As a result of non-compliance with biosecurity protocols, the increase in the number of cases and the saturation of hospital capacity, Phase I of the Intelligent Opening Process was suspended.
On June 8, business activities began to restart. However, the increase in the number of people infected forced the authorities to back off and cancel the start of Phase I, a decision that was communicated on June 21.
Arguing that the country is at risk of taking the route of an exponential covid-19 infection curve, the government suspended phase 3 of the commercial reopening and decreed new vehicle restrictions for June 20-21.
Due to the increase in cases announced on June 19 at a press conference, the government decided to tighten health measures issued by the Ministry of Health to contain the spread of the disease, thus postponing the third phase of reopening announced on June 18.
Full opening by regions and not by blocks, reactivation of construction and the establishment of an emergency financial assistance plan are some of the proposals of the Panamanian business sector to face the economic and health crisis.
For the Panamanian Association of Business Executives (Apede) the confinement measures do not manage to stop the advance of covid-19 transmission, but they do cause negative effects on employment levels in the country.
The World Bank projects that the Central American economy will contract by 3.6% this year, due to restrictions on movement, a decline in remittances and tourism, and a drop in agricultural prices.
The sudden and widespread impact of the coronavirus pandemic and the measures taken to contain it have caused a drastic contraction in the global economy, which, according to World Bank forecasts, will shrink by 5.2% this year, the bank reported on June 8.
Structural changes in world trade, consumer preference for living on the outskirts of cities and a growing demand for technological equipment to be able to work from home are some of the turns economies will experience in the new reality.
Most companies globally have been focused on understanding the new business environment, which derives from the change in the ways people relate to each other as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.
The Ministerial Agreement was published in the Diario de Centroamerica, which specifies the four phases to be applied for the de-escalation of containment measures for the reactivation of economic activity in the country.
According to the official document, Phase 0, which is called "De-escalation Preparation", will provide relaxation of the confinement measures that will allow relief to citizens and workplaces, allowing mobility outside the home.
Costa Rican businessmen propose that given the economic crisis and the new normality that the country will face, the government should promote key strategies such as the sale of state assets, the transformation of public employment and the elimination of privileges in terms of pensions and salaries.
The Union of Chambers and Associations of the Private Business Sector (UCCAEP) presented to President Carlos Alvarado a document called "Pandemic Shock and Economic and Social Policies to Mitigate its Effects", which seeks to provide a way out of the health and economic crisis resulting from the outbreak of covid-19.
Allowing the operation of economic sectors with low density and lower risk of transmission of covid-19, with the respective biosecurity measures, is the request of the Panamanian business sector to begin to revive the economy.
In this scenario of health emergency and spread of covid-19, businessmen have already held talks with both the Ministry of Health (MINSA) and the Ministry of Commerce and Industries (MICI) on the gradual opening of activities that lead to the resumption of work in sectors that commit to do so through strict compliance with general and specific protocols approved by the authorities, explains a publication by the Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture of Panama (CCIAP).
Guatemalan businessmen believe that in order to reactivate economic activity in the country, it is necessary to restrict the number of people in public spaces and increase the number of tests performed on those who have signs of carrying the virus.
In order to contain the spread of covid-19, the government decided to extend the mandatory home quarantine until May 6.
Initially the authorities had decreed that the mandatory home quarantine would be in place from March 21 to April 20, however, President Nayib Bukele announced that it would be extended for another 15 days.
Financial Intermediation, and Manufacturing Industries, largely determined the 2.5% increase in GDP during the fourth quarter of last year, compared to the same period in 2018.
Financial Intermediation, Insurance and Pension Funds increased 1.7%, boosted by income received from commissions and interest on the loan portfolio, reported the Central Bank of Honduras.
In order to mitigate the effects that will derive from the covid-19 crisis, businessmen of the industrial sector of Guatemala ask the government to adjust the measures in aspects such as banking, credit, labor and tax.
Economic activity will be reduced, which we are already experiencing. Therefore, it is important to take measures at both the health and economic levels to reduce the impact, explains a statement from the Chamber of Industry of Guatemala (CIG).
In Guatemala, the Executive Branch presented a proposal to the Congress to expand the public budget by nearly $940 million, resources that would be used to recover the economy in the face of the unemployment that will be caused by the spread of the covid-19.
The authorities' plan is to save between 20% and 25% in order to allocate these funds to investment in strategic infrastructure such as ports, airports, the subway and viable projects such as the construction of the Transversal del Sur (TVS), a 110-kilometer stretch that would connect the port of Champerico, Retalhuleu, with Puerto Quetzal, on the coastal strip.
The partial suspension of employment contracts and social security payments are some of the proposals made by employers in Costa Rica to maintain employment levels in the face of the spread of the Covid-19.
Representatives of the Costa Rican Union of Chambers and Associations of the Private Business Sector (UCCAEP), predict that if urgent actions are delayed, unemployment could rise from 12% to 19%.
Last year, GDP amounted to Ch$66,801 million, and in real terms, production increased by 3% over that reported in 2018.
This 3.0% growth for 2019, in the amount of Ch$43,061.1 million (chained value to 2007), was mainly driven by the mining sector, reported the General Comptroller of the Republic.
The dynamism of the mining sector is specifically explained by the increase in the activity of the extraction of copper concentrate, whose production in tons increased from the third to the fourth quarter by 210%.
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