“Corporate India is rationalising its workforce in response to the economic slowdown. It is indeed a wait-and-watch game as organisations are gearing up for the post-lockdown era where they anticipate an upsurge in demand,” said Sandeep Gulati, Group Managing Director of ManpowerGroup India.

There were no active cases in New Zealand for the first time since the virus arrived in late February, the health ministry said. New Zealand has reported 1,154 infections and 22 deaths from the disease.

New Zealand vowed to eliminate, not just contain, the virus. This means stopping transmission for an extended period after the last known case is cleared, while being ready to quickly detect and isolate any new cases including from abroad.

Countries will also strive to become less dependent on one another, especially for essential goods and services such as food or critical medical supplies, the prime minister said.

“This will have strategic implications. Countries will have less stake in each other’s wellbeing. They will fight more over how the pie is shared, rather than work together to enlarge the pie for all. It will be a less prosperous world, and also a more troubled one. All these changes will impact Singapore greatly and mean that the next few years will be a disruptive and difficult time,” he cautioned.