Due to the complicated and unpredictable developments of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Vietnamese government has taken various measures, which have grown more stringent over time, to combat the spread of the disease. Due in part to these timely measures, as of Monday, March 30, Vietnam had reported just over 200 confirmed COVID-19 cases, and no fatalities—encouraging numbers for a country of its size.

Our team at Tilleke & Gibbins is pleased to share with our clients this guest column, providing insight into the impact of the coronavirus pandemic for creditors and debtors, written by Associate Professor Dr. Munin Pongsapan, Dean of the Faculty of Law, at Thammasat University.

Due to the COVID-19 crisis, Myanmar’s Ministry of Transport and Communications Department of Civil Aviation issued a notification yesterday stating that all international commercial passenger flights will be denied landing permission in all Myanmar airports with effect from 11:59 p.m. today, March 30, 2020, until 11:59 p.m. on April 13, 2020. This does not apply to cargo flights, relief flights, or medical evacuation flights.

On March 29, 2020, the Prime Minister of Laos issued Order No. 06/PM on the Reinforcement of Measures for the Containment, Prevention, and Full Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic.

As the COVID-19 situation escalates, governments worldwide are imposing travel restrictions, mandatory quarantine procedures, and curfews and lockdowns in an attempt to slow the transmission of the virus. The Thai government has announced many measures to deal with the COVID-19 outbreaks, including ordering the postponement of the Songkran holidays and the temporary shutdown of portions of the public and private sectors. 

According to Section 42/1 of the Condominium Act B.E. 2522 (1979), an annual general meeting (AGM) of joint owners in a condominium project must be held within 120 days from the end of its fiscal year, in order to approve, among other things, the balance sheet, annual report, and the appointment of an auditor.As part of the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Lands issued a notification on March 23, 2020, recommending that condominium juristic persons (CJPs) proceed with AGMs as follows:

The Department of Lands (DOL) has issued a notification to request that the public refrain from contacting the DOL for nonessential matters during this time in light of the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak.

Due to the economic impact of COVID-19, the Board of the Social Security Office has agreed to reduce the rate for both employee and employer contributions to the Social Security Fund.On March 23, 2020, it was announced that there would be a reduction from a 5% contribution to a 4% contribution, for both employees and employers, for a period of six months, commencing in March and ending in August.