Ever soon resume. once again afloat Patch#
Ever soon resume. once again afloat free#

And even record-shattering cyclones вЂ“вЂ“ like category 5 TC Winston вЂ“вЂ“ while devastating, eventually blew past us. The worst economic hardship of the global financial crisis of 2009 was outpaced by COVID in a matter of weeks. Killer diseases like SARS, H1N1 and Ebola never descended on humanity like the coronavirus. We cannot look to history for a ready-made response to COVID-19. Most recently, in the form of Cyclone Harold. Through no fault of our own, countries like Fiji are caught in a perfect storm вЂ“вЂ“ a health crisis that has birthed an economic catastrophe, both of which arrive on the heels of a climate emergency. Even major developed economies are headed for double-digit declines in GDP.Д«ut this economic devastation is not equally shared. In the tourism sector alone, the вЂњGreat Global LockdownвЂќ could result in losses of upwards of 3.3 trillion US dollars. And another 1.25 billion jobs are at serious risk. Just imagine, the equivalent of our entire population more than 300 times over, all unemployed around the world. Over 300 million jobs have been lost worldwide. Any recovery is predicted to be partial and uneven, with muted projections anticipating up to a five-year comeback cycle.

Global growth projections have been revised down further to a five per cent contraction вЂ“вЂ“ theВ sharpest fall in one hundred years. Since the announcement of our COVID-19 Response Budget, the world economy has fared far worse than we ever feared. Mr Speaker, IвЂ™m not here to sugar-coat anything this evening. Families in Fiji are safe, and our record on testing ranks ahead of the rest of the world, right alongside New Zealand and Australia.Д«ut even if Fijians arenвЂ™t fighting for their lives attached to ventilators, many of our most important industries have been victims of the most severe global recession in a century a COVID-fuelled collapse for which no nation was prepared. Excluding a handful of cases confirmed among returning citizens, who have been confined securely in Government-funded quarantine facilities, Fiji is 90 days removed from our last case of the virus. So, what have we accomplished? Through a world-leading testing and contact-tracing campaign, we are a COVID-contained country. But it was unavoidable any other path would have been irresponsible and unsustainable. Of course, this meant a complete reordering of priorities and the postponement of some important projects. Our COVID-19 Response Budget, which we announced one week after our first case, allocated all the resources we could muster to beating the virus and bracing for a historic financial blow.

Were it not for our decisive actions, FijiвЂ™s most vulnerable citizens could be among the hundreds of thousands dead or dying from this disease.

On March 26, when we delivered our COVID-19 Response Budget, global cases stood at just over half a million вЂ“вЂ“ today that figure is exceeded by fatalities from COVID-19 alone and total infections stand at nearly 14 million.

Ever soon resume. once again afloat Patch#

Far removed in our patch of the Pacific, itвЂ™s difficult to grasp how unprepared the world was for this pandemic.

Ever soon resume. once again afloat free#

Mr Speaker, I would like to begin by thanking God that Fiji is free from the grips of COVID-19В outbreak. It is my privilege to present to Parliament and to all Fijians the National Budget for the 2020-2021 fiscal year.