This policy tracker summarizes the key economic responses governments are taking to limit the human and economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The tracker includes 197 economies. Last updated on July 2, 2021. Show
NOTE: The tracker focuses on discretionary actions and might not fully reflect the policies taken by countries in response to COVID-19, such as automatic insurance mechanisms and existing social safety nets which differ across countries in their breadth and scope. The information included is not meant for comparison across members as responses vary depending on the nature of the shock and country-specific circumstances. Adding up the different measures—tax and spending, loans and guarantees, monetary instruments, and foreign exchange operations—might not provide an accurate estimate of the aggregate policy support. The tracker includes information that is publicly available or provided by the authorities to country teams and does not represent views of the IMF on the measures listed. AAfghanistan, Islamic Republic ofBackground. Afghanistan reported its first on February 24, 2020. As the infection spread, the government tightened containment measures, including introducing screening at ports of entry, quarantine for infected people, and closure of public places for gathering. It imposed countrywide lockdown in late March 2020, which was subsequently extended twice. Afghanistan experienced a relatively moderate second wave of infections during November-December 2020 with infections declining since early 2021. Schools reopened on February 28, and universities resumed in person instruction in early March 2021. Afghanistan is currently going through a severe third wave of infections, with the number of cases and deaths topping the peaks of the first wave a year ago. Almost a third of the individuals tested recently had the infection. In response, the authorities have closed schools until further notice and are trying to speed up vaccinations. In consultation with the neighboring countries, they have also halted the movement of people across borders while keeping them open to trade and cargo transit. The authorities aim to vaccinate 60 percent of the population. Essential workers and groups prioritized by the National Technical Committee based on their vulnerability to COVID-19 will be vaccinated first. Inoculations using 500,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine donated by India started in February. The COVAX facility aims to provide vaccines covering 20 percent of the population, with the first shipments of 468,000 doses delivered in early March. Vaccination of another 28 percent of population is expected to be funded by World Bank and ADB grants. That said, less than one percent of the population has been fully vaccinated so far, and Afghanistan is facing a vaccine shortage after a large shipment has been delayed significantly. In response, China donated 700,000 doses, and the U.S. is delivering 3 million doses of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID vaccine this week. In addition to the vaccine shortage, the inoculation campaign is also facing administrative challenges and vaccine hesitancy in rural areas. The pandemic and containment measures introduced at the onset of the pandemic disrupted domestic activity and trade. Border closures and panic-buying led to a temporary spike in prices of foodstuffs in April 2020, which has abated with the re-opening of borders in early June. Income and job losses in the formal and informal sectors pushed thousands of Afghan families into poverty, threatening to reverse social development gains of the past decade. Oxfam estimates that the number of people on the brink of famine in Afghanistan has risen to 3.5 million in 2020 from 2.5 million in September 2019. Reopening of the economy.
Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021 FiscalThe government initially used contingency funds for emergency pandemic response, including for urgent health needs, such as establishing testing labs; setting up special wards to boost hospitalization and care capacity; and procuring critical medical supplies. In April-June 2020, the government provided free bread to the poor in Kabul, later extended to other cities. In May, it waived electricity bills of less than Af 1,000 (US$13) for a family residence in Kabul for two months and paid utility bills of the past two months for 50 percent of households in Kabul. The decision benefited more than 1.5 million Kabul residents. The authorities rolled out about 0.8 percent of GDP social assistance under the World Bank-funded REACH program in 2020, with the remaining 0.6 percent of GDP continuing in 2021. The program targets Afghan households with incomes of $2 per day or lower (twice the national poverty line), with households in rural areas receiving an equivalent of $50 in essential food staples and hygiene products, while those in urban areas a combination of cash and in-kind equivalent to $100, in two tranches. . Altogether, the authorities spent about 2.2 percent of GDP to fight COVID in 2020, including:
Similarly, the 2021 budget includes the following COVID-related spending:
Recognizing that taxpayers were facing liquidity strains, the government extended the tax filing deadline for the first quarter of 2020 by 45 days. No further extensions have been provided. In late 2020, the government offered to waive tax and customs payment penalties if taxpayers clear their due taxes before the end of the first quarter 2021. Monetary and Macro-financialThere have been no liquidity pressures in part thanks to Da Afghanistan Bank (DAB)’s actions to maintain confidence in the Afghani and high liquidity in the banking sector. The authorities increased the frequency of Financial Stability Committee meetings, enhanced the monitoring of early signs of liquidity stress, and reviewed banks’ business continuity plans. DAB postponed the IFRS 9 implementation to June 2021, subsequently by another year to June 2022, and froze loan classifications at the pre-pandemic cutoff of end-February. It also suspended administrative penalties and fees, with no retrospective applications for breaches/noncompliance. DAB phased out emergency pandemic measures in July 2020. It ended the freeze on loan classifications and recommenced the enforcement of all prudential requirements in August with flexible application of penalties and prudential triggers in recognition of persisting risks. The emergency measures for the nonbank sector were also allowed to expire in July 2020. Exchange rate and balance of paymentsDAB remains focused on achieving price stability in the context of a flexible exchange rate regime. With domestic demand subdued the Afghani has remained broadly stable against the US$. DAB has engaged money-service providers, who play a systemic role in financial intermediation, to ensure uninterrupted services. AlbaniaBackground. Albania was mildly affected in the first wave of the pandemic in the spring of 2020. Due to its proximity and close links to Italy, Albania adopted some of the toughest lockdown measures in Europe in March 2020 as soon as it detected the first confirmed COVID-19 case. The government proclaimed a state of natural catastrophe which enabled it to use extended powers for its three months duration until it ended on June 23, 2020. Reopening the economy and additional containment efforts. Albania removed all domestic restrictions in the summer of 2020 and re-opened its borders. As the second, more aggressive wave hit the country in the fall, some restrictions domestic restrictions were reintroduced (night curfew, ban on assembly of more than 10 people), but the authorities stopped short of a full lockdown. The epidemiological situation has improved consistently since spring, placing the country in good position to relax restrictions further in the summer. Albania imposes no quarantine or testing requirements to visitors from abroad. Vaccination of medical staff started on January 11th, while mass vaccination started in April. As of July 1st , Albania has administered over 968,000 vaccines or 34 per 100 people. Key Policy Responses as of July 1st, 2021 Fiscal
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AlgeriaAlgeria has been hit by two shocks in 2020—the spread of COVID-19 and the sharp decline in oil prices. Government policy is responding to both shocks. The first case of COVID-19 in Algeria was reported on February 25, 2020. The authorities responded to the pandemic by implementing containment measures since early February 2020 (e.g., cancelling flights, and imposing quarantines to repatriated Algerians). Confinement measures included closure of schools, universities, restaurants, and shops; cancellation of public and private events; shut down of transportation services (internal and external); putting on mandatory leave half of civil servants and private workers with full compensation. Demonstrations and religious activities were cancelled, a lockdown of affected areas was ordered and a curfew was put in place in several cities including Algiers. A gradual easing of containment measured started in early June 2020. The authorities have continued to monitor and adapt the lockdown measures as needed, including during the second wave of the pandemic in Algeria in late 2020. International borders partially reopened in June 2021. The number of daily new cases, which had fallen sharply through late March 2021 following a peak during the second wave, is ticking up again. Algeria started the vaccination campaign in late-January 2021 and has since received additional doses through the COVAX Facility and other sources for a total of 2.7 million doses as at end-May 2021. Domestic production of the Sputnik V vaccine is expected to start in September, according to an official government announcement. Key Policy Responses as of June 28, 2021 Fiscal
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AndorraBackground. Andorra has been heavily impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak, with the first confirmed case reported on March 2, 2020. To cope with the outbreak, which affected 1 percent of the population in the first wave, the economy was in full lockdown for a month until April 17. A phased reopening, coupled with mandatory use of masks and antibody testing for the entire population, started in May 18 and extended through the summer season. The decline in tourism due to travel restrictions, together with the domestic effect of lockdowns and social distancing measures, have severely impacted the Andorran economy, which shrank by about 12 percent in 2020. Reopening of the Economy. With the economy's re-opening and the start of the 2020 summer season, activity picked up but there was a resurgence of cases, with daily new infections almost tripling those of the first wave. To cope with the health crisis the government adopted more stringent social distancing measures in September 2020, which remained in place throughout October and were only partially relaxed in November and December in lieu of the improvement in COVID statistics. Despite the efforts to minimize the risk of transmission of COVID-19 during the holiday season, including by providing free antigen tests to all Andorran residents, active cases, deaths and hospitalizations increased significantly in January 2021. The health situation improved in February, which allowed for partial relaxation of some containment measures, but this reverted in March for various reasons: the spread of other variants of the virus, the higher social interaction due to the carnival holidays, and the impact of large outbreaks in two villages. Since then, new cases have sharply declined and there have not been any new deaths in the past two months. This has allowed the authorities to significantly relax containment measures, including ending the mandatory use of masks outdoors (except when social distancing cannot be maintained), increasing the maximum allowed capacity for indoor activities and social/cultural events, and authorizing bars and restaurants to extend their operating hours until 1am. Regarding mobility at the borders, the travel restrictions have been completely lifted by Spain in March 31st and only partially by France in May 3rd, the latter still requiring negative COVID tests for trips longer than 24 hours or that go beyond the neighboring French regions. The vaccination campaign started in January 20th. So far, the pace of vaccination has been comparable to that of EU countries facing similar problems of supply, and doses for more than half the population have arrived. About 55 percent of the population had received at least one dose, and 35 percent were fully vaccinated, by the end of June. Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021 Fiscal
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Linkshttps://www.govern.ad/coronavirus https://www.afa.ad/en/press-room/covid-19 https://www.andorranbanking.ad/en/covid-19/ AngolaBackground. The first COVID-19 case was reported on March 21, 2020, while community transmission started on April 27. In June 2021, the authorities kept the existing flight restrictions, limited the operating workforce of governmental and private institutions up to 50 percent, shortened the school year and approved co-payment of Covid-19 tests for international and domestic business trips. By end-June, average daily cases reduced to 120 cases (7-days moving average) from the peak of 300 daily cases in end-May. Angola received 624,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine and over 100,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine delivered through the COVAX system, a donation of 200,000 doses of the Sinopharm vaccine from the Beijing Institute of Biological Products. As of end-June, about 1 million people had received the first dose and over 540,000 people had received the second dose. However, due to the shortage of doses, authorities have stop administering the first dose vaccination until the first half of July. The vaccination plan is estimated to cost US$ 217 million and aims to cover 20 percent of the population in the first phase. The Angolan government has authorized the purchase of additional 6 million doses of the Sputnik V vaccine, of which 40,000 were received. The World Bank, United Nations, European Union, African Development Bank and European Investment Bank are providing financial support and resources in several ways. In June 2021, the IMF approved the Fifth Review of the ongoing EFF program and disbursed US$ 772 million in budget support, accommodating Covid-19 vaccine procurement. Key Policy Responses as of July 1st, 2021 Fiscal
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ArgentinaBackground. The first confirmed COVID-19 case was reported on March 3, 2020. The authorities adopted sweeping measures to prevent a rapid growth in infections, involving a full closure of borders and a nation-wide quarantine, beginning on March 20. The pandemic and the containment measures had a significant economic impact, with a GDP contraction of around 10 percent of GDP in 2020. In May 2020, the government first announced a gradual reopening aimed at raising regional mobilization, excluding the Buenos Aires metropolitan area. However, restrictions were subsequently tightened in response to an acceleration in infections and, in early June 2020, the mandatory lockdown was extended to other selected large cities. Another phased reopening of activities was announced in July 2020, but rising infections led to an extension of the mandatory lockdown until November 2020. As cases levelled off in the Buenos Aires metropolitan area, the government announced a move to a stage of social distancing in November 2020. In January, after a rise in new cases, restrictions were once again tightened in some inland districts of Buenos Aires and other inland provinces. The number of new cases moderated in January and February, with 16 provinces returning to in-school learning. However, as in other countries in the region, new cases picked up again, prompting the re-imposition of mobility and travel restrictions to limit the spread of new virus variants. The gradual vaccination rollout has accelerated since May, mainly reflecting the easing of supply constraints. Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021 Fiscal
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ArmeniaBackground. The first confirmed case was reported on March 1, 2020. The pace of new COVID-19 cases has slowed down further in December, after its peak in October. The government extended a national state of emergency to September 11, and imposed strict containment measures, including school closures, travel bans on foreign citizens from high risk countries, and imposed fines to those who violate isolation orders during the state of emergency. The government announced an assistance package with a headline amount of $300 million (2 percent of GDP) to mitigate the socio-economic issues related to the pandemic, although this includes a variety of direct spending, state-sponsored loans and increased investment. Reopening of the economy. Since May 2020, the movement restrictions were removed, and containment measures were eased, allowing for resumption of public transport, retail businesses, and restaurants. In September 2020, airspace was reopened, and the government lifted the state of emergency, and established quarantine in effect until July 11, 2021, requiring incoming travelers to have negative PCR tests taken within 72 hours prior to crossing border. As of mid-February, all restrictions on holding public events are removed. On March 29, 2021, Armenia received the first batch of 24 thousand doses of AstraZeneca vaccine․ Since then, the second batch of 50 thousand doses of AstraZeneca, more than 15000 doses of Sputnik V and 100 thousand doses of Chinese CoronaVac arrived. Yet, as of May 23, 2021, only about 27 thousand people have been vaccinated, which is less than one percent of Armenia's population. Starting June 1, 2021, the Ministry of Health stated that wearing masks in open-air public places is no longer compulsory and as of July 1, 2021, fully vaccinated citizens don't have to wear masks indoors. On June 19, a new batch of 60,000 doses of Sputnik V vaccine has arrived to Yerevan which covers 30,000 people. As of June 22, 65,719 people are vaccinated in Armenia, comprising nearly 2% of the population and 80% out of them have received their first vaccine dose. Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021 Fiscal
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ArubaBackground. Aruba has already undergone four waves of COVID-19. The first wave peaked on April 9, 2020, with 69 active cases. Coronavirus cases have resurged significantly following the reopening of borders on June 15, and the second wave tipped on September 9, with 1,630 active infections. The third and fourth waves peaked on January 13, 2021 and April 3, respectively with 624 and 706 active cases. The total number of confirmed infections as of June 30, 2021 stood at 11,135 with 29 active cases and 107 total deaths. The pandemic is affecting Aruba through the disruption to domestic activity from voluntary and mandatory social distancing and a sharp decline in tourism. Soon after recording the first case of coronavirus on March 13, 2020, the authorities have adopted containment measures, including a shelter-in place, a compulsory dusk-to-dawn curfew, travel restrictions, suspension of non-vital government services, closures of schools and non-essential business activities, and limits on social gatherings. Reopening of the economy. The reopening stage has suffered setbacks. Initially, the government developed a phased reopening plan starting on May 4, 2020 and all economic activities had resumed by end-June. However, due to the resurgence of new cases, on August 3rd, the government re-instated some measures, including procedures to facilitate testing. On October 22 the government began to relax measures aimed at curbing the second wave, however, these relaxations were cut back on January 7, 2021, to fight the third and fourth waves. On May 25, the government started relaxing measures again, including curfew and beach restrictions. The country's borders reopened gradually, and as of December 1, 2020 all travel restrictions were lifted and commercial air traffic resumed subject to strict health and safety protocols. However, borders with Brazil have closed again on January 25, 2021, and air flights with Canada were suspended from January 29 until April 30, 2021 by the Canadian government. Since March 18, 2021, South African and Venezuelan residents are not permitted until further notice. Travelers must either take a PCR test upon arrival at the airport in Aruba or provide a certified negative test result before travel, and need to be insured for medical expenses should they test positive during their stay. On June 1, 2021, the government announced that vaccinated Aruba residents no longer need PCR test upon entry the country. On June 9, Aruba welcomed the first cruise ship. The authorities continue promoting Aruba as an alternative destination for foreigners to work remotely. A COVID-19 vaccination program began on February 17, 2021 with vaccines provided by the Netherlands. As of June 30, about 68 percent of Aruba's population received at least one dose and more than 59 percent is fully vaccinated. Key Policy Responses as of June 30, 2021 Fiscal
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AustraliaBackground. The first COVID-19 case in Australia was confirmed on January 25, 2020. Social distancing measures were increasingly tightened in late March/early April 2020, including banning public gatherings of more than two people and shutting down non-essential businesses. After the National Cabinet announced a three-step plan on May 8, 2020 to relax COVID-19 restrictions, States and Territories eased regional containment measures. From July to early November 2020, a regional COVID-19 resurgence triggered a renewed lockdown in metropolitan Melbourne and tightening of restrictions for the State of Victoria (outside of Melbourne). Since then, there have been temporary local lockdowns in South Australia (November 2020), Sydney's Northern Beaches (December 2020/January 2021), Perth and adjacent areas in Western Australia (January/February 2021 and April 2021), Brisbane (March 2021), and Victoria (May/June 2021). In mid-June, Greater Sydney started reporting a few new cases of the highly infectious Delta variant, followed by locally transmitted outbreaks in late June and a two-week lockdown (ending July 9). On June 27, the Northern Territory was also placed under lockdown, initially for two days, subsequently extended through July 2. Similarly, Queensland imposed a snap lockdown from June 29 until July 2, and Greater Perth and the Peel region were put under lockdown from June 29 until July 3. The new lockdowns are impacting nearly a half of Australia's population. Across the country, state-level restrictions on public gatherings and social distancing rules remain. Overseas travel remains banned, and any arrivals in Australia are quarantined for 14 days, with the exception that travelers from New Zealand have been able to enter quarantine-free since October 16, 2020. A reciprocal travel bubble with New Zealand started on April 19, 2021, although it has been disrupted by local outbreaks, mostly recently in New South Wales, the Northern Territory, Queensland, and Western Australia. Travel is expected to resume from July 5, with some restrictions. COVID-19 vaccinations in Australia started from February 22, 2021. The economy has continued to recover with real GDP increasing by 1.8 percent q/q in the first quarter of 2021, following the 3.2 percent q/q rise in the fourth quarter of 2020. Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021 Fiscal
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AustriaBackground. The pandemic began to spread in Austria since March, 2020 and the country was under the first lockdown during March 16- April 12. A gradual re-opening of the economy started after April 13, from small shops, construction and garden centers, while other stores and hairdressers were allowed to open at the beginning of May. Some re-opening process was accelerated due to low infection rates, such as the reopening of the borders with Germany, Switzerland, Lichtenstein, Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary from June 5. On 16 June, traveling restrictions were lifted for most European countries. Adhering to EU policies, Austria lifted a travel ban with 15 countries, with the notable exceptions of US, Brazil, India, and Russia. Subsequent lockdowns. Since reopening, daily new cases significantly rose and, in October, surpassed the previous peak in March with the effective reproductive rate of above 1. A pickup in the infection rate prompted the authorities to reintroduce containment measures, including reintroducing mandatory mask since July. The authorities eventually announced a partial second lockdown between November 3 and December 6. This lockdown was subsequently tightened from November 17 and new cases have begun to decline again. The second lockdown has been less strict than the first. Industry and manufacturing remain open while restaurants, bars, non-essential shops, hairdressers, and schools are closed. Another lockdown was implemented during December 26 to January 18 and has been extended to February 8. From January 25, a higher-grade face masks (FFP2) are mandated in certain public areas, including air transportation. During April 1-May 17, some provinces (Vienna, Burgenland) have been under the light lockdown. Vaccination. Austria had a slow start on vaccine administration but recently outpaced many other EA countries. As of May 5, 27 percent of population received at least one vaccine dose. Nonetheless, the process could slowdown from the supply disruption. Key Policy Responses as of June 3, 2021 Fiscal
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AzerbaijanBackground. Azerbaijan has been adversely affected by COVID-19 and a collapse of oil prices. The authorities reported the first confirmed COVID-19 case on February 29, 2020. The COVID-19 Operational Headquarters has been created under the Cabinet, Ministers and working groups within various ministries and at the CBA have been tasked with developing specific response measures. To contain the spread of COVID-19, the authorities introduced a special quarantine regime (state of emergency) starting March 24. It included border closures, mandatory quarantine of citizens returning from abroad, prohibition of mass gatherings, restriction of domestic movements; closure of retail outlets, airports, and transportation hubs; social distancing, and disinfection of public spaces. Reopening of the economy. Starting May 4, 2020, the authorities began a staged relaxation of restrictions, enabling many businesses, facilities, and public areas to reopen and reestablishing freedom of private vehicular travel between cities and districts. On June 19, as new COVID-19 cases rose with the reopening (with cases doubling between June 1-18), the authorities announced retightening of the quarantine regime (including the closure of borders until August 1, closure of establishments such as shopping malls, cinemas, and museums in the capital and big cities, and requiring permits for people to leave their homes in these cities). On July 17, the special quarantine regime was extended in 13 cities and districts until August 31, with tighter provisions in place until August 5. With new inflections starting to decline in early August, the authorities relaxed some of the lockdown restrictions. On August 29, the special quarantine regime was extended until September 30. On September 28, in response to a rise in the number of new coronavirus cases, Azerbaijan has extended some of its lockdown restrictions until November 2 and decided to keep its borders closed. On November 19, following further rise in covid infections, Azerbaijan extend lockdown restrictions until December 28, 2020. On December 14, 2020, the new quarantine measures became effective and the special quarantine regime was extended until January 31, 2021. In January 2021, COVID vaccination started. As of end June, 1.3 million residents ( 12.9 percent of the population) have been fully vaccinated. Starting on June 10, Azerbaijan has eased air travel restrictions on visitors of Turkey and Russia. Baku metro and inter-city public transport resumed operations, and large shopping centers, places of worship, gyms and health centers have reopened, though with certain restrictions on the number of visitors. Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021 Fiscal
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BThe BahamasBackground. The Bahamas has so far reported 11,849 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with 230 deaths (as of May 30 2021). After successfully suppressing the initial spread, the reopening of international borders in July 2020 coincided with a sharp and prolonged rise in infections. Weekend lockdown measures, initiated in October, in worst hit islands curtailed the prolonged rise in new cases, as testing capacity and tracing also improved. As cases fell, travel and lockdown restrictions were gradually rolled back. Fully vaccinated international and domestic travelers are now exempt from testing requirements and allowed to resume indoor dining. The Bahamas received 20,000 doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine as a donation from the Indian government on March 10, and 67,200 doses thus far of the 100,000 purchased through COVAX . The Bahamas is currently experiencing a third wave, averaging above 40 new cases per day – roughly one-third that of pandemic highs. Since March, hospitalizations have also been rising again (55 persons on May 30). Key Policy Responses as of June 1, 2021 Fiscal
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BahrainBackground. Bahrain implemented a swift and well-coordinated policy response, which limited the spread of the virus, delivered rapid and widespread access to vaccinations, and extended targeted income and liquidity support to those in most need. The vaccination campaign began in December 2020 and are being administered at a rate of 119.2 doses per 100 people at end-June 2021, placing Bahrain among the best performing countries in delivering vaccinations. Despite the rapid vaccine rollout, a second wave of cases hit the country starting in early 2021. Bahrain has avoided strict lockdowns during the pandemic, but the authorities reintroduced a range of health containment measures to curb recent infection waves in the first half of 2021. Measures include closure of all non-essential retail businesses and limiting indoor activities in various high-contact sectors to vaccinated customers, halting in-person education, banning of social gatherings, and re-instating remote work schedules for public administration employees. In addition, in May 2021 Bahrain limited entry to travelers from some countries where COVID cases have recently increased. Key Policy Responses as of June 29, 2021 Fiscal
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BangladeshBackground. Bangladesh reported the first confirmed cases of COVID-19 on March 8, 2020. Several measures such as general holidays, restricted movement, closures, mandatory wearing of masks etc. were put in place to contain the spread. In August 2020, Bangladesh witnessed its first wave under the pandemic. Daily new infection cases had been on the decline since end-November 2020, however, new cases rapidly increased starting March 2021 through the first week of April 2021 reflecting the second wave. A country-wide lockdown has been in place since April 14, 2021. This lockdown has been less strict allowing for public and private offices, and some industries to remain operational although transportation has been limited along with border control measures in place. Bangladesh is now at the onset of the third wave. The positivity rate has reached 25 percent which is higher than the peaks in April 2021 (23 percent) and in August last year (24 percent). The infection rate, in districts bordering India, is much higher than the rest of the country and testing remains limited. The government has announced a seven-day strict lockdown from July 1 through July 7 during which all government, semi-government, autonomous, and private offices will remain closed, excepting those that provide emergency services. All transportation, except emergency service providers, will remain suspended. However, industries are expected to remain operational, maintaining health protocols. As of June 30, 5.9 million persons had received their first vaccine dose while 4.3 million had received their second. New registrations have remained suspended since May 7. The third wave could dampen the recent pick up in exports. Remittances had initially declined around the onset of the pandemic but have steadily increased during FY21 partly reflecting the central bank's incentives to repatriate funds through official channels. Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021 Fiscal
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BarbadosBackground. The government took swift actions to contain the spread of the virus. Within days of the first confirmed case (March 16, 2020), measures to activate isolation and treatment centers, impose limits on public gatherings, and establish supplementary medical facilities were taken. On April 3, a 24-hour curfew became effective restricting non-essential personnel to their residences and closing non-essential businesses. Enhanced screening measures are in place at all ports of entry but the mandatory 14-day quarantine for all travelers arriving in Barbados has been replaced with a testing program to facilitate the resumption of tourism. Spillovers from the global pandemic to the critical tourism sector have been significant with the shut-down of commercial airlift at end-March 2021, which resulted in widespread labor furloughs and temporary hotel closures. Commercial airlift resumed on a limited basis in July but prospects for the recovery of tourism remain highly uncertain. The virtual collapse in tourism during the global pandemic—which accounts for 40 percent of economic activity—resulted in a 18 percent collapse in economic activity in 2020. The outlook for 2021 is highly uncertain following a resurgence of COVID-19 cases that necessitated the imposition of a second national lockdown in February. Reopening of the Economy. The authorities adopted a four-phase approach to reopen the economy following the national lockdown in March 2020. The strategy ranges from a complete lockdown (Phase 1) to a phased removal of social and economic restrictions (during Phase 2 and3) ending with a resumption of life as normal once the population has been adequately vaccinated (Phase 4). The implementation of the National Vaccination strategy got underway in the second half of February 2021 with roughly 35 percent of Barbados' adult population fully (double) vaccinated to date (47 percent with a single dose). The rollout of the national vaccination program will continue as swiftly as access to vaccine supplies allows. Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021 Fiscal
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BelarusBackground. The first confirmed case of COVID-19 was reported on February 28, 2020. It unfolded the first wave until July 2020. Belarus' second wave of infections started in October 2020, and it peaked in December 2020–January 2021 at around 2,000 cases per day. It has proven hard to curb with new cases hovering around 1,200 per day until May. Since late May new cases are declining with a 7-day average of around 650 cases as of June 28, 2021. The government has been implementing a range of measures to delay the spread of the disease and to support individuals and businesses. Containment measures currently in place—limited relative to other countries—include travel restrictions, social distancing, and recommendations for schools, education, and workplaces. The Ministry of Health issued enhanced recommendations to businesses and non-profit organizations on social distancing, limiting any meeting with more than 5 participants and encouraging video conferencing. In some regions such as Minsk, there has also been a cancelation of public events and compulsory use of facial masks was introduced. In December 2020, Belarus decided to close its land border partially. Belarusian citizens and residents are temporarily prohibited from leaving the countries, except for a limited number of cases. The National COVID-19 Vaccination Plan for 2021-2022 was approved in February 2021. Belarus has started vaccination with people working in health, education and social sector and plan to expand the plan to people most likely to develop a severe form of the disease, people in high-contact jobs, and the general public. On February 26, 2021, Belarus started producing Russian vaccines Sputnik on its soil, expecting to produce sufficient vaccines to start mass vaccination beginning in April 2021. As of June 26, 2021, 11.3 percent of the population has received one vaccination dose, and 7.5 percent are fully vaccinated. Belarus also aims at developing its own vaccine. Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021 Fiscal
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BelgiumBackground. Belgium registered the first confirmed COVID-19 case on February 4, 2020. The government at the time implemented a range of measures to contain the pandemic, including closures of schools and non-essential businesses, limiting movement to essential needs, as well as banning all gatherings and non-essential travel abroad. The economy contracted by 6.4 percent in 2020 as private consumption and investment slumped. A strong rebound in Q3 was brought to a halt by a renewed lockdown to stem a second wave of infections in Q4. Activity picked-up again in 2021Q1, with growth at 1.0 percent (q/q), primarily driven by robust business and residential investment as well as a positive contribution from net exports. Reopening of the economy. Since early May, a reopening plan conditional on health outcomes has seen the reopening in four phases of sectors and activities according to their degree of contact intensity. Following an uptick in cases from mid-July, the fifth phase of the reopening plan was put on hold, with some restrictions tightened. Despite a partial easing from late August, strict social-distancing rules remained in place. Amidst a sharp resurgence of cases and hospitalizations since early October, wide-ranging restrictions on activity and mobility were imposed on October 19, followed by a new lockdown from November 2, albeit shorter and less stringent than in spring, with non-essential shops allowed to reopen from December 1. In response to a stagnation in the decline in infection rates and the emergence of new, more contagious strains of the virus, travel and telework rules and controls have been progressively tightened (Consultative Committee decisions of December 18, December 30 and January 22) and containment measures were extended by ministerial decree from January 15 to March 1, 2021 following the Consultative Committee’s meeting on January 8 and to April 1, 2021 in the meeting on February 5. Some contact-intensive businesses reopened in steps from February 8 but the further opening of the economy decided on March 5 was partially reversed or suspended by the Consultative Committee meetings on March 19 and March 24. On April 14, the Consultative Committee announced a gradual lifting of containment measures starting with the end of the Easter holiday period on April 19. On May 11, the Consultative Committee laid out a path for a stepwise removal of restrictions on businesses and social gatherings over the summer, subject to vaccination progress and hospital capacity. With milestones continuing to be met, the relaxation of containment polices has proceeded apace (see Consultative Committee decisions of 4 June and 18 June), allowing for a fuller reopening of the hospitality industry and larger social gatherings. Despite initial supply side constraints, the vaccination campaign, launched on January 5, 2021, has made impressive inroads, with nearly two thirds of the population having received at least one dose of the vaccine. Key Policy Responses as of June 30, 2021 Fiscal
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BelizeBackground. The first case of COVID-19 was reported on March 23. In response, the authorities closed the international airport and schools and implemented mandatory quarantines. They also declared a national state of emergency and nighttime curfew during April, under which people were not allowed to leave their homes except for buying essential goods, attending medical appointments, or to work in essential services. The national state of emergency was later extended until end-June, although with less stringent regulations. These measures we effective to contain the pandemic until early June. However, there have been a second wave of infections since then, with the number of cases increasing to around 5000 and the number of deaths to about 100 as of November 20. The COVID-19 pandemic hit when the economy was already in recession due to drought and a slowdown in tourism in the second half of 2019. The impact of the pandemic on the economy is projected to be severe due to the collapse in tourism activity and the indirect effects of the necessary containment and mitigation measures. As a result, Belize is projected to experience a deep recession in 2020 and only a gradual recovery as the pandemic wanes. Reopening of the economy. The national state of emergency ended in June, allowing more businesses to reopen. The international airport reopened on October 1 with appropriate protocols for testing and tracing. However, the number of international flights to Belize is only a fraction of its pre-pandemic levels and tourism activity has been slow to recover. Key Policy Responses as of November 20, 2020 Fiscal
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BeninBackground. Benin reported its first COVID-19 case on March 16, 2020. After peaking in June 2020, the total number of active cases and fatalities subsided in the second half of 2020. New cases and deaths related to Covid-19 have seen another sharp increase in the first quarter of 2021, but have since subsided significantly. Benin launched its vaccination campaign on March 29, 2021. The vaccination rollout has been slow—slightly more than 24,000 persons have received the first dose of available vaccine, and more than 6000 were fully vaccinated by mid-June 2021—reflecting significant deployment challenges. Following the initial outbreak of the virus, the authorities have swiftly implemented strong containment and social distancing measures, including the partial lockdown (cordon sanitaire) around ten cities most exposed to the pandemic to isolate the contaminated population and contain the spread of the virus. They have also (i) significantly limited the transit of people across land borders; (ii) restricted the issuance of entry visas to the country; (iii) introduced a systematic and compulsory quarantine of all people coming to Benin by air; (iv) suspended all public gatherings; (v) introduced a ban on the movement of public transportation; and (vi) made wearing face mask in public compulsory. Economic activity was mostly affected during the second quarter of 2020, due to containment and mitigation measures in Benin and the global economic slowdown, while some signs of recovery appeared in June 2020. Agriculture, commerce and trade, transport, and the hospitality industry were among the most affected sectors. Inflation has been on the rise, driven by higher food and transport prices. Import and value chains disruptions, lower travel and tourism receipts in addition to diminished inflow of remittances have resulted in widening of current account deficit. After having soared about 550 points following the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020, spreads on Benin's Eurobond continued to compress and, since January 2021, have fallen below SSA average. The fiscal position has deteriorated as a result of the implementation of the authorities' COVID-19 response plan (see section on fiscal response below). In addition to Covid-19 shock, Benin continues to be impacted by the impeded trade with Nigeria. On 20 August 2019, Nigeria decided unilaterally to close the border with some neighboring countries, including Benin. The Nigerian authorities motivated their decision by the need to curb smuggling and spur local agricultural production. Following a 16-month border closure, the Nigerian authorities announced in December 2020 the immediate reopening of Nigerian land border-crossing point with Benin. Nonetheless, traffic remains limited to private vehicles and pedestrians, thus impeding the cross-border trade. Following the meeting of the presidents of two countries in January 2021, a working group has been set up with objective of resuming the land trade by second half of 2021. Reopening of the economy. The authorities have announced measures to gradually start reopening the economy, with the cordon sanitaire lifted on May 6, 2020. Middle schools, high schools and universities resumed their activities on May 11, 2020. Public transportation, places of worship and bars resumed their activities on June 2, 2020. International flights resumed on July 15th, 2020, accompanied by strict protocols for testing and quarantine for new arrivals. The gradual reopening is subject to continued social distancing guidelines and mandatory use of masks, among other measures. Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021 Fiscal
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BhutanBackground. Bhutan confirmed its first case of COVID-19 on March 6, 2020. Active cases have increased since December 2020, following the outbreak in Thimpu. On December 23, 2020, Bhutan announced a second lockdown following a local transmission detected in Thimpu (the first lockdown was in August 2020). Under the lockdown, only designated shops within the zones and essential services were available but all schools, institutions, offices and business establishments were closed; targeted lockdown continues in select areas. Since the start of the pandemic, the economic impact of COVID-19 has been substantial, driven by the adverse impact on the tourism and related services sector. Reopening of the economy. An Air Travel Bubble Arrangement has been agreed between the Royal Government of Bhutan and the Government of India, subject to standard quarantine and testing procedures. On January 7, 2021, the lockdown in the border town of Phuentsholing was eased. From February 1, 2021, following the conclusion of mass testing, the lockdown in Paro and Thimpu has been eased, allowing economic activities, schools, offices and business to resume. Key Policy Responses as of June 3, 2021 Fiscal
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BoliviaBackground. The first confirmed case was reported on March 10, 2020. While Bolivia was initially spared from the full force of the pandemic, it suffered a peak in new cases during July and August, after which the situation gradually improved until the start of December. Cases started increasing again in early-2021, peaking at end-January, and with cases increasing during May and June reaching a new historical peak. As of June 30, there are 439,624 confirmed cases, and 16,767 deaths have been reported. At late-June total cases reached about 37,000 per million inhabitants, compared with 62,000 for Peru and 102,000 for the United States. The mortality rate, the number of deaths within the entire population, is about 0.14 percent in Bolivia, 0.58 percent in Peru and 0.18 percent in the United States. The previous government took a series of measures to prevent the spread of the virus, including a generalized lockdown, entailing the temporary closure of many businesses, border closure, suspension of schools, and postponed the general elections scheduled initially on May 3 2020. On March 25 2020, the previous authorities announced the state of health emergency until April 15 2020 and further tightened the quarantine orders, completely closing the borders, restricting the movement of people to once a week, and prohibiting movements of vehicles except for security and health reasons. The national quarantine has been extended several times and the country is now in a stage of post-confinement with reopening modifications (see below). Wearing a facemask in public places is mandatory, certification of a negative COVID-19 test is required to enter the country and public events have reopened but must comply with biosecurity measures regulated by municipalities and local government. During 2020, the former interim President, several members of her cabinet, and the ex-president of the central bank tested positive for COVID-19. National elections, which occurred on October 18, were delayed twice owing to the pandemic. Reopening of the economy. By decree the post-confinement phase started on September 1 and has been extended by the new government. However, owing to a recent spike in cases, 5 regions went back into lockdown at end-May. On September 1 entry into Bolivia by air on commercial flights was permitted. As of December 1, entry by air, land and water was permitted provided that nationals and foreigners entering the country present a negative test result for COVID-19, with the time allowed between test and arrival dependent on country of departure. Cultural, sporting, social, religious and electoral activities are permitted subject to biosecurity measures to avoid the generation of crowds. Restrictions on working hours have been lifted and commercial activities are permitted to operate on a continuous basis, however, workplaces must try to avoid crowded workspaces through alternating schedules, and teleworking as a preferred option where possible. To protect the health of the older population, their family members can be authorized to collect benefits on their behalf, such as Renta Dignidad, among other social transfers. Schools returned after their summer break on February 1 in a virtual capacity, with some municipalities starting to have semi-presential classes. Departmental and municipal governments will determine commercial activity and other services not governed by the national decree and may add restrictions as needed by local conditions. The free virus testing was significantly increased since January. The government has agreements to receive the Russian Sputnik-V vaccine, the Chinese Sinopharm, and also AstraZeneca-Oxford, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson vaccines through the international agreement Covax. January 29 marked the first vaccination in Bolivia using the Sputnik-V vaccine, with the first batch of 20,000 doses of this vaccine (of 5.2 million committed). By end-June, about 1.9 million first doses have been administered and 700,000 second doses. On June 30, the government announced the purchase of six million Sinopharm vaccines, and that the entire Bolivian population over 18 years of age will be eligible for vaccination from July 1st. Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021 Fiscal
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Bosnia and HerzegovinaBackground. The first confirmed COVID-19 case was reported on March 5, 2020. In March, the government declared a country-wide state of emergency, closed schools and universities, shuttered restaurants and shops, suspended public transportation, banned public gatherings, and imposed severe restrictions on the movement of people. Borders were closed to non-Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) citizens. Incoming BiH citizens were quarantined for 14 days. Reopening of the economy. Both entities—the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBIH) and the Republic of Srpska (RS)—eased mobility restrictions gradually during the second half of 2020 with the end of the first pandemic wave. They ended curfews for individuals but maintained limitations on most public events and gatherings. While grocery stores, pharmacies, restaurants, and cafes remained open throughout the pandemic, social distancing restrictions were imposed in public places—particularly restaurants and bars—and included limits on the number of people and the requirement to wear masks indoors, on public transportation, and in public areas when social distancing is not possible. Sarajevo airport was reopened for traffic of BiH citizens and residents, and the citizens of Croatia, Serbia, and Montenegro were allowed to enter the country. Starting July 16, 2020 BiH borders were further reopened for citizens and residents of EU and Schengen countries with a negative PCR test not older than 48 hours. A new nighttime curfew was, however, reinstated on November 11, 2020 on most businesses as part of new measures to contain a second surge in the coronavirus. At the beginning of 2021, the BiH continued to see a high number—although declining—of daily COVID-19 cases, and vaccination had not started. Restrictions remained in place and included a curfew on most businesses from 11:00 pm to 5:00 am, limitations on the number of people attending public gatherings, and requirements to wear masks in outdoor and indoor public spaces and on public transportation. A third wave of the pandemic hit the BiH in March-April before receding in May-June 2021. At end-March curfew restrictions were extended only in FBIH from 9:00 pm to 5:00 am, while the requirement to wear masks outdoors was lifted (except in cases where a two-meter distance could not be achieved) at end-April. The number of confirmed cases surged to a 7-day moving average of about 74 per 100,000 at end-March falling to less than 10 per 100,000 beginning the second half of April. The 7-day moving average of new deaths has declined to less than 1 per 100,000 in mid-May from a peak of around 3.7 per 100,000 the first week of April. On June 28, 2021, for the first time in months, the BiH recorded no COVID-related deaths, a sign of continued improvement. However, the BiH continues to lead Europe by having the highest fatality rate (ratio of cumulative COVID-19 deaths to cumulative new cases) at around 4.7 percent at end-June. Travel restrictions have been relaxed further since mid-June 2021, allowing people to enter the country with only a negative antigen test (not requiring a negative PCR as in the past), or proof of being fully vaccinated or of having contracted/recovered from COVID-19 within a 14 days—6 months window prior to entry. Restrictions on outdoor and indoor public gatherings have been also eased further since early June in FBIH (June 21 in RS). Requirements to wear masks in indoor public spaces and public transportation remain in place, while lifted outdoors since end-April. Operation of restaurants, clubs, and cafes is still prohibited from midnight to 6 am. COVID vaccination has improved recently, although lagging the rest of Europe. By mid-June 2021, about nine percent of the population received a first dose of the vaccine and around 5 percent was fully vaccinated through the COVAX, the EU, and direct procurement programs. In addition, a portion of the population received the vaccine in neighboring countries. Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021 Fiscal
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BotswanaBackground. Botswana recorded its first case on March 31, 2020. The government declared a state of emergency on April 2, 2020, and has adopted a list of containment measures, including social distancing and travel bans. The government has lifted some restrictions on May 22 after 7 weeks of lockdown. In June 2020, the country has recorded a spike in cases, resulting in a partial 2-weeks lockdown of the capital city starting from June 30. Many of the restrictions have been relaxed gradually. However, the state of emergency is further extended from March 31, 2021 to September 30, 2021, along with an extension on curfew and localized lockdowns. On the economic front, diamond sales, and tourism and travel activities have fallen sharply, and lockdowns in neighboring countries have disrupted both regional supply and demand. The parliament has approved the mid-term review of NDP 11 including a 14.5 billion stimulus to support the recovery and facilitate structural transformation. Botswana has made an upfront payment to COVAX, the World Health Organization's vaccine arrangement, to acquire 940,800 vaccines under a two-dose regime, enough to cover about 20 percent of the population. In addition, Botswana has paid US$7.1 million to the African Vaccine Acquisition Task Team (AVATT) to secure more vaccine doses. Botswana started its vaccination campaign on March 26, 2021 after receiving 30,000 vaccine doses donated by India. It has received 102,180,000 doses from the COVAX facility in two consignments ( March and June 2021), and 200,000 Sinopharm vaccines donated by China. The government has secured nearly 2 million doses, including pending shipments of 1.1 million doses of Johnson & Johnson vaccines and 250,000 doses from Moderna, enough to cover the entire 1.6 million adult population. Key Policy Responses as of June 28, 2021 Fiscal
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BrazilBackground. The first confirmed case was reported on February 26, 2020, and 18.5 million people have been infected (9 percent of the population). The case fatality rate is 2.8 percent. The pandemic reached a first peak in mid-August and had steadily receded through early November. However, an acute second wave led the number of daily cases and deaths to new highs in April 2021. ICU vacancies fell below 20 percent in nearly all states during March-April, prompting renewed lockdown measures. Case numbers remain close to peak but fatalities are steadily declining as vaccination advances. There are no barriers to entry in Brazil by air travel but a negative PCR test is required. Vaccination has started in mid-January and has reached nearly half of the adult population (16 percent fully vaccinated). Key Policy Responses as of June 30, 2021 Fiscal
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Brunei DarussalamBackground. Brunei Darussalam reported its first confirmed case of COVID-19 on March 9, 2020. Since the outbreak, the authorities have prioritized policy measures to contain the pandemic, while rolling out economic relief packages to mitigate the impact on vulnerable sectors and support economic activities. Continuing testing/tracking of cases has enabled early isolation and treatment, with significant resources being channeled to the health sector. To meet the increasing needs of COVID-19 tests, an auxiliary virology laboratory has been constructed, which commenced operations on April 1. By early May, the number of confirmed cases has stabilized, allowing the authorities to gradually implement COVID-19 de-escalation measures. A contact-tracing app (“BruHealth”) has also been widely implemented, which is a necessary pre-condition for re-opening, in order to minimize the risk of a “second wave”. Despite the impact of containment measures on domestic demand in the first half of the year, the economy showed good performance with real GDP growth of positive 1.2 percent in 2020 due to an exceptional pickup in downstream activities. Reopening of the economy. With the pandemic broadly under control, Brunei started relaxing COVID-19 restrictions since May 16, in phases. Since the re-opening, the total number of cases have remained largely stable. Confirmed new infections are limited to imported cases, with no local transmissions. Travel restrictions have also been gradually relaxed, where Brunei has established a reciprocal green lane with Singapore for short-term business and official trips effective September 1—marking the country's first steps to re-establishing international travel. From September 15, foreigners are allowed to enter Brunei for essential travels (official business, education and health purposes). All inbound visitors will be required to undergo a minimum 2-14 days self-isolation period, depending on risk categories of the countries the travelers are from. The ministry of health prepared the National Vaccination Program with 3 phases (phase 1: front liners, students studying abroad and seniors aged 60 and above, phase 2: teachers, staff at child care centers and adults at high risks, phase 3: the public aged 18 and above) and commenced phase 1 on April 3, 2021. 52,775 people (12.7 percent of total population) have been vaccinated by May 29. Key Policy Responses as of June 3, 2021 Fiscal
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BulgariaBackground. After a mild and well contained first wave of the epidemic Bulgaria has experienced severe second and third waves of infections. The "extraordinary epidemic situation", which replaced the state of emergency introduced in mid-March, has been extended until July 31. Most containment measures have been relaxed. The extraordinary epidemic situation preserves the right of the Health Minister to implement promptly new anti-epidemic measures, if necessary. The pandemic resulted in a 4.2 percent GDP decline in Bulgaria in 2020, but NSI preliminary data report an increase by 2.5% q/q in Q1 2021. Both consumption (+2.1 percent q/q) and export (+6.7 percent q/q) rebounded in the first three months of the year. Registered unemployment stood at 5.7% in April, dropping by 3.3 percentage points y/y. Key Policy Responses as of June 30, 2021 Fiscal
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Burkina FasoBackground. The first confirmed COVID-19 case was reported in early March 2020. The public health impact has been limited, with over 13,000 cases and total deaths at 167 as of June 2. The authorities maintain most public health containment and mitigation measures, following the second wave of the outbreak between December 2020 and February 2021. Since then, the 7-day average of new daily cases has declined to 2 as of June 2. Reopening of the economy. Most restrictions enforced during the first wave of the outbreak have been lifted. Following the second wave between December and February, the authorities continue to enforce some measures, including social distancing guidelines and mandatory use of masks, among other basic measures. A national vaccination plan has been adopted which aims to immunize at least 20 percent of the population under the COVAX initiative. Key Policy Responses as of June 3, 2021 Fiscal
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BurundiBackground. The first confirmed COVID-19 case was reported on April 1, 2020. Two large-scale testing campaigns were conducted during July 6- October 6, 2020 and January 11-February 11, 2021. Testing at the border gives rise to Covid-19 certificates, which costs US$ 100 for foreign incoming travelers, US 30 for nationals and BIF 60,000 (about US$ 30) for all outgoing travelers. The authorities have not yet announced any vaccination strategy but are allowing international organizations and diplomatic representations to vaccinate their staff. Measures taken to minimize the risk of the pandemic spreading in Burundi have been very limited: The population has been instructed to follow some basic rules of limited social distancing and frequent handwashing. Hand sanitizers and water for handwashing have been installed in public places. The authorities subsidized the price of soap during June-September 2020 at a cost of BIF 4.7 billion (about US$ 2.4 million) and are subsidizing water for standpipes, up to 50 percent. Covid-19 certificates are required for travelers entering or leaving the country. The Melchior Ndadaye International Airport was reopened on November 8, 2020 with some restrictions. Quarantine is no longer required for incoming travelers at any open entry point. However, Covid-19 tests are mandatory for all incoming and outgoing travelers. Results are sent to the traveler within 12 to 24 hours. Land and sea borders have been reopened at selected entry points. They remained open for merchandise. Burundi’s health care system is extremely weak. The authorities’ pandemic response plan aims to strengthen the health care system, the social safety net, and parts of the road network to facilitate access to sick people. To strengthen the health system, the authorities intend to intensify the communication on the risks of COVID-19 and enhancing the screening capacity, the equipment of hospitals and health centers, and the stock of drugs. They have also recruited at least one doctor and one nurse in each of the 116 municipalities other than the capital Bujumbura. IMF staff estimates that the cost of the response plan could reach at least US$150 million (4.9 percent of GDP) cumulatively over 2020 and 2021. With the exception of the US$5 million from the World Bank, the authorities currently do not have cash buffers or credit sources that allow them to make these expenditures. They have already contacted and will continue to contact their development partners to request additional support for their pandemic response plan. A technical committee for the response to the COVID-19 pandemic has been set up by decree. A single fiduciary fund to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic has also been set up for any partner who wishes to support the Government. For this purpose, a related account has been opened at the Bank of the Republic of Burundi. Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021 Fiscal
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CCabo VerdeBackground. The first confirmed COVID-19 case was reported on March 20, 2020. Prevention measures taken by the authorities include: installation of body temperature scans in airports, suspension of official travel and flights to China and other heavily affected countries, preparation of quarantine areas in hospitals, suspension of flights from European countries affected by COVID-19, the United States, Brazil, Senegal and Nigeria, as well as maritime traffic (with few exceptions), and quarantine of the island of Boa Vista where the community spread started inside a resort hotel. The authorities have also prepared a contingency plan and put in place a rapid response team. In late March, they declared the state of emergency, put in place social distancing measures, restricted travel between the nine inhabited islands, and put the country in lockdown for non-essential activities. Commercial air and passenger traffic resumed on October 12. Reopening of the economy. On May 29, 2020, the government lifted the State of Emergency for all islands. In line with it, the Prime Minister announced a deconfinement plan that includes : (i) resumption of inter-island air travel on July 15, (ii) resumption of maritime connections for passenger transport, originating and destinating to Boa Vista island on June 1 and to Santiago island on July 15, (iv) restarting of cultural and sport events on October 1, (v) reopening of restaurants with regular hours on June 1, (vi) increased rapid tests in Praia’s laboratories, (vii) creation of an incentive framework to support companies to adapt their activity to the new requirements and standards of the deconfinement plan, and (viii) implementation of a digital platform for tracking positive cases of COVID-19. Commercial air and passenger traffic resumed on October 12, 2020. In response to the recent surge in cases the authorities on April 30, 2021 declared a state of emergency for 30 days in all the islands except Brava along with the reinforcement of existing measures and protocols. Key Policy Responses as of June 30, 2021 Fiscal
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CambodiaBackground. The first confirmed COVID-19 case was reported on January 27, 2020. All foreign arrivals into Cambodia need to obtain a visa at a Cambodian diplomatic mission abroad, a health certificate before departure to Cambodia, and a deposit of USD2000 (to cover potential health care costs). All arrivals are required to be tested and quarantined. Returning migrant workers are to self-isolate for 14 days. On April 27, 2021, the government implemented temporarily ban on Indian nationals and all inbound passengers traveling through India from entering Cambodia due to B1617 variant of COVID-19. Domestic travel restrictions were lifted on April 16, 2020. Massage parlors, sports arenas, fitness centers, and public transports have been closed since last March. Public events and gathering (including religious gathering and concerts) have been banned. Since June, casinos, cinemas, museums and theaters varyingly reopened. Entertainment venues (e.g. karaoke and clubs) reopened as restaurants since July; schools reopened in phases starting from last September. Cambodia was hit by the first large-scale local transmission late February this year (so called “Feb 20 incident”) and schools/cinemas/museums/art shows/gyms/internet cafes in Phnom Penh and Takhmao city of Kandal province have been closed. Localized movement restrictions and mask mandate have been imposed. Phnom Penh and surrounding area has been placed under lockdown since mid-April (to be lifted on May 6). As of May 5, 2021, the number of confirmed cases stood at 16,971 and 110 deaths. Vaccination has been underway since early February, with more than 1.5 mil people vaccinated so far. Key Policy Responses as of May 5, 2021 Fiscal
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CameroonBackground. The first cases were reported on March 6. Cameroon continues to record daily increases in the number of COVID-19. Following a reduction in the infection rate from end-July to end-September 2020, CMR is experienced a resurgence from late 2020 to end March 2021. While the rate of infection remains high, it seems to be abating. In response to the first wave, on March 17, 2020, the government announced a package of 13 containment measures including closure of land, air and sea borders, quarantine for travelers returning from a country with a high level of infection, closure of schools and universities, prohibition of gatherings of more than 50 persons, closure of bars, restaurants and entertainment spots after 6 pm, suspension of missions of civil servants and parastatals abroad, cancellation of school and university games, and a ban on overloading taxis and public transportation. Social distancing and sanitation measures include the use of electronic communications and digital tools for meetings of more than 10 persons, and compliance with hygiene measures recommended by the WHO. On April 10, 2020, the government took seven additional measures to stop the spread of COVID-19. These measures took effect from April 13, 2020 and include wearing a mask in all areas open to the public, local production of drugs and screening tests, establishment of specialized COVID-19 treatment centers in all regional capitals, intensification of screening and an awareness campaign, among others. In October 2020, the Ministry of Public Health reinforced COVID-19 screenings for all travelers landing in Cameroon, after a network of fake negative COVID-19 tests sold to travelers was dismantled. Since July 2020, the authorities have been following a decentralized approach, based on Cameroon's health districts and regions, and aimed at strengthening the monitoring of cases and strengthening the continuity of the health services and systems. The country has developed a national vaccine readiness and deployment plan. The authorities have avoided imposing new confinement measures in response to the recent spike in infection rates and have instead intensified calls for stricter respect of sanitary barrier measures and stepped up testing. As of May 31, 2021, a total of 75,215 vaccine doses had been administered. Reopening of the economy. On April 30, 2020 the government announced a set of reopening measures. The restriction prohibiting bars, restaurants, and leisure facilities from operating after 6 p.m. was lifted, provided customers and users respect social distancing and wear protective masks. The limit on the number of passengers in public transportation vehicles (buses and taxi.) was also relaxed but masks remain compulsory and overloading is prohibited. Primary and secondary school students returned to school on June 1, 2020. Currently, the economy is relatively open, with government offices, businesses, and schools operating normally. Key Policy Responses as of June 3, 2021 Fiscal
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CanadaBackground. Canada has experienced more than 1.4 million COVID-19 cases and more than 26,200 deaths as of end-June 2021. Federal and provincial governments have implemented a range of measures to mitigate the spread of the virus. The rate of new cases during the first wave peaked in early May 2020. The second wave of the pandemic peaked in early January 2021. The third wave started in early March but is subsiding, in part due to increased vaccination and re-instated mobility restrictions. These restrictions had been mostly lifted by early June in response to a decline in COVID-19 infections. Reopening of the economy. On April 28, 2020, Prime Minister Trudeau released a joint statement with premiers across Canada on their shared public health approach to support restarting the economy; all provinces began to implement detailed, data-driven plans to reopen in May 2020. The surge in new virus cases that began in September 2020 prompted a tightening of restrictions in many parts of the country. Since end-February 2021, the pandemic restrictions have been gradually unrolled, again, only to be tightened in some regions due to the third wave. After an initially slow pace of vaccination mainly due to supply bottlenecks, Canada has been making impressive progress in vaccinating the population. As of mid-June, over 65 percent of Canadians received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021 Fiscal
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Central African RepublicBackground. The first case has been identified in mid-March 2020. After being contained during the second half of 2020, the incidence of the pandemic has increased rapidly since the beginning of the year. To help contain the pandemic, the authorities adopted a response plan for the health sector and enacted social distancing measures, including the closing of borders, schools, and most public establishments, a ban on meetings of more than 15 people, and restrictions on the movement of people from Bangui. They have also been working on a more exhaustive plan, which, in addition to the strengthening of the health sector, would provide financial support to the most vulnerable households and companies. Reopening of the Economy. As the number of new cases has been declining, the president has announced some reopening measures to enable the restart of the economic activity in July 2020. Restaurants, bars and places of worship have been allowed to re-open. Moreover, international travels have resumed gradually, and most travel restrictions have been lifted, and the quarantine for people arriving from abroad has been reduced from 21 to 14 days. This reopening is conditional on following some measures such as frequent hand washing and social distancing. However, self-quarantine for confirmed cases remain in place. Vaccination strategy. 360 000 AstraZeneca doses of vaccines, enough to cover 180 000 people, have been allocated to CAR under the COVAX program. They will be given to health workers and elderly in priority. Key Policy Responses as of July 01, 2021 Fiscal
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ChadBackground. The first confirmed COVID-19 case was reported on March 19, 2020. As of June 30th, 2021, the total number of COVID-cases is 4,951 (of which 4,777 recoveries, 174 deaths and 3 patients under treatment). The number of new cases started declining in May 2021, and no new death cases recorded since June 4, 2021. The initial surge in December prompted the authorities to temporarily reinstate some of the preventive measures that were relaxed in May 2020. As the number of new COVID cases dropped since mid-January, the authorities decided to relax these measures on January 20, 2021 (mentioned below), on gradual basis and considering the compliance of the remaining preventive measures. The state of medical emergency continues since its extension on October 17, 2020, for six months. Wearing a face mask remains mandatory in public places starting May 7, 2020. For the vaccination against COVID-19, the authorities adopted a national plan which aims to vaccinate about one third of the population in four phases. The first three phases, covered by the COVAX facility, are expected to be completed in 2021. Reopening of the economy and additional containment measures. On January 20, 2021, the authorities decided to re-open gradually: (i) travel flights were allowed to resumed from January 14, 2021; (ii) land borders reopened for authorized missions; (iii) schools and universities reopened; (iv) worship places opened for Friday prayers and Sunday masses; (v) public transportation is allowed; (vi) markets and shops were allowed to reopen; (vii) reopening of bars and restaurants for carry out; and (viii) no limit on gatherings (previously set at 50), however, preventive and social distancing measures remain mandatory. The curfew (9:00 PM to 5:00 AM), which was imposed and renewed (every two weeks) since April 2020, has been discontinued on March 9, 2021. Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021 Fiscal
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ChileChile reported its first confirmed COVID-19 case on March 3, 2020. In response to COVID-19, the authorities have implemented a range of measures, including declaration of state of catastrophe (extended through June 2021), travel restrictions, closure of schools, curfews and bans on public gatherings, and a Law on teleworking. The authorities have also unveiled measures to support employment and incomes, and provide liquidity, elaborated below. The COVID-19 outbreak came only a few months after the social unrest that started in mid-October 2019. Reopening the economy. The government has implemented a step-by-step plan for reopening the economy and phasing out quarantine measures. There are 5 steps, from quarantine to advanced opening, which municipalities will transition through in accordance to several criteria, such as the reproduction rate of the virus, hospital bed occupancy and projected rate of regional active cases. Chile remains under a State of Emergency through September 2021 and is under a daily nationwide curfew from 10:00 pm to 5:00 am. The government has received doses of vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech, Sinovac, AstraZeneca-Oxford and CanSino to vaccinate its population. Vaccinations started end-December, and as of end-June 2021, about 10 million people have received the second dose, over 60 percent of the target population. Key Policy Responses as of June 28, 2021 Fiscal
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The Kingdom of the Netherlands—CuraçaoBackground. Following the first COVID-19 case in March 2020, Prime Minister Rhuggenaath declared the state of health emergency and announced travel restrictions, quickly followed by a border closure. As the number of cases increased, the government introduced a curfew followed by a full lockdown in late March 2020. These measures helped to contain the spread of COVID-19 during the first half of 2020, although the economic activity came to a halt. Following a gradual phasing out of the domestic restrictions, the number of COVID-19 infections increased sharply between late August and mid-December 2020, necessitating tightening of restrictions including a curfew, capping gatherings in various establishments at 50 percent of capacity and banning of alcohol in bars and restaurants. On December 11, the government has declared a state of emergency for 90 days. These measures reduced the number of active COVID-19 cases substantially by end-January. Nevertheless, in March-April 2021, Curaçao faced another wave of new COVID-19 cases, partly due to the rapid spread of the more contagious British variant, which raised COVID-19 fatalities to 126. The new COVID-19 cases subsided by late April due to the measures and the vaccination program. Reopening of the economy. The authorities have gradually reopened the borders by allowing travel from several low and medium risk countries since mid-June 2020. Stayover tourist arrivals showed a robust recovery in July-November 2020. However, new waves of COVID-19 reversed the recovery. In the first 5 months of 2021, stayover arrivals were 82 percent lower than in the same period of 2019. The domestic restrictions have been adjusted multiple times in response to COVID-19 developments. Following a spike of COVID-19 cases in March/April 2021, the government announced various mobility restrictions including a longer curfew (7 pm to 4:30 am). On May 4, the curfew hours were shortened to 9 pm-4:30 am together with partial easing of other restrictions. Vaccinations started on February 25, 2021 using Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine supplied by the Netherlands. As of late May 2021, about 89 thousand (57 percent of population) received at least their first dose, and 78 thousand (50 percent of population) have been fully vaccinated. Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021 Fiscal
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China, People's Republic ofBackground. On early January 2020, Chinese authorities determined that a pneumonia outbreak in Wuhan was caused by a novel coronavirus. The government imposed strict containment measures, including the extension of the national Lunar New Year holiday, the lockdown of Hubei province, large-scale mobility restrictions at the national level, social distancing, and a 14-day quarantine period for returning migrant workers. Reflecting these containment measures, the economy contracted by 6.8 percent (yoy) in 2020 Q1. Reopening of the economy. Starting in mid-February 2020, the government has gradually removed mobility and activity restrictions, prioritizing essential sectors, specific industries, regions, and population groups based on ongoing risk assessments. Most businesses and schools have reopened nationwide, but social distancing rules remain in place at the micro level and foreign entry remains restricted to contain imported cases. Localized movement restrictions were re-imposed in new hotspots, but have been lifted subsequently. Testing and individualized health QR codes are used to gauge the path of the virus and contain outbreaks. The authorities encouraged less inter-city travel during the 2021 lunar new year holiday, while imposing strict testing and quarantine requirements. Following the early-2020 lockdown, the economy embarked on a V-shaped recovery yielding positive annual growth of 2.3 percent in 2020. The first quarter 2021 saw lower sequential growth more in line with China's pre-crisis pace, with the strong year-on-year growth number of 18.3 percent mostly reflecting the base effect from the large contraction in 2020 Q1. Vaccine. China has granted conditional market approvals for four COVID-19 vaccines, including three inactivated vaccines requiring 2 shots and an adenoviral vector vaccine requiring 1 shot. China also approved three vaccines for emergency use, including one recombinant protein subunit vaccine requiring 3 shots and two inactivated vaccines requiring 2 shots. As of June 29, China had reportedly administered 1,225.73 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines and has achieve the goal of vaccinating 40 percent of China's population by the end of June. China aims to vaccinate 70-80 percent of its population by end-2021/beginning 2022 as it continues to make its vaccines available to other countries. Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021 Fiscal
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Hong Kong Special Administrative RegionBackground. Hong Kong SAR reported its first confirmed COVID-19 case on January 23, 2020. Various containment measures remain in place, including (i) requiring mask-wearing in all public places including on public transport with certain exemptions; (ii) implementing a temporary entry ban on Hong Kong SAR non-residents from overseas countries; (iii) reducing and partially suspending cross-border transport and border control point services; (iv) requiring passengers flying from "high-risk" countries to have negative COVID-19 testing results before arriving in Hong Kong SAR; (v) requiring restaurants to apply for a "Leave Home Safe" venue QR code and facilitate the public in recording their visits; (vi) empowering registered doctors to require any person who is clinically suspected to contract COVID-19 to undergo a test; (vii) designating hotels as quarantine-only facilities for inbound travelers and (viii) requiring "high-risk" groups, including everyone in the residential or office units that have a new infection case, to undergo mandatory COVID-19 testing. Reopening of the economy. As the COVID-19 situation has improved, some social distancing measures have been gradually relaxed after the Lunar New Year in 2021: (i) allowing public gathering up to 4 persons, with an exception to religious gathering subject to certain social distancing requirements; (ii) re-opening sports premises, cinemas, beauty parlors, fitness centers and public entertainment places, subject to certain social distancing requirements; and (iii) allowing schools to fully resume half-day face-to-face classes. The government also introduced the 'vaccine bubble' concept, which (i) provided greater flexibility for dine-in hours and seating requirements, (ii) relaxed restrictions on activities with high exposure to COVID-19 transmission (e.g. bars and pubs, party rooms, nightclubs, etc.), and (iii) allowed lager public gatherings for organized tours, wedding ceremonies and business meetings provided that staffs at the premises, customers, and participants meet the vaccination requirement. Vaccination progress. The Hong Kong SAR government has procured sufficient COVID-19 vaccines to cover the total population of 7.5 million within 2021. The vaccination program has started and all residents aged 12 or above are now eligible to get vaccine of their choices. As of end-June, about 2.2 million people have received a first shot and about 1.5 million people have completed the vaccination. Accordingly, real GDP rebounded by 5.4 percent (qoq, sa) in 2021Q1 following a contraction of 6.1 percent in 2020. Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021 Fiscal
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Macao Special Administrative RegionBackground. Macao SAR has reported 54 confirmed COVID-19 cases and no deaths as of June 30, 2021.The government imposed strict containment measures soon after the first case was registered on January 21, 2020, including (i) closure of schools, (ii) closure of casinos and other types of entertainment premises (including cinemas, restaurants, and gyms), (iii) rationed distribution of masks to all residents, (iv) temporary mandatory remote work arrangement for civil servants, and (v) cancelation of large-scale events. Starting on March 18, 2020, travel restrictions included a temporary entry ban on foreign visitors and foreign non-resident workers, and from March 25, 2020, entry restrictions to visitors from Mainland China, Hong Kong SAR and Taiwan POC, who had traveled overseas in the previous 14 days. Starting on July 15, 2020, all guests entering casino premises must undergo a temperature check and show their green Macao Health Code and a negative COVID-19 nucleic acid tests (NAT) obtained within the last 7 days. For details about current entry restrictions to Macao SAR, please visit Reopening of the economy. (i) Eased border restrictions: on May 8, 2020, the shuttle bus service in Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB) connecting Hong Kong SAR and Macao SAR restarted after over a month of suspension; operating hours of HZMB and Zhuhai Gate returned to normal on May 3, 2020; starting on May 11, 2020, non-resident workers from Zhuhai are eligible for an exemption from the 14-day medical observation period with certain requirements; starting on August 12, 2020, the 14-day quarantine on Macao SAR residents travelling to Mainland China was lifted as long as the traveler has a negative NAT certificate obtained within the last 7 days and does not have a history of travelling to foreign countries, Hong Kong SAR or Taiwan POC within the last 14 days, excluding foreign nationals living in Macao SAR. (ii) Schools: senior and junior secondary schools resumed classes on May 4 and 11, 2020, respectively; primary school classes resumed on May 25, 2020 (for year levels four to six) and on June 1, 2020 (for year levels one to three). (iii) Businesses: casinos reopened on February 20, 2020. On March 3, 2021, the requirement for a negative COVID-19 NAT certificate to enter Macao casinos was lifted. (iv) Resumption of visit permit application: the issuance of Individual Visit Scheme (IVS) permits and group permits to Macao SAR has been resumed for residents of Zhuhai, Guangdong Province and the rest of Mainland China since August 12, August 26 and September 23, 2020, respectively. Nevertheless, a negative NAT certificate obtained within the last 7 days and a Guangdong Health Code must be presented when entering Macao SAR. (v) Vaccines: On February 9, 2021, Macao launched its priority group vaccination program, with a capacity of 5,000 vaccinations per day, which was opened to the general population on February 22. As of March 3, 2021, 600,000 doses, representing about 40% of a total supply of 1.5 million doses, have arrived in Macao SAR. As of June 18, 2021, a further 10,000 doses arrived in Macao SAR. COVID-19 vaccination is provided free of charge to local residents, non-resident workers, and non-resident students. Vaccination is on a voluntary basis and priority was initially given to vulnerable sectors of the population – frontline workers, workers with high risk of exposure (public transport drivers/workers, handlers of frozen products) and residents who need to travel overseas. As of June 30, 2021, around 235,018 persons (about 34.4 percent of the total population), had been vaccinated, of which 107,030 (about 15.7 percent of the total population), have completed the vaccination with two shots. Key Policy Responses as of June 30, 2021 Fiscal
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LinksHealth quarantine requirements and measures for inbound travelers ColombiaBackground. Colombia confirmed its first COVID-19 case on March 6, 2020. The government declared a state of emergency on March 17, and a quarantine began on March 25. On August 25 the end of the quarantine was announced effective September 1 with some restrictions (consistent with the extension of the health emergency) including gatherings of more than 50 individuals, the operation of bars and land and sea borders will remain close. On Jan 7, 2021, curfews were announced on selected cities where ICU utilization is high. Limited international air travel resumed on September 19. Land and sea borders will remain closed until June 1,2021. Reopening of the economy. The construction and manufacturing sectors were allowed to restart operations on April 27, and an expanded list of industrial and commercial services sectors restarted on May 11. Other services, including selected retail segments, were allowed to reopen on June 1, although local jurisdictions (including Bogota) have been slower to ease restrictions. Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021 Fiscal
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ComorosBackground. The pandemic in Comoros did not initially turn into a deep health crisis with only seven deaths being officially reported between the reporting of the first on May 1 and the end of 2020. A new wave began in December 2020 and cases rapidly increased during January 2021. The presence of the new and more transmissible strain originally found in South Africa was confirmed in Comoros. A peak in cases was reached on January 20, before quite rapidly decreasing in response to the government response. As of July 1, there were 55 cases and 0 deaths in the past month. The COVID-19 shock came less than a year after Cyclone Kenneth, which necessitated emergency Fund financial support. Remittances through exchange houses increased throughout the months of lockdown. Reopening of the economy. Following the second wave, the economy had gradually started to reopen. There continues to be a prohibition on wedding ceremonies, as well as all religious and cultural gatherings, and mosques remain closer. There is a curfew from 8pm-5am, markets close every day after 4pm. However, schools and universities are now reopened and the airport is open to visitors with a negative test within the last 72 hours. The authorities have prepared a public-health related plan that describes the measures to be taken to minimize risks from pandemics. Implementation of the plan appears to be proceeding slowly, however, reflecting the authorities’ severe financial and capacity constraints. The country has received 100,000 doses of the Chinese vaccine and distribution has begun. They are also likely to receive 20% vaccine coverage by the end of 2021 through the COVAX initiative, but may also receive vaccines through other channels (to be confirmed). The World Bank is in the process of mobilizing approximately $20 million to support the purchase and distribution of vaccines in the country. The WHO ranks the health system’s preparedness at the lowest level in international comparison. Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021 Fiscal
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Congo, Democratic Republic ofBackground. The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) declared its first case of COVID-19 on March 10, 2020, and the virus continues to spread across the country with tens of thousands of confirmed cases and hundreds of deaths. During the first COVID-19 wave in March 2020, the government declared a state of emergency and imposed the confinement of the capital, Kinshasa, which included restrictions to travel between Kinshasa and the rest of the country and the prohibition of all gatherings of people in public spaces. Passenger flights from abroad were not allowed and border posts were closed to non-cargo shipments. Additional restrictions included the closure of all education centers, suspension of all religious and sporting events, and closure of bars and restaurants. A 9-month multi sectoral response plan against the pandemic (PMUAIC-19) was launched in May 2020, which included actions to strengthen the health system, stabilize the economy, and reinforce security and social protection. In late June 2020, the government announced the deconfinement of the Gombe business district in Kinshasa and the gradual deconfinement of workers in mining sites. Entry restrictions in airports, ports and borders were also lifted. New restrictions. As a result of a second COVID-19 wave, the government announced new restrictions, effective December 18, 2020, establishing a curfew, the obligation of wearing a mask, and compulsory COVID testing for domestic and external travelers. In early June 2021, the health authorities announced a third wave of COVID-19, with Kinshasa as its epicenter. While the government was alarmed by the increase in cases and announced new restrictive measures, certain restrictions had to be cancelled in the face of the population's reaction. Effects on the economy.In 2020, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic reduced real GDP growth, increased consumer prices (particularly of imported products), reduced fiscal revenues, and increased fiscal spending through the implementation of a COVID-19 response plan which included the opening of new COVID-19 test centers in Lubumbashi and other cities. By contrast, no major mine closed owing to the limited spread of COVID-19 to the mining regions and copper and cobalt prices reached record levels, leading to higher production than originally forecasted. Vaccination. In early March 2021, a first shipment of 1.7 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine arrived at Kinshasa. This was part of the first wave of supplies sent to the country by COVAX, an alliance comprising the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), Gavi (the Vaccine Alliance), UNICEF and the World Health Organization, that aims at equitable access to the COVID-19 vaccine. Medical authorities decided to use the Astra Zeneca vaccine because its convenient storage conditions, but fear of side effects and mistrust of the population have delayed the launch of the vaccination campaign. 1.3 million doses were sent to other countries to ensure usage before the expiry date. The goal of the first stage of the vaccination plan is to cover 20% of the population, including health workers, people aged over 55, and people suffering from serious health conditions. Financing of the deployment of the vaccine would be on grant or highly concessional terms. Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021 Fiscal
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Congo, Republic ofBackground. Congo, as most of oil producers, is being hit by two shocks—the potential spread of COVID-19 and the fluctuations in oil prices. The first confirmed COVID-19 case was reported on March 15, 2020. As of end-June 2021, there were over 12695 cumulative cases, with a fatality rate of about 1.3 percent, and 133262 doses of the COVID vaccine have been administered. The Ministry of Health has prepared a national contingency plan in collaboration with WHO and other international partners. In the meantime, the authorities started to adopt containment measures, including social distancing, travel bans on visitors from high-risk countries and quarantine for nationals/expatriates returning from those countries, screening at ports of entry, and school closures. During 2020, a lock-down was established in the country from April 1 to mid-May, and extended through end July but with a reduced time interval of 10PM to 5AM. In late July, in response to the surge in cases, the authorities have increased the time interval for the lockdown to 8PM-5AM in the two major cities of Brazzaville and Pointe Noir. Since September 2020, the curfew period is from 11PM to5AM from Monday to Friday and from 8PM to 5AM on weekends. Reopening of the economy. On May 18, 2020, the lockdown was eased with opening up of public transportation, primary schools final year class and graduation class. As of late June 2020, restaurants, hotels, and most private services have opened in the two main cities, while the rest of the country had opened up completely previously. Since May 30, 2020, a large scale screening for teachers and administrative staff has been occurring. The flight space reopened fully as of August 24, 2020 with the requirement that each arrival is equipped with a negative COVID-19 test result dating from at most 3 days. The official school opening date on campus was to October 12, 2020 but since early December a number of private schools have returned to online schooling. As of early February, 2021, schools have returned to face-to-face learning. Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021 Fiscal
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Costa RicaBackground. Costa Rica reported its first confirmed case of COVID-19 on Mar 6, 2020 and as of June 28, 2021 the country has registered 364,304 confirmed cases and 4,648 deaths. The recent resurge has abated since reaching the peak in mid-May but the number of new cases has remained around 1,500 daily in June. The government implemented a range of measures to contain the spread of coronavirus, including declaration of a state of yellow alert and a national emergency, restrictions and bans on non-essential private and public vehicle circulation, international travel restrictions, mandatory quarantines for close contacts and those who enter the country, closures of schools, churches, beaches, national parks, bars, clubs and casinos, entry restrictions for foreign truck drivers, increased testing, and the conversion of a rehabilitation center into a hospital specializing in COVID-19 treatment. The economy contracted by 4.1 percent in 2020, with a projected gradual recovery of 2.6 percent this year. Reopening of the economy. Costa Rica began easing some coronavirus measures starting May 1, 2020. A further loosening of restrictions was implemented in four phases over 80 days. Phase 1 started on May 16 when some national parks and hotels re-opened at limited capacity and contact sports were permitted without spectators, among other easing measures. Phase 2 began on June 1 when restaurants, gyms, museums, and remaining hotels re-opened at 50 percent capacity. Phase 3 started on June 26 with extended hours for shops, cinemas, museums, theaters, and beaches. Houses of worship could open at limited capacity and under social distancing rules. The authorities subsequently slowed down the reopening of the economy in districts that have a high number of new infections and reintroduced localized vehicle circulation restrictions and business closures. Restrictions were relaxed further in the entire country starting August 31, with a focus on increasing economic activity, and starting September 9, hotels could operate at 100 percent capacity, among other measures (a mandatory face mask order for public enclosed places was introduced at the same time). The border opened to international tourists from countries/regions that have controlled the pandemic on August 1 and to visitors from all countries by November 1. The land border was opened on April 5, 2021. In response to the new wave in 2021, the government ordered closure of non-essential establishments (during the week of May 3-9) and further vehicle restrictions (during May) in cantons of the central region. Existing vehicle circulation restrictions and limited capacity requirements remain in place. Key Policy Responses as of June 3, 2021 Fiscal
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Côte d’IvoireBackground. The first confirmed case was reported on March 12, 2020. The authorities swiftly adopted containment measures including (i) declaring a state of emergency and establishing a curfew from 9pm to 5am; (ii) banning all international travels, except for humanitarian aid purpose; (iii) prohibiting public gatherings of more than 50 people; (iv) closing schools, nightclubs, restaurants, bars, theaters and other recreational facilities; and imposing restrictions on public transportation and movements between regions in the country; (v) making wearing masks mandatory and encouraging teleworking. On March 30, 2020, the authorities launched a vast cleaning and disinfection operation in Abidjan. On January 21, 2021, the authorities declared national health emergency until end-June and strengthened controls at the airports and borders. Reopening of the economy. On May 7, 2020, the authorities announced the relaxation of the containment measures, which were further eased on May 14, 2020. In the Grand Abidjan district, they lifted the curfew and the closure of restaurants on May 15, while the reopening of schools and universities occurred on May 25. The isolation of the Grand Abidjan has been ended from July 15. The recreational centers will be opened on July 31. Regarding the remaining regions, the curfew and the closure of restaurants, schools and recreational facilities were lifted on May 8; the prohibition of public gatherings was lifted on July 30. Domestic flights resumed on June 26 and international flights on July 1. Vaccination started on March 1, 2021. Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021 Fiscal
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CroatiaBackground: The Croatian economy has been significantly affected by COVID-19, given its dependence on tourism and its largest trading partner being Italy. Containment started early and was gradually tightened from border controls, to closure of schools, universities, open markets, and restrictions on intercity travel. Croatia quickly adopted 63 different economic measures and additional measures were announced beginning of April in order to preserve jobs and alleviate the impact of COVID-19. Reopening of the economy: On April 23, the government announced a gradual easing of containment measures in three phases, but subject to a review after each stage. Beginning April 27, some retailers (except shopping malls), libraries, museums, galleries, service-based activities not requiring close client contact (e.g., tailors, photoshops, locksmiths) reopened. Public transportation in cities and suburbs and boat connections for islands that do not have ferries resumed. Beginning May 4, service industries where close contact with people is unavoidable (e.g., hairdressers, beauticians) could reopen. Public and private health systems became fully operational except for special cases decided by epidemiologists. Playgrounds and sports fields reopened. Beginning May 11, public gatherings of up to 10 people were allowed outdoors (previously capped at 5 people). Shopping malls, preschools and elementary schools (grades 1-4), cafes and restaurants, sports and fitness centers and national parks have reopened. Inter-county public transportation and domestic air traffic have resumed. Shopping centers have begun to operate. Public gatherings for cultural and sport events are permitted as of June 15. As of July 1, 2020, all EU/EEA nationals and individuals holding permanent residence in the EU/EEA countries can enter Croatia freely, without restrictions. As of July 1, 2020, all EU/EEA nationals and individuals holding permanent residence in the EU/EEA countries could enter Croatia freely, without restrictions, while all other foreign nationals could enter Croatia for business, tourism, or other pressing personal reasons, if they provided relevant proof. The mandatory self-isolation and quarantine restrictions for individuals entering Croatia were lifted. Upon entry, individuals were given a Pamphlet with Recommendations and Instructions from the Croatian Institute of Public Health that they must follow for 14 days. Parliamentary elections were held on July 5. As of July 10, several restrictions have been reintroduced following a spike in infections. Wearing protective masks is now mandatory throughout the country in public transportation, medical facilities, shops, and malls, employees and clients where face to face contact is required, services that require close contact, drivers and all other employees in public transportation vehicles, as well as passengers, employees of all hospitality services who serve and prepare beverages and food, all health care workers and visitors to hospitals, etc. All travelers arriving to Croatia for tourism, business, urgent personal reasons, or educational purposes must present a negative PCR test not older than 48 hours. Travelers with a test older than 48 hours can enter Croatia but will be issued a self-isolation order and will have to be tested again locally, at their own expense Those who do not provide a negative PCR test will be ordered to quarantine/self-isolate for 14 days. As of July 30, the government has lifted the extraordinary price control over food, cosmetic products; the law continues to apply nevertheless to drugs, medicinal products, protective masks, protective gear and disinfectants. In July and August, several countries (The Netherlands, Finland, Italy, Austria, France, and Germany) have introduced mandatory coronavirus testing and/or self-isolation requirement for people coming from Croatia. Following a sharp rise in new COVID-19 cases recently, wearing a mask is mandatory as of October 19 in all closed indoors settings (including in bars and restaurants) where a minimal two-meter distance cannot be maintained. Protective masks are also recommended outdoors when it not possible to keep a distance of two meters. Gatherings involving more than 50 people require prior approval. As of October 26, public gatherings are limited to 50 persons and can only last until 10:00 pm; private gatherings are limited to 15 persons; sport events are to be held without spectators. As of November 28, a soft lockdown as introduced, through December 21, then extended to January 10, 2021, with several restrictions, among which social distancing, the closure of all hospitality services (restaurants, cafes, and bars), closure of gyms, sports and recreation facilities, nightclubs, interdiction of cultural events, amateur sporting or tourist events and gatherings. Hotels and camps may remain open but only for their guests. Since December 1, 2020, the Croatian Government has prohibited all border crossings, with some exceptions (for EU citizens under certain conditions, or for countries currently covered by Annex I to EU Council Recommendation 2020/912). The vaccination against COVID-19 has started on December 27, 2020. The current restrictions are in place until March 15, 2021 and include a limited number of people gathering, restrictions at border crossings, special working conditions in stores and in public transport. Key Policy Responses as of April 2, 2021 Fiscal
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CyprusBackground. After the first case was reported on March 9, 2020, COVID-19 spread has been brought under control since April 29, before a second wave since October. Since March, the government implemented a range of measures to limit the spread of coronavirus, including travel and mobility restrictions, a 14-day mandatory quarantine for travelers to Cyprus, closure of schools, hotels and businesses, and mandatory mask-wearing in large indoor spaces. New cases surged rapidly from October to January 2021. To deal with the second wave, localized containment measures were introduced and were incrementally tightened, including a temporary strict lockdown in January 2021. New cases increased again from March 2021, and the government announced new restrictive measures until end May, including a curfew in effect from 9:00pm to 5:00am. Reopening of the economy. With low daily new infections since end-April 2020, the government has started implementing lifting of restrictions in four phases. The first phase started on May 4, allowing reopening of construction sites, retail stores and public sector under social distancing and health guidelines. The second phase started on May 21, allowing reopening of public schools and open-air restaurants as well as free movement within the country. The third phase started on June 9 allowing reopening of airports, shopping malls, ports facilitating cruise ships, the interior areas of restaurants and hotels, theaters and open-air cinemas. International travel restrictions remain in place for all but 35 countries. From June 24, the maximum number of persons at gathering has been increased gradually. Some of the reopening measures were partially reversed since August to control the surge in daily new cases. Following the national lockdown in January 2021, the restrictive measures for the second wave have been gradually lifted from February. However, to cope with the increase in new cases, the government introduced new lockdown measures at end-April and early-May. Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021 Fiscal
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Czech RepublicBackground. The first case of COVID-19 was reported on March 1, 2020. The government declared a state of emergency and a nationwide quarantine limiting free movement and international travel to contain the spread of the virus. It further implemented a range of measures to support the population, jobs and businesses. GDP fell by 5.6 percent in 2020. Reopening of the economy. Due to a strong resurgence in new infections marking the second wave of the pandemic, restrictions had to be reintroduced in late summer/early autumn 2020. The previously reinstituted state of emergency ended on April 11, 2021. Some government containment measures are still in place. Among other things, obligatory testing applies to schools and workplaces and the wearing of FFP2 or equivalent masks in public transport and at retailers is mandatory. The government is gradually introducing reopening measures depending on the improvement of the pandemic situation. Vaccinations against the virus are underway, so far, about 3,100,000 people, or 29.0 percent of the population have been vaccinated (with two doses). Initially, certain groups were prioritized, starting with healthcare professionals and people over the age of 80, followed by professionals in the area of education, people over the age of 70 and 60 and patients suffering from chronic diseases. As of July 1, also children of 12–15 years of age can be vaccinated (this age group solely with the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine). Key Policy Responses as of June 30, 2021 Fiscal
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DDenmarkBackground. Denmark reported its first confirmed cases of COVID-19 on February 27, 2020. In March, the government implemented a range of measures to contain the spread of COVID-19, and to support people, jobs and businesses. These include closure of all borders ; prohibition of events with more than 10 people; closure of schools, universities and daycare centers ; closures of entertainment, hospitality and public leisure facilities ; sending home non-essential public employees and asking all private businesses to keep employees home when possible. Reopening of the economy. The authorities announced a careful and gradual lift of some containment measures (April 6,2020). In the 1st Phase primary schools and under, as well as additional health care sectors and liberal professions opened up mid-April,2020. As part of the 2nd Phase , retailers (May 11,2020), restaurants (May 18,2020), secondary schools (May 18,2020), and cultural activities (May 27,2020) opened. The assembly ban was raised from 10 to 50 people (June 8,2020) and the border to most European Union (EU) countries and the Schengen area was opened June 27 as part of the third Phase. On July 1 the border was opened to selected countries outside the EU and the assembly ban was raised from 50 to 100 people. This phased reopening, was supported by a comprehensive testing and detection strategy and authorities are now offering Covid19 tests for foreign tourist Due to increasing infection rates authorities decided to not raise the assembly ban further (August 6,2020), made adjustments to Phase 4 of the reopening (August 14,2020), introduced new targeted measures against Covid19 (18 September) and lowered the assembly ban to 50 people (September 19). Due to increasing infections rates, authorities imposed targeted lockdowns (closure of restaurants/bars and movie theaters) in 38 of its 98 municipalities(Dec 7) and lowered the assembly to 10 people (Oct 26). The targeted lockdown was extended to all municipalities (Dec 15) while daycares and schools below 5th grade remain open. A full lockdown was announced for Dec 25,2020-Jan 3,2021 and the assembly ban was lowered to 5 people. Subsequently the lockdown was extended till end-January and then end-February 2021. An agreement on significant and responsible reopening starting end March was reached (Feb 24,2021). March 22,2021 the assembly ban was raised to 10 people. Further reopening of schools and higher education facilities was agreed (May 4, 2021) and a new digital corona pass was introduced (May 28, 2021). Denmark implemented one of the fastest vaccination rollouts in the European Union. An agreement was reached (June 10, 2021) to gradually phase out all restrictions introduced as part of COVID-19 by September 2021 (with a few exceptions that will be phased out by October 2021). Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021 Fiscal
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DjiboutiBackground. Djibouti has had about 11,602 confirmed COVID-19 cases as of June 29, 2021 and has registered 155 deaths. The government maintains various prevention measures, including obligatory mask wearing in public and measures to promote social distancing, but has shifted away from a confinement strategy to vaccination. So far about 23,000 people have been at least partially vaccinated, and the authorities offer both mass vaccination sites and targeted distribution in the regions. As of June 2021, the authorities now mandate vaccination for Djibouti nationals prior to travel abroad. The authorities also require that all international visitors take a COVID-19 test before arrival. The Ministry of Health and its partners have increased their preparedness by building surveillance, testing, quarantine, and health worker capacity. The WHO has delivered protective and medical equipment, including tests and respirators. The Ministry of Health is strengthening the capacity of the medical facilities, and the government is deploying three different vaccines from various sources. Reopening of the economy. The government has lifted confinement measures, and transport, retail, services, construction, and public administration have reopened. Wearing a mask is mandatory in public spaces as well as other hygiene measures such as hand washing and regular sanitization of public places. The borders were reopened and international travel permitted in starting in July 2020, but a recent uptick in cases led the authorities to reimpose restrictions for a two-week period ending November 4. The authorities now also require travelers to have a negative COVID-19 test (PCR test) taken 72 hours before departure. The government continues to target those who have potentially been in contact with people who have tested positive. Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021 Fiscal
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Dominican RepublicBackground. The Dominican Republic reported its first confirmed case of COVID-19 on March 2, 2020. Since then, the authorities declared a national emergency, introduced a country-wide curfew, closed schools, borders, and non-essential businesses, suspended public activities and mass gatherings, introduced teleworking arrangements for public servants, and enforced strict social distancing. The state of emergency initially ended on June 30 but was reinstated on July 15 due to the resurgence of COVID-19 in the country. Starting on September 28, the curfew was set to commence from 9pm to 5am Monday through Friday, and 7pm to 5am during weekends. On October 18, the state of emergency was extended for 45 days. On November 10, the curfew was extended for 20 days. On December 1, the curfew was extended for 20 additional days, with the schedule remaining the same. Considering an increase in cases, the government announced on December 15 that curfew on weekdays would start two hours earlier (from 7pm) with a free transit policy until 9pm to allow time for people to return to their homes, (but only in Distrito Nacional and the provinces of Santo Domingo, Santiago, Duarte, La Vega and Puerto Plata) and with a further exemption during the holidays December 24 and 31 when curfew hours would be from 7pm to 5am, with free transit until 1 am of the following day. Based on the worsening in the number of new cases, the curfew was tightened again to run from 5pm to 5am during weekdays and from noon to 5am on weekends until January 10, 2021. The curfew was extended under the same schedule but with an allowance of 3 hours of free transit on weekdays and weekends, from January 11 until January 26. A new curfew was enacted beginning on January 27 and until February 8, running on weekdays from 7pm until 5am, and on weekends from 5pm until 5am, with the 3 hours of free transit remaining in place. Starting from March 8, the curfew was reduced due to an improvement in the epidemiologic profile in recent weeks: the new schedule for the curfew was weekdays from 9 pm to 5am, and weekends from 7pm to 5am, with the 3 hours of free transit remaining in place; the exception was Good Friday, April 2, when the curfew was 7pm. From April 16 until May 26 the curfew remained in place, but with an allowance of free transit until midnight daily. On May 27, due to an increase of cases of COVID-19, the curfew was extended in Santo Domingo, with hours increased from 8pm until 5am, but with three hours of free transit remaining in place. Given the further deterioration in health indicators related to COVID-19, from June 2 to June 9, the curfew will be from 6pm to 5am on weekdays and from 3pm to 5am on weekends in 24 provinces including Santo Domingo, with the usual allowance of three hours of free transit. For the other provinces the curfew will be from 10pm to 5am on weekdays and from 9pm to 5am on weekends, with free transit until midnight. This curfew has been extended, mostly recently on June 29th, until July 7. The Emergency and Health Management Committee to Combat the Coronavirus, established on April 2, advises on response strategies, promotes public-private partnerships to increase the healthcare system’s capacity, and supervises the implementation of adopted measures. The Ministry of Health created an AI-based e-platform Aurora MPS, to inform citizens about the outbreak and connect them with doctors. A unified command center called C5i was created to centralize patient information from various sources and generate computer models to develop epidemiological profiles, predict the behavior of the virus in the following days, and provide a “live” number of medical personnel and available supplies. Reopening of the economy. On May 20 2020, a plan to reopen the economy in four phases was implemented with the reopening of most small businesses, including public transportation operating at up to 50 percent capacity. On June 3 2020, the country entered phase 2 of deconfinement with the reopening of inter-urban transportation services as well as privately-operated transportation in cities, operating at 60-percent capacity. Small businesses of up to 10 employees can resume at full capacity, while businesses between 11 and 50 employees can operate at 75 percent capacity. Large businesses can operate at 50 percent capacity. Also, religious services can take place on Sundays while certain activities such as gambling (but not casinos) are allowed. Social distancing and the use of face masks in public spaces remain mandatory. Although phase 3 was planned for June 17 2020, the government decided to remain in phase 2 following an increase in new confirmed cases. While each phase is planned to last for 14 days, the start of the next phase will depend crucially on the evolution of the pandemic. Even though the country has not proceeded with the full reopening of private activities, the Ministry of Public Administration ordered that all public sector agencies resumed their activities at full capacity wherever physical conditions allow. If a public agency cannot accommodate minimum social distancing for its employees, it can operate at 75-percent capacity. Meanwhile, vulnerable employees such as those with medical conditions or above the age of 65 are advised to continue working from home. Notwithstanding, the tourism sector resumed activity on July 1, 2020 with the reopening of all regions and airports to tourists. The government implemented a tourism recovery plan starting September 15, which includes non-invasive random tests at airports and a traveler assistance plan that covers emergencies in the event of contagion for all short-stay tourists (non-resident foreigners) who arrive between September 15 and December 31. At end 2020, the government announced that the traveler assistance plan would be extended until end-April 2021. Vaccination plans and implementation: The Dominican Republic has secured 20,907,875 doses of Covishield, Astra Zeneca, Sinovac and Pfizer vaccines, enough to inoculate its population. The objective is to give two doses to the population 18+ years old (7.8 million people). Vaccination started in mid-February 2021 with front line health personnel, 60+ year old, first responders and teachers. As of June 12, vaccination had already reached the population of 12+ years. The government has announced that as of July 1, Pfizer vaccines are to be administered as a booster for all those who have been vaccinated with Sinovac or AstraZeneca. As of June 30, 7.842 million people have been vaccinated, of which 2,892,597 have received both doses. Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021 Fiscal
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EEastern Caribbean Currency UnionBackground. The Eastern Caribbean Currency Union consists of eight members (Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines) with a common central bank (the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank). The first case was found on March 13, 2020 (in Antigua and Barbuda). During most of 2020, the number of infections was contained at relatively low levels but they rose steeply in the first quarter of 2021, driven by outbreaks in Antigua and Barbuda, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The number of COVID-19 cases have since fallen and stabilized in most of the ECCU countries. The global COVID-19 shock, if prolonged to the hurricane season (August-November), could compound recurrent risk of natural disasters, aggravating the impact on the economy and society. Many ECCU authorities have begun a gradual phased approach to easing containment measures and reopening the economy since early May, including the expansion of the list of businesses that are permitted to operate and more recently the reopening of borders. On May 4, CARICOM leaders discussed a phased approach to reestablishing intra-regional travel. Key Policy Responses as of June 3, 2021 FiscalSeveral ECCU members have announced fiscal measures.
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EcuadorBackground. As of May 1, 2021 Ecuador, has reported 384,589 confirmed cases and 18,724 deaths. The Government responded with series of measures to protect the population and support the economy. These include closing schools and universities, public spaces and non-critical commercial activities, halting public transport, and imposing curfew. Ecuador shut all its borders on March 18th, 2020. On March 22nd 2020, the Government requested the joint commandment of the armed forces to manage the province of Guayas as a zone of national security, with the objective to enforce confinement measures, in the province concentrating the largest share (70 percent) of confirmed cases in the country. Reopening of the economy. The National Emergency Operations Committee (COE) defined new parameters for the reopening and the mayor of Quito announced a move to lower confinement requirements starting June 3. In Quito, starting June 3: Productive activities will be reactivated "as long as they respect biosafety protocols" in person with 50% of the staff. The reopening of commercial premises may operate with 30% of customer capacity. The curfew will apply from 18:00 to 05:00 (instead of 14:00 to 05:00). Public transportation will resume in a gradual and controlled way to avoid crowds. The telework modality will continue in force for public officials. The Municipality of Quito has the power to manage and issue the safe-conducts. A request will be presented so that, in coordination with the Ministry of Health, the Municipality of Quito assumes the management of the epidemiological fence of the city. In the rest of the country, “yellow confinement level” means: The curfew will apply from 21:00 to 5:00 (instead of 14:00 to 05:00). Private vehicles -including motorcycles- even and odd can circulate from Monday to Saturday. Circulation of taxis and mixed transport even and odd every day. Public transportation will circulate without restriction of plates. Urban transportation will circulate with 50% capacity. Authorized inter-parish transportation. Interprovincial transport between cantons of neighboring provinces. Restaurants and cafes will work with 30% capacity. The prioritization of the working day in telework mode is maintained. Companies are obliged to expand a biosafety protocol, considering the guidelines established in the Guide and General Plan for the progressive return to work activities. The approval by the national, provincial or cantonal COE will not be required. After the request of the cantonal COE in Quito, the presential working day of the public sector will remain suspended until June 15. In the rest of the country, “green confinement level” means: Curfew from 00:00 to 05:00. 70% of private vehicles will be able to circulate. Taxis and mixed transport may circulate. Public transportation circulates without restriction of plate. Urban transportation will work 50% of its capacity, or all sitting. Inter-cantonal transport may operate between cantons with the same traffic light color. Interprovincial transportation prohibited at the national level. Restaurants may open with 50% capacity. The prioritization of the working day in telework mode is maintained. The government adopted containment measures, closing public spaces, imposing a curfew, and closing its borders since March 18th through September 13th while the State of Emergency was in effect. Over those six months, decisions on pandemic control were concentrated in the Emergency Operations Committee (COE). On December 21, President Moreno announced a new 30-day state of emergency and two weeks of night curfew to prevent new outbreaks during the holiday season and in response to the new UK strain of the virus. The new restrictions limit the time of traveling by car and reduce capacity at shopping centers restaurants and hotels. President Lenin Moreno declared a state of emergency from April 23 to May 20, 2021 due to public calamity in 16 provinces of Ecuador. On Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays an absolute mobility restriction will be applied in which the curfew will be uninterrupted and will begin at 20:00 on Friday and will end at 05:00 on Monday. Key Policy Responses as of May 1, 2021 Fiscal
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Egypt, Arab Republic ofBackground. According to the WHO, the first case of COVID-19 was reported on February 14, 2020. The pandemic is likely to impact the Egyptian economy primarily due to declining travel and tourist activity, reduced worker remittances, capital outflows, and slowdown in domestic activities as people are asked to stay home. The weaker demand in the global market will also reduce Egypt's exports as well as earnings from the Suez Canal. The authorities have taken a host of precautionary measures to improve testing as well as to limit the community spread of the virus, including setting up testing centers, imposing a nighttime curfew, temporarily closing places of worship, temporarily halting all air travel, and encouraging civil servants to work from home in non-essential sectors. Authorities also suspended the export of all types of legumes for a period of 3 months - which has been extended further for 3 more months in June 2020, and they plan to start increasing strategic food reserves to meet domestic demand. Egypt have resumed the export of medical supplies, after a temporary halt in March 2020. Around 77,000 Egyptians have been repatriated since the start of the pandemic. The central bank and the government are actively implementing measures to contain economic implications of the pandemic. Reopening of the economy. According to a Cabinet statement on April 30, 2020, the government had started to draw up plans to ‘coexist’ with COVID-19 in the long term. Since the last week of April 2020, shopping malls and retail outlets had been allowed to open on weekends until 5 pm, while restaurant customers had been allowed to place takeaway orders in-store. Starting May 4, 2020, hotels were allowed to operate at 25 percent capacity until June 2020, and at 50 percent capacity, thereafter. Egypt’s Health Ministry has published a 3-stage plan for coronavirus management that contains required procedures in preparation for the gradual return of normal life in the country. Starting June 1, 2020, nighttime curfew was one hour shorter – from 8pm to 5am instead of 6am. Starting July 2020, a gradual re-opening of the economy – air travel will resumed, restaurants and cafes opened with 25 percent capacity, stores will close at 9 pm while restaurants and cafes will close at 10 pm, beaches will remain closed until further notice, public transportation will operate between 4 am and midnight., All parks and specialized gardens around Cairo will open to the public starting on August 26, 2020, with a maximum capacity of 50 percent. Starting September 21, funeral prayers and wedding ceremonies held in open-air venues have been allowed, for a maximum limit of 300 people. Guidance on risk mitigation measures remains in place, including social distancing and mask wearing. International flights have resumed, and tourists are arriving in small numbers. Key Policy Responses as July 1, 2021 Fiscal
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El SalvadorBackground. El Salvador has reported 26,773 positive cases (777 deaths, 17,433 recovered) as of September 11, 2020. The government has implemented a range of measures to contain the spread of the virus, including travel restrictions, closure of schools, universities and the non-essential public sector, social distancing, and closure of restaurants. It has also transformed a convention center into a hospital specialized in the treatment of COVID-19 patients. On March 21, 2020, the government issued a nationwide stay-at-home order and closed all non-essential businesses. In 2020, real GDP contracted by 7.9 percent. Reopening of the economy. On June 2, the government allowed hardware stores and maintenance firms to re-open. The construction sector was granted permission to re-open for works related to the damage from a tropical storm. The government began the gradual reopening of the economy on June 16. The economy will reopen in five phases, each lasting 21 days. About 50 percent of the economy is open during phase 1. On July 19, President Bukele postponed indefinitely the move to phase 2 of reopening, which previously was scheduled for July 5 and moved to July 21. Economy reopened on August 24, following the Supreme Court’s decision rejecting the executive decree on phases of reopening. Key Policy Responses as of May 6, 2020 Fiscal
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Equatorial GuineaBackground. The first confirmed COVID-19 case was reported on March 14, 2020 and the government was proactive in implementing substantial preventive measures at an early stage. As of mid-June and early August 2020, preventive measures had been loosened to a large extent, lifting the stay-at-home order and closing of the airspace and allowing businesses to reopen. However, due to a second wave, the authorities gradually reintroduced preventive measures from mid-December. Although the second wave has abated since May, many of these measures remain in place, including limiting the number of international flights to one per airline; requiring foreign visitors to present a negative PCR test and to quarantine for 5 days upon arrival in Equatorial Guinea; requiring local travelers between the continental and insular regions to present a negative PCR test or vaccination card; and restricting social gatherings, including through closure of all pubs/nightclubs and a curfew. Two main measures have been loosened since May: the curfew has been relaxed to 11pm-5am and in-person classes at all public and private schools in the main cities of Bata and Malabo resumed after having been suspended since February 15,. Since April, the government has scaled up its vaccination campaign, which now includes vaccination posts in all districts of the country. As of late June, some 149,000 people (approx. 10 percent of the country's population) have received at least one vaccine dose and some 111,000 are fully vaccinated. After accidental explosions on March 7 in the country's largest city of Bata, which caused humanitarian tragedy and widespread destruction, a Covid lab there could again be operationalized. This has allowed for resumption of a massive testing campaigns also in Bata (in addition to the capital of Malabo). Key Policy Responses as of June 28, 2021 Fiscal
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EritreaBackground. The State of Eritrea reported its first positive COVID-19 case to the World Health Organization (WHO) on March 21, 2020, and since then, the cases have been increasing. The government imposed a 21-day national lockdown effective from April 2, which was extended on April 22, with restrictions being eased incrementally. However, as the pandemic has been spreading in all the regions including in some rural areas, the government issued new Guidelines to implement vigorous and stringent measures, effective on December 22, 2020. Under the new Guidelines, movement of all citizens is restricted except in cases of indispensable developmental, service and security tasks. Travel from one village/city to another village/city in the country is banned. The use of private cars and other individual means of transport (excluding trucks) is not allowed without permits. Trade services which are related to the daily livelihood of people may operate but close at 8:00 pm every evening, while all other trading services are closed. Major productive and service sectors (manufacturing, agriculture, food processing, construction, etc.) continue their functions while all government institutions stop routine services and functions to focus on indispensable developmental and security tasks. Any individual who violates these Guidelines will be punished. The Guidelines will be assessed periodically and relaxed depending on the trajectory and threat of the COVID-19 pandemic. Reopening of the economy. In April 2021, schools, public transport, and partial flight from and to Asmara resumed operations. Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021 Fiscal
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Links21-day national lockdown New Guidelines effective on December 22, 2020 EstoniaBackground. The impact of the second wave of COVID-19 infections on Estonia's economy and health situation is gradually easing. Since February 2021, the continued deterioration of the epidemiological situation caused by the second wave of COVID-19 infections has prompted the authorities to reintroduce stricter containment measures. On February 3, 2021 restrictions were harmonized across Estonia and on March 11, 2021 a one-month lockdown extended to end-April was imposed. From May 3, 2021, the Estonian authorities have started to gradually relax restrictions. As of June 22, 2021, the risk of coronavirus spread in Estonia was rated as "low". GDP contracted by 2.9 percent in 2020, among the mildest in the EU, reflecting strong initial conditions and less stringent restrictions in 2020H2. In the first quarter of 2021, GDP grew by 5.4 percent y/y, after four consecutive quarters of decline, reflecting strong activity in domestic trade, ICT, and banking sectors. Reopening of the economy and additional containment measures. The first wave emergency situation ended on May 18, 2020. Shopping centers and restaurants reopened on May 11; ferry links between Tallinn and the Finnish capital, Helsinki partly reopened for work-related traffic on May 14; schools reopened on May 15 with most of the learning remaining online. Gyms and swimming pools restarted operations on May 18. From June 1, Estonia reopened its borders to international travels and started to ease restrictions on bars, restaurants, and public events. The restrictions on indoor events, however, were strengthened again on September 29 from 1,500 to 750 persons in an effort to mitigate the second wave. Direct flights from Estonia to high-risk countries (experiencing 25 cases or more per 100,000 inhabitants in the past 14 days) were banned until August 31. The travel restrictions are regularly updated on the government website Second and third COVID-19 waves. Estonia’s relatively good track record in handling the pandemic was tested by the second wave, with the number of cases temporarily reaching the highest level in Europe before falling owing to the tight lockdown imposed in March 2021. As of February 3, 2021, the government first harmonized restrictions to curb the spread of coronavirus nationwide. Containment measures were further tightened from February 22, 2021 including by: (i) requiring students from grade five and above to switch to distance learning for one week; (ii) prohibiting extra-curriculum group activities for at least two weeks; (iii) closing spas and water parks for two weeks; and (iv) tighter limits on the number of people that can attend indoor and outdoor events. A strict one-month lockdown (expected to be extended) was imposed on March 11, 2021 to curb the second wave and was extended to end-April. As of May 3, 2021, the government has started to gradually ease restrictions, including by allowing eating in outdoor dining areas of catering establishments until 9 p.m., and contact learning for children in grades 1–4 to resume. A strict one-month lockdown (expected to be extended) was imposed on March 11, 2021 to curb the second wave and was extended to end-April. As of May 3, 2021, the government has started to gradually ease restrictions, including by allowing eating in outdoor dining areas of catering establishments until 9 p.m., and contact learning for children in grades 1–4 to resume. The government has gradually relaxed containment measures based on the infection risk level which was rated as "low" as of June 22, 2021. The relaxation of containment measures, included: (i) allowing contact learning, outdoor sports events, outdoor museums visits from May 17; (ii) reopening entertainment venues and indoor dining at 50 percent occupancy capacity from May 24; (iii) relaxing COVID-19 restrictions on movement (2+2 rule) from May 31; (iv) cancelling time restrictions on indoor and outdoor events and activities, as well as on-site eating and drinking establishments from June 11; (v) easing restrictions on travels from a third countries, effective June 21; (vi) removing the occupancy rule as of June 23; (vii) increasing the maximum attendance limits to up to 1000 people (resp. 5000 people) for indoor (resp. outdoor) events and activities from June 28. The March to April lockdown measures and good progress with vaccine rollout have been effective in bringing down the number of infections. The 14-day cumulative infections per 100,000 inhabitants steadily declined and reached 31 infections on June 29, 2021, after peaking at 1553 cases (as of March 18, 2021). The pressure on the Estonian healthcare system has also eased significantly, with 19 COVID-19 patients being treated in hospitals (of which 6 people in intensive care) as of June 29, 2021, compared to the March average of 670 daily COVID-19 patients. The COVID-19 death toll reached 1,269 people as of June 29, 2021. Estonia has secured enough vaccines orders to cover its population, mainly from Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca. As of June 29, 2021, about 557,478 vaccine shots had been administered, of which 214,406 people received the first dose, while 435,674 people had completed the vaccination cycle. As of June 29, 2021, the number of people vaccinated reached 41.95 percent of Estonia's population. Key Policy Responses as of June 29, 2021 Fiscal
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EswatiniBackground. Eswatini reported its first COVID-19 case on March 14, 2020 and cases rose rapidly afterwards. In response, on March 17, the government declared a national state of emergency, and implemented containment measures, including suspension of private and public gatherings of 20 people or more, schools closures, suspension of non-essential travel within cities for all citizens, closure of borders to all but goods, cargo, returning citizens, and legal residents, and mandatory self-isolation for residents/citizens coming from abroad. On March 27, a partial lockdown went into effect, and a month later the Manzini region, where a third of the population resides, went into full lockdown. The authorities in collaboration with the WHO have built domestic detection capacity. Economic activity was affected by the closure of some ports of entry with South Africa and weak demand, registering a contraction of 9.1 percent (year-on-year) in 2020Q2. Despite a recovery toward the end of the year, output contracted by 2.4 percent in 2020. The exchange rate against the USD which depreciated significantly in early 2020 had largely recovered to the pre-crisis level by the year end. On July 29, the IMF Executive Board approved US$110.4 million in emergency financial assistance under the Rapid Financing Instrument to support authorities' efforts in addressing the severe impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. On November 19, the World Bank has approved a US$40 million loan to support the economic recovery in the country. Reopening of the economy. Since May 8, 2020, the government began the process of easing the initial partial lockdown by allowing some businesses to operate. The national emergency was further extended until November 19. Schools reopened since July 6 in the completing classes, while other class levels remained closed until March 29, 2021. The government issued guidelines allowing for religious and social gatherings under strict conditions. More businesses were allowed to operate under established WHO and health guidelines since July 13. On September 30, the government lifted restrictions on international travel, requiring international travelers to present a negative COVID-19 certificate taken within 72 hours of travel, and discouraging non-essential travel. The ban on the production and sale of alcohol was initially lifted on October 26 but was again reinstated from January 21 until March 22, 2021. Due to rapidly increasing COVID-19 infections in mid-December 2020, the government implemented a 10-week partial lockdown and curfew starting on January 8, 2021. International travel is allowed only for medical attention, schooling, work, and business purposes and hours of operations for retailers have been restricted. On April 23, 2021, restrictions on serving alcohol were loosened for restaurants, while hours of operation were extended for retailers and restaurants alike. On June 14, in response to a recent rise in COVID cases restrictions lasting two weeks were escalated to Level 2, including limits on gatherings and restrictions on shopping hours and alcohol sale. Eswatini received 32,000 AstraZeneca vaccine doses in mid-March through the COVAX Facility (12,000 doses) and the Serum Institute of India (SII) (20,000 doses) donated by the Government of India. The COVID-19 vaccination campaign was launched on March 19, 2021, with vaccines administered to essential workers and leading politicians, before expanding it to include the general elderly population starting on March 30, 2021. On June 9, Eswatini received its second delivery of 14,400 doses of AstraZeneca via COVAX and on June 16, commenced phase II of vaccinations including healthcare workers and the elderly. The government has urged all citizens 18 years and above to pre-register in anticipation of expanding vaccine supplies. The next COVAX delivery of 12,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines via COVAX is expected within the next two weeks. A 500,000-dose donation from Oxford University/AstraZeneca is also expected in tranches. Vaccines from the COVAX facility will ultimately cover 20 percent of the population. Government has further ordered 2 million doses from the Serum Institute of India expected to arrive in 2021Q2 – though the status of this delivery is unclear given the Indian Government's current restrictions on vaccine exports due to the COVID-19 outbreak in India – and 237,328 doses of the Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson vaccines from the AU, expected to arrive in 2021Q3. Combined with the supply from the COVAX facility, these vaccines will cover 35 percent of the population, with the rest to be purchased directly from the manufacturers using the Government's E200 million allocation for the procurement of the vaccines, in addition to donations from the Kirsh Foundation ($15.8 million) and the Government of Taiwan ($1.5 million). Moreover, on April 16, 2021, the World Bank Board approved about E72 million (US$5 million) additional financing from the International Development Association (IDA) to provide Eswatini with safe and effective vaccine purchase and deployment. In sum, these should provide enough vaccines to cover the Eswatini population, who have demonstrated substantial demand for the vaccines since the start of the vaccination rollout. The Eswatini National Immunization Technical Advisory Group (ESWANITAG) was appointed to provide scientific recommendations during the introduction of new vaccines and the implementation of immunization strategies. Key Policy Responses as of June 30, 2021 Fiscal
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EthiopiaBackground. The first confirmed case was reported on March 13, 2020. In the early response to the pandemic, the authorities declared a 5-month State of Emergency from April-September 2020 and closed land borders, banned inter-regional public transport and public gatherings, closed schools, ordered the shuttering of nightclubs and entertainment outlets, and announced social distancing measures. The authorities postponed the elections due to the pandemic from August 29, 2020 to the recently announced date of June 5, 2021. As new cases fell steadily from the August peak, the authorities lifted several measures. But, since late January 2021 another surge in infections led to daily new cases eclipsing the previous peak of August 2020. Encouragingly, new cases have declined steadily after peaking in early-April 2021, with the 7-day average of new cases dropping below 100, its lowest levels since June 2020. However, the rate of decline of new cases has slowed and it appears that it may be bottoming out. Ethiopia received 2.2 million vaccine doses in March 2021 and aims to vaccinate 20 percent of the population by the end of 2021. As of end-June more than 2 million people had received the first dose of the vaccine. Ethiopia is highly exposed to the shock through the large contribution of air transportation to exports: the national carrier, Ethiopian Airlines, which has the largest fleet in Africa, originally announced the suspension of 80 flight routes, but resumed flights to 40 destinations on July 13. The latest information shows that the airlines is operating flights to 116 international destinations and 23 domestic destinations. Ethiopia’s goods exports were up 21 percent y/y in the first eight months of the current fiscal year (July 2020 – June 2021), supported by gold exports while non-gold exports have gained momentum in recent months but remain below the levels seen for the first eight months a year ago: coffee and manufactured exports have declined while exports of flowers and fruits and vegetables have grown slightly. Services exports, dominated by revenues generated by international air transportation, have bottomed out but also remain below the levels seen a year ago. Finally, Ethiopia benefits from improved terms of trade that arises not only from lower global oil prices for the first half of the current fiscal year, but also from the prices on its main export commodities such as coffee, oil seeds and flowers. The potential risk for COVID-19 transmission is high due to the large number of internally displaced persons living in collective sites with no options to implement the recommended norms of social distance, and no access to proper sanitation facilities and essential supplies. The dire health situation and the capacity challenges of the health system are exacerbated by other public health challenges such as cholera and measles outbreaks. According to projections of National Disaster Risk Management Committee, an estimated 30 million people could experience food consumption gaps. The urban poor are likely to be highly affected. In rural communities, food insecurity will worsen among households that rely on market purchases. COVID-19 prevention measures in some regions will likely contribute to delays in movement of commercial goods (and humanitarian goods) in the country, resulting in localized food insecurity due to shortages of food items or price increases. Finally, the humanitarian community is concerned about the ongoing deportation of Ethiopian migrants from Saudi Arabia, Djibouti, Kenya and Somalia, considering the risk of COVID-19 contagion into Ethiopia, and challenges related to their reception and assistance in quarantine centers. Growth in FY 2019/20, while below trend, surprised on the upside as the two largest sectors -agriculture and construction - shrugged off the impact of the pandemic. Growth for FY 2020/21 is expected to be 4 percentage points lower than the pre-crisis baseline. Reopening of the economy. The state of emergency, declared in April 2020, ended in September, and since then there had been a steady decline in COVID related restrictions. However, the recent rise in cases resulted in the authorities announcing strict enforcement of an October 2020 directive requiring the wearing of masks in public places and no gatherings of more than 50 people. Ethiopia continues to require all people entering Ethiopia from another country have a negative COVID test 120 hours prior to entering the country and undergo a mandatory 7-day quarantine at designated hotels at the traveler's expense. In addition, schools continue to operate on a rotational basis, with students assigned shifts to reduce in-person class size. Ethiopian Airlines resumed flights to about half of previously suspended destinations in July. Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021 Fiscal
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European Union/Euro AreaBackground. Since the first reported cases on January 24, 2020, COVID-19 has spread across the European Union (EU) with a severe impact. The first wave, which peaked in April 2020, resulted in a surge of infections and deaths. Cases and mortality subsided during the summer months, partly thanks to the unprecedented containment measures. Infection rates picked up again in the fall of 2020 and remained elevated during early 2021, requiring the re-introduction of containment measures ranging from lockdowns and travel restrictions to school closures and bans on large gatherings. More recently, however, new cases, deaths, and hospitalizations have steadily declined across the euro area thanks to the pickup in vaccinations. Overall in 2020, real GDP contracted by 6.7 and 6.1 percent in the euro area and the EU, respectively, with output for 2021Q1 showing a further contraction. On December 2, the European Commission adopted a strategy for managing the pandemic over the winter months, recommending continued vigilance and caution until safe and effective vaccines become available in early 2021. So far, four vaccines (BioNTech/Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca, and Johnson & Johnson/Janssen) have been authorized at the EU level. Three more (Novavax, Curevac and Sputnik V) are under review. The European Commission concluded Advance Purchase Agreements contracts allowing countries to purchase up to 2.8 billion doses, including 1.9 billion doses of the four vaccines already approved. Member states have agreed to abstain from negotiating with vaccine manufacturers with whom the EU has already reached agreements, but vaccine supply and delivery have fallen short of the expectations based on the advance-purchase agreements. As of June 30, 2021, about 50 percent of EU's population have received at least one vaccine dose. The EU has also enacted a vaccine export control mechanism, although the net impact on supply is unclear. Reopening of the economy. The European Commission presented guidelines for exit strategies and called for a common framework across member states. The criteria include: (i) sustained reduction and stabilization of new cases, (ii) sufficient health system capacity such as adequate hospital beds, pharmaceutical products, and equipment, and (iii) appropriate monitoring capacity to quickly detect and isolate infected individuals as well as to trace contacts. On May 3, 2021, the EC proposed to allow entry to the EU for nonessential reasons not only for all persons coming from countries with a good epidemiological situation but also all people who have received the last recommended dose of an EU-authorized vaccine. The EC also proposed a new 'emergency brake' mechanism, to be coordinated at EU level which will allow member states to act quickly and temporarily limit to a strict minimum all travel from affected countries for the time needed to put in place appropriate sanitary measures. EU member states can start issuing and using the EU Digital COVID certificate as of 1 July 2021. Key Policy Responses as of June 30, 2021 Fiscal
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FFijiBackground. The Fijian authorities have been highly effective in controlling the spread of COVID-19. The early imposition of travel restrictions limited imported infections. The authorities reacted to the first confirmed case with a broad set of measures, including massive screenings of the population, the closure of the international airport, restrictions on domestic travel and public gatherings, closures of schools and certain types of businesses (e.g. cinemas, gyms, etc.), a nationwide curfew and lockdowns of affected areas halted the spread of cases in the country. There were only few confirmed border cases up until March 2021. In April 2021, the country witnessed its second outbreak of COVID-19 virus, this time with a highly infectious variant. This has increased the total number of confirmed cases to 4418 with 21 deaths. The authorities have re-imposed a strict lockdown to limit the spread of the pandemic. Under the COVAX initiative, the Fijian authorities are in the process of acquiring COVID-19 vaccines for the eligible 20 percent of population and have received 36,000 doses as of May, 2021 and are allocated to safeguard frontline health workers. Moreover, donor countries such as India provided 100,000 doses of vaccine in late March; the New Zealand government announced to provide 250,000 vaccines during 2021. Moreover, additional doses are also expected from the Chinese government. Fiji plans to acquire 1.2 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines for its population of around 0.9 million, out of which 31.3 percent of adult population has received the first dose and 4.9 percent has been fully vaccinated as of June 29, 2021. Reopening of the economy. The authorities started relaxing containment and mitigation measures at the national level on April 26th. Phase 2 of Fiji’s COVID-safe Economic Recovery Plan, announced on June 21, led to the gradual easing of some restrictions (e.g. national curfew, limitations on public gatherings)and the reopening of schools and certain recreational facilities under strict conditions. The reopening of the economy under Phase 2 has been tied to the launch of CareFIJI, a contact-tracing mobile application. On Oct 15, the tourism ministry launched Care Fiji commitment program to promote tourism and to increase awareness among the visitors about pandemic related safety measures. It also removed mandatory 14 days quarantine requirements for visitors from COVID contained countries. Further, Tourism Fiji announced the first ever virtual Fijian Tourism Expo on November 25, 2020, to promote tourism and business activities in the country. The Expo is aimed at bringing together potential investors from Australia, New Zealand and leading industrialists in Fiji. However, with the second outbreak of the pandemic, the government has enforced strict lockdown in major cities in western and central part of the main island and cancelled all repatriation flights to Fiji. Key Policy Responses as of July 01, 2021 Fiscal
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Linkhttps://www.fiji.gov.fj/COVID-19/COVID-19-Updates https://www.who.int/countries/fji/ FinlandBackground. The first confirmed case was reported in late January 2020. The number and incidence of new coronavirus infections remains small nationally (one of the lowest in Europe) and cases have markedly declined following a third wave.In response to the crisis, in addition to measures announced by the euro area, the Finnish government announced a package of fiscal, liquidity and regulatory measures which – combined with existing automatic stabilizers – would (if fully utilized) constitute an impulse of nearly 30 percent of GDP. On March 16, 2020 the government invoked the Emergency Powers Act, which was used to close borders, restrict domestic movements, and expand service obligations of essential personnel. Reopening of the economy. . Restrictions to and from the region of Helsinki were lifted on April 14. On May 4, the government announced a plan to lift broad restrictions in favor of more targeted containment measures. Effective June 16, 2020 the government repealed the use of powers under the Emergency Powers Act, declaring that the country was no longer in a state of emergency. On June 23, the government announced the lifting of internal border control and restrictions on traffic between Finland and countries with similar incidence of COVID-19. On August 13, the government adopted resolutions on recommendations for wearing face coverings and face masks, and for remote work. The government adopted on September 11 a decision to continue internal border checks and restrictions on border traffic, which entered into force on September 19 and continued through October 18. The government also adopted a resolution on a hybrid strategy for cross-border traffic and travel which required a rapid increase in cross-border testing capacity and analysis of 10,000 tests/day. On November 19, the government decided to extend till December 13 the entry restrictions into Finland due to the acceleration of the COVID-19 epidemic elsewhere. On December 10, 2020 the Government adopted a resolution on Finland's COVID-19 vaccine strategy: Vaccination would be offered based on medical risk assessments with priority given to healthcare and social welfare workers caring for COVID-19 patients, homecare workers, elderly persons, and persons at high risk for severe disease due to underlying health conditions. On March 1, 2021, following a third wave of infections, the government declared a state of emergency and proposed the closure of restaurants and bars through March 28. Following a persistent decline in the number of cases, the government on April 27, 2021 repealed the use of powers under the Emergency Powers Act declaring that the situation no longer constituted a state of emergency. Finland is participating in the European Union's joint vaccine procurement. The cumulative number of vaccinations per 100,000 people is roughly 76,354 as of June 28, 2021. Key Policy Responses as of June 29, 2021 Fiscal
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FranceBackground. The coronavirus has significantly affected France. The first confirmed COVID-19 case was reported on January 24, 2020. Infection levels remain high with recurrent surges, and a third wave of infections is currently underway. The government has introduced a range of containment measures since mid-March 2020, when the first nationwide lockdown was instated to reduce the spread of COVID-19. The French economy contracted by 8 percent in 2020. In 2021, the economy contracted by 0.1 percent during the first quarter compared to the previous quarter. Covid-19 vaccinations commenced on December 28, 2020, with over 33 million people vaccinated with at least one dose as of end-June 2021. Reopening of the economy and additional containment efforts. France started to ease the first round of containment measures in mid-May 2020, beginning with the reopening of primary schools, shops, and industry, on a differentiated regional basis. Most major domestic restrictions associated with the first lockdown were lifted as of end-June 2020 (including travel restrictions). The resurgence of infections in August 2020 prompted the government to first apply regional night curfews, and, eventually a (partial) second lockdown at end-October 2020 with schools remaining open. After gradually lifting the second lockdown, keeping curfews and select restrictions in place, a third partial lockdown was introduced in March 2021, first regionally, and then extended nationwide. The reopening of the economy from the third lockdown commenced on May 2021, beginning with the reopening of schools and inter-regional travel, and most restrictions have been relaxed at the end of June 2021. International travel restrictions for select countries are in place. Key Policy Responses as of June 3, 2021 Fiscal
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GGabonBackground. Gabon, as all oil exporters, is being hit by two shocks—the global impacts of COVID-19 and the decline in oil prices last year. Government policy is responding to both these developments. The first confirmed COVID-19 case was reported on March 12, 2020. Authorities have taken early action attempting to suppress COVID19. They have been following WHO-recommended measures and enhancing them over time. The primary measures, which included bans on social gatherings and travel restrictions have been enhanced over time to closing all borders, the air space, imposing a night curfew and a full lockdown in Libreville since Easter Sunday, as cases started to increase. Reopening of the economy. Since April 27 2020, some of these measures were relaxed, including the full lockdown in Libreville. A second reopening wave started on July 1 with the reopening of commercial flights twice per week per company from Libreville and a reduced night curfew from 8pm till 5am. Since mid-August commercial flights were further relaxed to three flights per company per week departing from Gabon. Public schools reopened on November 7, 2020. All passengers arriving in Libreville's airport from abroad must show a negative test performed in the last five days. At arrival, they are once more tested by Gabonese authorities in the airport for posterior tracing. On October 10, a new round of relaxation of the preventive measures was announced, allowing restaurants and religious centers to resume activity and shortening the night curfew from 10pm till 5am. Such gradual reopening of the economy was based on a comprehensive-testing strategy with a capability of around 10,000 tests to be performed per day and with the equivalent of close to thirty percent of the population tested, making the country one with the highest rates of testing per capita of sub-Saharan Africa. The Gabonese parliament also launched at the end of the first semester a Parliamentary Inquire Committee to investigate the quality and transparency of the Covid-19 expenditures by the government. At the same time an aggressive second wave of infections has hit the country since mid-January 2021 and the preventive measures have been strengthened. The night curfew has been re-enlarged from 6 pm until 5am, causing business to close around 3pm. The capital, Libreville, has been put in confinement for domestic travelers and only two international flights per company can land in Gabon per week again. Masks became compulsory for the population above 5 years-old and restaurants and shops must demand a negative test from clients within the last seven days. The social-distancing measures announced in mid-January 2021 have been somewhat relaxed on May 29, 2021, with the recent decline in the number of infections and active cases in the country. With such slowdown of the Covid-19 second wave, the authorities shortened the night curfew to start at 9pm instead of 6pm. All night bars and restaurants can now reopen up to 8:30pm with the requirement of requesting vaccination proofs or PCR tests (within one week) from clients. Finally, passengers coming from abroad will need to show a Covid-19 vaccination card. Otherwise, they will need to quarantine for 48 hours in a hotel indicated by the government. Meanwhile on March 12, 2021, the government received in Libreville the donation of 100,000 doses of the Sinopharm vaccine from Chinese authorities. A second batch with 300,000 doses of Synopharm vaccine donations from Chinese authorities arrived in Libreville on May 9, 2021. On June 9, 2021, Gabon further acquired 10,000 doses of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine. Vaccination started on March 23, 2021 with the Minister of Health announcing a national vaccination strategy in which health workers dealing with Covid-19 and patients with severe comorbidities will be vaccinated first. Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021 Fiscal
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The GambiaBackground. The Gambia registered its first COVID-19 case on March 17, 2020, involving a female Gambian returnee from the United Kingdom. The number of cases and the rate of infection increased, albeit at a slow rate, until mid-July. The President declared a state of public health emergency starting from March 27, including closing all non-essential public and private businesses, following an earlier order to close the airspace and land borders. Emergency powers were used to freeze prices of essential commodities such as rice, meat, fish, cooking oil soap, sanitizers, and cement. To enforce social distancing, all commercial vehicles were allowed to carry only up to half of their licensed number of passengers. All public gatherings, including funerals, were limited to a maximum of 10 people. Nevertheless, there was a surge in the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases by mid-July, mainly through community transmission involving many healthcare workers and high-level government officials. The surge strained the already fragile health system and stretched government’s ability to properly respond to the pandemic, especially in terms of testing and management of treatment centers. The imposition and extension of the state of public health emergency have not been plain sailing. The National Assembly declined to approve a second 45-day extension of the state of public health emergency after the expiration of the first. However, based on the role played by the emergency measures in containing the spread of the disease, the President used executive powers to extend it by 21 days, effective May 19 (which is the maximum allowed under the Constitution, as the National Assembly was then not in session). Since the expiration of the extension, the President used executive powers again (on June 10, July 1, and July 7) to extend the state of public health emergency, mainly for 7 days, which is the maximum permissible period under the constitution when the National Assembly is in session. Concerned by the extensions of the state of public health emergency without parliamentary approval, the Gambia Bar Association, and the National Assembly in particular, questioned the legitimacy of such extensions. The Attorney General and Minister of Justice presented a motion at the National Assembly around July 13 for a 45-day extension of the public health emergency laws, but it failed to proceed after majority of the lawmakers voted against it. The situation led to an announcement by President Barrow of another 7-day extension of the public health emergency to July 22, 2020. At the same time, the presidency urged the public to observe strict social distancing, and imposed a mandatory wearing of facemasks in all public places including inside taxis and other public transports, markets, and schools; while empowering the Minister of Health to take any restrictive measure required to contain the disease. With the mid-July surge in the number of new Covid-19 infections, the presidency announced another 21-day public emergency regulation, effective August 6, 2020. The regulation imposed a night-time curfew between the hours of 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. and re-introduced a ban on all public gatherings and closure of all non-essential businesses, educational institutions, and places of worship. A subsequent extension of the emergency regulation on August 27 eased some of the emergency restrictions, including the opening of places of worship, albeit under strict COVID-19 protocols. It also maintained the ban on public gatherings and the night-time curfew, which was relaxed subsequently on September 17 together with market restrictions. In anticipation of the re-opening of the tourism season in October, and in the bid to attract tourists, the authorities announced, on September 4, an amendment to their guidelines on COVID-19 prevention. They abolished the two-week mandatory quarantine for inbound travelers and required evidence of a negative COVID-19 test result of less than 72 hours from all passengers prior to departure to The Gambia. Those without the required certificate as well as those who are COVID-19 positive will be quarantined. Meanwhile, following the second wave of the surge in Covid-19 cases and the emergence of a new strain of the virus in America, Europe and parts of Africa, the authorities have amended their rules regarding visits to The Gambia. Effective January 9, travelers coming from countries where the new strain of the Covid-19 virus is identified will have to undergo (i) testing for the virus upon arrival, in addition to the requirement to have a valid COVID-19 PCR test result of no more than 72 hours; and (ii) mandatory quarantine at their own cost. The resumption and continued surge in the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases compelled the authorities to announce on February 17 the suspension of issuance of police permits for all forms of political and social events, including music festivals. The new measures came into effect on March 8, 2021. The Ministry of Health (MoH) on May 27, 2021, announced the detection, in The Gambia, of the new variant of Covid-19 identified in India. Consequently, it updated its testing and quarantine protocols and now requires all passengers arriving from India to possess a negative PCR test valid for 72hrs, with an additional measure of quaranting all such passengers for 72hrs at their own expense. Generally, all arriving passengers with positive Rapid Diagnostic Test (RDT) will be quarantined for a maximum of 72hrs at their own expense and will further undergo a free PCR testing. Tourism, a key driver of trade and foreign exchange inflows, has halted. Interest rates on T-bills increased at the onset of the pandemic but have eased on the back of subdued inflation and measures taken by the Central Bank to support market liquidity. Remittances from official channels have remained exceptionally high, in part, due to a reduction in private transfers through informal channels (which have since migrated to formal channels) and remittances from the Gambian diaspora in response to COVID-19. At the onset of the pandemic, a supplementary appropriation bill was approved by the National Assembly to accommodate spending on the health emergency and social support, and to facilitate the recovery through infrastructure spending and support to the tourism sector and other public entities affected by the pandemic. Vaccination. The Gambia is part of the African Union's COVAX initiative that is supporting the country with AstraZeneca vaccines to cover about 20 percent of the population. The World Bank approved, on April 19, 2021, US$8 million grant to provide and deploy COVID-19 vaccines to cover 40 percent of the population; while the African Centre for Decease Control (CDC) is providing 12, 000 vaccine doses. The authorities received some 37,000 syringes under the COVAX initiative, ahead of the arrival of 36,000 doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine on March 3. The first tranche of syringes, shipped from the Gavi-funded stockpile at UNICEF's humanitarian warehouse in Dubai, also included 375 safety boxes for the safe disposal of used syringes. The country also received 15,000 doses of Astra Zeneca vaccine through the MTN/AFRICA CDC donation. Senegal also offered 10,000 doses of Sinopharm vaccines to The Gambia. As of May 28, 2021, 33,819 people received Covid-19 vaccines of which 4,671 representing 0.2 percent of the population are now fully vaccinated. The authorities, while reportedly making efforts to secure additional stocks of Covid-19 vaccines have now shifted their priorities to administering the second dose to people who had already taken their first dose due to the low stock of the vaccines in the country. Reopening of the economy. A government announcement on Wednesday July 22 lifted the state of public health emergency and thus re-opened the economy, which first started with a gradual easing of emergency restrictions that helped a partial re-opening of businesses. Fuel prices were reduced to prevent transport price hikes and help ease the burden on commercial transport operators who were then required to carry 3/4 of their vehicle capacities. The authorities also eased restrictions, including the re-opening of markets up to 6 p.m., the re-opening of Mosques, Churches, and schools for Grades 9 and 12 students who were preparing for their sub-regional junior and senior secondary school leaving certificate exams. The government issued on October 6 a press release announcing the re-opening of all weekly markets dubbed ‘Lumos,’ which are very popular in the rural areas. It also announced a two-thronged resumption of face-to-face learning, which began with the re-opening of all Junior & Senior Secondary schools, and tertiary institutions on October 14; followed by a re-opening of kindergartens and primary schools on October 28. The authorities also announced on October 16, the immediate re-opening of the country’s borders, although the airport remained closed for renovation until it was reopened at end-October. They authorities also relaxed the restrictions on the night clubs and casinos, following an earlier decision to only allow the re-opening of hotels, bars, restaurants, and gymnasia. Meanwhile, in response to the initial easing of emergency restrictions earlier in Senegal, and the possibility of increases in cross-border infections, The Gambian authorities resolved to protecting the country’s international borders (air, land, and sea) and enhanced cross-border monitoring and control. They have built testing centers across the regions, increased the number of quarantine centers, and converted one of the country’s main referral hospitals into a COVID-19 treatment center. The authorities also announced a plan to embark on a mass country-wide testing campaign. This plan was seriously affected by an overwhelming surge, in mid-July, in the number of COVID-19 cases, with many healthcare workers and high-level government officials testing positive. The WFP’s Passenger Air Service made its inaugural flight to The Gambia on June 8, 2020, with planned two trips per week. SN Brussels Airlines started weekly ad-hoc flights to The Gambia on June 22 and had since the beginning of November, increased the frequency of their flights to three per week. Turkish Airline also resumed its weekly flight to Banjul onOctober 4, while Royal Air Maroc, Asky and Air Senegal resumed their flights to Banjulin late November–early December. The Gambia Experience’s maiden flight for the 2020/2021 first tourists flight landed, on Wednesday December 9, with 147 passengers. The company suspended its flights in early January as the number of COVID-19 cases surged in The Gambia and passengers from England were required to quarantine at own cost. Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021 Fiscal
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GeorgiaBackground. After the number of daily cases spiked toward the end of 2020, reaching about 4,000 in late November 2020, a second lockdown successfully reduced new cases to below 200 in early March. With the easing of the containment measures, active cases started to rise again and have generally been around 1,000 a day since late April 2021 with only a moderate decline since early May. As of June 29, 2021, Georgia has reported 8.6 thousand active positive cases, 351 thousand recovered and, 5.3 thousand deaths. Georgia started vaccination on March 15, 2021. Currently, the vaccine is available for medical personnel and for people above age 45. The government has intensified efforts to increase the availability of the vaccine. The Ministry of Health and Labor created an online registration portal for the population to receive the vaccine. The night curfew that has been in place since late November 2020, will be lifted from July 1, 2021. Regular international flights resumed in February 2021. Starting from March 1, 2021, Georgia accepts travelers from Azerbaijan, Armenia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Belarus arriving by plane and holding negative COVID-19 tests. Earlier, Georgia opened up air travel for the EU, Israel, Turkey, Switzerland, Norway, the USA, the UK and Northern Ireland, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE, Bahrain. Georgia's land borders with neighboring countries opened on June 1, 2021. Key Policy Responses as of June 29, 2021
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GermanyBackground. Germany registered the first confirmed COVID-19 case on January 27, 2020. The government has responded with a range of measures to contain the spread of virus through border closures, closure of schools and non-essential businesses, social distancing requirements, enforcement of mask-wearing, and a ban on public gatherings. Following a steady decline since early-April, infections are again on the rise, with daily new cases gradually trending up since late July and now exceeding the previous peak. Mortality rates, although rising, remain low to date compared with peer countries. Reopening of the economy. On April 20, smaller shops re-opened subject to social distancing requirements. Select grades in schools gradually re-opened on May 4, as did cultural and leisure venues. On May 6, the government announced further easing of containment measures extending to all shops, restaurants and sports facilities, with the exact timeline to be determined at state level. Re-opening is subject to an “emergency brake”, whereby an occurrence of more than 50 new infections per 100.000 inhabitants over 7 days will require state governments to reverse the re-opening and re-institute containment. Border controls to neighboring countries are being gradually lifted starting May 16. Quarantine requirement for travelers from EU-countries has been lifted in several states starting May 18. On May 26, federal and state governments agreed to ease restriction on public gatherings for up to 10 people or two separate households subject to minimum distancing and face mask requirement in public places. The travel warning to all EU countries, Schengen states, the UK and Northern Ireland, has been lifted on June 15 though some “high risk” destinations have been put under travel warning as infections resumed On June 16, the government launches a Corona Warning App that allows users to trace potential contact with COVID-infected individuals on a voluntary and anonymous basis. On July 1, the entry restriction for travelers from 11 non-EU countries is lifted (3 of which conditional on reciprocity). Renewed lockdowns. In light of the rising number of new infections in Germany since the summer vacation season, a mandatory COVID-19 test requirement, in addition to 14 day quarantine, for people entering from around 130 “high risk” countries upon their arrival came in effect on August 8th. Mass events remain banned until at least end-2020, and local governments have committed to tightening local containment measures where infections exceed the “emergency brake”. Non-essential travel from and to high-infection hot spots are discouraged. On October 14th, federal and state governments agreed on common hot-spot strategy: whenever and wherever the threshold of 50 (new cases per 100K inhabitants over 7 days) is exceeded, local governments shall tighten mask-wearing mandates, limit public and private gatherings, and introduce curfews for restaurants and bars. Against a rising second wave of infection, a nation-wide “lockdown light” was introduced for the month of November: Restaurants/bars, leisure/sports and personal services providers will be closed nationwide, though schools remain open. Private gatherings are limited to maximum 5 persons from two households. Non-essential travel is strictly discouraged, and hotels must not offer accommodation to tourists. These lockdown measures have now been extended until January 10. Since December 16, the lockdown has been tightened in light of continued high infection rates and rising death rates. All non-essential shops are closed, as are schools and daycares, until at least January 10 2021. Some states have also introduced nightly curfews. On January 5th, the lockdowns have been further tightened and extended until end-January 2021. On January 19th, federal and state governments extend the lockdown to February 14 2021. On January 30th, inbound travel from countries with high incidence of new COVID variants is banned under some exceptions. On February 10, the German federal and regional governments agreed to prolong the hard lockdown measures until March 7. However, states can proceed to open schools and day cares; hairdressers can start opening March 1. On March 3, lockdowns are further extended until March 28 but with gradual re-opening according to a five-step program, subject to the evolution of regional infection incidence. On March 22, the government extended the full lockdown measures until April 18 in light of the emerging third wave of COVID infections. Incoming travelers are required to provide a negative COVID test. Effective April 23rd, amendments to the Infection Protection Law require localities with an infection incidence above 100 (per 100.000 inhabitants over 7 days) to adopt uniform mobility restrictions set out at the federal level. This "emergency brake" amendment expired on June 30th, 2021. Starting in May, regions with low infection incidence begin to gradually ease lockdown measures and reopen local economies. As of June 30th, over 37 percent of the total population has received both doses and about 55 percent has received at least one dose of COVID vaccine. Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021 Fiscal
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GhanaBackground. Ghana registered the first confirmed COVID-19 case on March 14, 2020. Starting March 16, the government adopted sweeping social distancing measures and travel restrictions to avert an outbreak, including (i) suspension of all public gatherings exceeding 25 people for four weeks; (ii) closure of all universities and schools until further notice; and (iii) mandatory 14-day self-quarantine for any Ghanaian resident who has been to a country with at least 200 confirmed cases of COVID-19, within the last 14 days. On March 23, Ghana closed all its borders to travelers. On March 30, a partial lockdown of major urban areas was implemented. As an oil exporter, Ghana was significantly affected by the volatility in oil prices. Reopening of the economy. The partial lockdown was lifted on April 23 following expansion of treatment and isolation centers, enhanced testing and contact tracing capacity, increased capacity to produce sanitizers and medicines, and the severe impact of the lockdown on the most vulnerable. Phase One of the process of easing restrictions began on June 5. Provided social distancing restrictions were met, religious services for fewer than 100 congregants were allowed, and schools and universities re-opened so that older students could resume classes ahead of exams. Phase Two started on August 1, lifting restrictions on the number of congregants for religious services and opening tourist sites. However, beaches, pubs, cinemas and nightclubs remain closed. International flights resumed from September 1, subject to enhanced COVID-19 protocols. New restrictions. Due to rising cases during the second wave, some measures were reintroduced on January 31, 2021, including restrictions on large gatherings and sporting events, restaurants operating on take-away basis only, and increasing the number of shifts and telework in workplaces as possible. COVID-19 tests will be free for Ghanaian citizens. Beaches, pubs, cinemas and nightclubs remain shut down, and land and sea borders continue closed for human traffic. The second wave started to abate in March, and by early June confirmed daily cases averaged around 40. Vaccination. Ghana was the first country in Africa to receive the COVAX vaccines at the end of February 2021. The vaccination campaign started on March 1, 2021 with the President receiving his shot. Key Policy Responses as of June 3, 2021 Fiscal
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GreeceBackground. The first confirmed COVID-19 case was reported on February 26, 2020. The government adopted strict containment measures during the second quarter of 2020 to manage the initial wave of the pandemic, including: (i) a national lockdown that restricted all but essential movement and economic activity, (ii) school closures, (iii) domestic travel restrictions, (iv) travel bans on visitors from high-risk countries; and (v) quarantines for international visitors and Greek nationals returning from abroad. Reopening of the economy and additional containment efforts. The government implemented a gradual re-opening, close to full normalization of economic activity (except for large public events), as of July 1 2020. However, as a result of rising cases, the government announced a new national lockdown starting on November 7, 2020, with some essential businesses open. The authorities lifted the second lockdown in early 2021, keeping curfews and select restrictions in place. However, a third lockdown was re-introduced in March 2021, extended until May 2021. The authorities lifted restriction and reopened its borders for tourism on May14 with certain requirements for overseas travelers. Key Policy Responses as of June 3, 2021 Fiscal
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For additional information, visit the Greek Government Website: https://government.gov.gr/ GuatemalaAs of July 1st, Guatemala has reported 293,583 confirmed cases and 9,215 fatalities of COVID-19. After withdrawing the State of Calamity in September, the reopening of the economy has been in effect, allowing the normal operation of activities with due care to physical distancing. The Phase 1 of the vaccination plan has been nearly completed. The Phase 2 started in May covering population over 60 years and extended into June for population over 50 years, although the process is facing a shortage of vaccines. The authorities' intent to vaccinate 60 percent of the population (or 100 percent of the adult population) through August looks ambitious, given that just over 2½ percent of the population has been vaccinated thus far. The delivery of 16 million doses (for 8 million people) of the Sputnik-V vaccine remains uncertain. In mid-June, the U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris confirmed that Guatemala would receive half a million doses but delivery has been delayed due to red tape with Congress now fast-tracking the necessary legislation. Key Policy Responses as of July 1st, 2021 Fiscal
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GuineaBackground. Guinea reported its first COVID-19 case on March 12, 2020. Since then, the contagion has spread rapidly. The authorities adopted several measures to reduce the risk of contagion. Notably, large public gatherings were banned, the international airport closed to non-essential flights, and public areas (markets, religious facilities) were required to have hand sanitizing equipment. All schools were closed. Other measures included closure of land borders, suspension of public events, religious, and leisure facilities; limiting public transport; and a nationwide night curfew.Guinean embassies and consulates suspended visa issuance to travelers from countries with more than 30 confirmed cases. On March 26, Guinea declared a state of emergency and tightened lockdown. Since then, the state of emergency has been renewed every thirty days with the latest extension announced on September 15. Starting April 18, wearing a face mask is mandatory in public places. Reopening of the economy. On May 15, 2020, Guinea extended the containment measures but started easing the lockdown restrictions. The authorities lifted the curfew in the rest of the country and relaxed the limit on mass gatherings from 20 to 30 people. The curfew remains in force in the greater region of Conakry but is shortened from 10pm - 5am to 11pm - 5am. On May 25, Guinea updated its travel advisory, requiring all travelers to provide proof of a COVID-19 test result and upon arrival, to undergo another test and a mandatory 14-day quarantine. In addition, foreign nationals must undergo a 14-day quarantine prior to their travel. On June 15, Guinea announced further measures to ease lockdown restrictions. Since June 22, worship places in prefectures without new cases for 30 consecutive days were able to resume services. Universities and school-classes preparing for official examination reopened on June 29. To support the reopening, schools, universities and public markets are subject to regular disinfecting. Sanitary kits are distributed to schools, universities and places of worship. On July 15, Guinea further relaxed the curfew in Conakry and nearby areas to midnight to 4am. International commercial flights resumed gradually starting July 17. On September 22, the Guinean authorities lifted the capacity restriction on public transportation, announced the reopening of bars, restaurants and motels, and the resumption of cultural and social activities. Mask wearing and social distancing measures remain in effect. The Republic of Guinea became the second country in Africa to receive the vaccine. Sputnik V was approved by the Ministry of Health under the emergency use authorization procedure. The approval was based on the results of the clinical trials of Sputnik V in Russia. In late December, the authorities received 55 doses of the vaccine. In March, Guinea received 200,000 of the Sinopharm vaccine and an additional 200,000 doses of the Sputnik V. In the first half of 2021, Guinea expects to receive 600,000 doses of the Sinopharm vaccine and more than 1 million doses preliminarily announced by the COVAX initiative. Phase 1 of the vaccination campaign has started focusing on medical staff, people in key government positions, religious practitioners, and the 65-and-older population. More than 50,000 people have been vaccinated as at end March. On February 26, 2021, in response to an uptick in COVID cases, the government reinstated a number of containment measures. Measures include limiting the number of people permitted to gather in public spaces, compulsory temperature checks and mask wearing, and an 11pm-4am curfew. The daily number of new cases remained high throughout May. The increase in the number of cases have since then moderated, with the 7-day moving average positivity rate falling to 2 percent in June 2021, the lowest this year. The Republic of Guinea became the second country in Africa to receive the vaccine. Sputnik V was approved by the Ministry of Health under the emergency use authorization procedure. The approval was based on the results of the clinical trials of Sputnik V in Russia. In late December, the authorities received 55 doses of the vaccine. In March, Guinea received 200,000 of the Sinopharm vaccine and an additional 200,000 doses of the Sputnik V. In the first half of 2021, Guinea expects to receive 600,000 doses of the Sinopharm vaccine and more than 1 million doses preliminarily announced by the COVAX initiative. Phase 1 of the vaccination campaign has started focusing on medical staff, people in key government positions, religious practitioners, and the 65-and-older population. Nearly 220,000 people have been vaccinated as at end May. The authorities expect to receive an additional 400,000 doses in the coming months, reaching roughly 2.5m by August, with a goal of vaccinating at least 20 percent of the population by end-year. Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021 Fiscal
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Guinea BissauBackground. The first cases were reported on March 25, 2020. A state of emergency was declared on March 28, followed by a state of calamity declared on September 9, and a state of health alert declared on December 10. In response to signs of a second wave, a state of calamity was reestablished by presidential decree on January 23, 2021. Except for the reopening of schools, containment measures remain broadly the same: borders remain open subject to sanitary inspections; all travelers are obliged to present a negative PCR test obtained no more than 72 hours before travelling; social gatherings, public meetings, discos and bars, gyms and cultural events are prohibited; restaurants can only operate on take-away mode. The country is covered by COVAX. The first 12,000 doses of vaccines (AstraZeneca) arrived on March 22 provided by a private donor. The country is also expecting to receive 120,000 AstraZeneca doses from the COVAX facility (28,800 already delivered). According to COVAX schedule, the aim is to protect about 400,000 people (at least 20% of the population) by the end of the year. Guinea-Bissau was amongst the 28 beneficiary countries of the IMF debt service relief through the Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust (CCRT), approved on April 13, October 2, 2020, and April 1, 2021. It requested to join the Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) in December 2020. A request for a Rapid Credit Facility (RCF) arrangement of SDR 14.2 million (50 percent of quota) was approved by the Board on January 25, 2021. A staff-monitored program is under discussion to build a sound track record toward a possible Extended Credit Facility (ECF) arrangement possibly in the first quarter of 2022. Key Policy Responses as of July 1st, 2021 Fiscal
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GuyanaBackground. Guyana reported its first confirmed COVID-19 case on March 11, 2020. The government has announced containment and mitigation measures (including imposing staying home order, bans on public gatherings, except for essential services, mandatory social and physical distancing for essential services, curfews, domestic and international travel restrictions, closure of schools and borders, mandatory quarantine for those infected or exposed to the disease, providing tests to suspected infection cases, and additional supplies to medical professions, and raising public awareness). Guyana has been one of five countries in the Caribbean including the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Aruba and Curacao, to benefit from pre-manufactured housing units from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The international organization handed over 48 housing units to the Ministry of Public Health through the Civil Defense Commission (CDC) to boost the regional capacity of the COVID-19 response in the country. On July 21, the Ministry of Education received a donation of 2000 face shields from the United Nations International Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to support measures to contain the spread of the COVID-19 virus in schools, when they open. The new government announced the establishment of a new Covid-19 response unit to replace the previous National COVID-19 Task Force, including G$4.5 billion (US$21.6 million) for the COVID-19 response effort, and started making efforts to mobilize US$60 million from international financial institutions. More recently, the government received US$2 million from India, and announced G$25,000 per household for COVID-19 relief assistance. It is still unclear whether the aid would be in cash or kind, how often this will be provided and whether all or affected households will be getting assistance. In addition, authorities announced packages for essential workers, and under the childcare assistance program, direct payments would be made to licensed childcare facilities for disbursements to parents of children under seven years of age. On November 25, the World Bank approved US$7.5 million for Guyana’s Covid response and strengthening the health system. As at end March 2021, the government has distributed G$7 billion in the first phase of the G$25 000 per household cash grants which began in September 2020. Another G$1 billion is expected to be distributed in the second phase. On June 1, the government received PPEs worth US$4.1 million from Canada through PAHO to boost COVID-19 response. Reopening of the economy. The government announced a six-phase re-opening of the economy commencing on June 18. During Phases 1 and 2, all food establishments were permitted to operate takeout and delivery services from 6am to 5pm, however; dine-in services were still prohibited. Hardware, plumbing and electrical stores could operate from 6am to 5pm, while public transportation was permitted to continue operating at 50 percent capacity. Ninety minutes of exercise were allowed during the week from 6am to 6pm in open public spaces. Phase 3 began on July 17 and ended on July 31. Social distancing rules and the wearing of face masks continue to be mandatory. Sporting events and gatherings of more than ten persons were prohibited, and stay-at-home orders were in effect except for essential services. During phase 3, the national curfew was from 8pm to 6am except for regions 5 and 6. Food services and restaurants were allowed to open for delivery, drive-thru, and curb-side pick-up service from 6am to midnight daily, while outdoor dining at restaurants was under the previous national curfew regulations from 6am to 6pm. Public transportation services (except in Aranka, Arangoy, and Moruca) were allowed to operate at a 75 percent passenger capacity, and private sector construction, clothing, shoe and bookstores were allowed to resume operations. Phase 4 reopening began on August 1, with further easing of restrictions including opening of places of worship and ceremonies, and gatherings allowed at 25 percent capacity. The airports were opened to commercial travel on October 12 under phase 2 of the reopening of airspace On November 30, the government issued new Covid-19 measures which included restrictions of non-essential services to region 7 and to Suriname. As of January 28, 2021, the authorities have suspended air travel with Brazil to reduce the risk of transmission of new COVID-19 variants. Given the rapid increase in the number of cases, and concerns about new variants, amidst a possible third wave, the curfew measures have been extended until June 30 and the lockdown hours from 10:30 pm to 4am remain in place. Restaurants, bars and food establishments with indoor dining, outdoor dining and curbside pickup, are allowed to operate from 4am to 9:30pm with a 40 percent capacity restriction for indoor dining, and keeping six feet spacing between the tables. Gyms can open at 50 percent capacity, and sporting events are subject to approval from the Ministry of Health under established measures. Cinemas to remain closed. Restrictions remain on social gatherings including private parties, receptions and wakes or vigils, use of public/hotel pools and recreational activities at river, lakes or any internal waterway. While the country’s borders with Brazil and Suriname remain closed, the Lethem crossing is opened once a week to facilitate trade.The ferry service between Guyana and Suriname resumed operations on February 20, after being suspended since March 2020. Vaccinations. Guyana has received 303 000 doses of vaccines (3000 doses of vaccines from Barbados in February, and 20 000 from China early March, 80 000 from India mid-March, 62 400 through the Covax facility , and 138 000 from Russia). It is expected to receive the remaining 262 000 purchased from Russia, 149 000 from the African Union, 45 600 through the Covax facility, 150 000 purchased from Johnson and Johnson, and more from India. Vaccination is gathering momentum. So far about 204 000 people (26 percent of the population) have received one dose of the vaccine, and about 71 000 (9 percent of the population) have been fully vaccinated. Key Policy Responses as of June 4, 2021 Fiscal
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HHaitiBackground. The COVID-19 pandemic comes at a time of economic contraction and considerable macro-economic imbalances. Haiti reported its first confirmed cases of COVID-19 on March 20, 2020 and the country remains at high risk of rapid contagion given the weak health system and the proximity and porous border with the Dominican Republic. Tourism had already declined sharply in 2018-2019 due to the political instability and social unrest. Reopening of the economy. The Government of Haiti has communicated many important instructions to minimize the spread of the disease, particularly: closure of schools and factories, closure of airports and ports to passengers, banning of meetings of more than 10 people, nationwide curfew between 20:00 and 5:00 and plea for social distancing guidelines to be respected. Some of these restrictions were lifted or modified by the Haitian government as of 30 June 2020. The state of health emergency that had been declared by the Government over the spread of COVID-19 has been lifted on July 20. The Prime Minister announced the end of restrictive measures and the resumption of business operations across the country, including, among others, the reopening of textile factories at 100% and the resumption of religious services across the country. Public sector workers have been instructed to work on a rotational basis, and remote working has been encouraged as much as possible. In order to guarantee jobs provided by subcontracting companies in the textile industry, the Government authorized these factories to gradually resume their activities from April 20th, while respecting the measures to prevent the spread of the virus. These measures include, among others, the operation of the factories on rotating basis with only 30 percent of their workforce, measuring the temperature of the workers upon entry to the factory, and the obligation to wear facial masks. From February 9, all arrival by plane will require a negative COVID-19 test of less than 72 hours. The authorities are in negotiation with the WHO to participate in the COVAX initiative. If successful Haiti could immunize about 876000 vulnerable people. Key Policy Responses as of April 2, 2021 Fiscal
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HondurasBackground. Honduras has reported 239,428 (6,403 deaths) as of June 3, 2021. The country went into lockdown on March 16, 2020 with only essential services operating. The government declared a national state of emergency and adopted containment measures, including restrictions on freedom of movement, a nation-wide night-time curfew, and closing of national frontiers. The authorities have taken fiscal and monetary and macro-financial actions to respond to the healthcare and humanitarian crisis, protect employment and mitigate the impact on economic activity. Reopening of the economy. The government reopened national frontiers in August (subject to presentation of negative Covid test results by inbound travelers), and lifted restrictions on freedom of movement and reduced the duration of the night-time curfew in October. At the same time, the national state of emergency remains in place, and the duration of the night-time curfew was extended again selectively by region following tropical storms Eta and Iota in November, and again after the surge in Covid cases since January. Key Policy Responses as of June 3, 2021 Fiscal
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HungaryFirst wave. . The first case of COVID-19 was reported on March 4, 2020.The economy was hit hard by the outbreak as it is tightly intertwined globally through supply chains and tourism. The government declared a state of emergency on March 11 and implemented various containment measures, including travel and activity restrictions, and mandatory distance learning for schools and universities. On March 27, mandatory shelter-in-place in place was imposed, except for essential business and activities (e.g., food shopping, healthcare). Reopening of the economy. Starting May 4, 2020, the economy gradually reopened. Stores, malls, museums, churches, were allowed to reopen and outdoor seating is permitted in restaurants. Students returned to schools and daycares in June, and summer camps were open. Ordinary health services restarted. Sports could be conducted in closed doors and music and dance events with less than 500 participants could be held. The state of emergency was lifted by June 18 but some of the emergency measures remained in place and the government was allowed to declare a health crisis for a period of up to six months (extendable indefinitely) without parliamentary authorization. Social distance rules were expected to be heeded everywhere and policies and fines regarding wearing masks recently have become stricter Second and third waves. While the first wave of the pandemic relatively spared Hungary, cases rose rapidly starting the end of August. In response, border restrictions were imposed in early September and the state of emergency reintroduced on November 4, 2020. The government reintroduced a number of containment measures, including a curfew from 8pm-5am, restricted opening hours for shops and other businesses, and restaurants closures, and restriction on hotels guests and gathering, and has been reviewing and adjusting them periodically. The second wave abated by end-November 2020, but cases rose again rapidly in February 2021, including as new, more contagious, variants of the virus reached Hungary. In end of April, Hungary became the country with the highest covid-related deaths per million, and restrictions were re-imposed. Most of the restrictions were eliminated in early July as the country was expected to hit 5.5 million first dose vaccinations. Vaccination:Vaccinations started in late December. Hungary was the first EU country to authorize vaccines other than collectively procured by the EU, authorizing a total of seven different vaccines. By end-June, 50 percent of population has been fully vaccinated. Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021 Fiscal
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IIcelandBackground. With a large tourism sector, Iceland has been highly exposed to health, economic, and financial contagion from the COVID-19 virus. By June 30, 6649 domestic cases COVID-19 have been confirmed, of which 23 are active. Twenty-nine have died. The strategy to contain the disease focused on mass testing, contact tracing, and quarantines. About 60 percent of the population 16 and older has been fully vaccinated. The economic impact of the pandemic is partially being offset by Iceland's use of its available policy space. GDP fell 6.6 percent in the year ending 2021Q1 from 2.6 percent in 2019. Containment measures. Domestic controls have been eliminated and border controls relaxed. Vaccinated persons face no restrictions, while others must pass two COVID tests five days apart. Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021 Fiscal
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IndiaBackground. The first case of COVID-19 in India was reported on January 30, 2020 and the number of cases continues to rise, in particular, during the ongoing second wave of the pandemic. For the first wave, the strict national lockdown was extended several times, and then followed by a gradual re-opening, with restrictions implemented in select containment zones. For the second wave, localized state-wide lockdowns have been implemented in most states in 2021Q2. The economic impact of COVID-19 has been substantial and broad-based. GDP contracted sharply in 2020Q2 (-24.4 percent year-on-year) due to the unprecedented lockdowns to control the spread of COVID-19. The contraction moderated to -7.4 percent year-on-year in 2020Q3, and growth returned to positive territory in 2020Q4 and 2021Q1, at 0.5 percent and 1.6 percent, respectively. The national statistical office revised up FY2020/21 GDP growth to -7.3% in the latest provisional estimate. Reopening of the economy. Following the first COVID-19 wave and initial nation-wide lockdown, on April 15, 2020 with a view to supporting economic activities, the government announced several relaxation measures in geographical areas designated as non-hotspot, with effect from April 20, 2020. On April 29, 2020 the government permitted inter-state movement of stranded people, including migrant workers, managed by the nodal authorities who are designated by the states. Some graded relaxations in economic activities have been allowed in geographic areas designated as orange and green zones on May 4 and domestic air travel restarted on May 25. On May 12, the PM announced a relief package of around 10 percent of GDP, including previously announced monetary and fiscal measures. On July 29, the central government issued 'Unlock 3.0' guidelines further paving the way for a phased re-opening of activities across the country and limiting the lockdown only to containment zones till August 31. On August 29, the government issued ('Unlock 4.0') to further re-open the economy in September, removing restrictions on metro rail in a graded manner from 7 September, and allowing for social, academic, sports, entertainment, and other congregations of up to 100 people. On September 30, the central government issued "Unlock 5.0" guidelines to allow state/union territory governments to decide on reopening schools and coaching institutions after October 15 in a graded manner. Cinemas/theatres/multiplexes will be permitted to open with up to 50% of their seating capacity and entertainment parks will be permitted to open from October 15, 2020. The ceiling on congregations has been extended to 200 people. Following a second COVID-19 wave, most states have announced additional lockdown measures in 2021Q2. On January 3, 2021, India's Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) provided emergency use authorization (EUA) to the AstraZeneca vaccine and the Covaxin (developed by local firm Bharat Biotech). Both are manufactured domestically in India. On January 11, 2021, the Prime Minister announced the start of the world's biggest vaccination campaign from January 16th aiming to vaccinate about 300 million people in the coming months. From May 1, all persons above 18 are eligible for vaccinations; vaccine manufacturers are now permitted to sell 50 percent in the open market. Key Policy Responses as of June 3, 2021 Fiscal
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IndonesiaBackground. Indonesia reported its first confirmed COVID 19 case on March 2, 2020. The government adopted various containment measures over time, including temporary bans on domestic and international air and sea travel, screening at ports of entry, school closures, and other restrictions on public events. On July 1, 2021, the government announced the imposition of stricter social restrictions, particularly across Java and Bali region from July 3 to July 20, in response to a pickup in COVID infections since mid-June. The government launched its nationwide vaccination program in mid-January 2021, starting with health care workers. As of June 30, about 11 percent of Indonesia population has now received at least one dose of COVID 19 vaccines, with 5 percent being fully vaccinated. While Indonesia’s GDP in 2021:Q1 declined moderately by about 0.7 percent over a year ago, economic activity continues to recover quarter over quarter since the second half of 2020.External pressures remain moderate, although some volatility remains. Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021 Fiscal
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Iran, Islamic Republic ofBackground. Iran reported its first confirmed COVID-19 cases on February 19, 2020 in the city of Qom. After the outbreak, the government introduced a range of measures to limit the spread of the virus, including stopping flights from China, closing schools, malls, markets, and key religious sites, and banning cultural and religious gatherings. On March 25, 2020 President Rouhani announced a partial lockdown, closing businesses and government offices for two weeks and banning travel between different cities. Early reopening of the economy. Concerned about the economic damage from the outbreak, the government ordered a step-by-step reopening of businesses that it considered to be at low or average risk in terms of spreading the virus starting on April 8, 2020. On April 27, 2020 Iran reopened all international borders to revive regional trade, while mosques and schools reopened in mid-May. On May 26, 2020 all businesses and major religious sites were opened. Consecutive waves of the pandemic: A "second wave" of virus cases hit Iran during the summer of 2020. Following this, the government instituted mandatory mask-wearing and new restrictions in Tehran. Based on this order, all schools and universities, restaurants, cafes, cultural facilities, and beauty salons were closed and a third of government employees in Tehran worked remotely. Iran entered a "third wave" of COVID-19 cases in the fall of 2020, with the number of new infections peaking at 14,000 a day in November. Facemasks became compulsory in public (indoors and outdoors) in Tehran starting October 10. A slew of additional restrictions, including partial lockdowns and curfews, came into effect on November 28, 2020 in the most affected regions. A mandatory mask rule is implemented across the country. In January 2021 the coronavirus infection rate began to slow but night-time curfews and distance learning remained in place to keep the virus at bay. Iran Air resumed flights to Qatar, Dubai, and Turkey. In March 2021, a fourth wave of the pandemic–the most acute to date—swept through the country following the Nowruz holiday due to the surge in travel and gatherings. However, the rate of deaths and confirmed cases from COVID-19 started to decline by mid-April, with the positive trend continuing into June. By the end of that month, the total number of infections stood at around 3.2 million, with more than 84,000 deaths. Vaccine: Mass vaccinations started in February 2021, with the government planning to vaccinate 60 million Iranians (95 percent of the adult population) by the end of March 2022 in four phases, starting with essential workers, high-risk groups, and injured war veterans. As of mid-June, 5.1 million Iranians had received at least one shot of the vaccine. According to the Food and Drug Administration of Iran, the country has purchased about 6 million vaccines, including those procured from Russia, China, India, Italy and South Korea. Out of 62 million doses ordered from Russia, about 900,000 have been delivered. Moreover, the government authorized in mid-June the emergency use of its first domestically produced COVID-19 vaccine, known as COVIran Barekat. A second Iranian vaccine, jointly developed with Cuba, is expected to be released by the end of June. Iran also became in June the first country to produce the Russian Sputnik vaccine domestically. Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021 At the end of March 2020, President Rouhani announced over10 percent of GDP in COVID-19 relief and recovery measures. Iran has also received a $50mn loan from the World Bank in July 2020, which was used to finance imports of medicine and medical equipment through the WHO. In response to a new surge in cases, the government unveiled another round of relief measures for households in November 2020, totaling 1 percent of GDP. Fiscal
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IraqBackground. Iraq's first confirmed case was on 22 February 2020, however in the early weeks of the crisis the number of new cases was relatively contained. At the end of Ramadan in late May 2020, the number of new cases escalated rapidly, peaking in September. By October 2020, daily new cases had declined significantly. Cases started rising again in January 2021, reaching a new peak of over 8,500 cases in April 2021, however fatalities remained much lower than during the first wave. Cases fell back in May 2021 but increased sharply again in June 2021, reaching over 7,000 cases a day. The number of fatalities now exceeds 17,000. In the early stages of the crisis, the authorities implemented a range of measures to limit the spread of the virus, including closing borders, travel restrictions (including on international flights and internal public transportation), and closing schools and universities. A nationwide lockdown and curfew were first introduced on March 22, 2020. By September 2020, most containment measures were relaxed to some extent and the curfew was removed after cases had declined. Containment measures were reimposed in February 2021 due to the renewed rise in cases, including a full weekend curfew, a night curfew on weekdays as well as travel restrictions, the closure of restaurants, malls and places of worship. In March 2021, the containment measures began to be eased again. However, in early May, in response to the emergence of a new variant, a travel ban to India was introduced and a 10-day full lockdown, including schools and non-essential businesses closure, was imposed around Eid Al-Fitr but later loosened to a partial lockdown. In September 2020, Iraq joined the COVAX Facility, a global initiative aiming to secure access to COVID-19 vaccines. Initially this facility will provide vaccines to cover 20 percent of the population. In addition, Iraq approved the AstraZeneca, Pfizer-BioNtech, Sinopharm and Sputnik V vaccines for emergency use and agreed a range of deals to secure additional vaccines. Vaccinations started in early March with donated doses from China followed by the arrival of the first shipment of vaccines under COVAX later in the month. However, the rollout has been slow to date with around 911,000 doses administered, equivalent to 2.3 doses per hundred people. The containment and mitigation measures have had a significant negative impact on non-oil activity, predominantly from 2020 Q2 onwards. According to latest official data, Non-oil GDP contracted 20.2 percent in 2020. In addition to the direct impact of COVID-19, the decline in oil prices resulted in a sharp fall in oil revenues in 2020. Reopening of the economy. After cases started declining in 2020, most containment measures were relaxed to some extent. In June 2020, the curfew restrictions began to be eased, and were completely removed in late September. All land border crossings reopened for trade and airports reopened in July 2020 and schools reopened in November 2020, albeit with limited in-person teaching. In late December 2020, there was a reversal in some of the easing measures, following a spike in COVID-19 cases in other countries and the discovery of new variants of the virus, with a ban on travel to several countries imposed. In February 2021, with the renewed rise in cases, most of the containment measures were reimposed. The measures were eased once again in March, despite the continued rise in cases, to cushion the economic impact by limiting the lockdown and reopening restaurants and malls. In early May, a 10-day full lockdown was initially imposed around Eid Al-Fitr but later loosened to partial lockdown and by end of May, the full weekend lockdown was downgraded to a night curfew. In early June, schools were reopened on hybrid basis with requirement of either weekly testing or vaccination. Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021 Fiscal
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IrelandBackground. Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic on March 2020, the scale of the economic impact has fluctuated in line with the infection rate and the stringency of containment measures. The pandemic's impact on the domestic economy was severe, with the domestically-oriented sectors contracting by around 10 percent in 2020 and covid-adjusted unemployment increasing to 25 percent. Nevertheless, comprehensive policy support and, especially, strong performance of MNEs (which grew by 18 percent) helped limit the economic impact of the pandemic and as a result GDP grew by 3.4 percent in 2020. Private consumption declined by 9 percent, slightly worse than the EU average, due to the stricter containment measures and to the large share of services in the consumption basket. In June 2021, the Covid-adjusted unemployment rate stood at around 18.3 percent. Reopening of the economy and containment measures.1 Ireland responded to the first two waves of infections with strict lockdowns and mostly gradual reopening2. However, the reopening at the beginning of December, accompanied by increased social interactions during the holidays and arrival of a more contagious virus variant from the UK, resulted in a surge of infections from the lowest levels in Europe to the highest in the world by the second week of January. This necessitated a third lockdown in January through April 5th, 2021 with tighter restrictions, including closure of schools and most construction sites. Infection rates have declined since then. At the end of April the government has announced a gradual reopening plan3. The government started vaccination program4 in end-December and is expecting to vaccinate 80% of the population by early July 2021. Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021Fiscal5
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IsraelBackground. Israel has been significantly affected by the global spread of COVID-19. The first case of COVID-19 was reported on February 21. The government has implemented a range of measures to contain and mitigate the spread of the virus, and to support people, jobs, and businesses. Measures in response to the COVID-19 outbreak have included increased testing, travel restrictions, social distancing measures—including restricting Israelis to 100-meter radius of their home for recreation, and closures of businesses—except essential services—and indoor premises. While the impact on economic activity was quite large in the first half of the year, with output declining by 7 percent (on an annualized basis) in the first quarter and 29.2 percent in the second quarter of 2020; a strong rebound in the second half entailed a decline of only 2.4 percent for the year as a whole. Output declined by 6.5 percent in 2021Q1 (on an annualized basis) following a new outbreak, but activity picked-up as cases declined due to vaccination, and the economy reopened again. Reopening of the economy. In April 2020 the authorities took gradual steps to ease containment measures by increasing the share of allowed employees in the workplace and reopening most stores. In May, the authorities also allowed schools to gradually open by the end of the month, eased movement and gathering restrictions. Malls opened early in the month, while restaurants towards the end of the month. The authorities have issued safety guidelines for distancing and sanitation in businesses and requiring the use of face masks in public places. On June 29, following a resurgence in morbidity, the authorities imposed new restrictions on gatherings and increased telework for public sector employees. This was followed by further restrictions in early July including on capacity use for restaurants and public transportation buses, closing bars and gyms. The authorities eased some restrictions in late July and early August. The reopening of the economy allowed for a strong rebound in economic activity, with output increasing 38.9 percent (on an annualized basis) in the third quarter. In early September, the government imposed a lockdown in several cities with high morbidity, followed by a second nationwide lockdown on September 18, which was tightened on September 25. The lockdown started to ease on October 18, including gradually opening schools throughout November. On December 27, a third nation-wide lockdown was imposed as the number of new cases increased sharply. Lockdown restrictions were tightened further as of January 10. A gradual lifting of restrictions began in February 7, and most domestic restrictions have been lifted, but international travel remains significantly restricted due to the rapid global spread of more contagious variants. A vaccination campaign has been rolled out since December 20. So far, about 57.1 percent of the population has received two doses. Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021 Fiscal
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ItalyBackground. Net inflows of COVID-19 cases have been continuously declining. As of July 1, the number of active cases has decreased to around 49,000. The number of hospitalized patients and those in intensive care units have also been on a declining trend. Around 127,500 people have died. Reopening of the economy and additional containment measures. The first nation-wide lockdown expired on May 4, 2020. Since then, manufacturing and construction reopened under new safety rules (e.g., staggered shifts, spaced workstation, temperature checks, masks). The government moved forward some of the reopening plans. In addition to retail shops, restaurants, cafes and hairdressers reopened on May 18 (the initial reopening plan was June 1). Sports facilities reopened on May 25, followed by cinemas and theaters on June 15. Regional governments are allowed the discretion to adjust the dates in both direction. People can now travel within their own region, and mobility restrictions across regions has been lifted on June 3, when international borders also reopen without restriction to and from other EU countries. Following the increase in confirmed cases beginning in early August, the government reintroduced some containment measures, including closing night clubs, capacity limits at cultural sites. Mask wearing in public places (both in and outdoors) is required through end January 2021. Fines were raised for those who do not follow anti-contagion and quarantine rules. Rapid Covid tests are required for travelers coming back from a number of countries in Europe, and have been authorized for use in schools to identify and quarantine infected individuals, thereby avoiding the need to close entire schools. The state of emergency was extended through January 2021. A series of additional containment measures have been rolled out since mid-October and have been extended until mid-May 2021. Closures of services and mobility restrictions are more focused and vary by risk levels assigns to regions. Since early-April Schools have beeen allowed to reopen — up to Grade 8 (and Grade 6 in high-risk areas). Some reopenings began in mid-May, including open-air swimming pools and secondary schools. Theatres, cinemas, concert halls and other similar venues have also reopened subject to a 50 percent capacity limit and also different hard caps for indoor and outdoor venues (500 and 1,000 people respectively). Gyms have reopened in early-June. Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021 Fiscal
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JJamaicaBackground. The first confirmed COVID-19 case was registered on March 10, 2020. The government has taken early and proactive measures to contain the spread of infection across the island, including cancellation of all large public and private events, school shutdowns, quarantine of entire communities. The daily curfews across the island remain in place, while the closure of the island’s borders to incoming visitors has been lifted for returning Jamaican citizens and non-citizens since June 1, and June 15 respectively. The government has instituted protocols for arriving visitors, including pre-arrival documentation, in-airport screening and risk assessment, followed by a risk based approach to quarantine and movement limitations. The government has also issued guidelines on the reopening of beaches, rivers and theme parks, which are key tourism attractions. In addition, guidelines have been issued for the safe capacity limits for social gatherings (e.g. weddings and funerals) and operation protocols for gyms, barbershops and hair salons. Key Policy Responses as of July 14, 2020 Fiscal
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JapanBackground. The first confirmed COVID-19 case in Japan was reported on January 16, 2020. In response to the outbreak, the authorities have taken several measures targeted towards health and containment efforts. Japan expanded entry bans; as a result, this brings to a total of 152 countries/regions currently subject to Japan's entry ban which will restrict the entry of foreigners who have visited COVID-19 affected countries and regions within the last 14 days. Then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe declared the state of emergency for seven prefectures (including Tokyo, Saitama, Kanagawa, Chiba, Osaka, Hyogo, and Fukuoka) on April 7 and expanded the coverage of the state of emergency to all Japanese prefectures on April 16, effective through May 6. The state of emergency enabled prefectural governors in the designated areas to request people to stay at home, order closures of schools and public facilities, build temporary medical facilities, and adopt actions to support medical and food supplies. On May 4, PM Abe extended the nationwide state of emergency through May 31. The 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games have been postponed to July 23-August 8, 2021. The International Olympics Committee, International Paralympic Committee, Tokyo Metropolitan Government, the Organising Committee Tokyo 2020 and the Government of Japan decided on March 20, 2021 that international spectators will not be allowed to enter Japan for the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020, and on June 21, 2021 that the spectator limit for the Olympic Games will be set at 50 percent of the venue capacity, up to a maximum of 10,000 people at all venues. Reopening of the economy. Amid the declining trend of daily new confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of May 2020, the state of emergency was lifted for 39 prefectures out of a total of 47 prefectures on May 14 and for Osaka, Kyoto, and Hyogo on May 21. On May 25, the state of emergency was lifted for all prefectures, earlier than the previous May 31 expiry date. Restrictions on inter-prefectural travel were lifted on June 19. Following the second wave of infections, Tokyo raised the COVID-19 alert level to the highest on July 15. Amid that backdrop, it requested residents to refrain from traveling outside Tokyo and karaoke venues and restaurants serving alcohol to close by 10 p.m. In August, Aichi, Osaka, Miyazaki, Okinawa also requested restaurants that serve alcohol and karaoke venues to shorten operating hours to close at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. As new infections continued to trend down, Tokyo lowered the alert level by one notch from the highest level on September 10 and lifted a measure that shortened hours for restaurants and karaoke from September 16. As new infections increased, on November 19, Tokyo raised the COVID-19 alert level to the highest and requested residents to refrain from going outside and karaoke venues and restaurants serving alcohol to close by 10 p.m. until mid-December. Hokkaido, Ibaraki, Saitama, Chiba, Kanagawa, Aichi, Osaka also requested karaoke venues and restaurants serving alcohol to shorten operating hours to close at 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. until mid-December. Sapporo and Osaka were temporarily removed as destinations from the Go-to-Travel campaign—a government’s subsidy program to promote domestic travel—through December 8. On December 14, the government temporarily suspended the Go To Travel campaign nationwide from December 28, 2020. On January 7, 2021, PM Suga declared the state of emergency for Tokyo and three neighboring prefectures (Saitama, Kanagawa, and Chiba)—seven prefectures (Gifu, Aichi, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyogo, Tochigi and Fukuoka) were added on January 14—effective from January 8 to February 7. The government asked restaurants and bars to shorten operating hours to close by 8 p.m., urged teleworking to reduce the number of workers at offices by 70 percent, requested residents to stay at home and refrain from non-essential outings especially after 8 p.m., and limited the number of audience at large events to 5,000 people. On February 2, PM Suga extended the state of emergency for 10 prefectures (except Tochigi) through March 7. As of March 22, Japan lifted the state of emergency for all areas. Amid the fourth wave of infections, on April 5, 2021, the priority preventative measures took effect in Miyagi, Osaka and Hyogo, asking restaurants and bars to close by 8 p.m. The priority preventative measures were subsequently extended to Tokyo, Kyoto and Okinawa on April 12, Saitama, Chiba, Kanagawa and Aichi on April 20, and Ehime on April 25. On April 23, Japan declared the state of emergency for Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto and Hyogo effective from April 25 to May 11, and the existing priority preventative measures for the rest of prefectures effective until May 11. Under the state of emergency, the government has urged companies to allow teleworking and required restaurants to shorten operating hours to close by 8 p.m., restaurants, bars, and karaoke parlors serving alcohol as well as department stores and other large commercial facilities to close, and large events to be held without spectators. The government subsequently extended the state of emergency and the priority preventative measures it until June 20; expanded the state of emergency to include Aichi and Fukuoka from May 12; Hokkaido, Hiroshima and Okayama from May 16; Okinawa from May 23; the priority preventative measures to cover Hokkaido, Gifu and Mie from May 9, then Gunma, Ishikawa and Kumamoto from May 16, while lifting it for Miyagi on May 12 and Ehime on May 23. The prefectural governors eased the restrictions for department stores and other large commercial facilities to be re-opened with shorter hours and for large events to be held with a cap of 5,000 people and 50 percent of the venue's capacity. Japan lifted the state of emergency and replaced with the priority preventative measures for Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Hyogo, Aichi, Hokkaido, and Fukuoka from June 21 to July 11. The state of emergency for Okinawa was extended until July 11. The priority preventative measures for Kanagawa, Saitama, and Chiba were also extended until July 11. Regarding cross-border travel, Japan has resumed re-entry into Japan by all foreign nationals who possess the status of residence since September. Japan has agreed on "Residence Track" which allows essential business exchange between the two countries, on condition they take preventive and quarantine measures, with Brunei, Cambodia, China, Lao's People's Democratic Republic, Myanmar, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. In addition, Japan has agreed with China, Singapore, South Korea and Vietnam on "Business Track" which enables limited business activities during the 14-day stay at home period (partially relaxes restrictions on such activities), immediately after arrival at those countries/regions or Japan, on condition that travelers accept additional quarantine measures such as submission of "Schedule of Activities in Japan." Starting from October, the holders of statuses of residence of "Student", "Dependent" and others, in addition to cross-border business travelers of all countries and regions have been permitted to enter Japan under the condition that the person is hosted by a company/entity that can assure observation of quarantine measures. On October 30, the Government of Japan decided to remove the entry ban on Australia, Brunei, China (including Hong Kong and Macau), New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. However, on January 13, 2021, the government suspended “Business Track” and “Residence Track” until the state of emergency is lifted. As a precautionary step against coronavirus variants of concern, Japan has suspended new entry into the country of nonresident foreign nationals from December 28, 2020 until further notice. Japan has strengthened the border enforcement measures to prevent the coronavirus variants of concern. The current quarantine measures are strengthened for all the travelers who enter, re-enter or return to Japan from designated countries/regions in response to both the corona virus variants of special concern on border measures and other variants, according to countries/regions. The government requires all Japanese citizens and foreign nationals to submit negative COVID-19 test results within 72 hours prior to departure and undergo tests upon arrival. Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021 Fiscal
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JordanBackground. Jordan has reported 751,937cumulative cases, and =9,756 deaths related to COVID as of July 1, 2021. At the onset of the global epidemic, the authorities implemented a range of measures to try and limit the spread of the virus. Early measures included the suspension of all international flights, the enforcement of strict curfews, restrictions on movement, and the closure of businesses, schools and universities. As the number of contagions remained low, restrictions were progressively relaxed over the summer. In parallel, the authorities launched a public communication and awareness campaign to inform the public on examination and treatment facilities and imposed social distancing measures and the use of masks. In the Fall, the sharp rise in COVID cases led the authorities to enforce local lockdowns. In early October, the Government re-instated a nationwide lockdown for Fridays, and closed schools and universities until the end of the semester. Most restrictions were lifted in early 2021, as the number of daily new cases dropped to much safer levels, but week-end and evening curfews were reinstated in late February as a third wave of infections hit the country, and curfew hours were extended mid-March. Despite these measures, on March 31 Jordan reported the highest daily COVID-19 death toll since the pandemic started (111). Vaccinations started on January 13, prioritizing health-vulnerable residents, including refugees, and health care workers. The pace was initially constrained by supply shortages, but has picked up starting in April (with the arrival of new vaccine supplies), with daily vaccinations reaching 110,000 per day at end-June. After the vaccination of priority groups was completed, campaigns to vaccinate teachers at designated centers, to vaccinate public sector employees in the workplace, and to offer vaccination in private hospitals, were launched. At the start of July, 2.5 million citizens and residents of Jordan had received at least one dose of the vaccine, and 1.5 million had received both doses. The authorities hope to reach 4.5 million vaccinations administered by September, thus covering all vulnerable groups. From the beginning of July, anyone over the age of 40 will be able to receive a vaccine without an appointment, and those aged between 16 and 18 will also be allowed to register. Reopening of the economy. First wave. A phased-out easing of the first wave lockdown started on April 6, when factories located in industrial zones were allowed to resume operations. The re-opening of the economy continued through the month of April, with work partly resuming for selected sectors on April 21st , as well as most commercial activities on April 30. .On May 4 , Jordan lifted most lockdown measures and allowed most economic sectors to operate under strict safety guidelines. In late May 2020, the government allowed companies in hard-hit sectors to cut employees’ May and June salaries by 30%. The authorities announced that transport between governorates would resume, night curfews would be shortened, hotels and cafes would be allowed to re-open, along with sporting events with no spectator effective June 6. Universities remained closed and a curfew continued to be in effect at night. On July 15 , the Ministry of Education announced that schools would reopen on September 1 for the new academic year. The Ministry of Health and local companies developed the “Aman” (“Safety”) application, which alerts users when they come into contact with someone who has COVID-19. The phased-out approach also entailed the complete restart of economic activities in certain regions that remained closed to the rest of the country. The government also started organizing the return of Jordanians that were abroad at the onset of the crisis and had not been able to return given the interruption of international flights. On August 13, Jordan closed its border with Syria due to virus concerns following an uptick in new cases. The Government reinstated Friday curfews starting August 27 in Amman and Zarqa. On September 8, Jordan re-opened airports for regular commercial flights with strict measures to contain the pandemic. Passengers from green-listed countries (low COVID cases countries) were able to enter Jordan if they proved they had resided for at least 14 days in the origin country, presented a negative PCR test conducted less than 72 hours before departure and took another test at the airport in Jordan. Passengers from other countries would need to quarantine for 7 days and take another PCR test at the end of the quarantine – in November, the 7-day quarantine was introduced for passengers from all countries who tested negative when entering Jordan. Second wave. The Government enacted Defense Order 16 in mid-September, which introduced new measures designed to contain the pandemic (e.g.: limits to social gatherings) and includes strict penalties on people and businesses which do not comply with health safety measures (incl. fines, establishment closure and potential imprisonment). On October 6, the Government announced that a total lockdown would be imposed on all governorates on all coming Fridays and Saturdays until further notice. On October 20, the newly formed Government of Prime Minister Bisher al Khasawneh announced that total lockdowns would apply to all governorates only on Fridays, and introduced a daily curfews from 11pm to 6am for citizens and from 10pm to 6am for businesses across the country. Schools and universities were also closed and distance learning re-instated until the end of the first semester. On October 22, the Government issued defense orders 19 and 20 which allowed Friday prayers while introducing strict safety guidelines, restricted restaurants’ operations to only 50 percent of capacity with no more than six people per table, and introduced new fines for establishments and persons not abiding by the defense orders rules. On November 3, the Ministry of Health struck a deal with the Private Hospitals Association to allocate at least 1,000 beds and 150 ICU beds for COVID-19 patients who would be referred to private hospitals by public hospitals. The authorities announced that starting from November 11, a total lockdown would be implemented for 4 days. In early December, the number of new weekly cases started to decline for the first time since the beginning of the second wave and reached safer levels in early January 2021. Third wave. The first phase of vaccinations started on January 13, with the goal to vaccinate about 1.75 million people. Priority is being given to healthcare workers, and health-vulnerable populations (including refugees). An electronic registration system was open to all residents, regardless of nationality or status, and 920,000 people have registered thus far (as of March 30). On February 24, the government announced the reimposition of Friday lockdowns, in addition to new curfew hours; on March 13 curfew hours were extended (businesses are allowed to operate from 6:00 am until 6:00pm while public movement is permitted from 6:00am until 7:00pm), in an effort to halt the rise in new cases. In-person education initially continued for all those who had already returned to classrooms, but in-class teaching in schools and universities was suspended starting March 10. On March 28, the government announced that the vaccination campaign for elderly residents in care homes had been completed. At the start of Ramadan, delivery hours for restaurants and pharmacies and food service hours for hotels were extended, and worshippers were allowed to perform Friday prayers at mosques; on April 28, the government announced the suspension of the blanket curfew on Fridays. The government has launched a campaign to vaccinate teachers at designated vaccine centers, to facilitate plans to resume in-class learning at schools and universities in September. The government has also announced its intent to reopen the economy in summer 2021. On May 26, the government announced a three-phased plan to reopen the economy: the first phase, starting in June, will see the gradual reopening of various sectors, the second phase, starting in July, will include the reduction of curfew hours and the full return of public sector employees to work, while a full reopening is envisaged at the start of September. On June 1, the government announced a three-phased plan to reopen the economy: the first phase, which started in June, saw the gradual reopening of various sectors; the second phase, which started on July 1, included further reopening of the economy; a full reopening of schools and remaining institutions is envisaged for the start of September. The authorities have put in place various measures to allow more freedoms for vaccinated citizens during the reopening, including ability to travel during curfew hours. At the end of June, the EU added Jordan to its safe travel list. Relationship with the IMF. On May 20, 2020, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved Jordan's request for emergency financial assistance under the Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI) equivalent to SDR 291.55 million (about US$ 400 million, or 85 percent of quota). The purchase under the RFI is expected to cover part of Jordan's financing needs stemming from the COVID-19 shock. On December 14, 2020, the IMF Executive Board approved the completion of the 1st review under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF), which made SDR 102.93 million (about US$148 million) immediately available. On April 12, the Managing Director issued a statement expressing the Fund's support for Jordan's reform efforts. On June 30, the IMF Executive Board approved the completion of the 2nd review under the EFF as well as an augmentation of Fund access under the program of SDR 144 million (US$ 200 million). Key Policy Responses as of March 31, 2021 Fiscal and structural
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KKazakhstanBackground. Kazakhstan reported 419,800 COVID-19 cases and 4,316 deaths as of June 28, 2021. Following a temporary stabilization after reaching the highest case number in April since the start of the pandemic, new infections picked up again in recent days; the surge is likely linked to the spread of the Delta variant. Five regions including Nur-Sultan and Almaty are in the high-risk zone ("red zone"), and the rest of the country is assessed at medium risk. Quarantine measures, including temporary closure or reduced hours for malls, cinemas, and other public places, and online learning for schools, remain in place. Nur-Sultan, which has been in the red zone for over two months, has tightened quarantine measures and introduced mandatory PCR testing for workers not willing to be vaccinated; moreover, vaccination or negative PCR tests are also required for organizations over twenty people. The authorities have also tightened quarantine requirements for international travelers. A mobile app was launched to track people's level of immunity and control their access to certain public places (e.g., the international airport of Nur-Sultan). Vaccination. The authorities plan to vaccinate ten million people (over half of the population) free of charge by September 2021, starting with groups with high risk exposure (doctors, teachers, and law enforcement workers). So far, the country has administered about four million doses, with one and a half million people fully vaccinated. The doses are mostly locally produced Sputnik V and domestically developed KazVac vaccines, but also from other sources. The authorities have continued the awareness campaign about vaccination, and some regional authorities (Almaty) offer monetary incentives to stimulate vaccine take-up. Economic outcome and policies. Real GDP growth in 2020 was -2.6 percent. The economy registered a growth of 1.6 percent for the first five months of 2021 following a contraction in Q1. Sizable government support measures have mitigated the economic fallout of the pandemic – they include regulated prices for socially-important goods, cash transfers to vulnerable households, and targeted assistance to hard-hit sectors and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The authorities' reform priorities include plans to enhance public administration, competitiveness in key sectors (manufacturing, pharmacy, agriculture), and social support to the broader population. Key Policy Responses as of June 28, 2021 Fiscal
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KenyaBackground. The first confirmed COVID-19 case was reported on March 14, 2020. The government adopted a number of containment measures, including social distancing and heightened restrictions in most non-essential social spaces to gatherings; encouragement of teleworking where possible; establishment of isolation facilities; declaration of night curfew and limitations on public transportation passenger capacity. Some of the containment measures have since been relaxed. Domestic flights commenced on July 15th, 2020, while international flights commenced on August 1st, 2020. All international arrivals have to undertake specifically a SarsCoV2 RT PCR Swab test, failure to which they will be quarantined for two weeks. Test result notwithstanding, passengers from selected counties are required to undergo a fourteen-day quarantine. A resurgence of infections in a second wave led to reversal of some of the relaxed measures. Physical participation in places of worship with an age limit of 65 years to take a maximum of 90 minutes down from two hours. Attendance to weddings limited 50 people down from 200 people. While funeral attendance limit remains 200 people, those allowed at the grave side are only 15. Schools re-opening was in phases and were fully reopened on January 4, 2021. An initial Covid-19 vaccine deployment plan put out by the ministry of health targets 30 percent population coverage by mid-2023, with two thirds of the vaccines expected to be provided by GAVI/COVAX and the remainder procured by government. The first phase of deployment, which aims to cover 3 percent of the population by end-June 2021, would focus on frontline health workers. The first batch of the vaccine covering 0.5 percent of the population arrived in the country in early March 2021. A rapid resurgence of infections in March 2021 led to reversal of relaxation measures introduced since mid-2020. On March 26, the authorities reimposed containment measures in Nairobi and four neighboring counties, including a ban on movement in and out of the area; cessation of in-person meetings, worship, and dining; closure of bars; extension of curfew hours and withdrawal of curfew passes; directing employees to work from home; sending the Parliament on recess; and closing schools and universities again (primary and secondary schools had started planned 7-week recess the week before). In the remaining counties, physical participation in places of worship, funerals, and weddings is allowed with restrictions on the number of participants. Easing of cases from the recent third wave's peak led to relaxation of some containment measures on May 1, 2021. Cessation of movement in and out of the five zoned counties was lifted; bars to operate until 7pm; schools re-opened; suspension of sporting and recreational activities lifted. After a steep fall at the end of May 2021, infections started edging up again in June 2021 driven by an upsurge of cases in the western Kenya region. In response, authorities placed 13 counties in the region under partial lockdown. With vaccines having run out, a donation from Denmark of 358,700 AstraZeneca doses enabled inoculations to resume. Key Policy Responses as of July 01, 2021 Fiscal
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KiribatiBackground. Kiribati does not have any confirmed cases as of May 6, 2021. Travel restrictions have been in place since January 2020 and borders have been closed since March 21, 2020 except for delivery of essential goods (quarantine requirements apply at all ports). A press release to prevent speculations and panic was released on March 17, 2020 and government task forces have been formed to address commodity and cargo buffers; communication and awareness; isolation centers and containment efforts; and border control. Key Policy Responses as of May 6, 2021 Fiscal
Monetary and macro-financial
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KoreaKorea first reported confirmed COVID-19 cases in January 2020. The authorities rapidly implemented a comprehensive strategy to combat the virus based on widespread testing, aggressive contact tracing, and prompt isolation and treatment of cases. Along with voluntary social distancing, this approach slowed infections, allowed most businesses to remain open, and brought new cases near zero during the summer. A spike in infections occurred in Q4-2020, with the average daily number of new cases peaking at over 1,000 in December before declining to the 500-600 range more recently. Real GDP in 2020 declined by -0.9 percent but has recovered in quarterly terms since Q3-2020. Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021 Fiscal
Monetary and macro-financial
Exchange rate and balance of payments
KosovoBackground. The first confirmed COVID-19 cases were reported on March 13, 2020. Lockdown measures (including stay at home orders and suspension of public transportation) was implemented in early March when daily new cases were below 10 per million. This allowed Kosovo (and WBCs more generally) to contain the spread of the virus relatively well in the first wave (April 2020). Following the lockdown relaxation in May-June 2020, a second and third waves of infections emerged in Kosovo in July and October, with the daily number of new cases peaked at around 500 per million in November. With various containment measures reintroduced (like nightly curfews), infection rates declined again in December. Infection rates picked up again in March 2021 and peaked during the week of March 29 (about 470 new cases per million population daily). The government announced a new round of lockdown measures starting April 7, though some of those measures were eased after April 19. Infection rates declined gradually since then. As June 3 2021, the 7-day average number of daily new cases declined to 11 per million population. Starting July 2020, wearing protection masks is obligatory. Institutions are obliged to keep disinfectants and masks at accessible places. Activity of kindergartens in public and private institutions is allowed. Recreational, cultural, and sport activities in closed premises are allowed. All shopping centers are obliged to stick to the working hours from 05:00-22.00. Religious ceremonies at religious institutions in Kosovo are allowed. Gathering of citizens more than 50 persons at public squares, parks and similar is prohibited. Fines will be applied for those they do not respect these measures. GDP is estimated to have contracted by about 6 percent in 2020. Mobility restrictions led to plummeting economic activity in Q2:2020 (-10 percent y/y). The easing of restrictions in June led to a rebound in activity in Q3:2020, with GDP increasing about 3 percent on a sequential seasonally adjusted basis. The timid recovery occurred on the back of a subdued summer tourism season, which saw diaspora-related travel contract by about 60 percent. Key Policy Responses as of June 3, 2021 FiscalFor 2020, a “Mitigation and Recovery Package” (MRP), of about 4.3 percent of GDP, included allocations for the health system (0.4 percent of GDP); wage bonuses for health and security workers for overtime and the increased risk faced in discharging their duties (0.5 percent of GDP), social transfers and subsidies to vulnerable households (1.6 percent of GDP), as well as support to firms in the form of salary subsidies and easier access to borrowing (including for POEs and farms, of around 1.7 percent of GDP), and capital spending (less than 0.1 percent of GDP). To stimulate aggregate demand, the MRP also allowed early withdrawals of up to 10 percent from KPST pension accounts (2.6 percent of GDP), a majority of which (1.8 percent of GDP) will be gradually reimbursed by the budget beginning in 2023. The MRP for 2021 (3.1 percent of GDP) includes allocations for goods and services in the health sector (0.7 percent of GDP, out of which €40 million – or 0.6 percent of GDP – for the procurement of COVID-19 vaccines), for transfers to households and firms (1.7 percent of GDP), and for capital spending in the health and education sectors (0.4 percent of GDP). Given the highly uncertain course of the pandemic, the budget also includes an allocation to address contingencies (0.3 percent of GDP). The overall deficit is projected at 5.9 percent of GDP (4.9 percent of GDP according to the fiscal rule definition). Monetary and macro-financialThe Central Bank of Kosovo (CBK) together with the Kosovo Banking Association decided to allow banks to suspend payments of loan instalments for businesses and individuals for three months which was ended in June. Another decision taken by CBK in June by which banks are allowed to make loan restructuring for up to one year and the process of application was until end of September. The CBK will apply regulatory forbearance on loan provisions and capital requirements on reprogrammed loans. In February, the CBK further extended the loan restructuring program to March 31, 2021. The extension would allow loans that were previously not restructured due to COVID-19 to extend the maturity by 9 months. Exchange rate and balance of paymentsNo measures on balance of payments controls or restrictions. No exchange rate measures are possible as Kosovo is unilaterally euroized. KuwaitBackground and Recent Developments First wave. Kuwait has been hit by two related shocks—the COVID-19 outbreak and sharp drop in oil prices in early 2020. The government acted early while progressively tightening measures to contain the spread of the virus. These included suspending inbound commercial flights, closing schools and universities, banning public celebrations and gathering, suspending nonessential work in governmental entities, and eventually imposing curfews. The authorities also adopted a package of policy measures to cushion the social fallout from the pandemic and prevent the economic scarring. Those measures aim at mitigating financial risks for small- and medium-size enterprises as well as preserving employment. Second Wave in 2021. The containment measures had significantly slowed the spreading of the virus in 2020. The authorities implemented a five-phase reopening plan in 2020. Each phase is announced to last for several weeks and target certain activities. The transitioning from one phase to the next one is subject to health authorities' assessment. During early 2021, in the incidence of surging COVID-19 cases, the government reintroduced night-time curfews from March 7 to April 8, 2021—from 5pm to 5am the next day. During the curfew hours people are only allowed to go to mosques for prayer, while pharmacies, shops and supermarkets will only be permitted to operate through delivery services. Outside curfew hours, in-house dining in restaurants or cafes continued to be banned. Besides, public spaces including parks remained closed. The curfew was extended twice: (i) for two weeks until April 22; and (ii) until the end of Ramadan (May 12). On May 3, the government declared a travel ban—starting from May 22—on Kuwaitis as well as their first-degree relatives and domestic helpers if they did not receive a full vaccination. Young people who are not included in the vaccination campaign are exempted from the ban. COVID-19 cases. The first COVID-19 case was reported on February 24, 2020, and, as of June 29, 2021, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases reached 354,851 with 1,961 deaths and 334,445 of total recoveries. COVID-19 vaccine. Kuwait has agreed to import two million vaccines from Pfizer, 1.7 million from Moderna and three million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines. Kuwait aims to vaccinate 70 percent of its population in the next few months. All citizens are expected to receive the vaccine for free. The vaccination campaign started on December 27. On May 30, Kuwait inaugurated the first drive-through vaccination center with a capacity of 5,000 cars per day. As of early June, about 65 percent population has received at least one dose of the vaccine. Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021 Measures announced in 2020 Fiscal
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Measures announced in 2021
Kyrgyz RepublicBackground. The COVID-19 pandemic has been hitting the economy very hard and created an urgent balance of payments need. The first confirmed case was reported on March 18, 2020. Recently, the epidemiological situation has improved, and new COVID-19 cases has been on downward trajectory. All sectors are being impacted with extreme severity as measures are being taken to stop the spread of the virus. The authorities have taken drastic measures to prevent the outbreak, including the closure of borders with China where 36 percent of imports of goods originate, border restrictions with Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, the quarantine of people coming from abroad, a lockdown of all non-essential activities, and a curfew. As a result, tax revenue has declined substantially. At the same time, the weakening of oil prices has resulted in a decline in economic activity in Russia and a fall in remittances from Kyrgyz workers in that country. The state of emergency ended on May 10 and the curfew was lifted, while the quarantine regime will work until the stabilization of the epidemiological situation. Reopening of the economy. The state of emergency ended on May 10 and the curfew was lifted, while the quarantine regime will work until the stabilization of the epidemiological situation. Large shopping centers and public transport have opened on May 21, and May 25, respectively. All activities in the economic and social spheres have resumed from June 1, 2020, with some restrictions on cultural, sports, and family events; entertainment activities, and preschool activities. Domestic flights and public transport between the regions of Kyrgyz Republic resumed on June 5. International flights resumed on June 15. The authorities will strictly monitor compliance with sanitary and epidemiological standards. The Kyrgyz Republic is expected to receive vaccines supply as part of the COVAX initiative in late February. Key Policy Responses as of June 29, 2021 Fiscal
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LLao P.D.R.Background. An ongoing outbreak, which started on April 11, 2021, has led to a surge in reported cases and the re-introduction of containment measures, starting with a two-week lockdown of Vientiane (introduced on April 22) as well as in other provinces, which has been now extended until July 4. With fewer case numbers, measures have been gradually eased. Both the public and private sectors have returned to offices, but are asked to ensure social distancing. Public transport within and between provinces as well as transport of goods are allowed for those fully vaccinated. Restaurants have re-opened, although serving alcohol remains prohibited. Schools remain temporarily suspended and large gatherings of over 50 people are prohibited. All entertainment venues are closed. With the exception of transportation of goods, international borders remain closed, while all types of visa for visitors from countries with on-going community infection remain suspended. Price control of essential goods is still in place. Vaccination. The vaccination rate is about 10 percent as of end-June; the government plans to vaccinate about 50 percent of the total population in 2021 and close to 70 percent by end-2022. Lao P.D.R. has received vaccine doses from China (1,902,000 doses) and the COVAX Facility (233,000 doses). The government of Australia has also committed to a grant of 1 million doses, while purchase of Sputnik V vaccine from Russia is underway. The country expects to receive 6.6 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines in 2021, including those to be procured under private donation. Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021 FiscalSecond wave in 2021:
First wave in 2020:
Monetary and macro-financialSecond wave in 2021:
Exchange rate and balance of payments
Republic of LatviaBackground. Latvia reported its first COVID-19 case on March 2, 2020. While new cases decreased since their March peak, a second wave hit the country hard since October. The rapid increase in cases since February 2021 has sparked fears of a third wave. The government imposed strict containment measures after declaring a state of emergency, including the shutdown of most international passenger services from March 17 onward, closure of school, and banning the gathering of more than 2 people in public indoor and outdoor areas.While a gradual reopening took place during the summer months, the second state of emergency was introduced on November 6, 2020, bringing back strict restrictions on individual and group behavior. The 2020 real GDP growth was -3.6percent.
Reopening of the economy. The first state of emergency ended on June 10, 2020 with new laws regulating COVID-19 recovery in force. Given the rapid spread of the virus in the fall, however, a state of emergency has been re-introduced since November 6. The second state of emergency ended on April 6, 2021. The latest guidance for safety and travel can be found on the the government website. Vaccine rollout had a slow start but has speeded up after the opening of mass vaccination centers. Key Policy Responses as of July 30, 2021 Fiscal
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LebanonBackground. Lebanon's underlying economic situation is challenging, with high public debt, current account deficit, and funding needs. The spread of COVID-19 is contributing to the economic recession. The number of COVID-19 cases surpassed the 400,000 level and now stand at 545,000 and 7,848 deaths—with a significant decrease in daily infections and mortalities over the past few weeks. The authorities have implemented a range of measures to try and limit the spread of the virus encompassing a general mobilization until August 2, 2020 with compete closure of all private sector and public institutions through May 24, 2020; educational establishments have been closed for the rest of the school year; and now into the second. Lebanon also closed the airport—after suspending flights from 11 countries—as well as seaports and land borders and completed the implementation of the first phase of the plan to repatriate Lebanese citizens wishing to return to Lebanon from various countries; the second phase started on April 26, 2020. As at July 1, 2020, Lebanon had completely opened up all sectors and resumed airport activity at 10 percent capacity. However, a significant surge in infections forced the government to announce a general lockdown for all public and private sectors from July 30 through August 3 and from August 6 to August 10. Authorities then announced a two-week closure from August 21 to September 7 following a significant spike in daily cases and a record one-day deaths number; and extended the general mobilization until end 2020. In addition, the government started imposing stricter quarantine measures on incoming travelers. The authorities were contemplating another two-weeks lockdown; and have finally opted for a zone approach whereby areas are completely locked down for eight days based on the number of daily infections and recoveries. With the increased strains on the health system capacities and a rise in infections and mortalities—including among medical staff—the authorities enforced a general lockdown for two weeks over November 14-30, 2020. The lockdown imposed strict mobility rules according to even-odd car matriculation numbers and closed down all but essential sectors. With the advent of the holiday season, and despite the fact that the lockdown did not lead to any improvement or flattening in the numbers of infections or mortalities, the authorities decided to open up the country gradually—this included opening restaurants at fifty percent capacity and opening schools in hybrid mode. Pubs and nightclubs were subsequently open at 50 percent capacity and curfew hours decreased. The only visible benefit of the lockdown period was a little less pressure on the health system and an increase in beds devoted to COVID cases in both public and private hospitals and across regular and ICU units. On January 7, 2021 the authorities imposed the fifth and longest general lockdown—the lockdown lasting until February 1, 2021 later extended till February 8, reinstated the odd/even car plate circulation rule, closed all educational establishments, enforced a curfew from 6 pm to 5 am, and operated the airport at 20 percent capacity. The lockdown, completely lifted now, managed to stabilize the infection cases in the past weeks despite the rise in numbers of deaths and an elevated test positivity rate; rates are now decreasing very significantly helped by the vaccine rollout: to date 9.6 percent of the population are fully vaccinated. Pfizer is sending batches weekly; the rollout has started with the medical frontliners and the elderly above 75. Lebanon approved the utilization of Sinopharm for the army and started the rollout of vaccines from Oxford-AstraZeneca; and is in the process of acquiring Johnson & Johnson and Moderna. The private sector was approved to procure Sputnik—vaccination started with employees of Lebanon's national carrier. The World Bank approved $34 million to support Lebanon's vaccination efforts, marking the first such outlay of funds by the Bank within the WB's $12 billion initiative to distribute COVID-19 vaccines. Key Policy Responses as of June 30, 2021 Fiscal
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LesothoBackground. Lesotho reported its first COVID-19 case on May 14, 2020, and cases have been rising since then (source: https://COVID 19.who.int/region/afro/country/ls). Lesotho created an inter-ministerial committee to coordinate the response to COVID-19 and adopted a range of containment measures, including social distancing, travel restrictions, declaration of a national state of emergency, closure of borders to all but essential goods, closure of schools, extension of initial 21-day lockdown of the country for two weeks (until May 5) and suspension of some businesses (e.g. gyms, hair/beauty parlors, arcades, liquor stores, etc.). The Ministry of Health has developed a Preparedness and Response Plan. The Government has developed the National COVID-19 Response Integrated Plan 2020 in collaboration with development partners. On July 29, 2020, the IMF Executive Board approved SDR 34.9 million (50 percent of quota) in emergency financial assistance under the Rapid Credit Facility (RCF) and the Rapid Financial Instrument (RFI) to support authorities’ efforts in addressing the severe impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Government committed in its Letter of Intent requesting the emergency financing from the IMF to implement specific measures on transparency and accountability of COVID-related spending. Reopening of the economy. The lockdown of the country was relaxed since May 5, 2020.Private businesses (non-essential) gradually reopened but some (e.g., alcohol) followed WHO’s recommendations. The lockdown was lifted on May 19, 2020, albeit with compulsory use of masks in public spaces and restrictions in high-risk sectors such as tourism, sit-in restaurants, entertainment and assembly of more than 50 people.Public servants already went back to work but practice social distancing. Schools have reopened gradually under the guidance of ministry of education. However, since December 2020, COVID-19 infections and death tolls have increased sharply, the alert level has been raised twice from "Blue" to "Purple" to "Orange" within one week (December 29, 2020–January 4, 2021). The alert level was further raised to the highest "Red" level, triggering a second full national lockdown from January 14, initially for 2 weeks, and subsequently extended until February 3, 2021. The alert level was lowered back to "Orange" on February 4, 2021, with most of the restrictions remaining in place on various political, religious, and social gatherings, as well as businesses and recreational activities. All schools were closed, and a curfew was put in place. Borders, including airports, were closed, except for the movement of essential goods and services. Following a decrease in positivity rates, the alert level was lowered on March 1 from "Orange" to "Purple". On April 27, 2021, the alert level was further lowered to "Blue" with lighter restrictions. Schools have reopened with COVID protocols. International travel has also resumed, and businesses have been granted longer hours of operation, including accommodations facilities in the tourism industry and public recreational areas. Moreover, entertainment and sporting activities are set to resume, albeit with some restrictions, as well as political rallies, which have been banned since March 2020. The sale of alcohol is still restricted, and a curfew remains in place. Following a surge of COVID cases in the north, where 77 students from one school tested positive, all schools were closed on June 26 until August 1. And with cases slowly creeping up, operating hours for border gates between Lesotho and South Africa have been reduced. Vaccine DevelopmentLesotho received the first batch of 36,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccines under the COVAX facility on March 3, 2021, and the roll-out to vaccinate health professionals with the first batch has been underway nationally since March 10, 2021. As of April 22, 2021, 20,267 Basotho have been vaccinated, including government leaders, members of parliament, and health workers. A second batch of 36,000 doses—donated by France—was delivered on May 31. Vaccination resumed on June 10 with eligibility limited to those who have already received their first dose. The Government has paid a deposit of LSL25 million to the African Union to procure 1.1 million Johnson & Johnson vaccine doses. Vaccines from the COVAX facility are eventually expected to cover 20 percent of the population, while the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is expected to cover the next 40 percent. A private sector-led initiative has raised over LSL40 billion for vaccine procurement of Russian Sputnik V vaccine. However, the Ministry of Health has so far refused to authorize this on the grounds that the vaccine has not been approved by WHO. Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021 Fiscal
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LiberiaBackground. Liberia continues to experience rapid growth in the total number of confirmed cases of COVID-19, but from a small base. The cases are concentrated in Montserrado county (which includes Monrovia) but incidences are now reported in all other counties as well. The first case was detected on March 16, 2020. On March 21, 2020 the Liberian authorities issued a declaration designed to enforce severe social distancing, including: closure of all schools, night clubs, cinemas, beaches, spas, mosques and churches; banning of all street selling and gatherings of more than 10 people; limits on admittance to banks and restaurants to five customers kept six feet apart; Social distancing for health facilities and pharmacies (which remained open); mandatory washing with soap and clean water at all public and private establishments; and a hotline was established to report those exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms. On midnight April 10, Government announced and began enforcing a State of Emergency, which was subsequently approved by the Legislature as required in the Constitution. This was extended in early July, but with a downward adjustment in the curfew. Also mandated were the strict enforcement of wearing face masks in public, the observance of reasonable social distancing, and other approved health protocols, along with the re-opening of the international airport. The State of Emergency at mid-night on July 21, officially expired with no renewal. The immediate withdrawal of the military from various places of assignments across the country to the barracks was ordered by the President. The troops had been deployed across the country to assist with the rigid enforcement of the execution of the State of Emergency. With the expiration of the State of Emergency, Residents have been admonished to strictly adhere to the National Public Health Law and amended anti-COVID-19 protocols. The measures includes the continued closure of all night clubs and bars, Compulsory testing of outbound and inbound passengers using the international airport, the adaptation of a no face mask no service at all public places, and the increase in the admittance to banks service areas from five to ten with the observation of a three feet social distance. Meanwhile, public sector workers considered non-essential placed on administrative pay leave as a result of the outbreak, are yet to be recall to work. Line ministries and agencies are currently operation on their approved essential staff. In accordance with pronouncements from the Ministry of Education, in-person classes for students from 6 – 11 grades have resumed at on schools. 12 graders who returned to classes in early August are currently sitting the regional West African high School Exams. Students below the 6th grade are required to complete sets of take-home exams in fulfillment of their academic curriculum for the school year readjusted to come to an end by mid-November. In light of the recent trends and the preventative measures to contain the spread of Covid-19, the Ministry of Education had announced full reopening of schools for in-person learning for all grades starting on January 4, 2021. The International airport on July 28, resumed international flights with the expiration of the State of Emergency. Anti COVID-19 protocols and procedures have been put in place by the management of the airport in consultation with health authorities, including presenting the certificate of a negative test or undergoing a rapid test on arrival.Prior to departure, a traveler is required to undergo a test arranged by the Ministry of Health and present a negative test result to be admitted to the flight. The Legislature has approved the request by the Executive to allocate US$25 million—to be supplemented by US$5 million of donor funds—for a World Food Programme-implemented food distribution to the most vulnerable citizens, and this program is now being implemented. The World Bank approved about US$17 million of off-budget project funding for the health sector, of which US$7.50 million was new investment financed by the COVID-19 Fast Track Facility (March 23); and $9.5 million was temporarily diverted from existing projects (March 30). On July 28, 2020 the Board of Directors of the African Development Bank approved US$14 million direct budget support for Liberia as part of a multi-country COVID-19 response to help bolster the fight against the pandemic. The funding is expected to be tailored largely towards financing vulnerable female-headed household and school-going children. Other targeted beneficiaries include the business community and small and medium-size enterprises. Other donors are also contributing, but funding shortfalls remain. In June 2021, there is an increase in the number of positive cases (likely of a new variant B117). Overall confirmed infections reportedly stand at 3265. Fatalities have also increased from 82 to 110 with the month of June. The health clinics are reportedly experiencing lack of oxygen supplies for patients. The authorities have partially reinstituted preventive measures, such as enhanced health protocols (mandatory masks, enforcement of social distancing), reduction of government employees working in office by 50 percent. Vaccination rollout (which had started slow in spring) has increased as people are becoming more concerned about the virus and the government expanding the facilities for administration of vaccinations. Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021 Fiscal
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LibyaBackground. As of June 29, Libya had registered more than 190,000 positive COVID 19 cases and more than 3,000 COVID-19-related deaths. The average of daily new infections was around 300 in late June, down from a peak of around 1,000 in early April. The true spread of the disease in Libya is likely to be higher because of restricted access to testing across the country (the positivity rate was 12 percent in May), as well as limitations in data compilation. In December 2020, the government reported that Libya had signed a contract with the World Health Organization (WHO) for the purchase of 2.8 million doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine at a cost of about to US$9.4 million. The WHO reports that around 370,000 vaccine doses had been administered in the country as of June 23. Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021
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Republic of LithuaniaBackground. Lithuania reported its first cases of COVID-19 on February 28, 2020. The government began implementing a range of containment measures on March 16 to slow the spread of coronavirus, including a nationwide quarantine , closed borders, increased testing, the closure of schools and cancellation of public events, as well as the shutdown of non-essential shops, museums, cinemas, and similar establishments. Reopening of the economy. On April 15, the government began easing containment measures, with the opening of certain non-food stores and services businesses, outdoor activities, libraries, and museums, and by April 30 a wider range of leisure activities, the provision of health services, and full trading in marketplaces and public places. Gradual easing continued with the planned opening of kindergartens and preschools, a wider set of health care services, indoor restaurants and cafes, and outdoor group events as of May 18. As of June 1, professional sports games, including international competitions resumed, the allowed capacity of public events began to increase, and the operating hours of cafes and restaurants operating hours were no longer limited. Guidelines for a variety of activities and establishments on opening and operating safely are provided by the Ministry of Health and frequently updated. Schools began the 2020-2021 school year on school premises, provided that COVID-19 infections rates in the municipality they are located in are below established thresholds. The government lifted the national quarantine on June 16 but following a surge in the spread of COVID-19 in the fall, the government reinstated a national quarantine on November 7 which remained in place through June 30, 2021. Localized restrictions are still in place and others might be reinstated if warranted by evolving conditions. Vaccination. Vaccinations of the population are underway. Vaccination rates are proceeding in line with the EU. Key Policy Responses as of June 30, 2021 Fiscal
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LuxembourgBackground. Luxembourg reported its first confirmed case of COVID-19 on February 29, 2020. In response to the outbreak, the government has taken a wide range of health and containment measures to curb the spread of the virus and protect vulnerable groups, including closures of schools and non-essential businesses, strict social distancing measures, and increase in testing capacity. Furthermore, the government declared a state of emergency, providing it with additional powers to quickly take decisions, and adopted a large fiscal stimulus package to bolster the resources for the health system and help maintain businesses and jobs. Reopening of the economy On April 15, the government announced a multiphase lockdown exit strategy, with phases comprising activities/tentative opening dates as follows: phase 1—construction sites and selected activities—including craft, landscaping, and recycling services (April 20); phase 2—secondary education and vocational training, retail stores, beauty salons, museums and libraries, drive-in movie theaters, outdoor sports activities, and outdoor gatherings of up to 20 people, subject to strict safety measures such as mandatory wearing of face masks and maintaining physical distance (May 4–11); phase 3—basic education and childcare facilities, with classes alternating weekly attendance in school, and increasing public transport’s capacity (May 25); phase 4—selected activities in the hospitality sector (bars, cafes and restaurants), and public gatherings of more than 20 people (including sport and cultural venues, movie theaters, weddings, funerals and protests), subject to mandatory safety measures (May 29); phase 5—outdoor playgrounds and summer activities for children (June 13–15); later phases—commercial and event activities. To achieve a well-sequenced lifting of the lockdown restrictions and avoid a second wave of COVID-19 infections, the government envisages to perform large-scale testing on a voluntary basis, including cross-border commuters. The testing strategy consists of segmenting the population into different contingents (starting with high school students and teachers) with people that have tested positive being isolated, and their contacts traced and quarantined. The government has been distributing free face masks to residents and cross-border workers. On June 22, the Parliament adopted two COVID-19 laws that define the legal framework, including for mandatory protective measures, to be applicable after the expiration of the state of emergency on June 24. On July 16, the Parliament adopted the new COVID-19 law that combines and replaces two previous laws. The key additions include: (i) mandatory face masks for both public and private gatherings of more than 20 people in case physical distance of 2 meters cannot be guaranteed and (ii) fines for customers of bars and restaurants if they disregard the precautionary measures. On July 19, the Parliament adopted the bill introducing a series of pandemic control measures. The key measures include: (i) limiting the number of house guests to 10 people; (ii) making gatherings of more than 10 people subject to minimum distance and seating requirements, otherwise wearing a mask is compulsory; (iii) introducing fines for non-compliance with isolation or quarantine measures ranging from EUR 25 to EUR 500; and (iv) withdrawing of the establishment license for a period of three months in an event of repeated failure to comply with preventive measures by businesses in hospitality sector. On September 4, the government announced a plan for school reopening, including more autonomy for schools to implement specific measures depending on the local health situation. On September 22, the government adopted the COVID-19 law extending restrictive measures until December 31, 2020 and introducing new measures that include: (i) reducing the isolation period for people with confirmed COVID-19 infections to 10 days; (ii) allowing the processing of personal data that will be kept for a period of three months and then anonymized; and (iii) making it mandatory for airlines to automatically transfer to health authorities forms completed by passengers to facilitate contact tracing. On October 29, the government introduced temporary measures to address the recent spike in COVID-19 cases, including: (i) 11pm-6am curfew (until November 30, 2020), (ii) a 4-person limit on the number of house guests, and (iii) mandatory face masks at gatherings of more than 4 people. On November 25, the government extended the curfew until mid-December, and introduced new restrictions, including closures of restaurants and bars, and a 2-person limit for private gatherings. On December 4, the government announced its Covid-19 vaccination strategy. Key features include: (i) a centralized approach for the purchase (through the EU common procurement mechanism) and distribution of vaccines (via centralized vaccination centers); (ii) voluntary and free vaccination available to both residents and cross-border workers; and (iii) continued monitoring of vaccines’ safety and efficacy. On December 26, the government introduced a temporary tightening of restrictions until January 10, including: (i) the extension of the curfew to 9pm-6am; and (ii) closure of all non-essential businesses, cultural establishments (except those intended for research), and restaurants (the latter until January 15). On January 8, the government relaxed the 9pm–6am curfew to 11pm–6am and allowed non-essential businesses to open with strict rules. Also, all existing restrictions were extended until end-January and later further prolonged until March 14. All health restrictions were further extended to April 25s. Restrictions were extended again to May 15, including for air travel, while restrictions on sporting and musical activities were loosened to allow for larger gatherings. As of May 5, restrictions have been eased to allow for restaurants and bars to remain open until 10pm, indoor and outdoor dining of up to four persons per table conditional on negative Covid tests, and a midnight curfew. New health restrictions for travel from India from May 1st to 15th have been implemented following the rise in Covid-19 cases in India. On June 5, the government announced a lifting of the night curfew and further loosened restrictions on large gatherings and sitting per table in restaurants. These measures are expected to be effective on June 12. Key Policy Responses as of June 3, 2021 Fiscal
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MMadagascarBackground. Madagascar’s macroeconomic outlook has been affected by weaker external demand, the increased spread of the pandemic, and significant losses of revenue. Since the first reported cases on March 20, 2020, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases stands at 42,216 (1,487 cases per million inhabitants) and 913 deaths confirmed as of July 1, 2021. The authorities continue to implement mitigation measures to accommodate the impact of the pandemic to ensure the health of the population and preserve macroeconomic stability. The national state of emergency first declared on March 23, 2020 and followed by several lockdowns and gradual ease of quarantine measures was lifted on October 18, 2020. On March 26, 2021 authorities reinstated restrictive measures and declared a second wave of the pandemic, as the number of COVID-19 cases were increasing, and new variants were detected. While a full lockdown was avoided, on May 17, 2021 curfew was imposed on four regions, including total lockdown over the weekends. Following the activation of their national contingency plan, the authorities are taking measures to increase health spending, help the most vulnerable, support the private sector, and preserve the stability of the financial sector. In support of these measures, a multisectoral and interdisciplinary coordination unit Covid-19 Operational Command Center (CCO) was established at central, regional and local levels. Reopening of the economy. Despite lifting the state of emergency on October 18, 2020, mask wearing remains mandatory (failure to wear one may result in 24-hour arrest or mandatory public works) and public events remain restricted to no more than 100 attendees. Domestic flights require 48-hour testing prior to boarding for all passengers. As of March 27, 2021, all international flights remain suspended. The COVID-data portal has been reactivated, and the Special Intervention Battalion will be redeployed to assist medical staff in monitoring COVID cases and patients. Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021 Fiscal
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MalawiThe first three cases of COVID-19 were confirmed on April 2, 2020. A moderate increase in cases followed through end-May, when the number of cases accelerated and reached a peak in early-July. Malawi has faced a severe second round of COVID infections exceeding the first wave in early 2021. The number of positive cases of COVID-19 increased from 6,028 to 33,481 between December 2020 and end-March 2021, though daily positive cases have started to decline since mid-January. The authorities continue to expand local COVID-19 testing capabilities—with assistance from development partners (DFID, UNICEF, and the Global Fund). In addition, Malawi has been approved for participation in the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access (COVAX) Facility. In this context, the authorities published in February 2021 Malawi's COVID-19 Vaccine Deployment Plan. Malawi started vaccine innoculation in the second quarter of 2021 and plans to cover 20 percent of the population (3.8 million people), starting with high risk groups. In addition, 100,000 doses covering 0.5 percent of the population have been secured through the African Union. As of early June 2021, 357,650 people (out of first round target of 503,600 people) had received vaccination. To curb the spread of the pandemic, on April 4, 2020, the government instituted a partial lockdown and all international flights to Malawi were suspended except those carrying essential health & other supplies and returning Malawian citizens or residents. However, since September 1, some flights have resumed and a two-week mandatory self-quarantine for people arriving from areas highly affected by coronavirus disease remains in effect. These measures combined with spillovers from the global slowdown, border closures, and economic disruption in neighboring countries have slowed domestic economic activity. As a result, growth is expected to decline to reach 0.6 percent in 2020 and 2.2 percent in 2021 (0.4 and 0.3 percentage points below projections in IMF Country Report 20/168. Key Policy Responses as of June 4, 2021 Fiscal
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MalaysiaBackground. Malaysia has been severely hit by the spread of COVID-19. The first COVID case appeared in Malaysia in early February 2020 but a local outbreak only emerged in March, prompting the introduction of a nationwide Movement Control Order (MCO) which helped significantly reduce the spread of the virus. Restrictions were eased under a Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) from May 4, 2020, which was followed by a Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO) on June 10, 2020, lifting most restrictions on domestic activities and movement. A new wave of infections in Malaysia in September 2020 prompted the reinstatement of the CMCO on various states until January 14, 2021. But the worsening of the pandemic prompted the re-imposition of the stringent Movement Control Order (named MCO 2.0) until February 18, which was extended until March 4 to Kuala Lumpur and three other states. Stay-at-home orders were reintroduced, interstate traveling and social gatherings banned, and only five essential economic sectors allowed to operate: manufacturing, construction, services, trade and distribution, and plantations. Restrictions were eased from March 5 as new cases appeared to stabilize, and states were placed under a CMCO or RMCO. New cases resumed rising rapidly in mid-April, however, prompting the re-imposition of another two-week MCO (named MCO 3.0) on May 5 in Johor, Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Serawak, Selangor, and Kelantan, with the remaining states kept under the CMCO. By May 31 new cases were still rising, and new variants were being detected. The authorities therefore imposed the MCO 3.0 nationwide from June 1 until June 14. Essential sectors remain operative under the MCO 3.0 while manufacturing sectors operate at 60 percent capacity, but schools are closed, social gatherings are banned, and inter-state travel is not allowed. International borders remain closed and overseas travel restricted. Key Policy Responses as of June 3, 2021 Fiscal
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MaldivesBackground. Maldives has been hit hard by the outbreak. Maldives’ economy is very dependent on tourism, with tourism receipts representing about 60 percent of GDP. The government declared a Public Health Emergency on March 12, 2020 that was extended to July 3, 2021 on Jun 3, 2021. Local community transmission was detected in Mid-April last year. The greater Malé region was placed on full lockdown from April 15 through May 28, 2020 with all people leaving their homes needing the approval of the Maldives Police Service.Several containment measures were adopted during the outbreak, but many of them have been gradually lifted overtime. Reopening of the economy. The country has implemented different lockdown ease phases since July 1, 2020. International flights as well as tourism island resorts reopened on July 15, 2020. Tourists with reservations do not need to quarantine but they are required to have a negative COVID-19 test conducted within 96 hours prior to their arrival in the Maldives. The Health Protection Agency (HPA) shortened the non-tourist standard quarantine period to 10 from 14 days, effective from December 4, 2020 onwards. Maldivians and work visa holders arriving from abroad to Malé were not required to remain in quarantine after presenting a negative PCR test result since December 20, 2020. Additional measures were reintroduced for Maldivians and work visa holders arriving from India in late April 2021 (a PCR test within 24 hours of arrival and at the end of their quarantine of two weeks). Mobility and other restrictions in and within inhabited islands have also fluctuated over time. Individuals travelling from Malé to other islands for essential and urgent purposes needed to obtain a negative PCR test 72-hours prior to departure during February and March 2021. The HPA announced on April 1 the easing of some restrictions that were put in place on February 2 in the Greater Malé area, ahead of the holy month of Ramazan and the Local Council and Women's Development Committee elections. Nonetheless, as a result of a new wave of COVID-19 cases, some restrictions were reinstated for the period after May 5 2021 including night curfew hours, the closure of government offices, online classes for schools, closure of gyms, suspension of services at cafes, restaurants and teashops with the exception of delivery services, and ban on public gatherings in crowds of more than three people. Moreover, effective from May 4, the HPA restricted inter island travel within the atolls allowing it only for essential needs and for medical services. On June 29, the lifting of the lockdown in the Male' Area from July 1 onwards was announced, along with the reduction of the curfew hours and the easing of restrictions for dine-in services for cafés, restaurants and food outlets. The 19th directive issued by the President's Office on July 1st stipulated that government offices would officially reopen on July 4, 2021. Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021 Fiscal
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MaliBackground. The outbreak reached Mali relatively late, with first confirmed cases on March 24, 2020. The number of total cases continues to rise. The spread of the pandemic accelerated since October 2020, with the start of the second wave, from around 15 new cases a day to over 100 cases at end-December 2020 (calculated as a 7-day moving average due to high variability of the daily data). After decelerating since January 2021, the number of new daily cases picked up at end-February with the start of the third wave and peaked at a record high of over 400 new cases on April 9, 2021. The spread of the virus has slowed significantly since then and is hovering around 5 daily cases at end-June 2021. Since mid-March 2020, at the start of the pandemic, the government has introduced preventive containment measures. These included the suspension of commercial flights (except cargo flights), the closure of land borders, a curfew from 9:00pm to 5:00am, the suspension of all public gatherings, the prohibition of social, sports, cultural and political gatherings of more than 50 people. In addition, the government set up a crisis response unit, a hotline for signaling any suspicious case, and stepped up sensitization campaigns, strengthening testing capacities, expanding quarantine and hospitalization facilities, and improving medical care capacities. Working hours in the public administration were reorganized to end earlier (at 2:30pm), to protect civil servants. Retail markets remained open from 6:00am to 4:00pm, to prevent disruptions in the supply of population with basics goods. 10 million masks have been distributed to the population. On May 20, 2020, 400 prisoners were released as a preventive step against the spread of COVID-19. Reopening of the economy and additional containment measures. As of May 9, 2020, the night curfew was lifted and it has become mandatory to wear masks in public. Schools reopened on June 2 for final year students. The schools for other students reopened on September 1. On July 24, the Prime Minister signed a decree putting an end to the pandemic-related containment restrictions. Air and land border reopened on July 25 and July 31, respectively. Normal working hours resumed in public administration starting from August 1. Policies during the second wave of the pandemic. On December 1, the authorities issued a statement announcing reinforcement of measures, including stricter application of preventive measures (e.g. mandatory wearing of masks, physical distancing, promotion of teleworking, etc.); strengthened monitoring of the pandemic, and enhanced awareness campaigns. On December 18, the authorities re-introduced measures on prohibiting cultural and touristic activities, and public gatherings and events (conferences, workshops, etc.). Universities and other educational institutions were closed during December 22, 2020 - January 25, 2021. On January 25, the measures on prohibiting public gathering were lifted and educational institutions re-opened. On January 20, the authorities submitted a national strategy for introducing the COVID-19 vaccine. The goal is to vaccinate 20 percent of the population under the COVAX initiative. This will include population over 60 years old, medical workers and population with underlying health conditions. The vaccination campaign is to start in April 2021. National vaccination strategy. In January 2021, the authorities prepared a national strategy for introducing the COVID-19 vaccine. The goal is to vaccinate 20 percent of the population under the COVAX initiative that would require around 8.2 million doses of vaccine to cover the population over 60 years old, medical workers and population with underlying health conditions. The first batch of the Astra-Zeneca vaccine arrived to Bamako on March 5, 2021, and the vaccination campaign started the week of March 29. Around 179.6 thousand doses of vaccine have been administered as of end-June, which is enough to cover around 0.5 percent of the population (assuming two doses per person). Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021 Fiscal
With the onset of the second wave of the pandemic, the transitional authorities re-introduced VAT exemption on utility bills for December 2020 and January 2021. The additional measures are estimated at around 0.03 percent of GDP. To provide further support to the economy and to strengthen medical capacity, new policy measures at around 0.9 percent of GDP have been budgeted for 2021, which include medical spending related to COVID-19, support to companies and households (as of March 31, 2021, around 11 percent of this planned spending was executed).
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MaltaBackground. The government responded swiftly to mobilize the healthcare system and implement containment measures, including travel restrictions, social distancing, closures of schools, childcare centers, bars, restaurants, sport centers, non-essential shops and services, as well as the cancellation of all mass gatherings. Malta reported its first confirmed case of COVID-19 on March 7, 2020. In spring 2020, as the number of active and new cases decreased, containment measures were gradually lifted with the reopening of certain non-essential shops started on May 4, 2020. More activities and businesses have been allowed to open since May 22, including restaurants, hair salons, hotels, funerals, individual sports, outdoor pools and gatherings of up to 6 people. Most remaining measures have been lifted on June 5. On June 30, the government lifted the public health emergency and repealed the remaining restrictions including the closures of schools and the ban on mass gatherings. People are advised to maintain social distancing and wear face masks. Malta’s ports and airport reopened for international passenger travel to and from safe countries on July 1. Following the increase in infections, containment measures were reintroduced on August 7 and 18, 2020, including a ban on mass gatherings, a closure of bars and nightclubs, limits on hospital and elderly visits, and a requirement to wear face masks in all public closed spaces. Travels from “safe corridor countries” remain permitted, while a new list of countries was created on August 21 requiring travelers from these countries to submit a negative COVID-19 test result. The lists are updated regularly. A contact tracing mobile application was launched on September 18. Gathering in public spaces was further limited to no more than 10 people on September 30. On October 16, wearing face masks became mandatory in outdoors and in offices, and bars and clubs were required to close at 11pm. The restrictions were further tightened on October 26, closing bars and further limiting the size of public gathering from 10 to 6 people. In response to a further surge in infections, on January 27, 2021, additional restrictions were announced for the month of February, including cancellation of all mass events, closure of restaurants at 11pm, and an extension on the closure of bars and nightclubs. On March 4, 2021, the government extended the restrictions and introduced new measures, including a closure of restaurants, a limit on private gatherings, a ban on contact sports for children, and telework by public sector workers. On March 11, 2021, the government extended restrictions to close all non-essential shops, services and schools until at least April 11. With a decline in infections and hospitalization, the restrictions have been gradually lifted since April 12, 2021, starting with the reopening of schools, the resumption of elective surgeries and visits at elderly homes. Non-essential shops and services were allowed to open from April 26, and the number of people allowed to gather in public was raised to six by June 7. Restaurants and snack bars are allowed to open from May 10, until midnight from May 24, and until 2am from June 28. Further easing measures include the reopening of pools, gyms, and contact sports from May 24, language schools and seated weddings from June 1, and bars, cinemas and theaters, and gaming and betting establishments from June 7. Fully vaccinated people and children under 12 are allowed to remove a mask outdoors from July 1 when they are with a vaccinated person. The phased COVID-19 vaccination program started on December 27, 2020, initially with the priority group of healthcare workers, staff and residents in homes for the elderly and people aged 85 and over. With more vaccines approved, the vaccination program has expanded its coverage on different age groups. As of July 1, 2021, 72.1 percent of adults in Malta have taken at least one vaccine dose, and 72.5 percent of them have completed the vaccination. Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021 Fiscal
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Republic of Marshall IslandsBackground. As of July 1, there are zero active COVID-19 case and four recovered cases, all of them imported in the Marshall Islands. Given the limited capacity of the healthcare system, the government responded to the pandemic with swift precautionary measures early on. Travel restrictions from affected countries have been imposed since January 24, 2020. President David Kabua declared a State of Health Emergency for COVID19 on February 7th, 2020. A ban to incoming travelers established on March 8,2020 was extended, with the possibility of extensions towards the end of the year. On August 26, 2020, the Cabinet approved the temporary suspension of non-essential departures of RMI citizens, on the back of surging number of COVID-19 cases in Hawaii and Guam. All air travel between Kwajalein and Majuro on international airlines is suspended. All cruise ships and liveaboard vessels and yachts are suspended from visiting. All fishing vessels that have transited through Covid-19 infected countries are suspended from entering RMI ports. A limited number of carrier vessels coming from Covid19-infected countries are allowed to enter, with strict safety requirements including prohibition of human contacts and a minimum of 14 days between departure from the restricted countries and arrival in RMI. Fisheries, transportation, accommodation, and other tourism related activities are experiencing significant losses. Reopening of the economy. The RMI's National Disaster Committee in early May lifted the 14-day quarantine requirement for fishing vessels in response to negative economic impact. As a result, fishing vessels can enter Majuro without extra waiting days to meet quarantine requirement. To ensure safety of fishing fleets entering Majuro without quarantine requirements, the Ministry of Health and Services has started rolling out the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine for fishermen. As of May 20,2021, the temporary ban on non-essential outbound travel for RMI citizens has been rescinded. However, strict quarantine protocol (which requires 14 days in Hawaii including two required COVID-19 PCR test and 20 days quarantine in Kwajalein) remains. As of June 22, 2021, in total 32,381 people have received the first round of vaccination supported by U.S., accounting for more than 55 percent of the population. Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021 Fiscal
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MauritaniaBackground. Mauritania reported its first confirmed COVID-19 case on March 14, 2020.The COVID-19 crisis was met early with strict containment measures that help limit cases and fatalities, including suspension of all commercial flights into and from the country; closure of all land borders except for the transportation of goods; closure of schools, universities, and non-essential businesses, such as restaurants. Non-essential interregional movements of people and the Friday prayer were also suspended. A curfew was imposed throughout the country from 9 pm to 6am. The authorities stepped up imports of medical equipment and medicines. Reopening of the economy. In May 2020, the government lifted several restrictions, including by opening most businesses, relaxing the curfew, and reauthorizing Friday prayer; with the latter measure being rescinded in mid-May until end-June following the spike in new infections. In September 2020, all the remaining restrictions were removed. However, some restrictions were subsequently re-imposed, following the gradual increase of new COVID-19 cases in November with the Health Minister alerting the population of a potential second wave. In particular, the government instructed (i) the closure of all schools and universities for two weeks; (ii) strict minimum presence of civil servants in the offices; and (iii) the suspension of public ceremonies. As a result, the numbers of new cases and deaths declined and most of the restrictions were lifted. Mauritania launched its vaccination campaign on March 25, 2021 with the aim to vaccinate about 2.677.870 people (about 63 percent of its population). It received approximately 448.000.000 doses from the Covax initiative, China and the UAE so far, of which about 28.519 doses were administered as of May 22, 2021 and 6.410 people are fully vaccinated. Following the uptick in new Covid-19 cases, the authorities have updated their vaccination and testing strategies and reimposed a curfew at midnight to prevent a third wave. Key Policy Responses as of June 3, 2021 Fiscal
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MauritiusBackground. Mauritius reported its first cases of COVID-19 on March 18, 2020. The authorities have implemented a range of containment measures since the outbreak, including bans on public gatherings, followed by a curfew order, closing borders, discontinuing public transportation, closing schools, universities, shopping malls and attraction sites, suspending employee attendance at government and private workplaces (except for essential staff), and increasing testing. The economy has been significantly affected by the crisis, with tourism coming to a halt and slowing of activity in other sectors. There had been virtually no cases of domestic transmission from late April 2020 until early March 2021, when a second outbreak led to a new lockdown. Reopening of the economy. On April 27, 2020, mass testing for antigens was initiated. With no new cases being recorded for almost 3 weeks and no active cases since May 11, 2020, a strategic phased resumption of economic activities began on May 15, 2020. The nationwide curfew ended on May 30, 2020. On Aug 31, 2020, it was announced that borders would be reopened in three phases: the first phase focusing on repatriation of Mauritians from abroad; the second phase from October 1, 2020, with travel to and from certain destinations; and the third phase involving full border reopening with date to be determined in light of the evolution of the pandemic. The border was reopened on October 1, 2020, however as all arriving passengers were required to quarantine for two weeks, there have been few travelers. In late 2020, Mauritius launched a new, one-year visa (Premium Travel Visa), with an option for further extensions, to encourage long stays and help the tourism sector. The visa applies to both tourists and remote workers. Vaccinations began in February 2021, and the authorities target vaccinating 60 percent of the population by end-September 2021. Following a new spell of domestic transmission after almost a year, a lockdown was re-imposed on March 11, 2021 with phased reopening from April 1. Partial lockdown remained in place until end-April, when only some specific economic activities could operate under strict sanitary conditions. In May 2021, the second phase of reopening started and the third phase on July 1. In each phase more activities were allowed—subject to compliance with health protocols—while passengers were still not allowed to enter or transit, without a quarantine requirement. Mauritius will be reopening its border in phases, welcoming first international travelers from July 15, with adults required to be fully vaccinated and have a negative PCR test on arrival at the airport in Mauritius. During the first phase until Sep 30, the travelers will be able to stay at a resort holiday. A tourist will be allowed to leave the resort after 14 days with a negative PCR test. Incoming Mauritian nationals, if unvaccinated, would still be subject to self-paid 14-day quarantine and PCR tests on arrival, day 7 and 14, before being able to move around. In the second phase, from Oct 1, vaccinated travelers will be allowed entry without restrictions upon presentation of a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours before departure. All unvaccinated travelers would be subject to self-paid 14-day quarantine and PCR testing. Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021 Fiscal
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MexicoBackground. The first confirmed COVID-19 case was reported on February 28, 2020. To delay the spread of the coronavirus, the Government declared a health emergency and implemented a range of sanitary measures, including travel restrictions, social distancing, school closures, and the shutdown of non-essential activities. On April 5, President López Obrador outlined his Government’s policy priorities to combat the economic effects provoked by the spread of the disease, including increased health expenditure. Mexico's highly open economy was affected by a reduction in export demand on top of the impact of lockdown measures. It was also hit by the decline in oil prices and global market volatility. The local government bond market saw cumulative non-resident outflows of around US$15.4 billion through the middle of 2020, reversing somewhat to US$11.8 billion cumulatively through the end of the year (1.1 percent of 2020 GDP). The 10-year sovereign dollar credit spread widened from 132 bps to 423 bps but has since fully recovered, while the spread on Pemex bonds widened from 377 bps to 1188 bps before substantially recovered though remaining above pre-pandemic levels. At peak, the peso has depreciated by 26 percent but also substantially recovered before the end of 2020. Reopening of the economy. On May 14, 2020 the government announced plans to begin the normalization of economic activities, including a green-yellow-orange-red color system for states to represent the extent of activities allowed (e.g. states with most active cases are red and would remain in a forced quarantine), the resumption of school and labor activities in municipalities free of infection, and the addition of construction, mining, and transport equipment manufacturing as essential activities. Restrictions rose beginning in December 2020 but have declined since February 2021 with the easing of the second wave. Key Policy Responses as of June 30, 2021: Fiscal
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Federated States of MicronesiaBackground. As of July 1, 2021, the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) remains COVID-19 free, but the country's health system has limited capacity for handling an outbreak (see U.S. Department of State travel advisory for the FSM). The public health emergency is effective from January 31, 2020 to September 30, 2021. The national and state governments introduced travel restrictions, including restricting residents from traveling abroad and banning or requiring 14-day self-quarantine in a COVID-19-free area prior to entry into the FSM. Reopening of the economy and vaccination. On November 30, 2020, the national government relaxed outward travel restrictions, allowing residents to travel abroad. The FSM has received vaccines supported by the United States since December 28, 2020 and around 35 percent of its eligible population are fully vaccinated thus far. The FSM started the repatriation of stranded citizens abroad to the state of Pohnpei on May 13, 2021. Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021 Fiscal
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MoldovaBackground. The first confirmed COVID-19 case was reported on March 7, 2020. Confirmed cases have risen progressively, prompting a declaration of a state of national emergency, restrictions on border crossings, and limits on economic and social activity. Among other provisions, the state of emergency allowed Moldovan authorities to impose additional border controls, limit movement, prohibit large gatherings, manage food supplies, and coordinate media messaging about the pandemic. Reopening the economy and additional containment measures. The Extraordinary National Commission for Public Health issued its Decision No. 56 from June 3, 2021 that reinforces measures ahead of the parliamentary elections on July 11. On the election day, measures to be enforced include social distancing, respiratory and hands hygiene, compulsory mask wearing, and ensuring that all polling centers are equipped with PPEs and hand sanitizers. At the administrative level, all territorial units with Red Code alert will institute an emergency situation in public health. The Chisinau Municipal Extraordinary Commission for Public Health has changed its infection risks from orange to red, reflecting lower infection rates. At the national level, wearing of protective masks in all public spaces, keep a minimum of a meter for social distance, observe hygienic and respiratory rules, observe the self-isolation regime for those prescribed, monitoring of health conditions and early addressing for medical help if necessary. Restrictions include compulsory PCR COVID-19 negative test at border crossing when entering Moldova or a vaccination certificate with a series of exceptions for students, truck/bus drivers. Shops, malls, public catering units, cultural and religious institutions are obligated to ensure all epidemiological and sanitation measures are strictly observed by the personnel and clients or visitors. Romania updated its list of countries classification and now Moldovan citizens can travel to Romania without need of self-quarantine or any other restrictions. As of June 30, 2021, a total of 716,641 people or 13 percent of the population have received vaccinations. Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021 Fiscal
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MongoliaBackground. When COVID-19 first hit Mongolia in early 2020, the government immediately declared a state of high alert and took prompt actions to contain its spread through social distancing and closure of the border with China. In the first wave, the number of COVID-19 cases were limited and sporadic, originating from individuals repatriated from abroad. Domestic transmissions of the virus were reported in early November 2020 for the first time. Since then, the government has reinforced stringent measures, including intermittent nationwide lockdowns. The cumulative number of cases is about 34,000 per million at end-June 2021 . The government aims to vaccinate 60 percent of the population (i.e., 100 percent of the adult population) by end-June 2021. 59 percent of population has had at least one shot, and 53 percent has been fully vaccinated at end-June 2021. In mid-June, the government started vaccination for children (ages 12-18). Key Policy Responses as of June 3, 2021 Fiscal
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MontenegroBackground:The first confirmed COVID-19 case was reported on March 17, 2020. After experiencing multiple waves of infections, the number of active cases have been steadily declining since mid-March 2021. The first vaccinations were administered in late February, and by June 30 around 22 percent of the population have received two doses of the vaccine. Reopening of the economy. Following an initial lockdown in the early phases of the virus, a phased reopening of the economy began on May 4, 2020, where borders were reopened selectively. A negative PCR test is required for entry into the country, except for those coming from the following countries – Serbia, Kosovo, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, North Macedonia, member states of the European Union, Israel, Switzerland, Moldova, and Kazakhstan. Several containment measures are in force in accordance with the current epidemiological situation. Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021 Fiscal
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LinksContainment measures in force Economic support measures for Q22021 Fourth package of economic measures(for Q1 2021) Third package of economic measures Central Bank extension of scope and duration of moratoria (May 25, 2021, April 28, 2021 and March 30, 2021) Central Bank sixth package (announced March 1, 2021) Banking sector moratorium for the unemployed (in Montenegrin) (announced October 22, 2020) Banking sector moratorium for priority sectors (announced July 30, 2020) Banking sector moratorium(announced May 20, 2020) Banking sector dividends Reduction in fees for withdrawal of reserve requirement liquidity Reduction in the reserve requirement rate MoroccoBackground. Morocco reported its first confirmed cases of COVID-19 on March 2, 2020. The government created an emergency committee chaired by the Minister of Finance in charge of monitoring the situation. The authorities declared a state of health emergency until August 10, 2020, initially, adopted containment measures, including quarantine, suspended all international passenger flights, forbid all public gatherings, and closed mosques, schools, universities, restaurants, cafes, and hammams. The authorities also decided to regulate prices and control the distribution channels of facemasks and hydro alcoholic gels. Reopening of the economy. The authorities announced partial reopening measures starting June 11, 2020. Most businesses were authorized to resume, including dine-in at café and restaurants, theaters and hammams. The authorities eased restrictions in most rural areas and small towns, resuming operations of public transport and removing restrictions to movement and travel, including for domestic flights. International borders were reopened on July 14, 2020 for Moroccan nationals leaving abroad and foreigners established in Morocco. However, the increase in the number of cases in late July required to tighten restrictions in a number of urban areas that remain under a partial lockdown and now experience new restrictions to movements. Additional containment measures—including a national night curfew—were reinstated on December 23, 2020, initially for 3 weeks and later extended until further notice. On May 20, 2021, the government eased the length of the national night curfew. Large gatherings continue to be banned and wedding parties are not allowed in Morocco. On April 16, 2021, the government suspended air links with 13 additional countries until further notice—the closing of borders now covers 53 countries in total. The government also extended the state of health emergency until July 10, 2021. COVID-19 Vaccine distribution plans. Morocco started a nationwide Covid-19 vaccination campaign on January 28, 2021. The campaign aims at covering 80 percent of Moroccan population over 18 years old (about 25 million people). The campaign is relying on Morocco's network of primary health care institutions and mobile clinics. Priority is given to citizens in the frontline such as health workers, authority agents, security forces, teachers, elders and people with underlying health conditions. As of June 29, 2021, 10 million persons received a first dose of vaccine and about 9 million are fully immunized. Key Policy Responses as of June 29, 2021 Fiscal
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MozambiqueBackground. Mozambique reported its first COVID-19 case on March 22, 2020. A first peak of infections was reached in September 2020, a second, much higher peak, was reached in February 2021, and the country seems to be entering a third wave of infections since early June 2021, with daily new cases currently at par with the figure from early March 2021. As of June 29 2021, there were 75,138 cases (2,404 cases per million inhabitants) and 872 deaths were confirmed with a fatality rate of 27.9 per million habitants. Early on, the government took several actions to contain an outbreak of COVID-19 in the country, stating that “prevention remains the best strategy.” These actions included (i) the shutdown of schools from pre-school up to university, (ii) the ban of all gatherings – including religious services - of more than 50 persons, (iii) the ban and cancellation of all entry visas, (iv) a 14-day quarantine for all travelers entering Mozambique and (v) the creation of a technical and scientific committee to advise the government. The government has made it mandatory to wear face masks in public places. On March 30 2020, President Nyusi declared a state of emergency, extended until July 30. In August, the President declared a second state of emergency (after 3 consecutive months of State of Emergency allowed by the Constitution) to further halt the spread of the Covid-19. The measures to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus included: (i) imposing limitations on movements within the country and border entries; (ii) ban on all types of public or private events; (iii) closure or reduction of non-essential shops; (iv) monitoring prices of essential goods for preventing price gouging; (v) redirecting the industrial sector toward the production of goods necessary for the prevention and mitigation of the Covid-19 pandemic; (vi) introducing employee rotation in the workspace; and (vii) ensuring the adoption of preventative actions in all institutions, public or private. Reopening of the economy. Gradual easing of restrictions in three phases started in August 2020, with low risk activities including reopening of universities and other senior level colleges and religious gathering with no more than 50 people. In October, the government introduced additional requirements for firms to ensure readiness to manage COVID cases. Mid-December, the government further eased restrictions, allowing bars to reopen, and increasing the upper limit for private gatherings. However, due to the steady increase of cases, the government tightened the Covid-19 measures, on February 04, including a ban of private social events, conferences and religious services, closure of schools, and a curfew of Maputo City and Province, where about 70% of active cases originate. In March 2021, the President announced the re-opening of all schools (primary, secondary, technical, professional and higher education) for in-person learning. In May, further easing of restrictions was announced, including reopening of pre-school education, swimming pools and gyms. On June 25th, due to the emerging third wave, the government tightened the confinement measures, including extending the overnight curfew and the closure of beaches and cultural centers. The government plans to vaccinate 6.4 million people (20 percent of population) by December 2022, and formally launched the vaccination campaign in March 2021, starting with health workers, vulnerable people (including people in nursing homes), and defense and security forces. As of June 28, about 341,707 persons had been vaccinated with at least one dose and 95,979 persons were fully vaccinated. Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021 Fiscal
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MyanmarBackground. Myanmar has 157,277 confirmed COVID-19 cases (3,334deaths and 136,443discharged) as of July 1, 2021 . There were local transmissions rapidly increased in Rakhine State and Yangon Region during September 2020-January 2021. Semi lockdown with stay-at-home instruction for entire Rakhine State was started on August 27, 2020 and it was lifted on March 1, 2021. Similarly, all townships except the isolated Cocogyun Township (located on a far island) in Yangon Region were placed under the stay-at-home starting September 21, 2020. It was also lifted on April 10, 2021 due to the ease of virus infection. The economy has been deeply affected by the outbreak, with sharp declines in tourist arrivals, supply chain disruptions for the garment sector, and losses for SMEs, which have resulted in large layoffs and factory closures. In response, the government has announced measures to limit the spread of the virus including travel restrictions (including quarantine requirements, suspension of visa issuances and international flights), closure of several land borders, and bans on mass public gatherings. A National Central Committee on Prevention, Control and Treatment of 2019 Novel Coronavirus has been established to coordinate the authorities' response. Another committee, the Control and Emergency Response Committee on COVID-19, was setup on March 30, 2020 to help with stricter administrative measures to control the spread of the virus including quarantining migrant workers coming from neighboring countries. Myanmar government has developed the COVID-19 Economic Relief Plan (CERP) consisting of seven goals, 10 strategies, 36 action plans and 76 actions that cover a range of emergency fiscal and monetary measures. The CERP seeks to mitigate the inevitable economic impact posed by COVID-19 while establishing a foundation to facilitate Myanmar’s rapid economic recovery. In addition, the government is drafting the Myanmar Economic Resilience and Reform Plan (MERRP) to extend the efforts to economic recovery and relief. However, Covid-19 cases started increasing again in early June 2021 amid low rate of testing. Myanmar government imposed stay-at-home orders to 11 townships in Chin State, Sagaing Region and Shan State after a spike in COVID-19 cases there To accelerate vaccination to the people, private companies and hospitals are permitted to import, distribute and inject the Covid-19 vaccines. Also private hospitals and laboratories and allowed for Covid-19 testing and care. All instructions (excluding some relaxations) relating COVID-19 prevention and control have been extended to July 31, 2021. Restrictions on visa issuances and international passenger flights have also been extended to July 31, 2021. Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021 Fiscal
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NNamibiaBackground. Namibia reported its first case of COVID19 on March 13, 2020. Daily reported cases increased rapidly in late 2020 and early 2021 but stabilized in recent days. At the onset of the crisis, the government declared a national state of emergency and adopted containment measures, including social distancing, work from home initiatives (including suspension of the parliament for 21 days), lockdowns in some regions, and closures of all points of entry and comprehensive restrictions on cross-border travel. Many of these restrictions have been relaxed gradually, including the quarantine requirement for international travelers with negative PCR test results. However, in a response to the recent rise in COVID cases, a lockdown of the capital city has been reintroduced on June 16, 2021. In terms of vaccination, the government paid US$1.6 million in November 2020 to acquire vaccine doses enough to vaccine 20 percent of the population through the COVAX Facility; and signed a financial commitment agreement for the remaining US$9.1 million. Namibia started its vaccination campaign on March 19, 2021, after receiving donations of the Sinopharm vaccine from China (100,000 doses) and Covishield vaccine (30,000 doses) from India. The first batch of vaccines through the COVAX Facility (24,000 doses) arrived on April 16, 2021 and the second batch of 43,000 doses on May 21, 2021. As of June 24, 2021, only about 1.5 percent of the targeted population (22, 285 individuals) have been fully vaccinated. Key Policy Responses as of June 28, 2021 Fiscal
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NauruAs of July 1, 2021, Nauru has no confirmed cases of COVID-19. It remains one of only 12countries in the world with no confirmed cases, as per the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Tracker. The main impact of the pandemic thus far has been due to travel restrictions and quarantine. Supply chain dislocations have also had an impact as a lower frequency of cargo ships have affected the timely supply of construction and consumption goods. That said, incoming data on fishing license revenues and recent developments suggest that the overall real impact of the pandemic has been relatively mild. The government has imposed a number of containment measures including a near-total ban on entry by air into Nauru which was effective March 16th, 2020. Cargo flights are operating at normal frequency at this time, but subject to strict handling on arrival, including on contact with crew. Screening and quarantine measures have also been in effect since March 16th, 2020 and apply to all passengers on arrival, including a mandatory 14-day stay in approved transition accommodation and further measures for symptomatic cases. On April 9 2020, the Government of Nauru extended the emergency measures to be in force until mid-May. Social distancing measures have been encouraged including limiting or cancelling public gatherings and recommending working arrangements from home where possible. Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021 Fiscal
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NepalBackground. Nepal's first confirmed COVID-19 case was on January 23, and the country continues to see a gradual increase in the number of confirmed cases. Containment measures imposed included a nationwide lockdown (until June 12), a ban on domestic and international flights (until July 5), and a closure of land border crossings. Nepal's Central Bureau of Statistics estimates that growth in FY2019/20 will be 2.3 percent, down from 7.1 percent in FY2018/19 (fiscal year ends July 15)—this estimate combines actual data through mid-April and projections for the rest of the FY. Reopening the economy. The government began easing the lockdown on June 12, allowing shops to open. Government, private offices, and banks have reopened from June 15, with government staff working in shifts. Private vehicles are allowed to operate on an alternating odd-even license-plate-number basis, corresponding to the calendar date. Key Policy Responses as of June 30, 2021 Fiscal
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The NetherlandsBackground. In response to a first wave of COVID-19 infections in late February 2020, the authorities adopted a series of sanitary measures, including a partial lockdown to limit the spread of the virus. Following a progressive easing of these measures from May 11, and the resurgence in the number of infections, several containment measures with gradual restrictions were announced successively on August 6, August 18, September 25, October 2, October 14, and November 4. After a second and more severe wave of infections started late in the summer 2020, the number of infections surged again toward the end of the year, prompting the authorities to impose the strictest lockdown since the beginning of the pandemic. All non-essential businesses, schools (with few exceptions), daycares, and many public spaces such as parks and zoos were ordered to close. It was required to work from home unless not possible, avoid public transportations, limit gatherings to one guest from a different household (three during Christmas celebrations), maintain social distancing, and strongly advised not to travel abroad. These restrictions initially in place from December 15 to February 9, were subsequently extended through April 27. A curfew from 9 pm to 4:30 am was also introduced (from January 23 to April 27). In addition, a negative PCR test was required for travelers to the Netherlands from high-risk countries. On March 3, a few restrictions were lifted to allow partial reopening of primary and secondary schools. This was followed by a progressive reopening strategy, as infections and hospital admissions declined steadily and vaccines became widely available (as of June 30, 2021, about 15.5 million doses of vaccines have been administered)., Under the first phase starting on April 28, the curfew was lifted, restaurants and cafés were allowed to operate outdoor, and shops to reopen at limited capacity, among other measures. Additional restrictions were lifted in a second phase from May 19, including the use of public transportations, travel to certain destinations, and hours of operations for some businesses. Under the third phase starting on June 05, restaurants and cafes can operate indoor, cinemas and other larger cultural institutions can reopen, all under strict conditions (including for example maintaining 1.5 meters social distancing). From June 26, the fourth phase allows all businesses to operate at their regular hours, with a requirement to maintain a 1.5 meters distance or to wear a face mask, except if vaccinated. The advice to work from home and restrictions to group gathering are lifted. Several travel restrictions are also lifted. Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021 Fiscal
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New ZealandBackground. The first confirmed COVID-19 case in New Zealand was reported on February 28, 2020. On March 25, 2020, New Zealand moved to Alert Level 4 restrictions after domestic transmission of the virus was found. The authorities declared a state of emergency and implemented strong containment measures, including the closure of all non-essential businesses, cancellation of all events and gatherings, and closure of schools. This followed the closure of all borders to non-residents on March 19, 2020, with returning residents required to enter into two weeks of supervised quarantine since April 10, 2020. After a gradual reopening through Alert Levels 3 (April 28, 2020) and 2 (May 13, 2020), New Zealand moved to Alert Level 1 on June 8, 2020, lifting restrictions on personal movements, gathering, workplaces, and services. While the virus has been effectively suppressed since then, there were subsequent, brief localized lockdowns in Auckland in August/September 2020 and February/March 2021. On June 23, 2021, Wellington was placed under Alert Level 2 restrictions after a visit by an infected Australian tourist. Vaccinations have begun, with 7.8 percent of the population fully vaccinated. The authorities expect to fully vaccinate the eligible population by the end of the year. The border closure and quarantine requirement remain in place, except for travel bubbles with Australia (from April 19, 2021) and the Cook Islands (from May 17, 2021). In response to new cases in Australia, the Trans-Tasman travel bubble was paused on June 26, 2021, but will resume from July 5, 2021 (except for travelers who have been to the Australian state New South Wales). After contracting by 11 percent q/q in Q2, 2020 (production side), New Zealand's economy recovered quickly in the second half of 2020. Overall, real GDP contracted by 2.9 percent in 2020. Real GDP grew stronger than expected in Q1 2021 (1.6 percent q/q), while the unemployment rate declined to 4.7 percent by end-March. Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021 Fiscal
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NicaraguaBackground. The first confirmed COVID-19 case was reported on March 18, 2020. In response to the COVID-19, the government announced the implementation of several measures, including the creation of an inter-institutional commission, the declaration of a state of national alert, and the implementation of Epidemiological Surveillance Protocols at the national level. The Ministry of Health (MINSA) monitors and provides weekly reports on the status of the outbreaks in the country. A total of 19 hospitals were officially designated nationwide for the care of COVID-19 cases upon detection. Doctors and relevant health personnel from MINSA have received training on the prevention, detection, containment and treatment of COVID-19 and have exchanged experiences on these topics with international experts. Education on the prevention of the COVID-19 is also taking place at the national level and a National Information Center has been set up with free direct telephone lines for emergency calls and to answer queries related to the virus, including preventive information. The central and local governments launched a cleaning and disinfection program of public schools, public transportation units, taxis, markets and other public spaces at a national level. In addition, MINSA is promoting a campaign to take preventive measures including proper hand washing, adequate use of masks and the care of vulnerable groups, such as the elderly and those with chronic diseases. On July 13, 2020, the MINSA issued revised guidelines to strengthen epidemiological controls at all entry points into the country, including: (i) travelers must have a negative PCR test result for COVID-19 taken in a period not exceeding 72 hours before arriving to the country; (ii) non-national travelers who have fever or respiratory symptoms may not enter the country; (iii) Nicaraguan nationals who have fever or respiratory symptoms may enter the country, but they have to observe house quarantine; and (iv) all travelers who present a negative PCR test upon arrival and have no respiratory symptoms will be allowed without restrictions but will be followed up by telephone by health personnel for a period of fourteen days. On the same date, the Nicaraguan Institute of Civil Aeronautics (INAC) informed that Nicaragua is ready to resume commercial air operations if airlines comply with MINSA revised guidelines. Air operators must present their COVID-19 plans to INAC before resuming commercial operations. On September 19, 2020, Nicaragua resumed international commercial flights. Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2020 Fiscal
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NigerBackground. Niger registered its first confirmed COVID-19 case on March 19, 2020. On March 27, 2020, the President declared a national emergency and imposed a night curfew in the capital in addition to shortened work hours and earlier measures that include the closure of Niger’s borders and a ban on large gatherings. On November 13, 2020, in response to cases rising again, the authorities announced visitors would have to surrender their passports that would be returned only after a negative test following a one-week period of strictly monitored self-isolation. Reopening of the economy and additional containment measures. The night curfew and restriction on religious gatherings were lifted on May 13. The quarantine of Niamey and the ban on inter-city travel were lifted on May 14. The moratorium on seminars and conferences; restricted work hours and limits on non-essential government business were lifted on May 25. The authorities lifted the air border closure as of August 1 with land borders remaining closed. A negative test result is required before arrival. Price controls for essential goods for 3 months. Niger secured US$114.5 million in emergency financing from the IMF on April 14, 2020 and relief from its debt service to the IMF on April 13, 2020. Due to the persistence and the eminently pathogenic and contagious nature of Covid-19, the Government has decided on January 5, 2021 to extend the state of emergency for a further period of three months from January 08, 2021. The Council of Ministers has decided to renew the measure to close bars, nightclubs and entertainment venues which expires on January 6, 2021. Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021 Fiscal
Monetary and macro-financial
Exchange rate and balance of payments
Other
NigeriaBackground. Nigeria has been severely hit by the spread of COVID-19 and the associated sharp decline in oil prices. Government policy is responding to both these developments. A range of measures were implemented to contain the spread of the virus, including closure of international airports, public and private schools, universities, stores and markets, and suspension of public gatherings. Following a full lockdown that was placed on March 30, 2020, Nigeria's economy reopened gradually in three phases with incremental reductions of traveling and gathering restrictions. Phase 1 started on May 4, phase 2 on June 2, and phase 3 on September 4—which is still being implemented. In December 2020, Nigeria had entered the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, with daily new cases doubling the peak of the first wave at end-January. Restrictions on mass gathering were reinstated. Public servants were ordered to stay at home and await further directives. Schools, however, resumed on January 18 after being shut down again from mid-December. Since peaking at 1,600 levels toward end-January, the 7-day moving average of new cases rapidly fell. Nigeria plans to vaccine 40% of its population in 2021 and additional 30% in 2022. Nigeria has requested 41mn vaccines from African Union and expects another 16mn doses under WHO-backed COVAX program. Nigeria received 3.92 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccines on March 2nd (as the first shipment from the COVAX facility), commenced vaccination on March 12, and has vaccinated about 2 million (0.97 percent of population) with the first dose as of May 29.Since then global supply shortages, due including to India's vaccine export ban has caused rationing of the first shipment, leading to a halted administration of first doses; to save supply for second doses. However, Nigeria reportedly expects to receive a second shipment of 3.92 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccines. Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021 Fiscal
Monetary and macro-financial
Exchange rate and balance of payments
North MacedoniaThe first confirmed case in North Macedonia was reported on February 26, 2020. The number of new daily cases has substantially decreased in recent weeks. As a consequence, most containment measures have been lifted. Real GDP contracted by 4.5 percent in 2020, following a sharper than expected rebound in the second half of the year. The economy is expected to recover at a gradual pace. Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021 Fiscal
Monetary and macro-financial
Exchange rate and balance of payments
NorwayThe first confirmed COVID-19 case was reported on February 26, 2020. The virus continued to spread, with the number of new cases reaching its peak at the end of March. The government implemented a range of measures to mitigate the spread of coronavirus and to stabilize the economy. The former included travel restrictions, a quarantine-after-travel requirement, social distancing measures, and closures of schools, universities and businesses. The number of infections has fallen in recent months and, following the Norwegian Government's reopening plan and based on recommendations of the Norwegian Directorate of Health and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, restrictions have been gradually eased. A COVID-19 certificate will be ready in June/July. Key Policy Responses as of June 27, 2021 Fiscal
Monetary and macro-financial
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OOmanBackground and Recent DevelopmentsFirst wave. Oman has been hit by two shocks—the spread of COVID-19 and the sharp decline in oil prices in early 2020. The authorities implemented a range of measures to limit the spread of the virus encompassing travel restrictions (including on international flights and internal public transportation and taxis), partial lockdowns, suspending prayers at mosques, closing all schools, universities, shopping malls and commercial establishments (except for groceries, pharmacies, food delivery, and gas stations), and limiting employee attendance at government workplaces and private businesses to minimum needed. The authorities also adopted a package of policy measures to cushion the social and economic fallout from the pandemic, focusing on small- and medium-size enterprises, preserving employment, and safeguarding financial stability. Intermittent reopening of the economy in 2020. On April 28, 2020, the government discussed proposals that consider public health and support the reopening of some business activities and decided to open some commercial activities including car servicing, repair, and rental, money exchanges, outlets selling electrical and electronic appliances, printing houses and quarries. On May 27 government decided to end the lockdown of the Muscat governorate, let private sector employees return to their offices and government agencies to begin regular operations on May 31. In June, the government further opened up commercial and industrial activities. On July 14, the government decided to facilitate Oman citizens’ travel abroad, on condition that they abide by the precautionary procedures but also decided to extend the lockdown on Governorate of Dhofar and the Wilayat of Masirah. On July 25, Oman entered into a major nationwide lockdown aimed at limiting the spread of COVID-19, which was lifted on August 7. Following the approval from the Supreme Committee tasked with tackling developments resulting from COVID-19, the government decided to resume public transport services in a phased manner starting from September 27. On October 11, the authorities imposed a complete lockdown on public movement and commercial outlets from 8 pm to 5 am every night until October 24. Second wave in 2021. Since early 2021, the COVID-19 cases began to rise and as a result, on January 18, 2021, Oman closed its land borders and the closure was later extended until further notice. On February 26, Oman's Supreme Committee extended indefinitely the closure of beaches, public parks and leisure spaces to curb the spread of the coronavirus. It introduced a nighttime curfew on all commercial activities from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. the next day during the period from March 4 to March 20, and again during March 28 to April 8. Oman has extended a travel ban from 10 countries until further notice to stem the spread of COVID-19 and its new variants. The countries affected by the directive were Lebanon, Sudan, South Africa, Brazil, Nigeria, Tanzania, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Ethiopia. On May 4, the Supreme Committee has further extended the travel ban and added United Kingdom, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Egypt and the Philippines. The nighttime curfew, from 7 p.m. to 4 a.m., continued until May 15, and all commercial activities, excluding sale of foodstuff, filling stations, clinics, pharmacies and hospitals, remained closed throughout the day from May 8 until May 15, 2021. Restrictions on domestic activities were further relaxed on June 2, 2021. Nevertheless, the directive on the travel ban remained and Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam were added to the travel ban list. On June 20, 2021, the Omani government imposed a ban on movement of people and vehicles and ordered the closure of all public places and commercial activities (while allowing home delivery service) from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m., till further notice. COVID-19 cases. The number of registered COVID-19 cases stands at 268,545 as of June 30, 2021. COVID-19 vaccine. Oman has reserved 1 million doses of the vaccine from the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) which represents 20 percent of the Sultanate's need at the beginning of 2021. Sultanate has directly contracted with Pfizer and booked 370,000 vaccine doses. Oman is also in discussion of other vaccine providers to secure more vaccine, including Johnson and Johnson, and Sputnik-V vaccine. 100,000 Oxford-AstraZeneca were delivered to Oman in January and first batch of 200,000 units of the Johnson and Johnson COVID-19 vaccine is scheduled to arrive early July 2021. Oman plans to cover 70% of population by end-December 2021. The vaccination process has started in late December 2020. As of end of June 2021, about 24 percent of the population (1.1 million) has gotten at least one dose. Key Policy Responses as of June 30, 2021 Measures announced in 2020Fiscal
Monetary and macro-financial
Labor market policy
Exchange rate and balance of payments
Measures announced in 2021
PPakistanBackground. COVID-19 was reported for the first time on February 26, 2020. Starting on March 23 of last year, both the federal and provincial governments implemented containment and mitigation measures, including selective quarantines, border closures, international and domestic travel restrictions, closure of educational institutions, banning of public events, social distancing, and varying levels of lockdown. Despite these measures, the number of new daily cases increased rapidly hitting the peak of 6,000 in mid-June 2020, before slowing down in July 2020 and stabilizing below 1,000 during the summer (reaching a low of 300 cases in early September). In mid-March 2021, a third wave of infections started to emerge, with a steep rise in the number of cases and the positivity rate (exceeding 5,000 daily cases and 10 percent in the second half of April 2021, respectively), before moderating by end-May 2021 after Eid celebrations. More recently, the pandemic seems under control with new daily cases falling below 1,000, and the positivity rate falling below 2.5 percent. Economic activity worsened notably in FY 2020, recording a negative growth of –0.5 percent, however activity rebounded strongly in FY 2021 with growth preliminary estimated at 3.9 percent. Reopening of the economy and additional containment efforts. After imposing strict lockdown measures at the beginning of the pandemic, the authorities started in the second half of April 2020 to gradually—yet slowly—ease restrictions, until the reopening of educational institutions, recreational places and retail outlets by the end of summer. This trend was partially reversed in the last months of 2020 with the adoption of intermittent smart lockdown measures in the fall and winter in order to mitigate the second wave of infections (e.g. ban on public rallies, closure of educational institutions, and wedding halls). Following a breather in January and February 2021, these measures were extended in March and April, as the country started experiencing a third wave of COVID-19 infections. In mid-May 2021, authorities further strengthened restrictions, specifically for the weeklong Eid celebrations. New measures consisted of banning inter-city transport, imposing lockdowns on businesses, restaurants, and recreational activities, banning religious processions and limiting the number of inbound flights for two weeks. These restrictions were to a large extent lifted by end-May 2021. Most of the remaining restrictions are being lifted in July 2021 and the number of inbound flights has increased. In parallel, vaccination certification is being made mandatory for usage of indoor services and entry to events. The government of Pakistan is targeting to vaccinate 70 million people by the end of 2021 and has fully vaccinated approximately 3 million people as of July 1, 2021 and partially vaccinated around 13 million people. The vaccination campaign is being supported by the COVAX facility, as well as by the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank through the provision of both funding and technical assistance. Given the delays in the supplies through the COVAX facility, the government is allocating funds to procure vaccines from China and has started rolling out 'PakVac', a locally produced vaccine, developed by China's single shot vaccine producer 'CanSino'. The government has also allowed private laboratories to import and deliver vaccines (namely Sputnik V vaccine since April 2021). Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021 Fiscal
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PalauBackground. To date, there have been no domestic confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Palau. The authorities adopted early prevention and containment measures. These include temporary bans on domestic and international air and sea travel, screening at ports of entry, school closures, and restrictions on public events. Reopening. Schools reopened in August 2020 with safety measures. On July 31, the government announced the re-establishment of essential air services, allowing a minimum number of flights for emergencies, repatriation, medical referral, and worker recruitment. Regular commercial air travel remains temporary suspended. Effective June 17, 2021, the quarantine requirement was exempted for commercial airline travelers, on a condition that they present proof of vaccination and either negative COVID-19 PCR test result or proof of recovery from COVID-19. A nationwide vaccination program started on January 3, 2021. As of June 30, 2021, around 75 percent of the population are fully vaccinated. A travel bubble with Taiwan Province of China started on April 1, but has been suspended from May 19 due to a rise of COVID-19 infections in Taiwan Province of China. Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021 Fiscal
Monetary and macro-financial
Exchange rate and balance of payments
PanamaBackground. Panama reported its first confirmed case of COVID-19 on March 10, 2020. Since then, the authorities implemented prompt and strict containment measures. They declared a national emergency on March 13, 2020; set a sanitary fence around affected areas; ordered mandatory quarantine with a 24-hour curfew (replaced with a 7pm-5 am curfew starting June 1, 2020) with gender-based movement restrictions (April 1-May 31, 2020 resumed on June 8, 2020); suspended all construction projects except health-related; closed schools; canceled events; and banned all commercial flights (except cargo and humanitarian). The suspension of flights started with outbound flights to Europe and Asia (on March 14, 2020), extending to all commercial international flights (March 22, 2020) and later to all domestic flights with the grounding of Copa Airlines (from March 23, 2020) and Air Panama (from March 25, 2020). All labor contracts of closed businesses were suspended. On July 14, 2020, the government formalized a reduction of monthly working hours by half. The World Travel and Tourism Council granted Panama the "Safe Travels" seal on November 15, 2020, certifying its compliance with international biosecurity standards in preventing COVID-19. On June 1, 2021, the Ministry of Health announced a new plan to reduce the risk of a third wave of COVID-19 in the country. The plan focuses on the promotion of preventive health measures; case traceability; the vaccination process; the isolation of cases and the quarantine of those infected; treatment of the sick; expanding hospital capacity; and developing a gradual return to normality taking into account various health indicators and social assistance measures, including the Panama Solidario Plan. Reopening of the economy. In August 2020, the government authorized a limited reopening of Tocumen Airport, mainly for transit and departures, and controlled entry of Panamanians. International commercial flights resumed on October 12, 2020 (visitors must provide a negative COVID-19 test to enter Panama, those without the recent test result can get tested in the airport upon arrival). In August, the government authorized a limited reopening of Tocumen Airport, mainly for transit and departures, and controlled entry of Panamanians. International commercial flights resumed on October 12, 2020 (visitors must provide a negative COVID-19 test to enter Panama, those without the recent test result can get tested in the airport upon arrival). On September 7, 2020, the government authorized a gradual reopening of the construction industry (with up to 500 workers for each project, subject to safety precautions and limitations on working hours), the free trade zones (including Panama Pacifico Special Economic Area and the Colon Free Zone), as well as the operations of private marinas, tailor and dressmaker shops, shoe stores and car washes. Mobility restrictions by gender ended on September 14, 2020. On September 28, 2020, shopping centers and restaurants reopened for indoor commercial activity, and domestic flights resumed. Tourism activities, including cultural venues, libraries, swimming pools, cinemas, theaters, museums, galleries and other tourist sites reopened on October 12, 2020 (at 50 percent capacity). The quarantine ended on October 24, 2020, with the reactivation of beach and recreational activities (although under strict sanitary guidelines). As of April 19, 2021 the curfew hours have been reduced from midnight to 4:00 am (but extended again, from 10:00 pm to 4:00 am, starting June 7 in the regions of Panama and San Miguelito amid another rise in infections) and public attendance at sporting events are allowed, with capacity of up to 25 percent. In addition, bars with terraces reopened on April 19, but dance activities, parties, and shows remain prohibited in bars. Incoming visitors from South America must undergo a molecular PCR test at the Tocumen International Airport. The metropolitan region remains the most affected by the pandemic, with nearly a quarter of all active cases registered there. Following the resurgence in COVID-19 cases in June 2021, total quarantine on Sundays will be imposed on the districts of La Chorrera, Penonomé and Pesé starting July 4. In Panama Oeste, the quarantine will apply to the district of La Chorrera, while curfew from 10:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m. will be enforced the rest of the districts. In the province of Herrera, the districts that will be quarantined on Sundays are Chitré and Pesé. Vaccination. In November 2020, the Panamanian government announced that it will allocate US$48 million for the purchase of vaccines against COVID-19. On November 25, 2020, it announced that it had reached an agreement with Pfizer Panama and BIONTech SE to acquire 3 million doses of a COVID-19 vaccine. In January 2021, the government activated a platform www.vacunas.panamasolidario.gob.pa for vaccination registration. The vaccination program is rolled out in four phases. Phase 1 includes elderly (bedridden; in homes care or nursing homes), healthcare workers with direct contact with patients, and components of the security forces. Phase 2 comprises adults aged 60 years and above, and those affected by chronic diseases. Phase 3 reaches out to communities which are difficult to access, including indigenous region). Phase 4 includes people from 50 to 59 years old, public transport operators, teachers and educators, and progressive vaccination of the entire general population. On March 30, the IDB approved a $30 million loan to Panama for the purchase of vaccines. As of June 1, 2021, a total of 699,067 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine has been administered (covering 16.5 percent of the population). Key Policy Responses as of June 30, 2021 FiscalAmid the pandemic-related increase in healthcare and social spending, and with SFRL limits temporarily relaxed, the NFPS deficit is estimated to have risen to 9 percent of GDP in 2020. The package of fiscal measures includes:
In 2020, Panama initially mobilized: (i) US$515 million from the IMF under the Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI); (ii) US$300 million from the Inter-American Development Bank (US$150 to finance micro and small businesses, and another US$150 million to help agricultural producers); (iii) US$41 million in the Catastrophe Deferred Drawdown Option from the World Bank to expand the coronavirus care network; (iv) a US$1 million grant from the Central American Bank for Economic Integration to finance COVID-19 prevention activities; and (v) a US$400,000 grant from the Development Bank of Latin America to acquire ventilators. The President approved a law which allows the government to use liquid resources of the Panama Savings Fund (assets of US$1.3 billion). On July 9, 2020 the IDB approved another US$400 million loan to help finance efforts to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, mitigate its impact on vulnerable households, and promote policies to mitigate short-term adverse effects on the economy. On August 4, 2020, the National Bank of Panama issued a US$1 billion 10-years bond at 2.5 percent in international markets. On September 23, 2020, the government raised another US$2.575 billion in global bonds, comprising a new bond (US$1.25 billion; maturing in 2032; yield of 2.252%), reopening of a bond maturing in 2060 (US$1 billion; yield of 3.28%), and reopening of a local note maturing in 2026 (US$0.325 billion; yield of 2.77%). The government also withdrew an additional US$20 million from the Panama Savings Fund (FAP), earmarked for future acquisition of a COVID-19 vaccine, bringing total withdrawals to US$105 million since the declaration of the state of emergency following the pandemic. On November 14, 2020, the Central American Bank for Economic Integration approved US$250 million to support Panama’s economic recovery as part of its Development Policy Operations Program. Separately, it approved US$150 million to strengthen pandemic prevention and containment efforts. On January 19, 2021, the IMF approved Panama’s request for a two-year arrangement under the Precautionary and Liquidity Line (PLL) in the amount equivalent to US$2.7 billion (SDR 1.884 billion; 500 percent of quota). The PLL will serve as insurance against extreme external shocks stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic On January 20, 2021, the government raised $2.45 billion with a reopening of the Global Bond 2032 ($1.25 billion, at a yield of 2.198%) and Global Bond 2060 ($1.2 billion, at a yield of 3.384%), as part of the part of MEF's financing for the FY2021 Budget. This global bond issuance was over-subscribed by 2.4 times. On June 23, 2021, the government raised US$2 billion through issuance of a new Treasury Bond maturing in 2031 ($1.25 billion; at a yield of 3.362%) and reopening of the Global Bond maturing in 2050 ($750 million; at a yield of 3.774%), for the financing of the 2021 budget and liability management operations. Of the total $2 billion, $715.9 million will be allocated to reduce the outstanding balances of the 2022 Treasury Bond and 2024 Global Bond, by $ 303 million and $412.9 million, respectively. The rest of the funds will be used to finance the 2021 Budget, in which the financing needs are estimated at $6 billion, including debt repayments amounting to approximately $ 1.822 billion. Monetary and macro-financialThe Superintendency of Banks of Panama (SBP) allowed banks to use the accumulated dynamic provisioning (about US$1.3 billion or 2 percent of GDP) to absorb the impact of credit losses. It allowed banks to undertake voluntary loan restructuring with troubled borrowers (banks can adjust existing loan conditions, grant grace periods, reduce interest rates, and eliminate some fees) and requested banks not to charge interest on unpaid interest. To provide relief to borrowers affected by the pandemic, banks agreed to extend grace periods on loan payments until December 31, 2020 (which was subsequently extended until June 30, 2021). This agreement was later enshrined in Law 156 dated June 30, 2020, which established a formal moratorium on loans granted by banks, cooperatives and finance companies for all physical and legal persons economically affected by the national emergency due to the pandemic. Borrowers have to continue paying interest, but banks will not apply late fees, charge interest on unpaid interest, or record late payments in credit history. The measure applies to mortgages, personal, auto, credit card loans, and loans to SMEs, agriculture, commerce, and transport. The moratorium is not automatic: borrowers must provide documents on the impact of the pandemic on their employment or business activities. July 1, 2020 was the start of the second phase of the moratorium (which includes additional grace periods and loan renegotiations or consolidations), with applications available online. On August 6, 2020, The World Bank Group’s Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) issued a guarantee on loans received by Caja de Ahorros de Panamá amounting to US$400 million to support affordable housing and loans to SMEs. The guarantee is for: (i) a US$250 million loan (maturity of 15 years) from Kairos Global Solutions S.A. (Kairos); and (ii) a US$150 million (maturity of 5 years) from Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (BBVA). On August 7, 2020, the MEF and National Bank of Panama established two Trusts as part of the economic reactivation strategy.
The moratorium on loan service concluded on June 30, 2021 as scheduled. From July 1 until September 30, 2021, modified loans will be restructured by banks and affected borrowers. Exchange rate and balance of payments
Other
Papua New GuineaBackground. Since early February 2020, the PNG government took stringent measures to mitigate a domestic outbreak of COVID-19. Initially, these included a ban on travelers from Asian countries, reduced international flights, mandatory health declaration forms for incoming travelers and enhanced screening at designated ports of entries. On March 24, 2020 the authorities announced a State of Emergency (SoE), restricting internal bus and air travel, closure of bars, and work-from-home requirements. Following the lapse of the SoE in June, however, there has been a renewed outbreak of COVID-19, mainly centered on the National Capital District (NCD), but with a growing number of cases in other regions. The Government announced that domestic travel would only be allowed for essential services and a lockdown of 14 days was implemented in the NCD. On October 5, international travel restrictions were eased (allowing additional routes), but domestic requirements to enforce social distancing and hygiene were tightened. In recent months, local transmission of COVID has increased and on March 18, 2021, the government implemented a raft of measures to slow the spread of the virus and prevent the medical system from becoming overwhelmed. These include restrictions on travel between provinces except for essential purposes, a shut-down of international travel, mandatory mask wearing in public, school closures, and intensified use of remote work where possible. On the same date, the Ok-Tedi copper mine announced a 2-week shutdown due to a steep rise in cases on the mine site. A prolonged closure of the mine, or shutdowns in the critical LNG operations, would have a material impact on economic activity. On June 9, the IMF Executive Board approved the disbursement of US $ 363.6 million in emergency financing under the Rapid Credit Facility (RCF) to help PNG address urgent balance of payments needs created by COVID-19. Press Release: covid-19-pandemic Reopening of the economy. On April 2, 2020, the PNG parliament voted to shut down the country and extended the SoE, for a further two months, until June 16. However, businesses are required to implement ‘new normal’ work arrangements which includes physical distancing and use of face masks. PNG parliament also passed the Public Health Emergency Bill 2020 which seeks to provide a practical and effective legislative mechanism for the implementation of all necessary measures to detect, prevent the entry of, and eradication of pandemic, outbreak or serious public health threat. As noted above, renewed restrictions were imposed in March 18, 2021 in response to a steep rise in cases. Key Policy Responses as of March 5, 2021 Fiscal
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ParaguayBackground. The first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in Paraguay on March 7th, 2020. Starting March 12, the government implemented a series of measures to prevent the spread of the virus, including border closure and suspension of school, all activities that involve groups of people, as well as public and private events. The country implemented a total quarantine from March 20 to May 3, 2020. Most cases in the first months of the pandemic were imported from Brazil, although community transmission started picking up significantly in August. The average number of new cases remained stable at around 1,000 per day between September 2020 and February 2021, but picked up significantly since March to about 2,200 cases per day, fueled by circulation of the Brazilian gamma virus mutation. At more than 13 average daily deaths per million of population, Paraguay’s number is now among the highest in South America. Hospitals and ICUs are overwhelmed, and there is a severe shortage of emergency medications. The total cumulative number of deaths is about 9,400 (1,340 per million), with 360,000 total confirmed cases as of June 2, 2021. Reopening of the economy. After the initial hard lockdown, Paraguay cycled through 4 phases of gradual reopening under its“Smart Quarantine” plan. On October 3, 2020, the government officially lifted phase 4, though restrictions remained such as social distancing, mask-wearing in public spaces, sanitary protocols, and others. On October 15, Paraguay opened three border posts with Brazil, for circulation of cars only, at limited timetables, and a week later the airports of Asunción and Ciudad del Este officially reopened, with a limited number of flights. Physical-presence school classes resumed partially in March 2021, but were suspended again in mid-March until after Easter. On March 24, the government announced a tightening of restrictions until April 4, including bans on domestic travel and nightly curfews after 20:00 hours. Vaccines. . As of June 1, only 4.6 percent of Paraguay’s population has been vaccinated at least once (with 1.1 percent having received the full vaccination). The slow start of the vaccination campaign is mainly due to delays in the delivery of vaccines. Paraguay has contracted 4.2 million vaccine doses under the CoVax initiative, but only 170,400 doses have been delivered so far (an additional shipment of 134,400 doses is expected for the next few days). In February the country signed a contract with the Russian Investment Fund for the delivery of 1 million Sputnik V vaccines. Paraguay also received vaccine donations from Chile, India, and Qatar and is in talks with several governments to receive 4 million more doses of Covaxin and Astra Zeneca. Key Policy Responses as of June 3, 2021 Fiscal
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PeruBackground. The first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in Peru on March 6th, 2020. The number of new COVID-19 cases and deaths peaked first in mid-August, 2020. The second wave of infections that started earlier in t2021 is slowly subsiding. The per capita fatality rate remains amongst the highest in the world. The government has extended the COVID-19 health emergency until September 2, 2021, and announced the extension of regional alert levels and movement and capacity restrictions through June 20, 2021. Under these measures, all regions of Peru are categorized as High, Very High, or Extreme, with corresponding levels of restrictions. Currently, Lima and other areas of "Very High Alert" are under curfew from 9:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m, Monday through Sunday. In areas under "Extreme Alert", businesses must close no later than three hours before the local curfew. In areas of Moderate, High, or Very High alert, businesses must close no later than two hours before the local curfew. The measures will be adjusted every three weeks, if necessary. Capacity restrictions on businesses vary according to the alert level. Access to beaches remains restricted. Key Policy Responses as of June 30, 2021 Fiscal
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PhilippinesBackground. The Philippines reported its first case of confirmed COVID 19 on January 30, 2020. After flattening the COVID 19 curve by end-2020, the Philippines is currently experiencing a resurgence of virus infections, although the number of daily cases has declined recently, averaging about 5,200 in the last week of June, down from over 12,500 on April 8, the highest since the onset of the pandemic. The weekly average of the positivity rate in COVID-19 tests stood at about 11.6 percent at end-June. The authorities have extended the general community quarantine (GCQ) on Metro Manila and surrounding provinces until July 15. Under GCQ, mass gatherings are mostly prohibited, public transport services restricted, and restaurants limited to operate at partial capacity. The country has extended its ban on travelers from several countries until July 15 to prevent the spread of the Delta COVID 19 variant. The Philippines started inoculation of eligible adults on March 1, 2021 and about 6.1 percent of the total population (over 10 percent of the adult population) have received at least the first dose of the vaccine as of June 23. The government aims to administer 500,000 doses a day to be able to reach herd immunity within the year. Financial market volatility has subsided recently, with the peso/US$ exchange rate staying stable. Meanwhile, real GDP in 2020 contracted by 9.6 percent. Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021 The government launched a 4-pillar socioeconomic strategy against COVID 19, which includes support to vulnerable groups and individuals, expanded resources for frontline medical workers, as well as fiscal and monetary measures. Fiscal MeasuresI. The fiscal support included two stimulus packages (Bayanihan Acts I and II) in 2020 and an accelerated reduction of corporate income tax rates. In total, the direct budgetary support amounted to 4.4 percent of 2020 GDP. The government also introduced below the line measures, mainly for credit guarantees, that amounted to about 0.6 percent of 2020 GDP.
II. The Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Act was passed on March 26, 2021 after it was recalibrated to make it more relevant and responsive to the needs of businesses negatively affected by the COVID 19 pandemic, and to improve the ability of the Philippines to attract highly desirable investments. The Act reduces the corporate income tax rate (effective July 2020) from 30 percent of net taxable income to 25 percent for nonresident foreign corporations and large corporations (net taxable income above PHP 5 million), while reducing the rate to 20 percent for small-and-medium sized corporations. From 2022, the corporate income tax rate for foreign companies will decline further, by 1 percentage point per year, to reach 20 percent in 2027. The revenue forgone is estimated to be about 0.7 percent of GDP in 2021. Monetary and macro-financial
Exchange rate and balance of payments
Structural Policy
Poland, Republic ofBackground. Poland reported its first confirmed COVID-19 case on March 4, 2020. A second wave firmly established itself in October 2020, surpassing the first wave by a large margin. While new infections moderated visibly in late November/January, they started to grow strongly again in late February 2021, with the third wave peaking in late March and early April, when new cases outpaced the second wave. New infections have trended down since then, after the introduction of stricter containment measures and the acceleration of Poland's vaccination program. In March 2020, the government first introduced containment measures, including closures of schools, universities, restaurants, and all non-essential retail trade and service outlets, as well as bans on large gatherings, border controls, and travel restrictions. Following a quarter-on-quarter (q/q) contraction of 0.2 percent in Q1 2020, GDP contracted a further 8.9 percent q/q in Q2, led by declines in private consumption and fixed investment. Following an easing of restrictions, the economy expanded 7.5 percent (q/q) in Q3 driven primarily by private consumption, and output reached a level only 2 percent below the pre-crisis peak. In the context of the second wave, the economy contracted 0.5 percent (q/q) in Q4, followed by a rebound of 1.1 percent (q/q) in Q1, as restrictions were loosened early this year. Annual GDP declined 2.7 percent in 2020, indicating the first recession since 1991. Reopening of the economy and additional containment measures. On April 16, 2020, the government outlined a four-stage plan to reopen the economy. Starting on April 20, a larger number of people was allowed in shops and at religious gatherings, and public parks and forests were reopened. The second phase of the lockdown easing plan was launched on May 4 with the reopening of hotels and shopping malls (with limitations on the number of persons), the opening of daycares and pre-schools (as of May 6), as well as softening quarantine rules for cross-border workers and students. The third phase was launched on May 18, entailing the reopening of restaurants, hairdressers, and cosmetic salons, and permission for outdoor sports events with up to 50 persons with no audience. Grades 1-3 in primary schools opened on May 25 with strict sanitary rules, with a maximum number of children allowed in class. The fourth stage started on May 30, with the opening of cinemas, playgrounds, and gyms, all with stricter sanitary regimes than normal. Outdoor events are allowed with up to 150 people, with social distancing or face masks. Internal EU borders were opened on June 13, in line with EU recommendations. In response to the second wave of the pandemic, the authorities initially tightened restrictions on a regional basis, grouping counties into “yellow” and “red” zones based on the local severity of the outbreak. By October 24, the entire country had been placed in a “red” zone. Following a further acceleration of cases, additional restrictions were announced on November 4 (in effect from November 6 to December 27). The restrictions included tighter limits in smaller retail stores. Hotels were opened only for business travel. Restaurants were open for takeout/delivery only, remote learning was implemented for children at all grades, social gatherings of over 5 people were banned, wedding receptions were not permitted, religious service attendance faced limits, and public transport was limited to 50 percent of seats. Water parks, swimming pools, and gyms were closed. Cultural services were closed, including cinemas and museums. Shopping malls were closed between November 6 to November 28, and reopened after, with a limit on capacity. The government restricted Christmas meetings to five persons and imposed mobility restrictions on New Year's Eve. The authorities subsequently announced a national quarantine from December 28 to January 18, including the shutdown of hotels, ski resorts, and shopping malls with limited exceptions. Persons entering Poland using public transport were put under 10-day quarantine. The dates coincided with the winter school break, which was shifted to early 2021 for all regions, implying a one-month shutdown of schools, starting from the Christmas break on December 23. On January 12, the government extended restrictions to January 31, with the exception that primary schools were re-opened for grades 1-3. On January 29 government announced the re-opening of shopping malls and cultural institutions in sanitary regime from February 1. Further restrictions were lifted on February 12, with opening of theatres, cinemas, and operas up to 50 percent of audience. Hotels and accommodation facilities were opened, providing no more than 50 percent of guests and only room-service meals. The government also allowed opening of such sport facilities, as ski slopes, tennis courts, skating rinks, stadia, and swimming pools. In response to rising infections marking the start of the third wave, these restrictions, as well as closing of shopping malls and moving schools back to remote mode, were re-introduced on February 27 in the region with worst pandemic situation, Warminsko-Mazurskie voivod. Moreover, the government tightened requirements on face covers (no scarfs or plastic semi-helmets allowed) and imposed quarantine for all persons entering Poland from Czech and Slovak Republic, unless they have a negative test result no older than 48 hours or were vaccinated with two doses. With infections increasing, the government expanded restrictions to three regions (Pomorskie, Mazowieckie, and Lubuskie voivods) on March 13-15, and then on March 25 announced new country-wide restrictions taking effect on March 27 lasting until April 18. In addition to provisions stipulated by regionally tighter sanitary regimes, the new restrictions include the closure of nurseries, kindergartens, hairdressers and beauty services, and large furniture and hardware stores. Occupancy limits were tightened in retail stores and churches. An obligatory 10-day quarantine requirement was imposed on all persons arriving from abroad as of March 30, except those coming from the Schengen area with negative test result not older than 48 hours, vaccinated against Covid-19 with vaccines allowed by the European Medicines Agency, or tested negative after arrival to Poland. Steadily declining infections in April prompted the government to start a gradual loosening of sanitary restrictions, starting with opening of kindergartens and nurseries, as well as allowing some outdoor sport activities as of April 19. As of April 26, hybrid education (half remote and half in person) in grades 1-3 of primary schools was introduced, and beauty services were reopened, except for 5 regions (voivods) with the worst pandemic situation, where restrictions were loosened on May 1. As of May 4, the government allowed the reopening of shopping malls, large furniture and hardware stores, art galleries, and museums, as well as in-person education in grades 1-3 of primary schools. Certain sanitary requirements, like maximum number of persons allowed (1 person per 15 square meters), still apply in the reopened facilities. The authorities also outlined a roadmap for further reopening of the economy, conditional on pandemic developments. In light of improving pandemic situation, the government proceeded with reopening of cinemas, theaters, and operas under sanitary regimes (distancing, face masks) at half capacity from May 15. Indoor concerts half capacity) were allowed from May 26, and public gatherings of up to 50 persons as of May 29. Hotels were reopened on May 8 (max. 50 percent capacity). Outdoor service in all restaurants was allowed on May 15 and indoor service on May 28. Starting from May 28, the government reopened activities of fitness clubs, gym, and swimming pools under sanitary regimes. Primary and secondary schools returned to in-person education on May 31. Weddings, funerals, and similar occasional events for a maximum of 25 persons were allowed outdoors from May 8, with the limit increased to 50 persons and indoor events allowed as of May 28. The government announced further loosening of restrictions from June 6, with limit of persons allowed at various events increased from 50 to 150 persons, larger number of passengers in public transport (¾ capacity), as well as of the resumption of in-person conferences, exhibitions, and fairs. On June 13, the government further relaxed containment measures, particularly in high-contact sectors, allowing catering services in cinemas, theaters, and other institutions of culture, as well as at concerts. From June 26, capacity limits were increased to 75 percent for cinemas, theaters, hotels, restaurants, and the limit for gyms was increased to 1 person per 10 square meters. Events and meetings organized indoors, including discotheques, face a maximum participation of 150 persons. Public transport capacity has increased to 100 percent, with maintained obligatary face masks. The audience at sport events was allowed to 50 percent of capacity. Fully vaccinated persons are not counted against the above mentioned capacity constraints. The SARS-CoV-2 vaccination program was launched on December 27 with medical staff being the top priority group. The National Vaccination Strategy aims for all 31 million adult Poles to be vaccinated by no later than early 2023, though if the five vaccines to be chosen are made more quickly this could be sped up to mid-2022. By June 29, total vaccinations reached 28.8 million, with 44 percent of the population having received at least one dose and 34 percent of the population fully vaccinated. The population over age 12 is currently eligible to be vaccinated. Key Policy Responses as of June 30, 2021 FiscalThe fiscal policy response to the first wave of the pandemic was sizeable, estimated at PLN 116 billion (5.2 percent of GDP). New credit guarantees and micro-loans for entrepreneurs estimated at PLN 74 billion (3.3 percent of GDP) were also approved. Additionally, the Polish Development Fund has financed a PLN 100 billion (4.5 percent of GDP) liquidity program for businesses. Most of the measures have expired by now, except for the PFR liquidity loan program for large firms. Key measures include:
In response to the second wave of the pandemic, on November 4 the anti-crisis shield 6.0 was announced which was approved by the president on December 15. The additional fiscal measures are targeted to the most affected sectors of the economy and include exemptions from social security contributions, subsidized loans, wage subsidies and benefits for self-employed. The estimated cost of such support is around 1.7 percent of GDP, including the extension of PFR shield to some new branches, announced on January 19 and February 2. Given the deteriorating pandemic situation during the third wave of COVID-19, these measures were consequently extended for new branches and prolonged for March and April. PFR liquidity loans programs for large firms have been extended through Q3 2021, and processing requests from small firms were extended until August 23, 2021. The key measures include:
According to preliminary government estimates, the above-the-line fiscal cost of anti-crisis measures amounted to 4¼ percent of GDP in 2020. Monetary and macro-financial
Exchange rate and balance of payments
PortugalBackground. The first confirmed COVID-19 case was reported on March 2, 2020. The recent severe outbreak has been halted following the new nationwide lockdown, which has been similar in stringency to the lockdown of early-2020. As new infections and hospitalizations decreased substantially to levels similar to last September, a gradual de-confinement has been gradually implemented since March 15 The share of population with at least one vaccine dose has reached 37.8 percent (in line with the EU average). Economic developments. The economy has been significantly affected by the pandemic, with a GDP decline of 7.6 percent in 2020 and again a 3.3 percent decline (q/q) in the first quarter of 2021. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the government has responded with a range of measures to support the economy and jobs, and facilitate a progressive resumption of economic activity. In response to the intensification of the pandemic of late 2020 and early 2021, the government extended a range of measures to support the economy and jobs. With the start of the de-confinement, according to Banco de Portugal’s daily economic indicator, the economy has registered signs of recovery since late March. Key Policy Responses as of June 3, 2021 Fiscal
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QQatarHealthcare response. Qatar is being impacted by two shocks—the spread of COVID-19 and the sharp decline in hydrocarbon prices. The authorities have put in place policies to dampen the negative impact of the shocks in the economy. The first confirmed COVID-19 case was reported on February 29, 2020. Measures implemented to contain the spread of the virus included: travel restrictions (suspension of all international passenger flights, a 14-day quarantine for all returning Qatari citizens, and suspension of public transportation); suspension of public and private schools (replaced with distance learning) and home services; closure of non-essential businesses (excluding groceries stores and pharmacies); banning all public gatherings and dining in cafes and restaurants; and cancellation of routine medical and dental appointments. These measures were complemented by requiring teleworking for 80 percent of private sector employees and vulnerable groups (older than 55, pregnant women, and those with chronic illness), reduced working hours in the public sector, public health awareness campaigns, intensified food inspections to ensure health compliance, more testing for COVID-19 (including a drive through station), and enhanced cleaning in the Industrial Area. Home delivery medical services have been expanded. The private sector is providing meals and hygiene baskets to workers in quarantined areas. A 150-bed hospital for quarantined workers has been set up in the Industrial Area, where there has been a high concentration of COVID-19 cases. All residents are required to wear a facemask in public places and install the Ehteraz App on their mobile phones, which will help track COVID-19 transmission, prioritize testing, and provide COVID-related updates. To contain increase in new cases at the beginning of 2021, Qatar re-imposed some restrictions limiting public gatherings and retail activities. Reopening of the Economy. The authorities have conducted widespread COVID-19 testing in the Industrial Area and are providing free healthcare to those affected. The Industrial Area fully opened on May 6, 2020, under strict and specific entry and exit regulations, only for employers and employees, and for goods and materials, which may only enter or exit with an application to relevant authorities. Entry and exit regulations are partly implemented with a mobile application. On June 8, 2020, the government announced a 4-phase plan to reopen the economy. On September 1,2020, the economy moved into phase 4 with full economic reopening with social distancing and medical precautions in place. On October 13, 2020, the authorities announced the extension of quarantine requirements for all arrivals in Qatar up to December 31, 2020. A rotational in-person school attendance has been implemented since November 1, 2020. Qatar began COVID vaccination campaign at end-December 2020 and over 3 million doses of vaccines (or 60 per 100 hundred people) have been administered so far. On May 9, 2021, the authorities have announced a 4-phase plan to fully lift COVID-related restrictions. The first phase has started on May 28, 2021 and allows for a gathering of a maximum of five vaccinated people. The fourth phase will start tentatively on July 30, 2021, with a duration of 3 weeks at least for each phase. Key Policy Responses as of June 3, 2021 Qatar’s QR 75 billion (about 14 percent of GDP) package to reduce the effects of COVID-19 was announced on March 16, 2020. The program aims at shoring up small businesses and hard-hit sectors (hospitality, tourism, retail, commercial complexes, and logistics), including through exemptions on utilities payments (water, electricity). Logistics areas and small and medium industries were exempt from rent payments for six months. The measures were extended until September 2021. Since September 2020, the authorities have announced labor-market reforms that would dismantle the “kafala” employment system by allowing workers to take new jobs without their current employers' approval; a permanent, universal minimum wage; and strengthened enforcement systems around labor protections. Fiscal
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Exchange rate and balance of paymentsNo measures. RRomaniaBackground. The first case of COVID-19 was reported on February 26, 2020. The government has implemented a range of measures to delay the spread of coronavirus and to support people, jobs, and businesses. This includes declaring national emergency, increased testing, social distancing measures, including the closure of schools and entertainment as well as travel and domestic movement restrictions, and capping prices of fuel and utilities. Among EU countries, Romania experienced a relatively shallower overall economic contraction rate of only 3.9% for 2020. This reflected the easing of lockdown restrictions, including the rebound in EU trading partners, and growth also continued to be supported by COVID-19 support measures and the lagging effects of construction sector stimulus in 2019. A strong economic recovery is underway in 2021, with Q1 GDP posting a 2.8 percent increase QoQ – that appears to have been the fastest among the EU countries. Reopening of the economy. The gradual reopening started on May 15, 2020. In a first stage, hairdressers, libraries, dentist practices, small shops and museums were reopened, and people can leave their homes without a sworn statement regarding the purposes of traveling. The second round of relaxation measures was implemented on June 1, by lifting restrictions for travel outside cities, resuming international vehicle and train transportation, allowing outdoor sports competition (without public) and outdoor concerts under special conditions, opening terraces and beaches. Starting June 15, international travel to certain countries has been resumed without mandatory quarantine/self-isolation upon return, shopping malls (except food areas and cinemas), gyms and kindergartens have been opened. After May 15, it is compulsory to wear masks in enclosed spaces in public, such as shops and in public transport. Schools reopened on September 14, subject to certain conditions. Key Policy Responses as of July 1st , 2021 Fiscal
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Russian FederationBackground. The first cases were reported on January 31, 2020. The authorities started preemptive containment at end-December 2019. They progressively closed the border with China and Europe; mandated self-quarantine for people arriving from other countries and people at risk; closed schools, theaters, and sports facilities; and encouraged remote work. GDP contracted by 7.8 percent y/y in Q2 of 2020 and by 3 percent for the year as a whole. On March 30, 2020 the authorities announced an open-ended quarantine in Moscow requiring non-essential businesses to close and people to remain indoors. The central government asked regional authorities to implement containment policies commensurate with the extent of infection in their regions. The COVID-19 shock was compounded by a steep fall in oil prices and the associated instability in financial markets. The authorities have adopted an action plan to support households and businesses and stand ready to take further measures. Reopening of the economy. The federal government had announced a three-stage reopening plan giving regional governors' discretion on the pace. Criteria for lifting restrictions in specific regions included infection rates, the availability of hospital beds and testing capacity. Already for the past few months, the economy had almost fully reopened. However, with the rapid increase in infections in the past two weeks soft restrictions are being re-imposed. COVID infections are re-accelerating rapidly with the Delta variant. Cases have increased to more than 21,000 per day in June (after previously stabilizing at around 8,500 in March-May). The healthcare system is becoming overburdened in some regions. Soft lockdown restrictions— such as work from home for a certain share of non-vaccinated employees, the closure of food courts and children's playgrounds in shopping malls, distant learning in universities and restricting access to restaurants and resorts for non-vaccinated people—have been reintroduced in Moscow and several other hard-hit regions. In a bid to speed up vaccine rollout, mandatory vaccination for certain population groups, like 60-80 percent of employees in the services sector, have been introduced in some regions. Mass vaccination that started January 18 is still slow, yet has accelerated sharply over the last week amid mandatory vaccination requirement introduction, with only about 12 percent of the population fully vaccinated by end-June – with large regional variation. The authorities admitted that earlier announced aim of 60 percent of population vaccinated by the end of summer could not be achieved. Key Policy Responses as of June 29, 2021 Fiscal
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RwandaBackground. The first confirmed case was reported on March 14, 2020. Rwanda is currently experiencing a spike in the number of COVID-19 cases. The government has implemented a range of containment measures in response to the pandemic including border closure, suspension of domestic travel, cancellation of public gatherings, institution of teleworking, closure of schools, places of worship and non-essential businesses, and mandatory wearing of face masks. Reopening of the economy. A gradual easing of lockdown measures was introduced on May 4, 2020 with selected businesses allowed to resume operations while adhering to health guidelines. Domestic movement restrictions were partially relaxed but strict physical distancing measures mandated in public buses. Bars and schools remain closed. Steps to reopen the economy include the lifting of restrictions on interprovincial travel, with motorcycle taxis permitted to resume transportation of passengers except in a few areas under lockdown, the reopening of places of worship, and the resumption of selected outdoor sports activities and charter flights. Commercial flights resumed on August 1. Following a hike in infections in Kigali, two major markets were closed for 14 days, public transportation between the capital and other districts prohibited, the nighttime curfew temporarily lengthened, and public offices mandated to work at a further reduced capacity to reinforce social distancing. While a phase of accelerated reopening followed progress in containing the virus, including a gradual reopening of schools, the recent spike in infections has urged the government to reverse previously eased restrictions by tightening movement restrictions, banning social gatherings, limiting office operations and conference activity, and closing recreation facilities. A second wave of infections led to the imposition of a 3-week lockdown in Kigali in January 2021. A gradual lifting of restrictions was underway, supported by the national vaccination campaign launched on February 14 with a target of reaching 60 percent of the population by end-June 2022, when the third wave of infections broke in June 2021, prompting targeted lockdowns in Kigali and districts with high infection rates Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021 Fiscal
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SSamoaBackground. As of July 1, 2021, no cases of COVID-19 have yet been reported on domestic soil. The government is taking full precautions and preventive measures to control the transmission of COVID-19, including preparation of the health system to treat and care for patients. Social distancing measures are also in effect. The government declared a State of Emergency in March 2020 and instructed the public to avoid mass gatherings (of five or more people), and unnecessary travel. Samoa implemented travel restrictions to protect citizens of the country in January 2020, among the first countries in the world to do so and has gradually tightened the rules. On April 24, 2020 the IMF Executive Board approved the disbursement of US $ 22 million in emergency financing under the Rapid Credit Facility (RCF) to help Samoa address urgent balance of payments needs created by COVID-19. Press Release: https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2020/04/24/pr20189-samoa-imf-executive-board-approves-us-million-disbursement-address-covid-19-pandemic. Reopening of the economy. The government has issued the amendments of the Emergency Orders to gradually lift lockdown restrictions. Currently most businesses are under normal operations. Social distancing measures still apply for dining at restaurants, and public and village gatherings are permitted only on limited occasions. On June 4, the government extended the State of Emergency Orders until July 4. The country was closed to most international arrivals from April 2020-April 2021, but some arrivals are now being permitted under limited circumstances. From May 24, all travelers are required to have a negative COVID-19 test result within 72 hours, a medical clearance within 120 hours and blood serology for COVID-19 antibody test within 5 days before departure from originating airport. From August 1, travelers are required to be fully vaccinated before entry into Samoa with a negative COVID-19 test result and a medical clearance. All travelers need to be quarantined for a period of time determined by the Ministry of Health depending on vaccine type and country of origin. Samoa launched its vaccination program on April 18 through the COVAX facility. As of June 28, 41.5 percent of the total eligible population have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine. Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021 Fiscal
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San MarinoBackground. The first case of COVID-19 was reported on February 28, 2020. San Marino has been then severely hit by the outbreak with one of the highest rates of infection and deaths per capita in the world. The government imposed strict containment measures, including the lockdown of the entire country, suspension of all construction and retail activities except for essential services related to the provision of food and health, and reduction of the number of active employees by 50 percent on the premise in the manufacturing sector. The country experienced a second wave of contagion toward the end of 2020, but the level of new cases declined steeply, in line with a high level of vaccination among the eligible population. There have been almost no cases throughout June. Reopening of the economy. The lockdown measures have been relaxed in phases, subject to safety guidelines. After the first wave, activities reopened gradually during May and June last year, and the the health emergency declaration was lifted of July 1st. After experiencing a second wave, the government declared a new health emergency at end-October. New restrictions were implemented which included compulsory use of masks, limits to indoor dining and private gatherings. Compulsory mask use has been suspended for vaccinated people or people with proof of recovery from previous infections. Health-care workers are required to vaccinate, or can choose to take unpaid leave. To facilitate traveling, the government introduced of a "green certificate" to be fully integrated with the rest of the EU. Traveling to high risk regions in Italy remains restricted. Key Policy Responses as of June 30th, 2021 Fiscal
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São Tomé and PríncipeBackground. The first confirmed COVID-19 cases were reported on April 6, 2020. With the help of the WHO, a field hospital was established in mid-April, and a lab started to function in mid-June. The state of emergency first declared on March 17. Economic conditions have deteriorated since the introduction of confinement measures. Real GDP is expected to contract by about 6 percent in 2020 due to weak external demand and pandemic-containment measures. Reopening of the economy. The government moved from a state of emergency to a state of alert in October, in the final phase of reopening the economy. The country reopened hotels, restaurants, commercial flights, and extended the operation of commerce and public service to normal hours. They also started in-person classes at schools and universities, while taking steps to ensure social distancing and prevent re-emergence of the virus. However, there was a resurgence of the virus in the first two months of 2021. The authorities announced further containment measures at end-February and since then, the number of cases has declined sharply. Vaccinations, supported by the WHO COVAX program, began on March 15, 2021. Key Policy Responses as of June 3, 2021 Fiscal
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Saudi ArabiaBackground. . Saudi Arabia was hit by two shocks during the COVID-19 crisis—the spread of COVID-19 and the sharp decline in oil prices. The government responded to the crisis quickly and decisively. The authorities implemented a range of measures to limit the spread of the virus encompassing curfews; travel restrictions (including on international flights and internal public transportation and taxis); suspending prayers at mosques; closing all schools, universities, and shopping malls; suspending employee attendance at government and private workplaces (except for critical staff); and increasing testing. New makeshift hospitals were built to accommodate any potential surge in patients. Temporary housing accommodation and repatriation flights were offered to expatriate workers. The government also restricted last year's Hajj season to only around 1000 pilgrims. Real oil GDP contracted by 6.7 percent in 2020 as the OPEC+ group agreed to substantial production cuts to help rebalance the market. After contracting sharply in 2020Q2, non-oil growth rebounded as the lockdown eased. Real non-oil GDP declined by 2.3 percent in 2020 but grew by 5.6 percent in 2020H2 (compared to 2020H1) and by 2.9 percent year-over-year in 2021Q1. The rebound continued in early 2021Q2—the PMI picked up again in April and May after easing somewhat in February and March from a 15-month high in January. On June 12, 2021, the authorities announced that 2021 Hajj season which will start in mid-July, will be restricted to 60,000 citizens and residents. Reopening of the economy. On May 26, 2020, the authorities announced a 3-phase plan for removing coronavirus-related restrictions which has resulted in a near reopening of the economy. Umrah pilgrimage resumed on October 4 for nationals and residents with an initial capacity of 30 percent and entered the second phase on October 18 with a capacity of 75 percent. On November 1, Umrah resumed for foreign pilgrims between 18-50 years of age. International travel resumed on May 17, 2021. Vaccination started in mid-December 2020 and over 17.6 million doses of vaccines, or 51 per 100 hundred people have been given so far. Daily new cases have picked up from early 2021 lows of about 100 and are currently around 1400. Key Policy Responses as of June 30, 2021 Fiscal
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SenegalBackground. A first positive case was reported on March 2 2020, following which the government declared a national state of emergency in early March and adopted strict containment measures, including suspension of international air travel, closure of borders, limits on inter-regional travel, bans on public gatherings, school closures, and a curfew. These measures succeeded in reducing the daily number of new positive cases to an average of under 20 in September-October after hovering around 100 from May to August. A virulent second wave of the pandemic, underway since November 2020 had slowed down but there has been an uptick starting in the last week of May as new cases roose up to 476 in the week through June 25 (up from 173 the week before). The positivity rate also increased (4.7% from 3.8%) The vaccination campaign was launched in February 2021. As of end-June- 2021, 506,190 people (about 2.9 % of the population) have been vaccinated. Reopening of the economy. The containment measures and the sudden stop of travel and tourism contributed to a significant economic slowdown in the first half of 2020, exacerbated by declining export demand and lower remittances. The President lifted the state of emergency and curfew on June 30. International air travel has resumed, while some restrictions on travel from and to the EU countries which apply restrictions to Senegal. In light of the second wave of COVID-19, the President declared curfews in Senegal's two largest cities (Dakar and Thies) and closed markets on January 6. The state of emergency was repealed on March 20, 2021 and remaining containment measures were lifted. Key Policy Responses as of June 29, 2021 Fiscal
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SerbiaBackground. Serbia reported its first confirmed COVID-19 case on March 6, 2020. The government declared a national state of emergency on March 15 and adopted several containment measures. These included closing borders, prohibiting movement of citizens during the weekends and between 5pm and 5am during weekdays (total ban for senior citizens), suspension of public transport and all activities in parks and public areas intended for recreation and sports, closing education centers and shopping malls (except grocery stores and pharmacies). GDP growth reached -0.6 percent in Q1,-9.2 percent in Q2, 7.2 percent in Q3, and 2.2 percent in Q4 (s.a. qoq), or +5.2 percent, -6.2 percent, -1.4 percent and -1.1 percent in yoy terms in Q1, Q2, Q3, and Q4, respectively. The real GDP contraction in 2020 amounted to about 1.1 percent. Reopening of the economy. Since April 21, containment measures were gradually relaxed (with protective measures in place), including the reopening of green markets, fitness centers, hairdressers, parks, bars, coffee shops, and restaurants; and allowing outdoor sports and recreation activities. Inter-city and urban public transportation resumed on May 4. On May 7, the state of emergency was lifted, abolishing the ban on movement of citizens, including senior citizens. Shopping malls reopened on May 8 and kindergartens on May 11 and commercial flights have resumed since in mid-May. Since May 15, both Serbian and foreign citizens are allowed to enter the country presenting a negative PCR testing not older than 72 hours (Serbs could alternatively stay in quarantine for 14 days). As of May 22, a negative test is no longer required to enter Serbia. On May 15, a gradual resumption of commercial flights started. As of June 1, outdoor sports competitions with public are allowed, with safety measures in place, as well as outdoor public gatherings with a maximum of one thousand people. As of June 5, there are no more restrictions on the number of people allowed in outdoor public gatherings and events. For indoor gathering and events, the maximum number of attendees has been increased from 100 to 500. New containment measures. In response to a new wave of infections which started in late June, new measures have been implemented. On July 1: mandatory use of masks in public transportation and indoor spaces and stricter measures in municipalities where state-of-emergency is declared. These include limiting the number of people in outdoor and indoor gatherings; banning sport and entertainment events; limited hours of operation for restaurants and bars; and closure of swimming pools, spa and wellness centers. Additional measures came into effect on July 17: a nationwide ban on gathering of more than 10 people in public spaces indoors and outdoors; mandatory distance of 1.5 meters in public spaces. In light of the declining number of new positive cases in August, some of the measures have been relaxed. On August 24, cinemas and theater reopened, with safety measures in place (max. 500 spectators, mandatory use of masks, etc.). Working hours of all establishments will be restricted to 11:00 pm as of October 8. New measures were introduced on November 15, limiting the hours of operation of restaurants, catering facilities, cafés, nightclubs, as well as shopping centers and shops, which will be closed from 9pm to 5am. Moreover, the number of people allowed in gatherings is restricted to 5. November 25: Secondary and high schools are required to move to virtual learning. December 3: shopping malls, restaurants, bars, cafes, hairdressing and beauty salons, and all indoor sport facilities can be open until 5pm during the week and should be closed during the weekend. December 15:starting on December 20, visitors from abroad (domestic and foreign nationals) can enter Serbia only with a negative PCR test not older than 48 hours; Serbian citizens who do not possess negative PCR tests must spend ten days in isolation at home. December 21: restrictions on shopping malls, restaurants, coffee shops and various service providers were loosened, allowing them to be open until 8pm on weekdays. February 26: shopping malls, restaurants, bars, cafes, and all indoor sport facilities can be open only until 2pm during the weekend. Other service shops, such as hairdressing and beauty salons, can be open until 8pm. March 5: all restaurants and shops (except grocery shops, pharmacies and gas stations) will remain closed during the weekend. March 12: cafes, restaurants, night clubs and bars, as well as shopping malls will remain closed during the entire week. All food sales facilities and cultural institutions (cinemas, theaters, galleries, and libraries) can work until 9 pm, and all other facilities up to 8 pm, under strict protocols. Higher grades of primary school moved to online learning and secondary schools will continue with virtual learning schemes. April 6: cafés, restaurants and bars allowed to work in outdoor spaces, with protocols. April 12: shopping malls reopen. April 19: Higher grades of primary school and secondary schools return to face-to-face learning. June 1: further relaxation of containment measures: restaurants and bars can work until midnight, both indoors and outdoors; newsagents and kiosks can work 24 hours; and indoor congresses indoors allowed to gather a maximum of 200 persons. Lifting of containment measures.April 6: cafés, restaurants and bars allowed to work in outdoor spaces, with protocols. April 12: shopping malls reopen. April 19: Higher grades of primary school and secondary schools return to face-to-face learning. June 1: further relaxation of containment measures: restaurants and bars can work until midnight, both indoors and outdoors; newsagents and kiosks can work 24 hours; and indoor congresses indoors allowed to gather a maximum of 200 persons. June 15: all remaining retail stores restrictions are lifted; unlimited working hours for restaurants and cafes outdoor (working hours indoors still limited until 1am). Music is now allowed in indoor facilities. Key Policy Responses as of June 30, 2021 Fiscal
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Sierra LeoneBackground. Cumulative COVID-19 cases in Sierra Leone exceeded 5,400 by late June 2021. A third wave began in early June, with the highest daily number of cases since the pandemic began (192) recorded on June 24. The presence of the Delta variant has been confirmed in Sierra Leone and, unlike previous waves (January 2021 and May 2020), many cases are symptomatic. The first vaccines (from SinoPharm and Astra Zeneca) arrived in late February and totaled 200,000 and 96,000 doses, respectively (a total of 528,000 of AstraZeneca have been allocated under COVAX). By late June, the number of people having received at least one dose was around 85,000 (about 1.1 percent of the population), with about 15,000 of these (0.19 percent of the population) fully vaccinated.
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SingaporeBackground. Singapore had managed to control the spread ofCovid-19 infections by end-2020, following the lockdown introduced in April 2020 when cases surged. Singapore moved to phase 3on December 28, 2020, the less stringent level of the a three-phased approach to resume activities. Recent increases in daily community infections since April 28, 2021 have led to tightened social distancing, including reduced size for social gatherings and public events, and a return to Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) until June 13, 2021. A national COVID-19 vaccination program started on December 30, 2020, with the objective to vaccinate all Singaporeans and long-term residents by end-2021. Annual real GDP contracted by 5.4 percent in 2020, as activity has rebounded following the record contraction of 13.3 percent (y/y) in the second quarter of 2020. The economy continued to recover in 2021Q1, with growth reaching 1.3 percent year-on-year. Key Policy Responses as of June 1, 2020 Fiscal
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The Kingdom of the Netherlands—Sint MaartenBackground. The authorities implemented a set of measures and travel restrictions to control the spread of COVID-19 on March 6, 2020, ahead of the first case on March 18. On March 22, the borders were closed for all passenger traffic. On March 30, a night curfew was implemented and the border between Sint Maarten and Saint Martin closed and jointly patrolled with the French government. As the number of cases grew, the authorities declared a State of Emergency and a full lockdown on April 5. A phased reopening of the local businesses started on May 10 and the border between Sint Maarten and Saint Martin was re-opened on September 18 after almost two months of closure to slow down the spread of the virus. The second wave of COVID-19 started in late July. It surpassed the first wave in the number of active cases but had lower mortality. The number of active cases dropped significantly by mid-March 2021. Reopening of the economy. The government implemented a phased reopening of the economy. The first and second phases (June 15 and 22, 2020) allowed travel between Sint Maarten and several regional island nations and territories, including Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, British Virgin Islands, Curaçao, Dominica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Saint Lucia. Nationals and visitors from Saba, Sint Eustatius, Bonaire, Anguilla, St. Barthelemy, Martinique and Guadeloupe who did not travel 21 days prior to the date of departure will be accepted. The third phase (July 1, 2020) allowed travel from additional Caribbean countries, Belgium, Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands, assessed as posing a medium risk of transmission. The fourth phase (August 1, 2020) allowed travel from several high-risk countries, including the United States (the main tourism market), although the border remains closed to travelers from Latin America. On April 5, the country boarders to Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao were closed. Stayover arrivals in 2020 were at 33 percent of their 2019 level. In 2021Q1, stayover arrivals increased to 40 percent of the 2019Q1. In April-May 2021, they further recovered to 70 percent of their 2019 level. Currently, the Netherlands classifies risk of travel to Sint Maarten as "code yellow", which does not carry any restrictions but warns travelers of possible issues. Vaccination started on February 22, 2021. The vaccine (BioNTech/Pfizer) is supplied by The Netherlands. The authorities developed a vaccination plan with an objective to vaccinate 70 percent of total population by the hurricane season. As of July 1, 2021, 21.4 thousand (around 51 percent of the population) have received their first doses and 17.5 thousand (around 42 percent of the population) were fully vaccinated. Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021 Fiscal
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Slovak RepublicBackground. The fist confirmed COVID-19 case was reported on March 6, 2020. The government implemented a range of measures to delay the spread of COVID-19 since March 13, including social distancing, closing schools and entertainment and hospitality premises, limiting international travel, promoting the widespread use of face masks, and mass testing. Reopening of the economy and subsequent infection waves. The Slovak Republic started to gradually ease containment measures on April 22, 2020. The limited number of new cases allowed for a subsequent acceleration of reopening plans, with the national emergency ending on June 13 and most containment measures being lifted over the summer. With the sharp rise in new Covid-19 cases since September 2020, the government re-introduced a state of emergency on October 1st (extended until May 14, 2021) and implemented a partial lockdown between October 24 and November 14. A first-of-its-kind nation-wide mass testing of the adult population was conducted on October 31−Novermber 1, followed by smaller-scale testing in regions with high positivity rates. Slovakia went under curfew again from December 19, 2020 to May 14, 2021, with containment measures, though more targeted and less stringent than in the spring of 2020. An automaton system entered into force on February 8, with regional restriction measures depending on the severity of the Covid situation. A gradual reopening is underway since April with the continued decline in new Covid-19 cases. The vaccination rollout is proceeding, less than 40 percent of the population had received at least one dose by late June. Economic impact. GDP declined by 4.8 percent y/y in 2020. The sharp contraction in contact-intensive sectors and manufacturing due to lockdowns led to a historic drop in activity in 2020Q2, but activity rebounded and became more resilient to the pandemic through 2020. With the second wave of infections and renewed containment measures, the economy struggled to maintain momentum in early 2021, and GDP grew by only 0.2 percent y/y in 2021Q1. Key Policy Responses as of June 22, 2021 Fiscal
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Republic of SloveniaBackground. The Covid-19 pandemic has significantly affected Slovenia, a small country with a population of 2.1 million. Since the first confirmed COVID-19 case on March 4, there have been 257 thousand confirmed infections and over 4 thousand deaths with or from COVID-19. Slovenia experienced a strong second wave of COVID -19 cases in the fall of 2020 and a less steep third wave in March-April 2021. The number of tests has increased significantly since late December 2020 with the launch of a mass testing program, and the positivity rate has dropped to about 0.1 percent. As of June 30, 66 patients were hospitalized (including 16 people in intensive care); 2 deaths occurred in the past week . Vaccination is progressing, with over 670 thousand people (32 percent of the population) fully vaccinated. Real GDP contracted by 5.5 percent in 2020 but in 2021 Q1, it grew by 1.6 percent. The authorities currently project growth in 2021 at 4.6 percent (IMAD Spring Forecast). Since March, the authorities have implemented a range of measures through eight packages to delay the spread of coronavirus and cushion the adverse impact on people and businesses. Reopening of the economy, new waves of infections and lockdowns. The first wave of coronavirus infections in the spring of 2020 was followed by a gradual reopening, facilitated by the containment measures and decline in the number of cases. Restrictions on city-to city travel and some public transit for businesses were relaxed in April. The easing of the restrictions then broadened to some services, which were in May expanded to fully reopen in-city public transportation, schools, and some sport activities. On May 15, Slovenia became the first EU country to declare the end of the COVID-19 epidemic in the country, although some anti-COVID-19 restrictions remained in place. In the face of a new wave of infections in the fall, the authorities set the economy in a partial lockdown from October 2020. Residents were to demonstrate a valid reason to leave their region and a nighttime curfew (from 9 pm to 6 am) was imposed. Movie theaters, and cultural venues were closed, and gatherings restricted. The government decided to relax some of the containment measures in mid-December -- public transport resumed at reduced capacity and certain businesses were allowed to open. Schools for children with special needs reopened in early January, followed by kindergartens, primary and secondary schools. The declining trend of new COVID-19 cases was reversed around mid-March and a third wave of infections emerged. In response, the government introduced a third lockdown for ten days, starting April 1. Measures include mandatory waring of protective masks in open public spaces, movement restrictions between regions, ban on gatherings, switch to remote learning (except for children in kindergartens and first three grades of primary school), restricted public transportation and closure of all non-essential stores and service providers. The number of new cases started to decline quickly after around mid-April and on June 15 the government ended the COVID-19 state of emergency. Some restrictions remain, such as face covering in closed public spaces and social distancing. Border crossing restrictions continue to apply – individuals entering Slovenia from countries in the “red” and “dark-red” lists are required to submit a PCR test and are sent to quarantine for 10 days unless they present a proof of vaccination or convalescence. Non-residents traveling from areas in the dark-red list are not admitted to Slovenia.
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Solomon IslandsBackground. The first confirmed COVID-19 case was reported on October 3, 2020. All the confirmed cases so far have been amongst repatriated citizens contained within the isolation stations. COVID-19 preventative measures implemented by the government include suspension of all commercial international flights, temporary ban on entry of non-citizens, and strict mandatory quarantine for all returning passengers. In addition, the government extended the state of public emergency until April 01, 2021. It also temporarily scaled down public services to essential services only, closed schools and suspended some services as well as restricting domestic travel in April 2020. On June 1, 2020, the IMF Executive Board approved the disbursement of US $ 28.5 million in emergency financing under the Rapid Credit Facility (RCF) and Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI) to help Solomon Islands address urgent balance of payments needs stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. Press Release:https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2020/06/01/pr20229-solomon-islands-imf-executive-board-approves-disbursement-to-address-the-covid-19-pandemic Reopening of the economy. On April 24, 2020 the Prime Minister confirmed that COVID-19 tests can be done in country after the arrival of medical testing equipment funded by its donor partners. On May 8, 2020, the Prime Minister ordered to reopen businesses. On May 20, 2020, the emergency zones, including Honiara, went into a mock lockdown for 36 hours to test their capabilities in case of future needs. By May 25, 2020, all schools had reopened. After confirming its in-country COVID-19 testing capability, the government began repatriation of its stranded nationals from Australia, New Zealand, China, Philippines and other countries from May 2020 onwards. The government has also begun to allow the entry of foreign technical staff to work on donor-funded projects, including for Pacific Games 2023. The national airline, Solomon Airlines, has extended the suspension of all regular international flights until October 30, 2021, but it will continue to operate government approved cargo and repatriation flights as needed. On August 28, 2020, the national airline laid off 20 percent of its workforce. The Public Health Emergency Bill was enacted by parliament in March 2021. The bill enables the government to promptly and effectively respond to a potential public health threat within Solomon Islands. In November 2020, the government approved 4 additional quarantine facilities in Choiseul and Western Provinces apart from the existing capacity in Honiara and the western province of Gizo. Solomon Islands is expected to receive vaccines to cover 20 percent of its population free through the COVAX facility, with remaining doses co-financed through development partners. Solomon Islands has started rolling out Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine (50,000 doses) donated by China on May 21. Solomon Islands received the first batch of 13,000 doses out of the 60,000 doses of Australian made Astra Zeneca vaccines on June 17 and 28,800 doses of Astra Zeneca vaccines from New Zealand through the COVAX facility on June 19. As June 24, 2021, a total of 23,634 doses have been administered. Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021 Fiscal
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SomaliaBackground. Somalia recorded its first confirmed COVID-19 case on March 16, 2020. In early March, the authorities established a COVID-19 response coordination committee led by the Prime Minister and, in coordination with the WHO and the UN, the Ministry of Health has taken measures to contain the spread of the outbreak and to strengthen health systems. These include restricting large meetings and gatherings; closing schools and universities; closing borders suspending international and domestic flights; and intensifying communication through various channels including radio, TV, and social media. As of April 15, 2020, they imposed an evening curfew. As Somalia was ill-prepared to cope with any significant outbreak, Somalia’s partners and the Ministry of Health have launched a Country Preparedness and Response Plan (CPRP) to address the immediate humanitarian and socio-economic consequences. These efforts focused on averting large-scale community spread through risk communication; testing; contact tracing; distribution of PPE to health workers; undertaking measures to mitigate risks to Internally Displaced Populations, refugees, asylum seekers and host communities; and minimizing risks at detention facilities. Reopening of the economy. During the summer of 2020, the Somali authorities have implemented a phased approach to reopening the economy. Domestic and international flights resumed on July 5 and August 3, respectively, and public schools reopened on August 15. Second wave. A second, more virulent wave of the Covid-19 pandemic has started in February 2021. In February alone, 2473 new cases and 109 deaths were reported compared with 70 and zero, respectively in January. The positivity rate has increased to about 10 percent in February from less than one percent in January. Health experts suspect that new Covid-19 variants, and recent large political and religious gathering could be the root causes of new infections. In response, the authorities reintroduced new (stringent) containment measures in March 2021, including (but not limited to): (1) Reintroduction of work-from-home for government workers, with the exception of essential workers; (2) closure of schools and universities for two weeks (starting on February 23); (3) suspension of passport applications until further notice; (4) mandatory facemask in all public spaces; (5) suspension of public gathering and at least a 2-meter social distance to be observed by people attending permitted meetings; but this measure is drawing criticisms from the opposition citing the use of restrictions to stop planned protests; (6) travelers should show negative PCR test result (within 72 hours of travel) and should observe (8 to 14 days) quarantine upon arrival; and (7) weddings and special parties are suspended and sports arenas and gyms have been closed. Despite these measures, by May 27, 2021, the country reported 14,632 cases of COVID-19 infections, 767 deaths, and 6,685 recoveries. Puntland continues to dominate the 14-day average new infections having registered an average of 52 new infections over the last two weeks of May. Somaliland region is the second most impacted with 849 new cases while Benadir region, the most populated region in Somalia, is third having registered 348 cases since 1st April 2021. In the last two weeks of May, Somaliland and Benadir region registered an average of 29 and 6 new cases, respectively. Between May 20-27, Somalia has registered only 57 new COVD-19 infections, signaling a slowdown in the second wave. Despite this registered slowdown, experts have warned that Somalia has a poor testing rate. So far, just 156,000 tests have been performed in a country of more than 15 million people. Therefore, gauging the severity of the outbreak through official data is remains unreliable, while information on any new variants is almost non-existent. In addition, the lack of healthcare coverage and an absence of documentation means that the actual death toll could be much higher than the figures reported, particularly since most sick people are cared for at home, and the deceased are typically buried according to Islamic tradition within 24 hours. Immunization drive. On December 2020, the Somalia authorities applied for the COVAX support, and a National Coordinating Committee (NCC) for the COVID-19 vaccine introduction was set up in coordination with UNICEF and WHO. The Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunizations (GAVI) supports the procurement of vaccines for 20 percent of the population in the first phase and the World Bank will support the procurement for the remainder of the population in the subsequent phase. Somalia is expected to receive 1.4 million doses of the vaccine under the COVAX facility this month. On 15 March 2021, Somalia received 300,000 Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines, being the first batch of the anticipated 1.2 million doses under the WHO COVAX program. Given that the COVAX vaccine only covers 20 percent of the population, the government has reached out to donor partners seeking financing to cover the remaining 80 percent of the population and the anticipated vaccine rollout operational and administrative costs. On March 21 the vaccination exercise was rolled out in Galmudug, South West State and Hirshabelle simultaneously, while in Puntland and Somaliland the exercise commenced on 24 and 27 March, respectively. On 11 April 2021, the Chinese government delivered to Somalia a further 200,000 doses of the Sinopharm vaccine expected to benefit a further 100,000 people. Given that the COVAX vaccine only covers 20% of the population, the government has reached out to donor partners seeking financing to cover the remaining 80% of the population and the anticipated vaccine rollout operational and administrative costs. The Somalia government has started mobilizing resources to cover an initial urgent need of USD 560,000 for the first dose administration operational costs. Plans on how to finance the vaccination of the remaining 80% of the population have also commenced with GAVI establishing a mechanism that allows for cost-sharing among donor partners. In addition, the World Bank is working towards the approval of a USD 20.5 Million facility. However, the low uptake of the vaccine has been attributed to vaccine hesitancy, which is a concern for the Somalia government and the WHO officials. To date, just over a third of the 300,000 doses delivered by COVAX program have been administered. Mogadishu has only vaccinated 22 percent of the target population, Puntland 35 percent, Jubaland 18 percent, South West state 11 percent Galmudug 34 percent and Hirshabelle 35 percent. Key Policy Responses as of June 3, 2021 Fiscal
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South AfricaBackground. South Africa reported its first confirmed COVID-19 case on March 5, 2020. The government declared a national state of disaster, which at present extends to July 15 2021, and adopted containment measures, including social distancing, travel bans on visitors from high-risk countries and quarantine for nationals returning from those countries, screening at ports of entry, school closures, screening visits to homes, and introduction of mobile technology to track and trace contacts of those infected. A nationwide lockdown was put in place from midnight March 26 2020, with only critical workers, transport services, banking, essential food and medicine production, and retail operating. On April 27 2020, a delegation of 217 infectious disease experts arrived upon the request of the government to support its health response to COVID-19. On May 1 2020, a phased lifting of the lockdown began, allowing a few sectors to resume operation and others only partially. On May 13 2020, a further relaxation of the lockdown was announced effective June 1 2020. On May 24 2020, it was specified that the June 1 relaxation would be broader than previously announced. Most economic activities reopened under strict health and social distancing practices except for high risk ones. The sale of alcohol was allowed on a restricted basis while the sale of tobacco remained banned. Remote work has always been encouraged where possible. On June 8 2020, schools started to reopen and on June 17 2020, restrictions on sit-down restaurants, hotels, conference centers, casinos, non-contact sports, and personal care services were relaxed under strict adherence to health protocols. On July 12, 2020, in response to a growing number of COVID-19 cases, a curfew and an alcohol ban were reintroduced and the wearing of facemasks in public was made mandatory. On July 23, 2020, it was announced that, starting from July 27, 2020, most public schools would be closed for one month. On August 17, 2020, after the number of daily cases declined, the sale of alcohol could resume subject to certain restrictions. Restrictions on inter-provincial travel and the operation of accommodation, hospitality venues, beaches, restaurants, bars, and taverns were relaxed subject to strict adherence to health protocols and social distancing. On September 21, 2020, following a flattening of the infection curve, restrictions were further relaxed. Almost all restrictions including on international travel to certain countries were lifted from October 1, 2020. On October 20, 2020, the list of high-risk countries for international travel was revised and the number of such countries was reduced from 60 to 22. On December 3, 2020, the Nelson Mandela Bay was declared as a hotspot and new restrictions were introduced. On December 9, 2020, the Health Minister acknowledged the start of the second wave. On December 14, 2020, President Ramaphosa introduced further restrictions in locations with high infections. The curfew was extended to the entire nation (between 11pm and 4 am). To combat the increase in infections driven by the faster-spreading new variant, on December 28 the President tightened restrictions (adjusted Level 3). On February 1st, 2021, restrictions were eased including the lifting of an alcohol sale ban, the reopening of parks and beaches among other public places, and looser restrictions on social gatherings. On March 1st, 2021, most of the restrictions on economic activity were relaxed due a declining number of COVID-19 cases. Wearing of masks remains mandatory and the sale of alcohol is still prohibited during shortened curfew hours. After an increase in the number of cases which signaled the beginnings of a third wave, on May 31st, restrictions were tightened to level 2. Curfew hours were extended, non-essential establishments such as restaurants, bars and fitness centers, were required to close by 10pm, and social gathering restrictions were made more stringent. Due to the continued surge in infections, on June 28th, restrictions were tightened further to level 4 until July 11th. To limit the spread of the dominant Delta variant, all gatherings were prohibited with minor exceptions, restaurants services are limited to takeaway, a curfew is in place from 9pm to 4am and the sale of alcohol is prohibited. Schools have closed earlier and travel to and from Gauteng, the epicenter of the third wave, is limited to work and commercial purposes only. To devise vaccine strategies, the Ministerial Advisory Committee on COVID-19 Vaccines was introduced in September 2020. On November 3 2020, South Africa's participation in the World Health Organization's COVID-19 Global Vaccine Access Facility was announced. South Africa's vaccine strategy, released on January 3 2021, targets a minimum of 67 percent of the population to achieve herd immunity in three phases by the end of 2021, beginning with the most vulnerable. South Africa has secured vaccines through COVAX for 10 percent of the population and then procured them for the rest of the targeted population (57 percent of the population). In early February 2021, agreements for 42.5 million vaccine doses have been announced from a variety of providers and the vaccination program started February 17th with health workers. As of February 28th, 2021, 2-million additional Johnson & Johnson doses were secured and more than 67,000 healthcare workers were vaccinated. After a pause due to concerns with side effects of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, the vaccination program resumed on April 28th, 2021 with an expanded number of vaccination sites. A first batch of 325 260 Pfizer vaccines arrived on May 2nd and a total of 4.5 million doses have arrived in June. On June 30, an international 712 million US dollars financing package was announced for production of the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine in South Africa. 500 million doses will be produced through end 2022 of which 30 million will be for domestic use in 2021. As of June 30th, 3026636 vaccines have been administered since the vaccine roll out began in mid-February. Since the beginning of the pandemic, net nonresident portfolio outflows (bonds and equities) have amounted to around $ 16.3 billion (5.2 percent of GDP), the sovereign's dollar credit spread increased more than 10.5 percent to 186 basis points. After a sharp depreciation during the early stages of the pandemic, the rand has appreciated back to its pre-COVID-19 level against the US dollar. Following the government's request, on July 27 2020, the IMF approved emergency assistance under the Rapid Financing Instrument equivalent to US$4.3 billion. Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021 Fiscal
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South Sudan, Republic ofBackground. The Republic of South Sudan reported its first case of COVID-19 on April 4, 2020. The pandemic is progressing, and the first Vice President tested positive for coronavirus along with some other high-ranked government officials but recovered eventually. The government announced various precautionary measures, including (i) international flight suspension (with few exceptions for planes bringing in health-related cargo, such as medicine and medical equipment, and essential/critical food items; (ii) land border restrictions; (iii) passenger bus prohibitions; (iv) evening curfews; (v) social distancing; and (vi) a mandatory 14-day quarantine period for any traveler arriving from a virus-affected country. The government also encouraged businesses to allow their employees to telework and warned the business community against increasing prices and hoarding essential goods and commodities. Reopening of the economy. Lockdown measures were first partially lifted on May 7, 2020. More recently, the Council of Ministers instructed the Ministry of Education to reopen schools and higher learning institutions in an announcement made on September 18, 2020. International flights and cross-border travel by buses resumed on October 1, 2020. 10-pm curfews and other public health measures including social distancing, handwashing and face covering are still in place. On February 3, 2021, due to the recent surge in COVID-19 cases in the country, the following precautionary measures are put in place: i) ban of all social gatherings including sport and religious events, ii) school closures, iii) private and public sectors to allow work from home, iv) closure of businesses that attract crowds such as bars, clubs, and casinos, v) limit the load of bus and taxi to half capacity, vi) mandatory COVID-19 tests for incoming flight passengers, vii) mandatory use of mask, and vii) various social distancing measures. Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021 Fiscal
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SpainBackground. Spain has been heavily affected by the COVID-19 outbreak, with the first infection case detected on February 25, 2020. During the first wave, a state of emergency took effect from March 14-June 21, 2020, with restrictions on movement to essential purposes only, limited commercial, cultural, recreational, hotel and restaurant activities, and reduced operation of public transport.From March 30-April 9, 2020, all non-essential activities were halted. Temporary restrictions were in place from May 15-24, 2020 on entries through ports and airports from Schengen countries, with only Spanish citizens, residents, cross-border workers, and health and elder care professionals allowed to enter. The spread of the virus and necessary containment measures led to a significant drop in activity in the first half of 2020, followed by a partial rebound in the second half. Reopening of the economy. The first state of emergency was lifted on June 21, 2020, allowing for unconstrained mobility across all provinces and reopening of EU borders. Schools are open for face-to-face teaching at all levels, with a series of preventive and hygienic measures in place including mandatory use of masks for 6 years and older. A coordinated action plan was agreed between the government and the autonomous communities on September 30, 2020, which include triggers for regional containment measures. The second state of emergency took place from October 25, 2020 to May 9, 2021. With the state of emergency ending, most regions began to relax part of the restrictions, including by ending the mandatory use of masks in public spaces (except when social distancing cannot be maintained) by end-June. Temporary restrictions are in place for flights from Brazil and South Africa. Key Policy Responses as of June 30, 2021 Fiscal
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Sri LankaThe spread of COVID-19 was limited to 3,380 cases as of end-September 2020, but two subsequent waves starting in October 2020 and April 2021 have resulted in over 257,000 cases. Vaccination began in January 2021 but has progressed slower than expected due to limited availability of vaccines (around 4.8million doses thus far received from India, China, Russia, and through the WHO Covax facility). The authorities have placed orders for a further 30 million doses from China, Russia, and the US due to arrive by December 2021. Sri Lanka's airports reopened in January 2021, after being closed to international tourists from mid-March 2020. The Sri Lankan currency has depreciated by 7.9 percent against the US dollar since end-2020 while its EMBIG spread remain elevated. Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021 Fiscal
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SudanBackground. Sudan is experiencing a third wave of COVID-19 as the Ministry of Health announced increased cases especially among students and teachers since early March. The Director of the Emergency and Epidemiology Department also said that 40 percent of Khartoum's population is infected. The COVID-19 pandemic continues to compound the challenges faced by the transitional government; infection rates have surged. As of June 1, 2021, there have been 35,512 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 2,631 deaths, reported to WHO. The authorities have imposed face-covering mandate in state institutions, schools and public transport and suspended flights with India for one month from April 27 to May 27. However, North Darfur state has announced the closure of primary and secondary schools for one week. Due to the accelerating infection rate, on May 18 the government suspended studies in all universities and schools for a period of one month and banned certain mass gatherings. Following the lifting of a travel ban, visitors from UK, Netherlands and South Africa are requested to quarantine for 14 days. The authorities began to vaccine citizens at 24 health centers in Khartoum state. In the first stage 20 percent of the total number of the targeted people are expected to be vaccinated. As of 30 May 2021, a total of 358,236 vaccine doses have been administered. The authorities have received 828,000 doses of the AstraZeneca from the COVAX facility at the beginning of March plus 250 thousand of Sinopharm vaccine donated by China and received on March 27. The government also signed an agreement with the Arab Bank for Economic Development for a grant of US$10 million to support health services. While the economy appears to have bounced back following the COVID-19 lockdown, the third wave brings renewed uncertainty. The economic impact from COVID-19 and nearly 6- months of containment measures has increased unemployment and the price of basic foods, and caused exports to decline, exacerbating the macroeconomic challenges the country was already facing. Fiscal revenues reportedly declined by 46 percent. The negative supply shock combined with continued monetization of the fiscal deficit has led to massive depreciation and inflation The already weak health system in Sudan has also suffered from the deaths of medical professionals. Key Policy Responses as of June 1, 2021 Fiscal
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SurinameBackground. The first confirmed case was reported on March 13, 2020. Confirmed cases has been increasing back up since mid-April. Masking requirement and social distance guidance are in effect. Curfew are instituted and is scheduled to expire on May 10, 2021. These include: a ban on entertainment; gatherings limited to 5 or fewer people (except for activities for which there is a protocol); curfew from 8pm to 5am (except Saturday-Sunday when the curfew is from 6pm to 5am); funerals and religious gatherings are allowed only for less than 10 persons present at the same time and if space allow a distance of 1.5 meters; outdoor recreation may take place in strict compliance with the applicable protocols; public transport must follow the applicable protocols; restaurants may open for takeout or delivery, and indoor dining is allowed under strict observance of the applicable protocols. International flights are open for essential travel provided that there is compliance with protocols specific to the country from which the passenger is traveling from and only after the passenger has received prior approval from the Surinamese authorities to travel. Domestic flights are only allowed for cargo, stranded passengers repatriation and medical emergencies. Suriname has received aid from Cuba in the form of medicine and 50 health professionals who are in the country to assist. The Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO), The Netherlands, and Brazil have also provided resources. Suriname is a member of COVAX and expects its first shipment in March (or Q2). Currently, at least 36,200 Surinamese have so far been vaccinated for COVID-19. Key Policy Responses as of May 3, 2021 Fiscal
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SwedenBackground. The first confirmed COVID-19 case was reported on January 31, 2020. The government has implemented a range of measures to mitigate the spread of coronavirus including travel restrictions and social distancing measures. In addition, many secondary schools and universities have switched to distance learning. While some of these restrictions have been eased recently, with secondary schools returning to regular instruction, others, such as travel restrictions, have been extended. On May 27, the Swedish government announced a five-stage plan to adapt and phase out the restrictions imposed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. By end-June, a quarter of the population has been vaccinated. Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021 Fiscal
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SwitzerlandBackground. Switzerland was one of the countries in Europe hit early and hard by COVID-19. The first confirmed case of COVID-19 was reported on February 24, 2020. On March 16 2020, the Federal Council (FC) declared a national state of emergency , closing all shops, restaurants, bars and entertainment facilities and schools (with exceptions for food stores and pharmacies), prohibiting public gatherings of 5 people or more, and recommending that all citizens stay home. Some heavily-affected cantons imposed tighter restrictions on activities. The government also introduced controls at all borders, with entry restrictions in place for citizens of both Schengen and non-Schengen countries. The number of active and new cases decreased sharply from mid/late April 2020, but rose again since mid-June with greater mobility and more testing (particularly in some cantons). Reopening the economy. From mid-April, 2020, the authorities followed a well-articulated 3-phase plan to gradually reopen the economy, making adjustments depending on developments. As noted in the “second wave” section below, many eased restrictions were restored after mid-October 2020. Previously, activities and businesses such as medical and dental practices and hair salons resumed operations from April 27. A further easing on May 11 reopened primary and secondary schools, shops and markets, travel agencies, museums and libraries, and restaurants, bars and pubs, and allowed activities such as exams at educational institutions and some sports. Religious services were allowed from May 28. On May 27, the FC decided to ease most of remaining restrictive measures from June 6, including permitting events with up to 300 people, and it announced that the national state of emergency would conclude on June 19. Events with more than 300 but less than 1,000 people were allowed from June 22, and events with with 1,000+ people resumed from October 1 (but were prohibited again shortly after due to the second wave). Border restrictions were also been gradually loosened from May 11, in consultation with neighboring countries. On June 15, COVID-19 related entry restrictions were lifted for all EU/EFTA states and the United Kingdom. On July 6, the restrictions on the admission of workers from some third countries (i.e. outside the EU and EFTA) were lifted. On July 1, following a similar decision by the EU, Switzerland decided to reopen the borders to 13 non-EU countries and 5 EU countries outside the Schengen area from July 20. The lists of countries with which Switzerland has open borders and of high-risk locations with mandatory quarantine for arrivals to Switzerland are periodically reviewed. In view of the increasing volume of people traveling and the rising number of new infections since mid-June, the FC decided on July 1 to make masks compulsory on all public transport from July 6 and on all flights taking off or landing in Switzerland from August 15. Some cantons reintroduced additional restrictions, such as limiting public events to 100 people. On September 18, Switzerland confirmed its participation in the COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access Facility (COVAX) initiative, a procurement mechanism joined by countries around the world to ensure a fair distribution of COVID-19 vaccines globally. Second wave. The number of new cases started to surge again in mid-September, 2020. By mid-October, the daily infections had reached a level well above Spring 2020 highs. On October 19, the FC re-introduced several containment measures , including mandatory mask requirement for all publicly accessible indoor spaces and public transport areas, restrictions on public gatherings, and reactivation of working-from-home recommendations. On October 28, the FC further measures to counter the rapid spread of the coronavirus, including: (i) expanding mask requirement and introducing rapid COVID-19 tests; (ii) closing discos and dance halls, (iii) requiring bars and restaurants to close at 11 p.m.; (iv) prohibiting all public events with more than 50 people as well as sporting and cultural leisure activities with more than 15 people; and (v) requiring universities to switch to distance learning from November 2. The FC decided to use the army again to support the health system on November 4, and announced a second civil protection mandate on November 18. Also on November 18, the FC amended the ordinance on proximity tracing, to further facilitate Covid-19 contact tracing through the SwissCovid app. Some cantons once again imposed tighter restrictions. Notably, Geneva and Jura declared cantonal state of emergencies with additional measures coming into force on November 2, as intensive care hospital beds in these regions filled up with COVID-19 patients. As the number of new infection cases remained high, and hospitals were approaching their capacity, the FC announced tighter restrictions on December 11, including: (a) 7:00 pm and Sunday closure for places such as museums, libraries, shops, and markets, and 7:00 pm closure for restaurants and bars, with exceptions for cantons with an improved epidemiological situation; (b) a ban on public events, with exceptions for small religious services and funerals; (c) a recommendation of a two-household limit for private gatherings; and (d) a limit of 5 people for sports and culture group activities. On December 18, the FC tightened restrictions again on December 18, closing restaurants as well as cultural, leisure and sports facilities. On December 21, to contain the spread of the new variant of the virus from the UK and South Africa, the FC introduced entry ban and retroactive quarantine for people from the two countries. In January 2021, as the number of daily infections remained high, the FC had continuously adjusted the containment measures accordingly. On January 6, the FC decided to remove the exception rule for tightened restrictions previously allowed for cantons with improved Covid-19 situations. On January 13, the FC decided to extend the measures introduced in December 2020 by five weeks to the end of February, and announced that starting from January 18, remote work would be mandatory where possible, shops selling non-essential goods would be closed, and stricter rules would be applied to private events and gatherings. On January 27, the FC (i) imposed negative test requirements for travelers arriving from high risk states or areas, (ii) required contact details to be collected for all travelers entering Switzerland, (iii) decided to encourage people without symptoms to be tested by covering the costs, and (iv) adjusted the rules to allow a shorter quarantine period, conditional upon a negative test result at the end of the 7th day. Second reopening of the economy. Tightened containment measures and progress on vaccination have helped to gradually bring down the numbers of new infections, hospitalizations and death. On March 1, shops, museums, and library reading rooms were reopened, as well as outdoor areas of sports and leisure facilities, zoos and botanical gardens. Meetings with family and friends and sporting and cultural activities with up to 15 people were again permitted outdoors. Adolescents and young adults up to the age of 20 could take up most of the sporting and cultural activities again. On March 5, the FC proposed to accompany openings with a major expansion of testing, with all costs covered by the federal government. On March 19, since three of the four criteria for further reopening were not met, the FC refrained from extensive openings , except for lifting the limit of private meetings from 5 to 10 people. On April 14, although four of the five guiding criteria for further reopening were not met, the FC decided to move forward with a moderate step : starting from April 19, events with an audience and indoor sports and cultural activities would be allowed again, both with restrictions on the number of participants; and restaurants and bars could open their terraces. On April 21, to provide a clear guidance on future reopening, the FC announced a three-phase plan :(i) Protection phase (until the end of May 2021) with the goal of vaccinating particularly vulnerable people, and no further relaxation of protective measures should be expected; (ii) Stabilization phase (until the end of July 2021) with the goad of vaccinating the entire adult population, and some further reopening steps (or tightening) could take place in this phase, depending on pandemic developments; (iii) Normalization phase (starting from August 2021), during which all protective measures will be lifted gradually. On April 28, the FC decided to launch a national research program, Covid-19 in Society , to examine the effects of the Covid 19 pandemic on the economy, society and politics. The program, endowed with 14 million francs, is expected to last three years. The fourth round of reopening was announced on May 26 (effective from May 31), and the steps were larger than previously anticipated given improved epidemiological situation: (i) the limits for indoor and outdoor public events were increased to 100 (from 50) and 300 (from 100), respectively; (ii) the limits were increased to 30 (from 10) and 50 (from 15) for indoor and outdoor private meetings, respectively; (iii) indoor dining was allowed again at restaurants; (iv) rules for amateur sports were loosened; (v) face-to-face teaching was expanded, and home office was no longer required for companies with regular testing; and (vi) quarantine was no longer required for vaccinated and convalescent people. On June 23, the FC adopted set of wide-ranging measures to further reopen the economy, including: (i) lifting the requirement to wear masks outdoors, at work and at upper secondary school; (ii) downgrading the requirement to work from home to a recommendation; (iii) abolishing restrictions on face-to-face teaching; (iv) terminating capacity restrictions for shops, leisure, and sport facilities; (v) revoking limits on group size per table at restaurants; and (vi) significantly relaxing restrictions on entering Switzerland. Vaccination. Vaccination started in late December 2020, soon after the first vaccine was approved by Swissmedic. At late-June 2021, around 50 percent of the population have received at least one dose of vaccines, and around 34 percent were fully vaccinated. To increase public willingness to vaccinate, the authorities have provided regular updates on potential side effects of Covid-19 vaccinations, and launched a new information campaign in mid-May, "Together for Vaccination". At the beginning of June, vaccination for 12 to 15 year old people with Pfizer / BioNTech was approved. The authorities have started to gradually roll out the COVID certificate since June 7, 2021. The process to have the Swiss certificate recognized by the EU was launched. On June 30, 2021, the authorities decided to transfer 4 million vaccine doses to COVAX. Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021 FISCAL (FEDERAL LEVEL)
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TTajikistanBackground. Tajikistan reported its first confirmed COVID-19 case on May 1, 2020. The authorities have instituted a high-level task force and taken a range of measures to contain the spread of the virus, including border closures, travel restrictions, and suspending prayers at mosques. On June 5,2020, the Tajikistan President issued a decree on Countering the Socio-Economic Impact of COVID-19. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a severe human and economic impact in Tajikistan. Trade and transportation disruptions have led to a sharp drop in remittances and government revenues and created urgent balance of payments and fiscal financing needs. No COVID-19 cases have been registered in Tajikistan since January 2021. Reopening of the economy. Tajikistan started reopening economy relatively quick. On June 6, 2020, the government presented a reopening plan. Accordingly, bazaars, cafes, beauty and hairdressing salons, and barber shops along other businesses resumed operations i on June 15, 2020 adhering to strict cautionary measures, including regular disinfection of premises and observance of social distancing. Restrictions on public transport were removed and intercity travel remained opened. However, international flights resumed with Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkey only in May 2021. Key Policy Responses as of June 30, 2021 Fiscal
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TanzaniaBackground. The first confirmed cases was reported on March 17, 2020. Since early May, the authorities stopped reporting new cases. The authorities banned large gatherings (except for worship), suspended attendance to schools and educational institutions, cancelled international flights, and mandated the wearing of face masks in Dar Es Salaam. Reopening of the economy. On May 18, 2020, the authorities lifted the suspension of international flights into and out of Tanzania. Effective June 1, 2020, the authorities allowed the opening of upper-secondary and tertiary schools and the resumption of sport activities and events. On June 29, 2020 all other educational institutions reopened. As a result, all the restrictions due to COVID-19 have been lifted by July 2020. Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021 Fiscal
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ThailandBackground. The first confirmed COVID-19 case was reported on January 13, 2020. A state of emergency, instituted on March 26, 2020 has been extended to end July 2021. International flights are banned from transiting through Thailand and the government stepped up border surveillance to stem the import of COVID-19 cases from neighboring countries. By mid-December 2020, Thailand had recorded just 4,246 infections in a population of almost 70 million. The caseload however spiked in two consecutive waves since December and mid-April. The COVID-19 tally now stands at 259,301 cases, with about 225,000 confirmed since April and the death toll stood at 2023 on June 30, with 1,929 of those since the start of April. Reopening of the economy. Phase 6 of the reopening began on August 1, 2020 allowing entry to certain non-Thai visitors, including: medical tourists, filming crews, Thailand Elite card members, foreigners who have work permits, foreigners married to Thai nationals and foreigners studying at educational institutions. The mandatory 14-day quarantine does not apply to diplomats, but they must get tested at the airport. More than 100,000 migrant workers from nearby Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos have been allowed entry starting on August 1, 2020. In phase 5, schools and high-risk entertainment venues, such as pubs and massage parlors, reopened; and 40 long-distance and tourism trains resumed services. With the recent outbreak, 28 of the 77 provinces were declared high risk, with new curbs on dining hours and bans on alcohol sales in restaurants. Schools were also shut for a month. Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha approved loosening restrictions from the first week of February,2021 to allow businesses and schools to reopen. The special tourist visa (STV) for leisure travelers began on October 20, 2020 allowing tourists to stay in Thailand for up to 90 days, with two further extensions of 90 days each. On December 8, 2020, Thailand eased travel restrictions for citizens from 56 countries. Citizens from these countries could apply for a normal 30-day visa, which would be extended to 45 days, or apply for the Special Tourist Visa. All tourists should have a negative test result within 72 hours of their arrival, go through a second test once they land, and stay in a compulsory quarantine of 14 days on arrival. If any visitors test positive, they should be quarantined for 14 days in a state hospital. In March 2021, the government announced further relaxation of the Covid-19 restrictions beginning on April 1.As of that date, Thailand’s strict 14-day quarantine was eased to ten days for most travelers. An exception is travelers from countries with virus variants of concern—the quarantine period for those remains at 14 days.In response to COVID 19 third wave, the government tightened containment measures again. Effective April 26, the government implemented targeted measures by closing parks, gyms, cinemas, and day care centers in its capital Bangkok—the epicenter of the latest wave of infections. The authorities have also introduced a fine of up to 20,000 baht ($635) for not wearing masks in public, imposed partial travel restrictions, and increased the mandatory quarantine period for all arrivals to two weeks starting May 1. On June 28, the government prohibited restaurant dine-ins and gatherings of over 20 people for 30 days in Bangkok and five surrounding provinces. In addition, construction sites in these areas and workers' camps will be closed, while shopping malls must be closed by 9PM. The Phuket "sandbox" scheme is due to start on July 1st. Under the scheme, the island will be open for fully vaccinated tourists from low- and medium-risk countries. Key Policy Responses as of June 30, 2021 Fiscal
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Timor-LesteBackground. There were just 44 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and no deaths in 2020 amid severe restrictions imposed on contact with the outside world. However, the number of infections has been increasing fast since early March 2021 and the government locked down several cities to contain the spread of the pandemic. Heavy rains resulting in nationwide floods in early April 2021 left about 16,000 people without homes and sheltering in refugee centers, complicating efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19. The number of new cases has been gradually decreasing in June as vaccination progresses (as of July 2021, 9,222 confirmed cases and 23 deaths). The government extended the nationwide state of emergency until July 31, 2021. It covers the entire national territory and entails restrictions on the entry of people by land, sea or air to prevent the spread of the virus. Citizens should maintain social distance, wear a face mask in places of collective use, and sanitize their hands when entering public buildings. Domestic economic activity is not restricted. All individuals with complete certification of vaccination against COVID-19 are exempt from compulsory precautionary isolation. Vaccination. Timor-Leste has joined the COVAX Facility mechanism and will have free access to the COVID-19 vaccine for 20 percent of its population. In addition, the UNICEF and several countries including Australia, China, New Zealand, and U.S. provide support with Timor-Leste for vaccine procurement. The inoculations started on April 7 and 127,074 people (around 17 percent of the adult population) were vaccinated by June 20. Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021 Fiscal
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TogoBackground. The first confirmed COVID-19 case was reported on March 7, 2020. While the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases stayed relatively low in 2020, it rose markedly during a second wave in early 2021. The second wave of the pandemic is now receding, and the number of active cases is less than 10 percent of the cases during the peak of the second wave. The health and containment measures, which are the most stringent in the region, include the following: (i) all travelers entering Lomé airport are required to present a negative test result from a COVID-19 PCR test taken no more than five days before boarding their flights and either install a contract tracing mobile application or remain in quarantine in a state-provided containment facility for at least 14 days; and (ii) gatherings of more than 15 people are banned. Furthermore, all sport or cultural events remain adjourned. The state of health emergency declared by the National Assembly in April 2020 has been extended through September 2021. Reopening of the economy The initial curfew affecting Lomé and its surroundings was lifted in June 2020. The airport in Lomé reopened for international air traffic in August and the closure of land borders and airspace for flights from high-infection countries has been lifted. Churches and mosques in all areas except the Greater Lomé were authorized to reopen in October. The nightly curfew in the northern and central regions was lifted in February 2021. Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021 Fiscal
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TongaBackground. To date, there have been no reported COVID-19 cases in Tonga. Nevertheless, the economy is being hit by the pandemic which has affected the tourism sector.The Government of Tonga introduced restrictive containment measures early on starting in January 2020. In March 2020, it declared a state of National Emergency and toughened measures for incoming travelers (including international cruise ships and yachts passengers) before prohibiting all passengers flights into the country. Other preventive measures included a national lockdown, a national night curfew, the closure of non-essential businesses and public facilities, movement restrictions and the prohibition of public gatherings. Reopening the economy. The authorities started easing restrictions on April 12, 2020, by lifting the national lockdown, and domestic restrictions were further eased on June 11, for example by further reducing curfew hours and removing the prohibition on contact sports. Non-resident Tongans are slowly being repatriated, and the seasonal worker program has started to resume. The state of National Emergency has been extended until July5 and the border closure until further notice. Vaccination program has started since April 15, 2021. As of May 28, 2021, about 29 percent of the total population has received the first round of vaccination. The roll out of the second round of vaccine has started since June 24, 2021. Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021 Fiscal
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Linkshttp://www.gov.to/category/covid-19-press-release/ Trinidad and TobagoBackground. The first COVID-19 confirmed case was reported on March 12, 2020, and since August 2020 the contagion rate increased substantially. The government has adopted containment measures and promoted social distance protocols, including travel restrictions, schools closures, and limits on social gatherings. Citizens returning home are required to provide a negative COVID-19 test. Since December 21 the mandatory quarantine for those who visited the United Kingdom was extended to 14 days, to prevent the spread of a new coronavirus variant. On July 17, borders will gradually reopen. Unvaccinated nationals entering the country will have to quarantine in a state-supervised facility for 14 days. Fully vaccinated nationals (and their unvaccinated children) are not required to quarantine. Unvaccinated foreigners are not yet permitted to enter the country . Reopening the economy. The government had put in place a reopening plan in phases starting May 10, 2020 and most economic activities had resumed by end-June. On October 11, the government relaxed some measures aimed at curbing the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. All schools were virtually reopened on January 1, and some secondary schools have partially opened their doors to students since February 8. On April 29, 2021, the government reinstated some measures aiming to prevent the resurgence of positive cases: shopping malls, cinemas, theaters, restaurants, bars, places of worship, beauty salons and fitness centers will be closed for at least three weeks. Other non-essential retail and food businesses such as street-food vendors will close from midnight. To mitigate the new local wave of COVID-19, some containment measures had been re-introduced on April 29, 2021, and further tightened as of May 17, 2021, with a state of emergency, nightly curfew, and a ban on public gatherings. New social relief measures have been introduced to provide financial support in the form of grants to persons affected by the new restrictions. Vaccination Progress. Trinidad and Tobago continues its efforts to secure the COVID-19 vaccine supply from various sources, helped by two shipments from the COVAX facility and bilateral gifts from other countries. Improved access to the vaccine allowed country to accelerate its vaccination campaign. As of June 30, 213,632 persons (15.3 percent of total population) received at least one dose, while 88,916 persons (6.4 percent of total population) are fully vaccinated. Key Policy Responses as of June 30, 2021 Fiscal
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TunisiaBackground. Tunisia reported its first confirmed case on March 2, 2020. Thanks to proactive actions from the Tunisian authorities in taking the necessary sanitary steps, declaring a national state of emergency, and adopting confinement measures, the pandemic has remained contained, with a low number of daily contamination cases mostly coming from abroad. Tunisia began on June 4, 2020 a strategy of deconfinement and the reopening of borders was effective on June 27, 2020. The COVID-19 shock came at a time when Tunisia was already facing persistent macroeconomic imbalances. Reopening of the economy. On April 29, 2020 the national security council announced several measures to ease economic restrictions by adopting a three-phased plan depending on the activity sector. The first phase started on May 4 and concerned the most affected sectors–individuals and craftsmen, manufacturers especially export firms, with the obligation of adopting sanitary measures. The second phase began on May 24, 2020 and concerned supermarkets, cafés, and other individuals for which the social distancing would be hard to establish. The third phase of full deconfinement started on June 4, 2020. During the transition period, only 50 percent of the public sector got back to business. On June 27, 2020 Tunisia started easing international travel restrictions and opening frontiers progressively, classifying countries in three lists according to the pandemic risk and applying different measures for each list. On August 21, 2020 the government has decided to make mandatory the wearing of masks in administrations and most public and commercial places following the reopening of the borders which led to a further increase in the number of new cases in Tunisia. Tunisia is facing a second wave of the COVID-19 propagation, with an exponential increase of new cases, as well as deaths. Accordingly, the new government announced a series of measures, including (1) prohibition of gathering of groups in public/private places (e.g., sports, culture); (2) mandatory mask wearing in public (e.g., transport, workplace); (3) cohort work arrangement and reduced hours for government personnel; (4) targeted confinement or curfew; and (5) increasing the number of treatment beds to 1,200 by end-October. Covid-19 Vaccine distribution plans. On January 21st, 2021, the Ministry of Health announced a nationwide Covid-19 vaccination campaign. The vaccination would be free for all the population; it aims at covering 50 percent of Tunisians over 18 years old (about 6 million people) and will cost about USD 111 million in 2021 and 2022. On March 13, 2021 Tunisia launched, with a delay of one month, its vaccination campaign starting with health professionals in the front line against the pandemic and elderly people. The Tunisian authorities have also received about 1.8 million doses as of June, 30th. With about 30,000 vaccinations per day, only 589,000 people have been fully vaccinated as of June 30th, 2021. Tunisia, which has seen a sharp increase in the number of Covid-19 positive and deaths and the arrival of the Delta variant, is facing a fourth COVID-19 wave since the beginning of June, 2021, and the health infrastructure is becoming overloaded in almost all regions. In addition, the government fails to accelerate the vaccination campaign due to the lack of vaccines and delays in receiving them. Accordingly, many regions are actually in a total lock down for two weeks, with a prohibition of inter-city travel. Key Policy Responses as of June, 30th, 2021 Fiscal
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TurkeyBackground. The first case of COVID-19 was reported on March 11, 2020. The government adopted multiple containment measures to address the pandemic including social distancing, curfews, travel bans along with quarantines for returning nationals, and the closures of schools/universities, stores, and entertainment venues. GDP contracted by 10% y-o-y in Q2, but with a strong rebound in Q3, and into Q4, growth in 2020 as a whole was +1.8%. Economic activity continued to be buoyant in Q1 2021, with GDP growing by 7.0% y-o-y, or 1.7% q-o-q. Reopening of the economy. On May 4, 2020, the government announced a phased approach to lifting lockdown measures. This included the reopening of retail stores, the removal of travel restrictions between major cities, the reopening of retail facilities, and the resumption of domestic flights. On June 10, international flights resumed and most land borders reopened. Schools restarted in end-August, mostly on a virtual basis. Following the onset of the second wave of infections, containment measures were reintroduced in September, and further tightened in late-2020. These included: the mandatory wearing of masks in public areas, stay-at-home orders, curfews, closures or limited hours for retail establishments, closing pre-schools and restricting gatherings. In early March 2021, a gradual reopening process began, differentiating regions into four risk groups. This risk assessment was used to determine when: weekend curfews are lifted; cafes and restaurants reopen (with capacity and hours of operation limits), and; in-person school classes restart. Following a third wave of infections, restrictions were tightened once again in late-March, and a further full "lockdown" was announced in late-April 2021, and extending into May. The government announced a phased normalization process starting in mid-May, and into June 2021. In May 2021, the Health Minister announced that Turkey had signed multiple vaccine supply agreements in amounts that are more than sufficient to cover the country's population. Against the background of increased supply agreements, the authorities have continued to roll-out their national vaccination plan, including to tourism sector workers, teachers, and additional cohorts of the adult population. In June 2021, the Health Minister announced that healthcare personnel and people aged above 50 years of age who received two doses of the coronavirus vaccines would be eligible for receiving the third dose as of July 1, KEY POLICY RESPONSES AS OF July 1, 2021 Fiscal
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TurkmenistanBackground. According to official media, there have been no diagnosed cases of COVID-19 as of September 22, 2020. However, Petronas, the Malaysian oil and gas company, closed its office in Ashgabat on July 29, after 10 of its employees had tested positive for the coronavirus. In January 2020, the Extraordinary Commission on combatting the spread of disease was set up. In consultation with the WHO, the authorities issued guidelines for preventing the spread of COVID-19 in March 2020. The authorities adopted a wide range of measures to prevent a COVID-19 outbreak, including closure of borders, flight cancellations and rerouting, and mandatory COVID-19 testing for arriving travelers. Starting from March 19, Turkmen citizens and citizens of other states were not allowed to enter Turkmenistan without a certificate of absence of COVID-19. From March 20 to April 20, foreign nationals were barred from crossing the state border of Turkmenistan. The authorities imposed restrictions on internal movement, closed roads between some provinces, and restricted rail transportation. Starting from March 24, 2020, all sports events and athletes’ training were cancelled in Turkmenistan, and gyms and sports clubs were shut down in Ashgabat, although the latter measure was reversed on April 1. School holidays were extended by one week until April 6. Restrictions were imposed over the summer season on holding cultural events in the National tourist zone Avaza, as well as swimming in the coastal zone of the Caspian. On July 16, a number of public health care measures were taken, including mandating mask wearing in public places and providing mobile health care services to remote and rural areas. As of September 7, the government has introduced a new legislation for those who avoid treatment for conditions "recognized as dangerous or infectious diseases of an epidemic or pandemic nature" now face jail terms of two to five years In addition, the government-built quarantine control rooms for 80 places at the border checkpoints while also constructing disinfection facilities. The production of masks, protective equipment and disinfectants is incentivized. Besides, a new hospital with a variety of medical services is being constructed. Turkmenistan has extended until 1 January 2021 temporary restrictions on crossing Turkmenistan's state borders as well as restrictions on international air, sea, rail and road communications. Turkmenistan also extended until 1 December 2020 restrictions on holding mass events related to religious ceremonies. The authorities stepped up efforts to digitalize government services, expand e-commerce, and facilitate online and phone payments by SMEs and SOEs through banks. Turkmenistan is working with UN agencies to develop a third national plan that covers the humanitarian component of the country's measures to combat COVID-19. On December 30, 2020, restrictions on domestic and international travel were extended until at least January 31, 2021. On December 30, 2020, a requirement was introduced that all outbound travelers have a signed negative COVID-19 test result within the previous 24 hours. Turkmenistan was the first country in the CCA to register for the Russian vaccines Sputnik V and EpiVacCorona. Any Turkmen citizen who has the age of 18 and above can register for the vaccine. Polyclinics in Ashgabat and in the regions stated that citizens started signing up for the vaccine. As of March 30, Turkmenistan started restoring passenger traffic within the country, however, passengers have to present their negative COVID result certificates. As of end of June, Turkmenistan has used around 1 million vaccine doses to vaccinate all of their medical staff, public officials, teachers in schools and higher education, and elderly people. They are now in the process of vaccinating the population aged 60 and above. Key Policy Responses as of July 1 2021 Fiscal
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TuvaluBackground. As of June 30, 2021, Tuvalu has no reported cases of COVID-19 within its borders. Tuvalu has established a COVID-19 National Health Taskforce that will act as an Advisory body to Cabinet and provide updates on a regular basis. The Taskforce has recommended, and Cabinet approved, a 14 days quarantine period for anyone traveling into the country that has transited or originated their travel in a high-risk country. Quarantine is being observed in Fiji, or if someone was to slip through the net, they would be isolated in Tuvalu for 14 days to observe the same 14 days quarantine period. The State of Public Health Emergency, which was first declared on March 20, 2020, was extended for six months on March 26, 2020. The government has subsequently imposed restrictions on any aircraft and vessels traveling to the country. The government further announced on April 13, 2020 that it is intending to repatriate all Tuvaluan students studying overseas. Financial and economic support have been included the first supplementary budget to provide employment opportunities, promote local production of food in the agriculture sector, improve financing to the private sector in rural areas and maintain welfare. The Government encourage those who are unemployed, living on the capital and are not residents of the capital, to temporary migrate to their home island with the Government to finance their boat fares. This is to ease pressure on key Government services on the capital such as water and medical services and to minimize the risk of spreading any communicable disease. Key Policy Responses as of June 30, 2021 FiscalAs of June 3, 2021, Tuvalu has remained COVID-free. In March 2020, the Tuvaluan government declared the State of Emergency, banning all but essential travel, except for the delivery of essential items and repatriation flights (subject to a mandatory two-week quarantine). In April 2020, the authorities also released Tuvalu’s strategic COVID-19 Economic and Financial Relief Package. The document laid out measures to respond to the health and other risks that the citizens became exposed to, and served as a reference for mobilizing external support from development partners. The document included the Talaaliki Plan--a worst-case scenario if food, fuel and other essential imported goods become unavailable; and there is an outbreak (i.e., one confirmed case) of COVID-19 in the country. In April 2020, the Tuvaluan government approved a COVID response package of AUD23.3 million (29.3 percent of GDP). Out of this, the government provided AUD10.8 million (13.6 percent of GDP) through budget allocation. The remaining of the package (AUD12.48 million or 15.7 percent of GDP) was financed by Tuvalu’s development partners (ADB – AUD1.4 million, Australia – AUD3 million, New Zealand – AUD1.9 million, Taiwan Province of China – AUD2.9 million, and the World Bank AUD3.25). Out of the government’s share, A$5.7 million was allocated to the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare for the procurement of personal protection equipment, ventilators, COVID-19 testing equipment and other essential specialize equipment in response to the COVID-19. The remaining government funding was planned for quarantine-related activities, charter flights, and fuel. The World Bank’s contribution came from the reallocation of USD 25 million from the Maritime Investment in Climate Resilient Operations for medical equipment, pharmaceutical supplies and fuel. In the 2021 national budget, the authorities allocated AUD1.1 million for COVID-related expenses. From March 2020 to March 2021, total COVID-19 related expenditures amounted to AUD9.2 million (about 11% of GDP) in the following categories:
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VanuatuBackground. There are 3 confirmed cases but no deaths from COVID-19 as of July 1, 2021. Currently, there are no active COVID-19 cases in Vanuatu, and no local transmission cases so far, as the country has been able to effectively contain the virus. The government’s response is being coordinated by the National Disaster Management Office (NDMO), the National Disaster Committee, and the COVID-19 advisory committee of 14 Directors from various government ministries. A national State of Emergency (SOE) was declared on March 26, 2020 for a two-week period. The SOE was extended for a 30-day period on April 11, 2020 as a prevention and containment measure for COVID-19 and in response to Tropical Cyclone (TC) Harold which impacted Vanuatu on April 6-7, 2020. After further renewals, it is now due to expire on July 31, 2021.Government imposed COVID-19 measures include: closing international ports of entry; suspension of domestic flights and ferries; suspension of seasonal worker programs until September 2020 (with optional repatriation of workers already abroad); closing of schools until May 2020; curfews for businesses and transport (excludes essential medical and communication services); restriction of gatherings of more than 5 people (temporarily lifted on April 5 to allow for group sheltering caused by TC Harold and its aftermath) and social distancing. On December 1, 2020, the government lifted restrictions on schools, work, public or private gatherings in Vanuatu. Tourism has effectively ceased—the Vanuatu’s tourism receipts accounted for about 30 percent of GDP in 2019. Reopening of the economy. Domestic flights and ferries resumed on April 11, 2020. From May 12, 2020, international flights and vessels carrying international relief supplies or cargo can enter, provided they comply with Vanuatu’s COVID-19 prevention and containment measures. All public schools reopened on May 18, 2020. Phase 1 of government repatriations of Vanuatu citizens and residents from abroad began on June 3, 2020. Repatriation and return of vessels registered locally or internationally as Vanuatu vessels outside Vanuatu waters were suspended from July 11 till July 31, 2020. Phase 2 of government repatriations resumed in August and ended December 7, 2020. On September 2020, the government confirmed that targeted testing in quarantine for COVID-19 was being conducted as an additional precaution for those entering Vanuatu from areas classified as high risk. After confirming its first COVID-19 border case in November 2020, people returning on repatriation flights from medium and high risk COVID-19 countries must have a negative COVID-19 test 72 hours before boarding. Phase 3 of government repatriations commenced on January 14, 2021 with strict mandatory quarantine measures applied for 14 days and tests conducted prior to health clearance. On September 3, 2020, Vanuatu began a trial Seasonal Workers Program (SWP) with Australia, called the Mango Pilot project.To date the project has provided employment for more than 300 ni-Vanuatu (as mango pickers) in Northern Territory.Due to potential demand for more seasonal workers in Australia, the government approved in October 2020 for Vanuatu’s broader participation in the SWP and the Pacific Labour Scheme (PLS). Participation in the Recognised Seasonal Employers (RSE) scheme of New Zealand resumed in February 2021.The Tamtam travel bubble that government was supposed to begin with New Caledonia in April 2021 has been put on hold. The COVID vaccination plan began rolling out on June 2, 2021, which prioritized health workers, front line workers, the elderly (55 and above) and those over 35 with existing health conditions. Vanuatu received its first batch of 24,000 doses of Astra Zeneca vaccines on 19 May, which is part of its 100,800-vaccine allocation from the COVAX facility. China also provided 20,000 doses of Sinopharm vaccines to Vanuatu. These will help vaccinate approximately 20 percent of the population by end-2021. As at June 2021, 10,480 doses of COVID vaccines have been administered. Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021 Fiscal
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UgandaBackground. Corona virus positivity rates increased as a new wave of COVID-19 infections hit Uganda beginning in May, 2021. With a small minority of the population vaccinated and hospitals reporting a shortage of oxygen and capacity, the president extended a partial lock-down introduced in early June, 2021 to a full lock-down, beginning on June 18th 2021, for a period of 42 days. Community infections are on the rise, but the death rate has remained low. The increasing number of cases has strained hospital capacity though the authorities have identified additional space for patient management. The authorities have recruited additional staff/ volunteers to assist with the management of the pandemic. Funding for scaling up of testing continues to be mobilized. The current full lock-down was introduced almost exactly one-year after the first lock-down, one of the most stringent in the region, was introduced in May 2020. Reopening of the economy. Before the current lock-down, Uganda had gradually relaxed measures from the previous lock-down by: (i) allowing the movement of private cars, albeit with a limit in place on number of passengers; (ii) reopening sequentially merchandise shops; (iii) relaunching public transport with strict regulation on passenger capacity and obligation to wear masks; and (iv) shortening the curfew to 9.00 PM–5.30 AM. Schools reopened for candidate classes, universities and other tertiary institutions for all final year students. International commercial flights resumed on October 1, 2020. Political rallies, processions, and weddings allowed up to 200 people since Nov. 14, 2020 while mobile markets and gaming outlets were allowed to operate for 30 minutes a day. As of May 1, 2021 Uganda had suspended all flights to and from India indefinitely following the detection of Indian variants of COVID-19 in the country. The current lock-down (June 2021) introduced the following measures: (i) Only vehicles of registered tourists/emergency/security/essential workers are allowed to move; (ii) Cargo truck drivers are tested at land-border crossings; (iii) Non-cargo cross-border movement, except for licensed tourist vehicles, is suspended; (iv) Food market vendors and factory workers stay in their places of work overnight; (v) Curfew time is extended to 7 pm (from 9 pm) – 5:30 am. In addition, all schools and educational institutions, places of worship, bars, sports arenas and other mass events are closed. Kikuubo and other business centers are closed. Burials are restricted to core family members only. While the current lock-down is expected to impact economic activity, it is expected that the full impact will be less than the previous lock-down, in view of current open borders and stronger external demand. The Consultative Meeting of the East African Community (EAC) heads of state, held on May 12th 2020, agreed on a harmonized regional response to the COVID-19 pandemic that includes: (i) adopting a harmonized system for certification and sharing of test results; (ii) establishing a regional mechanism for testing and certifying truck drivers and the adoption of an EAC digital surveillance and tracking system for drivers and crew; (iii) supporting agro-processing and value chains; and (iv) establishing special purpose financing schemes for SMEs. Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021 Fiscal
Initially, the authorities have used US$1.3 million from their Contingency Fund in the FY2019/20 budget to finance the Ministry of Health Preparedness and Response Plan. On May 6, 2020, Uganda secured US$491.5 million in emergency financing from the IMF under the Rapid Credit Facility, of which 30 percent was provided as budget support considering the impact of COVID-19. On June 29, the World Bank approved a US$300 million budget support under the Uganda COVID-19 Economic Crisis and Recovery Development Policy Financing supporting reforms to provide immediate relief to individuals and businesses most affected by the pandemic. Also, part of the costs of vaccination is expected to be financed by COVAX. Finally, spending reallocations also contributed to the financing of Covid-19-related spending. In response to the lockdown announced in June 2021 the government has increased allocation of emergency funds amounting to 0.2 percent of GDP. Half of the allocation will go to the Ministry of Health to purchase hospital beds, oxygen and hire additional staff. The security budget will be boosted by a smaller amount. Cash relief is envisaged for individuals falling into 16 vulnerable groups, mainly based on occupations hit by the lockdown. These payments are expected to begin in the middle of July, 2021. Monetary and macro-financial
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UkraineBackground. The first confirmed COVID-19 case was reported on March 3, 2020. As the number of the new cases has been rising in June, international travel to most destinations for Ukrainian citizens has been banned. Starting in mid-March 2020, daycare, schools and universities were closed, and domestic and international travel restrictions were imposed. Subsequently, restrictions were expanded to cover virtually all establishments which had physical interactions with clients. Citizens were required to carry identification papers and wear facial masks when outside. All people coming from abroad should go through a mandatory observation for 14 days, which was later changed into a self-isolation requirement to be terminated ahead of schedule if the result of the test is negative. People over 60 were required to self-isolate. The government has banned export of certain medical essentials, such as facial masks, personal protective equipment and ethyl alcohol, as well as some essential food stuffs, but these bans are no longer in force. Reopening the economy. The government has extended the quarantine until August 31, 2021, with some restrictions assuaged.In particular, mass events can be held at full capacity if all attendees wear masks, and if all participants have negative tests/have been vaccinated – no masks required. Prior to that, an increase in the number of cases led authorities to impose a winter lockdown for the period between January 8-24 2021. A spring-2021 lockdown, with tighter measures and enforced in oblasts in "red" zones, has been phased out starting early May 2021. Ukraine has opened up from the previous spring lockdown gradually. On May 11, 2020 beauty salons, most shops, museums, and outdoor terraces in restaurants were allowed to reopen, provided that certain sanitary norms were observed. Subways in large cities were opened on May 25, 2020. The national railway operator was allowed to resume certain domestic and international routes. Restaurants and cafes are now allowed to operate, including indoor seating, and sanitary requirements for religious gatherings were relaxed. In addition, domestic flights started on June 5, 2020 and limited international travel was allowed to resume starting June 15, 2020. A number of cross-border check-points were opened in June, 2020. Ukraine introduced its own list of risky countries; visitors coming from those will face additional restrictions (to be updated weekly). A ban on night clubs, entertainment centers, and most concerts was reintroduced on August 26, 2020. The academic year 2020-2021 has been completed with schools and universities shifting throughout it from on-site to distance learning while a daycare has been predominantly open. From February 24, 2021 the government reintroduced adaptive quarantine with 4 zones, the zoning dependent on various factors such as infection rate and hospital bed occupancy. Regions with better epidemiological situations are eligible for more relaxations, such as domestic bus and railway transportation, opening of daycare, certain education facilities, hotels and fitness centers (all with prescribed sanitary norms) and longer working hours for catering services. Each region has been assigned a special commission, which can toughen the quarantine rules if the epidemiological situation worsens. The "red" level (implies the strictest restrictions) is established by the decision of the State Commission on Technogenic and Ecological Safety and Emergencies at the initiative of the Minister of Health within 48 hours from the moment of grounds for the introduction of this level of epidemiological danger. As of June 1, 2021, all regions have left the red zone. All respective updates and requirements could be found at the Health Care Ministry’s page https://moz.gov.ua/article/news/operativna-informacija-pro-poshirennja-koronavirusnoi-infekcii-2019-cov19. In line with the December 17, 2020 Law enterprises, entrepreneurs, institutions, organizations are now liable for violations of sanitary legislation for admitting people without masks and respirators to public transport and premises during the quarantine period. Starting end-October, Cabinet has switched its meetings to an online format. Vaccine roll-out in Ukraine started on February 24, with Covishield vaccine. COVAX-supplied 117,000 doses would be used to immunize essential medical personnel. Around 7.7 mln doses are expected to be shipped in July 2021, mostly of CoronaVac. The Chief Sanitary Doctor of Ukraine has stated that the Ministry of Health may allow the use of doses of coronavirus vaccine from different manufacturers, this option is being studied. In total, about 14 million people should be vaccinated this year. Vaccination in Ukraine will take place in five stages. According to the authorities, the fourth stage has already started (covers people over the age of 60, as well as people aged 18-59 who have comorbidities, prisoners and staff of prisons). The Ministry of Health has reportedly proposed mandatory vaccination against coronavirus for educators and service sector professionals. As of June 30, 2021, 1,933,946 persons got their first dose of vaccine, and 649,524 have finalized the immunization with 2 shots. This constitutes respectively 4.3 and 1.3 percent of the population. Over the previous weeks a number of regional capitals and Kyiv opened vaccination centers for all who wanted to get inoculated, with their capacity set to expand . The Chinese CoronaVac vaccine is predominantly used. The authorities have announced the introduction of COVID-19 passports for Ukrainians from July 1, with their digital beta version being currently tested https://covid19.com.ua/ Key Policy Responses as of June 30, 2021 Fiscal
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United Arab EmiratesBackground. The UAE economy is being affected by the spread of COVID-19 as well as the sharp decline in oil prices in 2020. As of July 1, 2021, the number of COVID-19 cases stood at 634,582 with 1,819 deaths. At the onset of the pandemic, the authorities have enacted several measures to limit the spread of the virus, including closure of schools, nurseries, shopping malls, parks, dine-in restaurants, and various tourist attractions. As part of their National Epidemic Control Plan, they have also imposed wide-ranging travel restrictions (including grounding of flights and halting visa issuance), suspended prayers at mosques and other large gatherings, and enacted teleworking arrangements in government offices. Alongside, the authorities have increased testing and scaled up disinfection efforts, established a dedicated task force to ensure uninterrupted supply of consumer goods and prevent manipulative pricing practices, and launched remote learning initiative to ensure continuity of education. Reopening of the economy. Starting April 24, 2020, the authorities have begun gradual reopening of shopping centers and other businesses, subject to social distancing requirements, and began facilitating a voluntary repatriation of expatriate workers. Several airlines have resumed a limited number of regular passenger flights. Most government employees have returned to work as of mid-June 2020. Dubai reopened to international tourists on July 7, 2020. Starting July 29, 2020, restaurants, coffee shops, cafes and other licensed food outlets in Abu Dhabi started to operate at 80 percent capacity. Schools re-opened in September. On September 23rd, 2020, Abu Dhabi government reopened recreational and entertainment areas inside and outside malls. At the end of September, 2020, UAE authorities resumed issuing visas to foreign visitors. In October, 2020, UAE has started issuing employment visas for vital government and semi-government sectors, as well as entry permits for domestic workers. UAE also reopened some cultural landmarks to visitors. On December 9, 2020, Abu Dhabi authorities announced that they will resume all economic, touristic, cultural, and entertainment activities in two weeks. As COVID19 cases surged in January 2021, the government tightened safety measures and regular COVID19 testing for government workers; introduced a mandatory PCR test requirement for international arrivals, cut malls and venues capacity, and restricted activities that 'lead to large gatherings". As of July 1, 2021, 15,362,342 doses of COVID19 vaccines have been administered. Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021 Fiscal
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United KingdomBackground. The first confirmed case was reported on January 31, 2020. Cases initially peaked in April/May, and after weeks of decline, a second and third waves took hold with the number of cases significantly above those seen during the initial peak. In response to the initial outbreak, on March 23 the government implemented a range of measures including travel restrictions, social distancing measures, closures of entertainment, hospitality, non-essential shops and indoor premises, and increased testing. The largest economic hit was in 2020Q2 when GDP fell by 19.5 percent q-o-q, reflecting a sharp contraction in April. Overall, the UK's economy contracted by 9.8 percent in 2020. Frictions in implementing the post-Brexit trade regime will also weigh on activity in the short run. Even after social distancing winds down, a period of corporate balance sheet repair is expected to weigh on investment while labor reallocation takes place gradually. The pre-crisis level of output would be recovered in early-2022 but output would remain about 3 percent below the pre-2020 trend in 2025. Reopening of the economy. On May 10, 2020, the government set out a roadmap to ease the lockdown in England (Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland have separate rules).Reopening took place in three steps starting on May 13 and continuing through July, with educational facilities reopening in September.The relapse of infections led initially to localized restrictions based on a 3-tier system of intensity, but eventually a second country-wide lockdown was put in place on November 5 (similar restrictions were established in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland). Educational facilities, construction, and manufacturing remained open. New restrictions. On January 4, 2021, amidst rising contagions and the rapid spread of a new string of the virus, PM Boris Johnson imposed a third coronavirus lockdown across England, moving it up to tier 4, shutting schools, restaurants, bars, and non-essential shops and ordering the public to stay at home. Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales also went into lockdown. The full emergency lockdown is being lifted in phases, starting with the reopening of schools and recreation in outdoor public spaces on March 8. Non-essential retail, shops, hairdressers, gyms, and outdoor hospitality reopened on April 12 in England. On May 17, outdoors most social contact rules were lifted and indoor hospitality and hotels reopened. The final phase—full reopening—was postponed from June 21 to July 19 on account of a new Covid wave triggered by the Delta variant. Key Policy Responses as of June 3, 2021 Fiscal
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United States of AmericaBackground. The US confirmed the first case of COVID-19 in January. Following a widening outbreak in March and April, the number of new cases declined after a range of containment measures were put in place. Infections rose again in early summer as economic activity and traveling resumed, but gradually declined over the summer following stricter prevention measures. However, new cases picked up again in September and continued on an upward trend until early January. Since mid-January, new cases began declining and Covid-19 vaccinations sped up. The U.S. economy contracted by 31.4 percent in the second quarter of 2020, but have rebounded strongly since then. The unemployment rate stayed at 5.8 percent in May 2021. Reopening of the economy. The containment measures in place vary by state and geographical area. As of early June, many states had lifted or eased mask mandates and eased restrictions on business and activities following the progress in the vaccination program. Nevertheless, some states still require mask wearing in indoor environment (especially in K-12 schools). Schools have reopened with options for in-person instruction, virtual learning or a hybrid model. Key Policy Responses as of June 3, 2021 Fiscal
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UruguayBackground. The first cases of COVID-19 were reported on March 13, 2020. The government introduced a series of public health measures, such as school closures, cancellation of public events, and active discouragement of large gatherings. Starting April 22, customers must wear face masks while shopping in supermarkets; this rule is currently being expanded to other establishments. International travel has been severely restricted. After months of relative stability, the number of new infections has increased sharply in November.Daily new cases have increased exponentially since Q4 2020, surpassing 450 per million as of end-March (higher than in neighboring Brazil), although the death count remains relatively low. The recent surge likely reflects limited movement restrictions in late 2020 and the emergence of the highly contagious P.1 variant in Brazil, as the two countries share a porous border. Reopening of the economy. Construction activity was allowed to restart in mid-April of 2020, government offices re-opened in early May, and shopping centers reopened on June 9, all with appropriate sanitary precautions. Bars and restaurants are reopening, and the soccer matches began in August, without the spectators. As of June 29, almost all schools (including in the capital Montevideo) have been re-opened. Starting August 3, school hours were extended to be closer to normal hours. Borders, however, will remain largely closed for the foreseeable future. However, amid the recent steep rise in COVID-19 cases, there is growing public pressure to impose stricter lockdown measures. Borders have been closed since December 2020, in-person schooling is suspended, government offices closed, and the population encouraged to stay home. Vaccination. Vaccination started on March 1, 2021 and is one of the fastest rollouts in the region, next to Chile, reflecting the efficient registration setup via web and mobile apps. The government has secured around 5½ vaccine doses and about 18 percent of the population has received at least one dose of vaccine as of end-March. The government plans to get the entire population vaccinated in the 1 half of 2021 on a voluntary basis. Key Policy Responses as of June 3, 2021 Fiscal
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UzbekistanBackground. Uzbekistan reported its first confirmed case of COVID-19 on March 16, 2020. The authorities implemented extensive measures to prevent the spread of the virus including: restricting travel (including international flights, domestic public transportation, and movement by car), closing borders (except for trade), closing schools, universities, and all stores except grocery stores and pharmacies, and cancelling public events and religious gatherings. Government employees were asked to telework or to stay home. In the first wave, reported COVID cases peaked in April, 2020 at about 750 per week (out of a population of 34 million). Second wave and reopening of the economy. In May some restrictions on individual and business activities were lifted. However, in July the number of new cases accelerated, particularly in the capital region (Tashkent). In early August, the number of reported new cases reached a second peak of about 6,000 cases per week. The government reimposed quarantine restrictions (including on travel between regions, public events, and large non-food markets, stores, and restaurants). As cases subsided, the government lifted these restrictions and allowed schools and workplaces to reopen. International arrivals were allowed starting in October 2020, but passengers are required to quarantine for 14 days. Wearing masks remains mandatory. By April 2021, new COVID cases averaged about 75 per week, but in May 2021 new cases resumed an upward trend. Economic impact. As elsewhere, the global pandemic significantly impacted Uzbekistan’s economy. Uzbekistan faced weaker trading partner demand (particularly for natural gas) and lower domestic demand due to quarantine restrictions and uncertainty leading to lower private consumption and investment. These effects were partly offset by an increase in gold prices (Uzbekistan’s largest export). In 2020, Uzbekistan’s real GDP growth was 1.6 percent, compared with 5.8 percent in 2019. As the COVID crisis spread to global markets, Uzbekistan’s exchange rate depreciated 5½ percent in April 2020, but has remained relatively stable since then. Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021 Fiscal
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VVanuatuBackground. There are 3 confirmed cases but no deaths from COVID-19 as of April 1, 2021. Currently, there are 2 active COVID-19 cases in Vanuatu, but no local transmission cases so far, as the country has been able to effectively contain the virus. The government’s response is being coordinated by the National Disaster Management Office (NDMO), the National Disaster Committee, and the COVID-19 advisory committee of 14 Directors from various government ministries. A national State of Emergency (SOE) was declared on March 26, 2020 for a two-week period. The SOE was extended for a 30-day period on April 11, 2020 as a prevention and containment measure for COVID-19 and in response to Tropical Cyclone (TC) Harold which impacted Vanuatu on April 6-7, 2020. After further renewals, it is now due to expire on July 31, 2021.Government imposed COVID-19 measures include: closing international ports of entry; suspension of domestic flights and ferries; suspension of seasonal worker programs until September 2020 (with optional repatriation of workers already abroad); closing of schools until May 2020; curfews for businesses and transport (excludes essential medical and communication services); restriction of gatherings of more than 5 people (temporarily lifted on April 5 to allow for group sheltering caused by TC Harold and its aftermath) and social distancing. On December 1, 2020, the government lifted restrictions on schools, work, public or private gatherings in Vanuatu. Tourism has effectively ceased—the Vanuatu’s tourism receipts accounted for about 30 percent of GDP in 2019. Reopening of the economy. Domestic flights and ferries resumed on April 11, 2020. From May 12, 2020, international flights and vessels carrying international relief supplies or cargo can enter, provided they comply with Vanuatu’s COVID-19 prevention and containment measures. All public schools reopened on May 18, 2020. Phase 1 of government repatriations of Vanuatu citizens and residents from abroad began on June 3, 2020. Repatriation and return of vessels registered locally or internationally as Vanuatu vessels outside Vanuatu waters were suspended from July 11 till July 31, 2020. Phase 2 of government repatriations resumed in August and ended December 7, 2020. On September 2020, the government confirmed that targeted testing in quarantine for COVID-19 was being conducted as an additional precaution for those entering Vanuatu from areas classified as high risk. After confirming its first COVID-19 border case in November 2020, people returning on repatriation flights from medium and high risk COVID-19 countries must have a negative COVID-19 test 72 hours before boarding. Phase 3 of government repatriations commenced on January 14, 2021 with strict mandatory quarantine measures applied for 14 days and tests conducted prior to health clearance. On September 3, 2020, Vanuatu began a trial Seasonal Workers Program (SWP) with Australia, called the Mango Pilot project. To date the project has provided employment for more than 300 ni-Vanuatu (as mango pickers) in Northern Territory. Due to potential demand for more seasonal workers in Australia, the government approved in October 2020 for Vanuatu’s broader participation in the SWP and the Pacific Labour Scheme (PLS). Participation in the Recognised Seasonal Employers (RSE) scheme of New Zealand is expected to restart in February 2021. The Tamtam travel bubble that government had initially announced on July 2020 is expected to begin with New Caledonia in April 2021. Key Policy Responses as of June 3, 2021 Fiscal
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VietnamBackground. Since the beginning of the outbreak, Vietnam has had slightly more than 17,000 cases. Strict measures have been introduced to swiftly contain outbreaks, the latest one is currently in many provinces and cities in Vietnam, including Bac Giang, Bac Ninh, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang and Hanoi. Mobile apps are available (installed for around 60 percent of population) to provide alerts on positive cases and potential exposures in big cities. H1 2021 GDP growth is estimated at 5.6 percent, higher than that in H1 2020 (at 1.8 percent) thanks to domestic demand and trade performance. Vietnam plans to buy 150 million vaccine doses to vaccinate 75 million people in 2021. As of the end of June 30, 3,776,970 people received their first shot, and about 193,041 received their second shot. Reopening of the economy. Vietnam has experienced so far 4 COVID-19 waves. Swift and strict temporary containment measures have been successful, allowing for a normalization of most economic activities, although international tourist travel continues to be banned. The current (fourth) outbreak is mostly localized in Bac Giang, Bac Ninh, Ho Chi Minh city, Hanoi and Danang. The authorities have introduced stronger containment measures, including raising quarantine time from 14 days to 21 days, moving schools to online learning, closing religious and tourism sites, closing down karaoke venues and bars and some non-essential services in affected provinces and cities. Ho Chi Minh City is still under social distancing since May 31st and some other town and cities recently have been in lockdown. In the meantime most districts in the Bac Giang and Bac Ninh provinces have removed the lockdown since about 2 weeks ago, including many industry parks. Key Policy Responses as of July 1, 2021 Fiscal
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WWest Bank and GazaBackground. The first confirmed COVID-19 case was reported on March 5, 2020 (WHO). During the early stages, the authorities implemented several measures to limit the spread of the virus including: restricting movement of all residents from homes; closing public places, including schools, universities, tourist attractions, coffee shops, and stores except for drug stores, bakeries, and supermarkets; limiting bank services and hours of operation; restricting travel within West Bank (among governorates and villages); limiting employee attendance at government and private workplaces (except for critical staff); and imposing mandatory quarantines for those returning from abroad. On April 2 President Abbas issued a decree extending the state of emergency, initially issued on March 5, for another 30 days. On June 3, President Abbas issued a decree extending the state of emergency until July 4, 2020. A second wave of coronavirus spread has been hitting WBG since June 22 with several hundred cases reported in a few days. PM Shtayeh reinstated a five-day lockdown of Hebron Governorate, and a two-day closure of Nablus. Only pharmacies, bakery shops, and factories would be allowed to operate. In addition, he declared an immediate ban in all forms of public gatherings in all West Bank governorates. Work in Israeli settlements would be forbidden. On July 1, the authorities announced a five-day closure in all governorates from July 3 to July8 which was subsequently renewed for five more days. All institutions, movement and traffic would be halted, both within and across all governorates. Only pharmacists, bakeries and supermarkets would be allowed to operate during the five-day period. On July 12, the authorities announced a prohibition of all movement between districts for another two weeks. Total closure was extended on Hebron, Bethlehem, Ramallah and Nablus Districts for another four days for a total of 14 days. Movement between the hours of 8pm-6am was prohibited in all districts for two weeks. On August 28, President Abbas instructed the Coronavirus Emergency Committee to send a ministerial delegation to the Gaza Strip to follow up on the situation there and provide needed assistance. On November 3, President Abbas signed a decree declaring a new state of emergency for 30 days. On November 23, the PA government decided to shut down on weekends and at night for 14 days, due to the sharp increase in COVID-19 cases. A full lockdown will be imposed every Friday and Saturday and a lockdown will also be imposed every day of the week between 7 pm and 6 am for the next two weeks. On December 7, The Palestinian Authority (PA) decided to close down the governorates of Nablus, Hebron, Bethlehem, and Tulkarem during December 10-17, including all commercial activities except for groceries, supermarkets, pharmacies and bakeries. Movement between governorates in all West Bank would not be allowed except for essential services. Private and government agencies would operate with thirty percent capacity during the period December 12-17. Nighttime closures would apply in all of the West Bank until December 17. On January 3, the PA extended the lockdown (shutdown on weekends and every night between 7 pm and 6 am) for another two weeks. The authorities extended the lockdown for two more weeks on February 1. They intend to begin vaccinations (mainly COVAX) in February. PM Shtayyeh announced new restrictions on February 28 in response to the recent surge in coronavirus infections, including from British and South African mutants. The measures included: 1) a 12-day closure of all public and private schools except high schools, 2) lockdown of all universities, 3) prohibition of movement between districts, 4) prohibition of car movement from 7 pm to 6 am, 5) full lockdown on Fridays and Saturdays, with no movement permitted. Palestinian nationals of Israel would not be allowed to enter the West Bank. The private sector would function at 50 percent capacity, including restaurants and cafes. Concerning vaccines, PM Shtayyeh said he expects the arrival of the first batch of vaccines in the first week of March. Israeli media also reported that the Israeli government approved at end-February the vaccination of an estimated 130,000 Palestinian workers in Israel. The lockdown was extended for another five days on March 14.In addition, there was a total lockdown in Ramallah from March 6-14. The Palestinian Authority(PA) received 60,000 vaccine doses through COVAX on March 17, 2021, the first such installment. The shipment included 37,000 doses of Pfizer and 23,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccines. About 20,000 of the COVAX vaccines were to be transferred to the Gaza Strip. The largest vaccination drive to date for Palestinians has been conducted by Israel, which plans to inoculate with the Moderna vaccine 120,000 workers employed in Israel or settlements. As of mid-March, some 90,000 of those Palestinians have been vaccinated with their first dose. In addition, Israel has donated 5,000 Moderna vaccines to the PA for Palestinians in the West Bank. The United Arab Emirates has sent 60,000 doses of the Russian Sputnik vaccine to Gaza. Russia separately donated 10,000 of its Sputnik vaccines to the PA. The PA is also expecting to receive 100,000 doses of China’s Sinopharm. In April 21, 2021 the PA signed contracts to purchase 4.5 million doses of the Pfizer and Sputnik V vaccines at a cost of $27.5 million. The PA also received additional shipment of vaccines through COVAX; 43,200 doses for the West Bank and 28,800 doses for the Gaza Strip. As of end-May, total vaccination has increased to 9.6 per hundred people. Palestine has received 102,960 doses of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccines, donated by UNICEF through COVAX. Reopening the economy. On April 20, PM Mohammad Shtayyeh announced several measures to ease economic restrictions depending on prevailing conditions in individual governorates. Small businesses with 3 workers or less will be allowed to operate between 10am-5pm; clothes and shoes stores will open twice a week; taxis will operate subject to passenger restrictions; pharmaceutical factories will operate at 50 percent capacity; and sweets shops can resume delivery services. On May 5, PM Shtayyeh announced a partial ease of the lockdown and gradual and phased exit from COVID-19. The public would be allowed to go around during daytime, but not at nighttime. Construction sites will reopen in all governorates. Hair salons will reopen in all governorates on Saturdays and Sundays (two customers by prior reservation) except in governorates infected with COVID-19. Clothing, footwear and home appliance stores will reopen throughout the week except in governorates infected with the virus where they will open for three days. Banks will open except in infected areas where they will continue to operate according to emergency procedures. Public transport will return in non-infected governorates, and private transportation among non-infected governorates will also resume. Wearing masks, gloves and social distancing will be mandatory. On July 28, the PA government announced the temporary easing of lockdown measures ahead of Eid al Adha reverting to a full lockdown after the holiday. On August 5, the PA government eased restrictions and allowed cafes, restaurants, gyms to reopen at 50 percent capacity. It tightened monitoring of public places, imposing penalties on violators. The government also formed a daily follow-up committee comprising of all ministries and security agencies to conduct field inspection and oversight operations through special committees. The government decided to maintain the ban on events, including weddings and condolence gatherings, and the closure of events halls. Key Policy Responses as of May 6, 2021 Fiscal
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YYemenBackground. Yemeni authorities reported the first confirmed case of COVID-19 on April 10, 2020 in areas under its control. Officially reported numbers of cases and death remain relatively low, hindered by limited testing capacities, although the WHO has expressed concerns about large undetected spread of the disease in Yemen. While almost no cases have been reported during the Winter months, officially reported cases and deaths have increased rapidly since February. Years of violent conflict have severely damaged the country's health and general infrastructure, leaving the health care system poorly equipped to address the spread of COVID-19 and treat infections. The WHO estimates that only half of the health centers in Yemen are fully functional and ventilators, oxygen cylinders, and protective equipment remain in short supply. Problems are exacerbated by a lack of funding to pay adequate salaries for medical personnel. Beyond the challenges posed by COVID-19, the country faces a humanitarian crisis with more than one half of the population threatened by food insecurity and 50 000 people already living in famine like conditions. The UN response to the COVID-19 crisis is hampered by the conflict and hostilities between the internationally recognized government (IRG) in Aden and Ansar Allah (Houthis) in Sana'a have intensified since January with the attack on Aden airport and the Houthi offensive on Marib. Reopening of the economy. In the IRG controlled areas, initial containment measures which lasted for about three months included the closure of schools, universities, and government facilities. After lifting most of the restrictions for several months, the severity of the second wave has led the IRG to declare a health emergency although there is little adherence to mobility restrictions among the general public. In the Houthi controlled areas, no restrictions were imposed at all. Key Policy Responses as of June 28, 2021 Fiscal
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ZZambiaBackground. Zambia recorded its first COVID-19 cases on March 18, 2020, and the number of daily new cases peaked in early August. A second wave started in mid-December 2020 and peaked in January 2021. The third wave has started at the end of May 2021. Early actions to contain the spread of the virus in the spring of 2020 included: (i) closure of schools and universities; (ii) suspension of non-essential foreign travel; (iii) mandatory quarantine for all foreign travelers; (iv) closure of bars, cinemas, and casinos; (v) delivery and take-out regime for restaurants; (vi) restriction on public gatherings to at most 50 people; (vii) restriction on sports activities; (viii) a temporary lockdown on the towns of Kafue and Nakonde; and (ix) a partial closure of the border with Tanzania. In addition, the Zambian economy has been adversely impacted by the sharp depreciation of the local currency, increases in yields on public debt, and economic disruptions due to lockdowns in trading partners. Reopening of the economy. Since late April 2020 the government has been slowly lifting lockdowns, border closures, and restrictions, subject to social distancing, including on churches, some non-contact sports, and barber shops and salons. In early May 2020, cinemas, gyms, casinos, tourist spots, and restaurants were allowed to open as long as they adhere to strict social distancing and sanitary guidelines. Primary and secondary school examination classes reopened last June. A reopening of international airports was announced in late June. All schools, colleges, and universities were allowed to reopen in September 2020, together with bars and nightclubs. In response to the second wave of the pandemic, on January 6 Lusaka city council suspended all special gatherings and ordered bars and restaurants to work on a takeout basis. In June 2021, the government reintroduced temporary closures of schools, universities, bars, casinos, and nightclubs; restaurants were ordered to operate on a take away basis. Key Policy Responses as of June 28, 2021 Fiscal
Monetary and macro-financial
Exchange rate and balance of payments
ZimbabweBackground. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Zimbabwe was facing a severe drought and macroeconomic policy missteps with significant adverse implications for economic stability, growth, and the humanitarian situation. The COVID-19 pandemic continues to significantly affect the tourism and mining sectors. Staff projects a 6 percent growth in 2021 despite the lockdown from the second COVID-19 wave. Growth would be driven mainly by strong agricultural output, and higher construction and manufacturing production. As of June 29, 2021, there were 45,533 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with a 79 percent recovery rate. The authorities launched a COVID-19 Vaccination Program targeting 60 percent of the population, about 8 million people, on 18 February 2021. As of June 29, 2021, the country had administered 770,709 1st doses and 544,888 2nd doses. In addition to the on-going Vaccination Program, the country continues to implement the COVID-19 National Preparedness and Response Plan that was launched on March 19, 2020 with President Mnangagwa declaring the pandemic a State of National Disaster. The authorities also launched on April 2, 2020, a US$2.2 billion domestic and international humanitarian appeal covering the period April 2020 to April 2021. In 2020 humanitarian assistance increased by 25.8 percent to US$618.6 million. Key donors include the European Union, the United Kingdom, Japan, Sweden, The Global Fund, the African Development Bank, and the World Bank. The World Bank estimates that extreme poverty rose to 49 percent in 2020 (7.9 million people) in Zimbabwe due to Covid-19 pandemic disruptions in the economy and inadequacies of social protection. The Bank also notes that about half million people lost their jobs. The food security situation is improving following a bumper harvest, but vulnerabilities remain in urban areas. The recent Zimbabwe Vulnerability Assessment Committee (ZimVAC) estimates that 73 percent of rural households would meet their cereal requirements, however, they were all below the food poverty line. Additional containment measures and impact on population. The country is currently experiencing a COVID-19 third wave and under a lockdown with schools, colleges, churches closed. Firms are allowed to operate under reduced schedule and capacity, intercity travel is prohibited and a curfew is effective between 6:30 pm and 6 am. Stricter lockdowns have been implemented in some districts that are classified as COVID-19 hotspots. Boarders with South Africa are open. Key Policy Responses as of June 30, 2021 Fiscal
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