students are not in school. It says the support includes the activation of online, virtual, computer-based teaching and learning augmented by traditional radio and TV media.  The Ministry says it is also aware that the nutritional needs of the most vulnerable are paramount to their educational success, especially in this period of disruption. As such, under the food support plan, Nutrition Products Limited will prepare snacks comprising baked products, fruit juices, milk and water for students on PATH at the primary and secondary levels. A limited number has been prepared for today, Monday, March 16, while the distribution points are finalised. 

time24.news (15.03.2020) To discourage layoffs during the crisis, employees of companies that have paralyzed their activities will be entitled to receive a benefit in the amount of 80% of the salary, paid by the agency similar to the Brazilian INSS. The measure would be valid for nine weeks – that is, until mid-May, depending on the date of approval of the decree. In addition to the compensation, workers would also have their absence from quarantine work considered as sick leave, with the costs paid by the State. Because of the closure of schools, parents of children under the age of 12 who had their classes suspended would be entitled to 15-day family leave and would receive, during this period, 50% of their salary. Mom and dad couldn’t use the benefit at the same time. For parents who cannot or do not want to be absent from work, the package includes a € 600 (R $ 3,259) voucher for hiring babysitters. This amount increases to € 1000 (R $ 5,432) in the case of healthcare workers, such as doctors, nurses and laboratory workers.

foreignaffairs.com (18.03.2020) This week, the government announced that it would distribute a one-time cash transfer to households without a “regular source of income.” About three million families fall into this category, and they account for some 20 percent of the population. For the poorest families, the transfer will cover about a month’s worth of expenditures.

aseanbriefing.com (27.03.2020) The government has injected 1.5 trillion rupiah (US$104 million) into its subsidized housing program which is expected to cover financing for a further 175,000 new homes. 800 billion rupiah (US$55 million) will be used to cover interest payments with the rest going to paying for subsidies.

aseanbriefing.com (10.03.2020) The government prepared funding totaling 4.6 trillion rupiah (US$324 million) for the Affordable Food Program (Sembako Murah) to boost local consumption. This program was initiated by the President during his re-election campaign in 2019 and aims to enable 15 million low-income households to purchase staple food products at discounted prices. As part of the stimulus package, low-income households will also receive 200,000 rupiah (US$13.97) per month in financial benefits, an increase from 150,000 rupiah (US$10), for the next six months.

cnbc.com (16.03.2020) Economy Minister Roberto Gualtieri said the new measures would be approved next month. Monday’s decree is immediately effective and provides 3.5 billion euros ($3.9 billion) to help the hard-pressed health service and 10 billion to support families and workers, ministers said. It extends parental leave, offers funds to families to pay for babysitters, and suspends all firing procedures begun after Feb. 23. Gualtieri has said several times that “nobody must lose their job because of coronavirus.”

timesofindia.indiatimes.com (27.03.2020) NEW DELHI: The government on Thursday announced a Rs 1.7 lakh crore package focused on emergency cash transfers into bank accounts of the poor, along with providing free foodgrains, pulses and cooking gas for three months in a bid to cushion them from the impact of the coronavirus lockdown and economic disruption caused by the disease. 

Manche Krankheiten verbreiten sich schnell in viele Länder. Das nennt man: Pandemie. Dazu gehört auch Grippe und die neue Krankheit Corona. Hier lesen Sie Tipps, damit Sie sich bei der Arbeit nicht anstecken: 

Halten Sie Abstand - Schütteln Sie keine Hände -Waschen Sie sich oft die Hände - Kratzen Sie sich nicht an der Nase - Passen Sie bei Husten und Niesen auf - Lüften Sie Arbeits-Räume gut - Firmen brauchen einen Plan, wenn es Grippe oder Corona vor Ort gibt - Rufen Sie Ihren Arzt vor einem Besuch an. 

thenewsminute.com (13.03.2020)

In a gesture of goodwill, the Kerala government has started measures to deliver ingredients for mid-day meals to over three lakh children studying in anganwadis, which have been closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This is to ensure the undisrupted supply of meals to the students. Since Tuesday, schools, colleges, educational institutions and anganwadis have been shuttered. Exams are being conducted for students in high school. The decision to continue mid-day meals for anganwadi children has come as a relief to many.

Die Gesundheit der Kunden und Beschäftigten liegt Ihnen am Herzen. Mit diesen Aushängen können Sie Ihre Kunden auf die Vorsichtsmaßnahmen hinweisen.

•  Aushang Kasse Verhaltensregeln an der Kasse (bargeldlos bezahlen, Abstand halten) (PDF, 1321 KByte)
• Aushang Kasse und Bedientheke 2 m Abstand halten (PDF, 688 KByte)
• Aushang für den Eingangsbereich Verhaltensregeln (Abstand halten, bargeldlos bezahlen, Hygieneregeln) (PDF, 554 KByte)
• Poster: Gib Viren Null Chance Format DIN A3  (PDF, 1055 KByte)

 The Globe and Mail (26.03.2020) The federal government is drafting mandatory, national standards to protect the health and safety of workers during the coronavirus pandemic. 

Die ständige Intensivierung der Maßnahmen zur Eindämmung des Coronavirus erhöht weltweit den Handlungsdruck - auch für die Bereiche des öffentlichen Lebens. Aufgrund der hohen Infektiosität sind Schutzmaßnahmen für die Beschäftigten im Bereich des Handels und der Warenlogistik notwendig. Wir weisen darauf hin, dass auch in der jetzigen Situation die Unternehmen die Verantwortung für Arbeitssicherheit und Gesundheitsschutz ihrer Beschäftigten tragen, um einen höchstmöglichen Schutz der Beschäftigten in der gegenwärtigen Risikolage gewährleisten zu können. Wir haben hier die wichtigsten Fragen und Antworten für die Branchen des Handels und der Warenlogistik zusammengestellt. 

The Compensation Commissioner has clarifoed that COVID-19 will be recognized as an occupatioal disease if acquired by employees arising out of  employment through exposure to confirmed cases in the workplace or after an official work trip to a high risk country or area. To qualify for benefits from the Compensation Fund, the following criteria must be met:

1. the diagnosis must be as a result of occupational exposure to a known source of Covid-19;
2. the Covid-19 must be diagnosed as per the World Health Organisation guidelines;
3. the Covid-19 diagnosis must be linked to an approved official trip and travel history to high risk areas or countries on a work assignment or linked to a presumed high-risk work environment where transmission of Covid-19 is inherently prevalent; and
4. a chronological sequence must exist between the work exposure and the development of Covid-19 symptoms.

government.is (21.03.2020) The authorities, in cooperation with the Icelandic Federation of Labour and the Confederation of Icelandic Employers, have ensured that quarantined individuals will receive pay while they are in quarantine; however, during that time, other rights, such as sick days provided for in wage agreements, do not apply. This applies to the period from 1 February through 30 April 2020, and it applies to those who are unable to work while they are in quarantine. It is assumed that employers will pay wages to their employees and will then apply to the Treasury for reimbursement up to a specified maximum amount. The same applies to self-employed individuals if they have been forced to stop working due to quarantine during the above-mentioned period.

Payments to self-employed individuals in quarantine are based on 80% of their average monthly income in 2019. Payments are subject to a maximum of ISK 633,000 per month, or ISK 21,100 per day. Average income is based on the average of the estimated income used as the payroll tax base in 2019.

government.is (21.03.2020) During the next 15 months, people can withdraw a monthly sum from their voluntary pension savings, to a maximum of ISK 800,000.

government.is (21.03.2020) A one-off child benefit payment will be made on June 1, 2020 to all families with children under the age of 18. Parents with an average monthly income below ISK 927,000 in 2019 will receive ISK 40,000 per child and those with higher income will receive ISK 20,000 per child.

government.is (21.03.2020)

In order to protect jobs and employment relationships between Icelandic workers and their employers during these extraordinary times, the Government of Iceland has committed to allowing part-time workers to claim up to 75 per cent of unemployment benefits, to avoid job losses. Those who are under threat of losing their jobs will become eligible for unemployment benefits which allow them to move to part time hours for their employer and claim additional support from the Government. The benefit package allows those who cut back to as low as 25% of their previous employment hours or salary to boost the earnings they receive from their employer with Government support up to a combined level of ISK 700,000 per month. The overall aim of this legislation is to encourage businesses to keep employees on their payrolls, rather than lay them off. The self-employed and freelancers are also eligible for this benefit.

info.gov.hk (03.01.2020)

The Government announced today (January 3) that recipients of the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA), recipients of the Old Age Allowance (OAA) (including the Guangdong (GD) Scheme and the Fujian (FJ) Scheme), the Old Age Living Allowance (OALA) and the Disability Allowance (DA) under the Social Security Allowance (SSA) Scheme, and recipients of the Working Family Allowance (WFA) and Individual-based Work Incentive Transport Subsidy (I-WITS) will receive a one-off extra allowance starting from January 7. This is part of a series of measures to support enterprises, safeguard jobs and relieve people's burden as announced by the Financial Secretary on August 15, 2019.

info.gov.hk (26.02.2020)

The budget also allocates about $2.5 billion of additional expenditure to the Employees Retraining Board to increase the maximum amount of monthly allowance for trainees.        

"I am well aware that financial resources alone are not enough to tackle the challenges we are facing," Mr Chan said. "However, making good use of fiscal reserves to support enterprises and relieve people's hardship is certainly in line with our people's expectations towards the Government under the current difficult environment." 

info.gov.hk (26.02.2020)

The Goverment will pay one month's rent for lower income tenants living in public rental units of the Hong Kong Housing Authority and the Hong Kong Housing Society, involving an expenditure of about $1.829 billion.