Mountains Did Not Move

In this episode Olga is joined by Agata Galuszka, an entrepreneur and life success coach specialising in working with women to help them achieve their life goals. Sara has to unfortunately sit this episode out, being inundated with work after the Andorran Government's latest decree on support for companies. We find ourselves at a point where our part of the world is reopening. We discuss what the past few weeks have been like in terms of life and business.  Agata shares with us some interesting and valuable insights about how she sees the effects of the lockdown on people's mindsets, their relationships with their employers and their appreciation for the simpler things in life. We also find ourselves discussing how the past few weeks have been for us as mothers of young children. Agata also shares the kinds of things she feels are going to "stick" in people's minds as we come out of lockdown and back to our more normal lives. And she also makes some very valid points about how the past few weeks demonstrate that working more flexibly and from our homes can save a lot of resources for people and for businesses. This is an episode absolutely worth tuning into. It's philosophical, practical and mindful. As an extra treat, you can download Agata’s Free e-book today, here's the URL to do that: http://bit.ly/WomenEmpowermentNow

Recording today's episode we find ourselves at Labour Day. It's a good day to discuss what the Andorran Government has decreed to be offered to workers, businesses and freelancers as we begin to restart the economy here. Today we cover a whole host of economic measures including: worker protection subsidies social security payment reductions loan deferments / grace periods rent reductions support for freelancers tax deferments The quality of this episode and all the information we share is a testament to the effort and diligence that Sara has been putting into tracking all the legal texts that have been in the works and have gone into law since the middle of March.  Enjoy this episode - it's one we will look back on sometime into the future for sure, and ask how and whether all these measures have worked.

In this interview we speak with Kalina Minkiewicz who runs the andorraofertas.com blog. Kalina started out with the idea that this blog could highlight the best deals in Andorra to the eight (or so) millions of tourists who visit the country each year. However, the pandemic lockdown has, of course, brought tourism to a standstill. Therefore, Kalina's blog has become a lifeline for many of us in Andorra who were wondering which shops were open and which restaurants were delivering food to homes. The blog also went further, letting us know about online education courses and, later, about which shops were actually opening up when some business restrictions were eased. In this interview we also speak about other recent updates in Andorra and remember to how we felt when everything was just starting out.

In this episode we experience the first steps into anti-confinement and cover 5 events from the past week: 1. The protocol that was introduced to let people out of their homes to go for walks and exercise 2. The tests for the COVID-19 antibody have just been announced - the process for registering and doing the tests has just gone public 3. New measures for supporting businesses were announced and drafted into law (however, we only say a few words on these as we'll have an episode dedicated to this subject soon) 4. We now have a published headline strategy for the reopening of business activity over the three phases 5. The curious case of the Argentinian seasonal workers still stuck in Andorra

Here is the summary, in numbers, illustrating where we would ourselves one month after lockdown in Andorra LOCKDOWN (14/03/2020) - 16/03/2020: 14 positive (4 health professionals, 1 ICU). Mechanical ventilation capacity 1 for each 3900 inhabitants. WEEK 1: 23/03/2020 133 positive (44 health professionals, 3 ICU). WEEK 2: 30/03/2020 334 positive (85 health professionals, 11 ICU). WEEK 3: 06/04/2020 526 positive (91 health professionals, 17 ICU). Mechanical ventilation 1 for each 2889. WEEK 4: 13/04/2020 646 positive (65 health professionals, 15 ICU + 1 ICU from Spain). Mechanical ventilation 1 for each 2108. Total deaths: 29. You can see the graphs that illustrate the data we share in this episode here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_BRK-zYTS4GyxayTyG2WGR5YGiuAL3-4VPN-6vhnNMo/edit?usp=sharing

In this episode we look back at the first coronavirus cases that tested positive in Andorra. We also remember how we personally perceived the news report of the virus from the beginning of 2020. The key dates and events covered in the episode - ANDORRA March the 2nd, the first case confirmed positive. Wednesday March 11th the Government decreed some initial measures (Creation of a Technical Committee to follow the epidemic, cancellation of school trips out of Andorra, Suspension of events with more than 1000 people). Friday March 13th the Government decreed further measures (limit to hospital and residencies visits, recommendation to people over 70 to isolate themselves, closing of education centers, suspension of extracurricular activities, closure of playrooms, cancellation of public events and activities organized by the public sector (the day after was the Constitution day), special distancing measures in public transport. Recommendation to suspend cultural and sport activities organized by the private sector. That day the ski slopes and most of the sport centers of the country closed. Saturday March 14th, Constitution day, the Government decreed the closure of a certain number of activities (sport centers, bars, restaurants, ski slopes, and all retail shops except those that supply first need goods). Suspension of Court activity (except for emergencies), special distancing measures in shops that were open. On Wednesday March 17th, the activities open are more reduced. Until now. WHAT WE HAVE SEEN INTERNATIONALLY 10th March Italia “Tutti a casa”. Just three days later in Andorra most of the activities were suspended following the government recommendations. March 14th Spain declares State of Alarm (people can still go to work). The same day Andorran Government decreed the closure of most of the economical activity of the country. March 15th, Andorra approves a decree limiting the commerce of alcohol and tobacco. Only Andorrans and residents can buy and with certain restrictions. Measure to reduce the interest of neighbor citizens to come to Andorra. March 16th Spain establishes several movement restrictions. Andorra/Spain border remains open but transit is limited to supplies, residents, cross border workers, cross border patients. March 17th France establishes general movement restrictions. Andorra/France border remains open. Andorran Government decreed the closure of all non-essential activities. March 20th UE limits certain products (considered essential) exportation to non-EU countries. It recognizes Andorra (together with San Marino and Vatican City as countries that depend on the EU supply chains), so there is an exception for us.

In our first episode we introduce you to the principality of Andorra. The oldest state in Europe when it comes to borders. One of the youngest when it comes to having a constitution. Here are the key stats we mention in the episode: GENERAL  468 km²  - the entire area of Andorra  78.000 inhabitants  In Europe but not a member of the EU. Located the middle of the Pyrenees mountains (between Spain and France).  Access: only by road (through Spain or France) and medicalised helicopter.  Parliamentary co-principality (our laws need to be ratified by the Bishop of la Seu d'Urgell and the President of France). MEDICAL PERSPECTIVE  1 hospital: 168 beds total - Normal beds: 135 - ICU beds: 16 (at the beginning of the outbreak) - Special beds (isolation or security): 7 - Reserve beds (6 normal, 2 ICU, 2 isolation): 10  Mechanical ventilation capacity at the beginning of the outbreak: 16. It was very quickly increased to 20, later to 27 and we are now there are 31. Since March 13 Andorra went from 1 mechanical ventilator for every 4,875 inhabitants to 1 for every 2,516 inhabitants. CONTROL MEASURES SINCE THE COVID-19 OUTBREAK  The Andorran constitution foresaw the possibility of limiting citizens rights but there had never been a need to develop a Law of the States of Alarm and Emergency. The Law was approved by the parliament during this crisis and is now in force. Notwithstanding the aforementioned, Andorran Government has not declared the State of Alarm so far, as its citizens are trusted to be able to behave according to the measures and recommendations taken.  Andorra doesn’t have an army but counts on the defence from Spain and France. In case of emergency and lack of professional police capacity, Andorran men over 18 years can be called on for help. ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVE  Tourism and retail represent a big part of our economy. STRATEGY SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THE OUTBREAK  Early lockdown to avoid health system overload.  Testing: the Andorran government strategy will be based on testing the whole Andorran population for antibody detection twice. 158,400 antibody detection test have been bought for this purpose and are on their way here as we record the episode.