The losses from the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic had reached P700 billion, a top government economic expert said on Thursday. A zero-growth scenario could raise the losses to P1.1 trillion, National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Acting Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua said in an online briefing with the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines. “Based on the surveys we gathered, the effect of Covid primarily because of the ECQ (enhanced community quarantine) is some P700 billion,” he added. NEDA and the Department of Finance made surveys to assess the impact of the Covid-19 crisis on consumers and small and medium businesses. He added that the government must make sure there is no second Covid wave once businesses and industries reopen.

Source: Manila Times April 30, 2020 16:38 UTC