At the Europe's epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic –Italy– the companies can't lay off workers according to their will and rents have been reduced as a part of Italy's economic survival plan. Italy, on Wednesday hit a one-day record of 475 deaths due to COVID-19. Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte hailed his "Italian model" of 25-billion-euro ($28-billion) programme and said that the rest of Europe could adopt in future as lockdowns foster, reported IFP.
"When we talk about the Italian model, we are not only talking about health but also the economic response to the crisis," Conte said while unveiling his "Cura Italia" ("Italian Cure").
Infections might reduce by a week
With 2,978 official COVID-19 deaths, they make more than half of those reported outside China. Italy's National Research Council (CNR) opined that there would be a "significant reduction" in the growth rate of new infections in the Lombardy region by next Tuesday or Wednesday. CNR predicts that figures across Italy will only stabilise between Mar 25 and Apr 15, according to CNA
Conte, who is also a former law professor and his team of technocratic ministers drafted that, in the heat of Italy's gravest emergency since World War II and other European countries might never take all 127 point that rose, as per the report.
Decisions
Companies cannot lay off workers for the next two months without "justified objective reasons". The self-employed and seasonal workers like the tour guides can expect $680 payment for the month of March. The government would cover 100 Euro bonuses for low-wage earners.
Families would be getting 600 Euro vouchers so that they can hire baby sitters, with parental leave payments granted making up half of their monthly incomes for the self employed The government further said on Wednesday that the shutdown of universities could extend till next month.
The Government had shut down all businesses except pharmacies and groceries for two weeks that started on March 12, while compensating shop owners by offering them tax credits to cover 60 percent of the month's rents. The self-employed and freelancers with home mortgages can ask to have their payments suspended for up to 18 months if they can prove that their incomes fell by a third, according to the report.
Taxes
Many taxes and social service payments are getting suspended for those who are most affected by the crisis. A list has been expanded to include everyone from truck drivers and hotel staff to cooks and clerks. The tax collections is expected to start in May.
Other decisions
In the background of rioters who got anxious of COVID-19 and damaged the prisons, the government is spending 20 million Euros to repair. Sport federations get four-month tax privileges and 130 million euros will go to support cinemas and the movie industry.
