Honduras readies unemployment insurance as COVID-19 deaths mount

Honduras President Juan Orlando Hernández announced a new legislative initiative aimed at creating unemployment insurance policies to be triggered by natural disasters or health crises, such as that caused by the current COVID-19 pandemic.

Joined by officials and private sector and labor representatives in a videoconference, Hernández said the “temporary solidarity support” aims to alleviate the economic impact associated with job losses spurred by the pandemic, adding that by taking the action today to confront COVID-19, the legislation would "help us prepare for any eventuality” in the future. 

Hernández indicated that he would consult with finance minister Rocío Tábora to determine how the insurance will be funded, while stressing that businesses, like all of Honduras, were facing a crisis.

"I want to ask the labor minister Carlos Madero to sit down as soon as possible with the micro, small and medium-sized companies, and the big companies, and assemble the design [of the unemployment insurance] and send it to the national congress," Hernández said, according to a government statement.

“This is a saving on the part of the government, for employers and for workers.” 

The president did not disclose the costs or benefits of the program, and it remains unclear how it would be managed. However, Hernández did say the government had delivered 3mn emergency aid packages to the poorest Honduran families.

Rising death toll 

The nation’s risk monitoring agency (Sinager) reported 19 new COVID-19 deaths on Wednesday, the highest daily toll since the first three cases were detected March 11. The additions bring the number of coronavirus deaths in Honduras to 290. 

The agency reported 7,360 cases of COVID-19 after registering 425 new ones.

New infections are spiking in Francisco Morazán department, where capital Tegucigalpa is located and where the agency reported 112 new cases. 

The virus is hitting the northern department of Cortés hardest, where Sinager reported 246 new cases on Wednesday.