Section 6 POLICY MEASURES BY FEW OTHER COUNTRIES: A SHORT OVERVIEW

6. POLICY MEASURES BY FEW OTHER COUNTRIES: A SHORT OVERVIEW

Over the course of 2020, COVID-19, has taken hundreds of thousands of lives, infected millions of people, upended the global economy and cast a dark shadow across our future. Globally, more than 900 thousand people have died and 27 million have been or are infected.51 COVID-19 pandemic has become more than only a health crisis and has left no region, country, nor population group untouched. No single individual, sector or society has been spared. Some of the most vulnerable communities suffered disproportionately across the globe. To fight with the crisis, a whole-of-society, whole-of-government approach driven by unity and compassion was required.

Recognizing the far reaching impact of the crisis, governments in countries across the globe had sought for immediate comprehensive response focusing on health, on safeguarding lives and livelihoods. There are some similarities across countries in terms of responses to contain the viral transmission such as, lock down measures, social distancing guidelines, testing arrangements for infected populations or maintaining safety protocols in different places etc. However, there are differences across countries in terms of economic policy responses. With strong emphasis on supporting the most affected, different countries have pushed for stimulus packages, learning support, psychological support, sanitation and hygiene supports, food and shelter supports. Most of the countries adopted measures to support the economic recovery, protect and create jobs for young workers, unemployed or those who lost jobs during crisis.

This section of the report documents the policy measures of 13 selected countries who were among the most affected countries during the first phases of COVID-19, excluding India. The measures by different government have been based on the country specific circumstances. The immediate set of policies announced in most of the countries was common in nature such as, cash transfers, tax exemptions, waving of rental payment, unemployment subsidies to job seekers or subsidies to the firms or sectors facing loss.

The following table shows the stimulus package and other emergency relief measures adopted by selected countries. The information documented in the table is based on the information provided by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and International Labour Organization. As mentioned by IMF, the policy tracker includes information that is publicly available or provided by the authorities in response to COVID-19, such as automatic insurance mechanisms and existing social safety nets etc. The measures listed here neither meant for

51 United Nations Comprehensive Response to COVID-19: Saving Lives, Protecting Societies, Recovering Better