The COVID-19 pandemic has put a lot of pressure on health care services and elderly care. Staff have had an extremely heavy and often stressful workload and have worked very hard. The risk of mental ill health may have increased. This is why the Government proposes funds to support staff in regional and municipal health care and elderly care in its autumn amending budget for 2020. This will make money available for crisis support, counselling and trauma support. The proposal is based on an agreement between the government parties, the Centre Party and the Liberal Party.

blogs.worldbank.org (28.10.2020) Covariate shocks including disasters, economic crises, and pandemics threaten to reverse decades of gains achieved in poverty reduction and shared prosperity in the region. These shocks tend to disproportionately affect the poor and push near poor households into poverty.

politica.expansion.mx (10.07.2020) A one-time cash benefit of 3,000 pesos is intended for people 18 years of age and older who live in the State of Mexico (Edomex) and who during the last four months lost their formal or informal employment, due to the health emergency caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The cash support will be delivered in two monthly installments, each of 1,500 pesos. Informal workers will need to sign a declaration under oath of saying the truth about having lost their (informal) employment due COVID-19 situation.

NHK (27.11.2020) The Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare announced that the exceptional treatment of Employment Adjustment Subsidy is extended to February 2021. The exceptional treatments include the increase of maximum amount of daily allowance to 15,000 yen per an employee. The Minister also implied that the treatment would be gradually reduced after March 2021. 

canada.ca (24.11.2020)

The Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS), which  covers up to 65% of an employee’s wages for qualifying eligible employers, has been extended until June 2021. 

candada.ca (24.11.2020)

Government of Iceland (20.11.2020) A one-time payment of ISK 50,000 will be made before 18 December to recipients of disability and rehabilitation pensions who are eligible for pensions during the year, in addition to the December supplement that is usually paid during the month.

Gouvernement.fr (13.11.2020) Employers can postpone all or part of the payment of employee and employer contributions for the dates of November 5 and 15, 2020, on request online from URSSAF (in the absence of a response within 48 hours, this request is considered accepted). In addition, personal social contributions for self-employed workers (excluding contracted health professionals) will not be deducted in November .

Gouvernement.fr (13. 11. 2020) This concerns companies with less than 50 employees closed administratively and those with less than 250 employees in the tourism, events, culture, sport, air transport sectors with a loss of activity of at least 50% :  

• employers benefit from a total exemption from employer social contributions excluding supplementary pensions, and assistance with the payment of social contributions of 20% of the payroll;
• the self-employed receive a lump sum reduction of social contributions.

On April 8, Uruguay enacted Law No. 19,874 creating the Covid-19 Solidarity Fund , a precedent seen by the cross-sectional group of 16 economists who proposed a similar formula to address the emergency and post-pandemic recovery in Chile. The formula of creating a Covid fund, from which up to US $ 12 billion could be drawn  to finance support for  individuals and companies, seeks that the Government does not have to go to Congress for each measure: once the framework of action has been agreed, it would be issue decrees charged to fund financing.