Latest government moves against economic impacts of Covid-19

Over the past two weeks, the Federal Register has been filled with government decrees and ordinances that aim to provide some cushion to the inevitable economic blow of the Covid-19 outbreak. We have highlighted some of the principal measures issued yesterday:

Healthcare system

• Small hospitals will be able to donate their prolonged-care beds to intensive-care patients from other facilities — being compensated around BRL 6,000 per bed. The Health Ministry doesn’t explain whether this action will be mandatory, or if hospitals will be able to avoid taking part in the program.

Supply chains

• The Agriculture Ministry has listed a series of “secondary activities” that are nonetheless pivotal to supply chains across the country. Among these activities are cargo transportation — as well as roadside restaurants — and phytosanitary inspections.

President Bolsonaro and his sons have shared videos on social media of truck drivers disgruntled with restrictive measures and threatening to retaliate against them.

• The government has issued a 30-day ban on any foreigners without family connections in Brazil to enter Brazil — and that goes for cargo transportation, too. Shipments will have to be unloaded without any foreign national leaving their vessels.
• Shipments of 70% ethanol will be facilitated due to a loosening in safety rules.

Financial markets

• Listed companies are free to make public offerings and issuing debentures as they please, without the usually stipulated four-month minimum interval between each move. The government also allows companies to issue promissory notes — even those which don’t provide for this measure in their statutes. These changes by the Brazilian Securities Commission (CVM) aim at providing more liquidity to businesses.
• Investment funds will have 30 additional days to report their earnings.

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• #government
• #jairBolsonaro