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On health and economic costs it explains that:

• Three areas may help understand and address the shock.
• “Assessing the economic cost per life saved requires an estimate of the death toll Covid-19 would have imposed in the absence of containment measures. For example, the influential epidemiological study by the Imperial College in London predicted 2.2 million deaths in the US in the absence of decisive action to contain the epidemic. If 2 million deaths could be avoided thanks to containment measures, the economic cost would amount to less than USD 0.5 million per life saved (this is USD 1 trillion divided by 2 million). Given that the estimates for the statistical value of a life in the US fall in the range of USD 6-9 million, the cost of the containment measures adopted is totally justified.”
• “Governments in developing countries could use similar back-of-the-envelope calculations to get a sense of the economic cost that could be justified in their case to contain the Covid-19 epidemic. The calculation would involve two key figures: the assessment of the number of deaths the epidemic would cause if left uncontained, and the value of statistical life used by agencies in charge of developing transport infrastructure, developing health and safety standards or setting environmental policy.”

On addressing the economic crisis, it states that:

• Moves to prevent a financial crisis, to protect jobs and to revitalize private investment, “will entail a change in the relationship between the public and the private sector, leading to a greater role of the state for possibly quite some time.”
• “The process of acquiring and managing assets needs to be perceived as transparent and professional to maintain confidence in the government. This may also allow decision makers to take urgently needed measures without fearing prosecution in the future.”
• “In the medium term, the priority has to be the divestiture of state assets to the private sector. Individual cases will need to be reviewed, and balance sheet repair solutions be designed. Benchmark-linked sales of government shares in companies will have to be arranged. While this is not an immediate priority, government should communicate clearly on the direction of travel, establishing a timeline and setting up sunset clauses wherever appropriate.

Please read the full report below:

The LatAm Economy in the time of Covid-19_World Bank.pdf

• Amid the coronavirus pandemic, lockdowns and aggressive social-distancing measures are required to save lives and countries across Latin America and the Caribbean have put them in place.
• As a result of the changing macroeconomic conditions, financing costs for emerging markets have risen and commodity prices have fallen.
• There will be large drops in GDP, but this is not a normal recession, so typical countercyclical demand management, both fiscal and monetary, is likely inconducive.
• Policies should be aimed to provide relief, maintain economic stability and the core of the economy intact for the recovery.

RELATED LINKS: 

https://flagships.iadb.org/en/MacroReport2020/Policies-to-Fight-the-Pandemic

In early March, the Victorian Department of Jobs, Precincts and Jobs’ Global Victoria hosted three female leaders from Latin America to celebrate International Women’s Day (IWD) and promote collaboration between the 60 international delegates that visited overall and Victorian stakeholders. 

Claudia Bobadilla, Executive President of the Industrial Telecommunication Association in Chile and CSIRO Board Member and Juanita Rodriguez, Vice-Chancellor of Innovation at EAN University in Bogotá participated in the Global Victoria Women’s Business Summit (GVw) from 5-8 March 2020 which showcased Victoria’s world-class capabilities in STEM; Transport/Infrastructure; Sport and Medical Technology and Pharmaceuticals. Claudia learnt about the work of Monash University, CSIRO and the Australian Synchrotron in driving world-leading research, and partnership opportunities. Juanita visited the Melbourne Metro Tunnel project at Parkville and experienced first-hand the innovative and sustainable Arup engineering office in the Docklands as part of the infrastructure program. Both had the opportunity to connect with influential female leaders from women driving key medical research projects to women leading major road projects in Victoria as part of the state’s $70 billion infrastructure program. 

Claudia Bobadilla also featured as the keynote speaker at the ALABC boardroom luncheon held on 6 March 2020 at Global Victoria’s International Chamber House which included participation by Australia’s Ambassador to Colombia and Venezuela HE Sophie Davies. Claudia shared her insights on drivers behind the recent social unrest in Chile following 40 days of being completely immersed amongst the most affected communities. A key lesson Claudia took away was the importance of companies incorporating social values in their business plans and strategies to ensure dignity for all. 

Following GVw was the Virgin Australia Melbourne Fashion Festival (VAMFF). Dr Maria Carrasco, a leading fashion commentator in Chile and practising Psychiatrist travelled to Melbourne to attend a full program of activities during VAMFF including attending exclusive runways shows; meet and greets with Melbourne designers; visits to the RMIT design studio and fashion school LCI as well as walking through the latest exhibit at the National Gallery of Victoria.

Orica boss Alberto Calderon has been charting the global spread of coronavirus on a daily basis from his deserted office in east Melbourne. 

With operations in over 100 countries, staying a step ahead is proving no small feat. 

"It's been crazy," Calderon tells The Weekend Australian. "Governments around the world are making decisions and the consequences could not be any bigger." The next phase will likely see governments make some tough decisions on segregation, according to Calderon. 

As Australian corporates scramble to draw up emergency plans to deal with business shutdowns, Calderon has been focused on ensuring the explosives maker can keep operating through the market turmoil. 

Half of Australia's mines depend on Orica to keep their production running through its supply of bulk explosives and detonator systems. 

In recent days Calderon has spoken to his former colleague Mike Henry at BHP, Rio Tinto's Jean-Sebastien Jacques and Newcrest Mining chief Sandeep Biswas to trade the latest intelligence on the global mining market. 

The nation's big resources players have been tracking COVID-19 closely since its emergence in China, given the country accounts for half the world's commodity demand. 

Calderon has also been working to match up each country's official virus data with anecdotal reports from his 12,000-strong workforce scattered across the globe. Encouragingly, many of the world's major mines - including Australia's iron ore, coal and gold industries — remain open and at peak production with backing from the federal government to operate as an essential service. 

Orica says it's critical the flow of mining exports and supply chain routes can keep trading their way through unprecedented volatility. 

"I'm in permanent communication with our big clients. We have said to the government we understand we need to keep people safe but we also need to keep this industry open or the whole thing will collapse," Calderon said. 

FULL PDF BELOW: 

200403 AC The Australian v2 (2).pdf

For political junkies in Mexico used to a president hogging the spotlight, the rise to household-name status of Hugo López-Gatell, a once-obscure health undersecretary, has been breathtaking.

Each evening Mr López-Gatell holds a press conference in which he reveals Mexico’s daily covid-19 figures and exhorts Mexicans to stay in their homes. Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the populist president, has at times resembled Donald Trump in playing down the pandemic. So Mr López-Gatell has earned a reputation similar to that of Anthony Fauci in America: a by-the-book health bureaucrat who must contend with an unhelpful boss.

Yet Mr López-Gatell himself is controversial. His critics fret that too little is being done. The total number of coronavirus test results that Mexico has processed until now, 11,357 as of April 4th, is roughly what the United States goes through every two hours. Like many countries, Mexico uses a sentinel model for tracking the disease, using only a few high-quality testing centres, with narrow criteria for testing eligibility. This is a reliable way to track overall trends, but it almost certainly leads to a drastic undercount of the pandemic’s true spread. Unlike in most countries, Mexico’s quarantine measures have been lax and unenforced. I interviewed Mr López-Gatell on April 3rd. Below is the transcript, lightly edited for brevity and clarity.

Please visit ALABC news page to access the latests articles reporting on the current state of COVID-19 across Latin America. This collection of information includes official information from Latin American and Australia governments, health industry professionals and other reputable sources across multiple sectors. To access the information, please click on the link below. 

https://flipboard.com/@msalas59/latam-covid-19-e-magazine-for-australian-companies-pacr2ui6z

The Government is acting decisively in the national interest to support households and businesses and address the significant economic consequences of the Coronavirus.

While the full economic effects from the virus remain uncertain, the outlook has deteriorated since the Government’s initial Economic Response announced on 12 March 2020.

The spread of the virus worldwide has broadened, and is expected to be more prolonged. Governments, both international and domestic, have announced stricter mitigation measures to slow the spread of the virus, which are having significant economic impacts.

RELATED LINKS: 

https://treasury.gov.au/coronavirus

Situation as of 5 April 2020 (14:00  EST)

In the Region of the Americas, Turks and Caicos reported their first COVID-19 death on 4 April 2020. To date, the Island reported a total of five (5) cases including 1 confirmed death.

In the past 24 hours, an additional 36,880 cases and 1,493 deaths were reported – a 12% (cases) and 18% (deaths) relative increase compared to the previous day. 

For more information on the Global confirmed numbers, please click on the following links:

• WHO COVID-19 map cases

• WHO Situation Reports

 PAHO Response Strategy and Donor Appeal

PAHO has launched an Appeal to donors & partners to scale-up the capacity of the countries of the Americas to respond to COVID-19. 

The response strategy outlined in this Appeal has two main objectives: slow down the transmission of the virus and mitigate the health impact of COVID-19 in the Region. 

An initial US$94.8 million are needed to support critical response efforts in countries most in need of help until September 2020. 

As this outbreak evolves, needs are likely to increase and the estimated financial requirements will be adjusted accordingly.

• Response to COVID-19 Outbreak in the Americas - Donor Appeal (full document)

• About COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund

PAHO has launched an Appeal to donors & partners to scale-up the capacity of the countries of the Americas to respond to COVID-19.

The response strategy outlined in this Appeal has two main objectives: slow down the transmission of the virus and mitigate the health impact of COVID-19 in the Region. 

An initial US$94.8 million are needed to support critical response efforts in countries most in need of help until September 2020.

As this outbreak evolves, needs are likely to increase and the estimated financial requirements will be adjusted accordingly.

RELATED LINKS: 

https://www.paho.org/en/documents/response-covid-19-outbreak-region-americas

Since the COVID-19 crisis began, air cargo has been a vital partner in delivering much-needed medicines, medical equipment (including spare parts/repair components), and in keeping global supply chains functioning for the most time-sensitive materials. 

This has been done through dedicated cargo freighter operations, utilisation of cargo capacity in passenger aircraft, and relief flights to affected areas. 

Click below for more information on the specific areas:

https://www.iata.org/en/programs/cargo/