Give your primary and secondary reflection on the different situations:
Due to the increasing number of Covid-19 infections, your municipality is declaring a one-month enhanced community quarantine in your municipality.
Answers
Answer:
The government initially allocated Af 8 billion (0.5 percent of GDP) from contingency funds for emergency pandemic response, of which Af 1.9 billion (0.1 percent of GDP) for urgent health needs, such as establishing testing labs, including at border crossings; setting up special wards to boost hospitalization and care capacity; and procuring critical medical supplies.
On April 29, the government started providing free bread to the poor in Kabul, later extended to other cities. The program was ended in late June. In May, the government 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. Recognizing the liquidity constraints of many taxpayers, the government extended the tax filing deadline for the first quarter by 45 days. No further extensions have been provided.
The authorities are preparing a mid-year budget revision, which is expected to include the following COVID-19 related spending, including those approved in the July budget amendment:
Health package amounting to Af 6.2 billion, including for building hospitals;
Social package, including the now concluded bread distribution program of Af 2.8 billion and the World Bank-supported social distribution program in the amount of Af 20.8 billion (see below);
Wheat purchase program (Af 1.7 billion);
Transfers to provinces to finance Covid-19 response (Af 2.3 billion);
Package to support agriculture (Af 5.9 billion) and short-term jobs (Af 1.0 billion).