COVID-19 Monitor

Last Updated:October 15, 2020

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This Toronto restaurant owner’s insurance jumped from $9,000 to almost $30,000 during COVID-19. He’s not alone (Toronto Star) Published on: September 21, 2020 | Category: Canadian Business

The price tag for insuring Ascari’s Hi-Lo Bar had suddenly risen from $9,000 per year to almost $30,000 with a different insurer, at a time when restaurants and bars are already struggling because of restrictions and closures thanks to the global COVID-19 pandemic.
Across the Greater Toronto Area, restaurants, bars, retailers and landscapers are seeing their insurance premiums skyrocket, during the midst of the global COVID-19 pandemic, if they can find any coverage at all.
Insurance industry representatives point to weather calamities caused by climate change as the biggest cause of the price rise, and say fewer companies are issuing commercial policies.
There’s also potential liability if a customer catches COVID, and — some experts say — the potential for payouts for business-interruption insurance.

Canadians are still flocking to parks and businesses as country braces for second wave (CTV News) Published on: September 20, 2020 | Category: Canadian Business

That feeling is backed up by data compiled by Google and Apple, which shows that Canadians are spending more time in parks and at businesses than they were even in the first half of the summer, when the country first emerged from its various pandemic-imposed lockdowns.
According to its most recent report for Canada, dated Sept. 11, Canadians are spending 151 per cent more time in parks than they were before the pandemic began.
Dr. Lisa Barrett, an infectious disease specialist at Dalhousie University in Halifax, said that Canadians “really need to take to heart” the advice from public health leaders, spending less time outside the home and keeping their social circles to a small number.

Coronavirus Pandemic Threatens to Widen Racial Homeownership Gap (WSJ) Published on: September 20, 2020 | Category: Economic Impact

The housing market has led the recovery from the pandemic-induced economic downturn as Americans have rushed to buy homes amid a desire for more living space and record-low mortgage rates.
But some analysts warn even as the housing boom bolsters the overall economy, it may widen the longstanding gap in homeownership between Black and white Americans.
The potential challenges are on several fronts. Mortgage providers tightened lending standards as economic conditions worsened, which could particularly hurt Black Americans’ ability to finance home purchases.

From toilet paper hoarding to tap-and-go: What habits will we keep post-COVID? (The Age) Published on: September 20, 2020 | Category: Economic Impact, Global Response

“[There] has been an increased use of online shopping as consumers changed their purchasing behaviour and merchants increased their online capabilities in response to the COVID-19 situation.”
In fact, the RBA researchers reckon we could see a more permanent shift in spending patterns for some customers, and future surveys will likely show the online share of consumer payments remains higher.
This has knock-on effects for inner-city retail strips and for the staff that work there. There could be a need for fewer customer service staff and more delivery drivers, packers and IT professionals.

COVID-19: Some Canadians believe officials exaggerate threat of coronavirus, poll suggests (Sudbury.com) Published on: September 20, 2020 | Category: Canadian Business

Almost one-quarter of respondents in an online poll made public Tuesday by Leger and the Association for Canadian Studies say they believe public health and government officials exaggerate in their warnings, including about the need for measures like physical distancing to slow the spread of the pandemic.
Leger executive vice-president Christian Bourque said the results may explain something else that came up in the survey: That a majority of respondents said they have relaxed how strictly they adhere to public health recommendations.

Lessons for investors from six months of pandemic-hit markets (FT) Published on: September 19, 2020 | Category: Economic Impact, Global Response

One clear takeaway: there is no point trying to fight central banks and their gushers of liquidity. Advocates of momentum trading, or simply buying assets that keep appreciating, have duly prospered.
In contrast, the Covid-19 market has not been kind to investors who have shunned bonds with long maturities, or who have been drawn to some of the cheap valuations that abound in US and global equity markets — in areas such as financials, leisure, transport, energy and industrials.
One bright spot is that consumers and companies continue to save cash as a buffer — money that at some point will be spent.

Nearly 20 per cent of COVID-19 infections among health-care workers by late July (News 1130) Published on: September 19, 2020 | Category: Canadian Business

In a report released earlier this month, the Canadian Institute for Health Information said 19.4 per cent of those who tested positive for the virus as of July 23 were health-care workers.
The World Health Organization said in July that health-care workers made up 10 per cent of global COVID-19 infections.
The Public Health Agency has done a poor job of gathering data about health-care workers infected with COVID-19, said Linda Silas, president of the 200,000-member nurses’ federation, adding that the federation has relied on data collected by Statistics Canada.

As COVID-19 persists, Japan looks to send in the robots (Japan Times) Published on: September 19, 2020 | Category: Global Response

A new wave of service machines has emerged amid the coronavirus pandemic to maintain safety and social distancing.
“The public health crisis has created demand for service robots that allow for reduced human contact,” said Hisashi Taniguchi, CEO of ZMP Inc.
Firms from the United States, China and elsewhere are racing to produce service robots to accommodate various needs ranging from health care and security to entertainment and leisure.

Death Toll From Covid-19 Pandemic Extends Far Beyond Virus Victims (WSJ) Published on: September 19, 2020 | Category: Global Response

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has tracked thousands of deaths this year beyond expected levels for conditions that also include hypertension, strokes and diabetes.
Some of these additional deaths were probably caused by Covid-19 but not recorded as such on death certificates, but others likely represent indirect fallout from the pandemic, said Robert Anderson, chief of the mortality-statistics branch at the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics.
The CDC estimates there were somewhere between about 202,000 and 263,000 excess deaths in the U.S. this year through late August, measured against deaths from 2017 through 2019.

The Flight Goes Nowhere. And It’s Sold Out. (NY Times) Published on: September 19, 2020 | Category: Global Response

People who miss flying are rushing to buy tickets for flights that land in the same place they depart from.
“I didn’t realize how much I’d missed traveling — missed flying — until the moment the captain’s voice came on the speaker with the welcome and safety announcement,” said Mr. Harif of his 85-minute experience on Royal Brunei Airlines.
On Thursday, Qantas announced a flight to nowhere over Australia. That flight sold out in 10 minutes.

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