First meeting of the Inter-Ministerial Pandemic Response Commission held
At the meeting led by Chilean President Gabriel Boric, the first definitions of the National Pandemic Response Commission (CNRP) were presented on issues such as the return to school, vaccinations and the Plan Paso a Paso (Step-by-Step Plan). The treasury minister also presented the main points of the Plan Recuperación Inclusiva (Inclusive Recovery Plan).
The first meeting of the Inter-Ministerial Pandemic Response Commission, which seeks to lay out the guidelines for the new pandemic governance plan, was held at La Moneda Palace.
The meeting was led by President Gabriel Boric, and attended by the Interior and Public Security Minister, Foreign Affairs Minister, Treasury Minister, Minister Secretary General of the Government, Economy Minister, Social Development Minister, Education Minister, Health Minister, Transport Minister, Women and Gender Equality Minister, and Science, Technology, Knowledge and Innovation Minister.
The commission is an opportunity to discuss and make extraordinary or high-impact decisions to manage the pandemic in critical moments. Therefore, at this meeting, the first definitions on issues such as the return to school, vaccinations and the Plan Paso a Paso were discussed. The decisions made will be announced next Tuesday.
Health Minister Begoña Yarza explained after the meeting that this new institutional framework, which came into effect three weeks ago via sessions of the National Pandemic Response Commission, seeks to make all pandemic-related decisions transparent.
“We have the ability to assimilate in a good, institutional manner what has been learned in the social, economic and citizen sectors, as well as by the high-level technical teams. It all goes to the committee, they recommend the measures to the Health Ministry, and the entire process is traceable; it is there in the minutes that can be consulted and, therefore, any citizen, university or research group can find out why the Health Ministry made one decision or another,” the minister said.
Minister Yarza added, “this institutional framework turns us into a modern state capable of communicating with transparency, generating trust and the participation of various sectors, to let people know that we take care of each other, and that the State is going to care for you. But we also need the communities to help us care for everyone.”
Inclusive Recovery Plan
Treasury Minister Mario Marcel explained that “we are very interested in participating, because the evolution of the economy in recent years has been directly linked to the impact of the pandemic and the necessary health control measures.”
He added, “the Inclusive Recovery Plan is based on the fact that, even though the Chilean economy has already recovered to pre-pandemic levels, even surpassing it significantly, there remain important differences in how this recovery has taken place. We have certain sectors that still lag significantly in comparison to others that have led the recovery process.”
Minister Marcel explained that the plan contains measures based on six areas: reincorporating paid work; increasing public investment; supporting sectors lagging behind; promoting SMEs; improving living-wage income; and institutionalizing economic and social protection mechanisms. More details on these measures will be announced next week.