COVID-19 Monitor

Last Updated:October 15, 2020

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Stillbirth rate rises dramatically during pandemic (Nature) Published on: September 15, 2020 | Category: Global Response

A slew of studies from around the world has reported a disturbing trend: since the coronavirus pandemic started, there has been a significant rise in the proportion of pregnancies ending in stillbirths, in which babies die in the womb.
It reported that stillbirths increased from 14 per 1,000 births before the country went into lockdown to stop the spread of the coronavirus in late March, to 21 per 1,000 births by the end of May — a rise of 50%.
The increase in the proportion of stillbirths among hospital births was not caused by COVID-19 infections, says Ashish K.C., a perinatal epidemiologist at Uppsala University, Sweden. Rather, it is probably a result of how the pandemic has affected access to routine antenatal care, which might have otherwise picked up complications that can lead to stillbirth, he says.

Economists warn of US ‘wasteland’ without stimulus deal (FT) Published on: September 15, 2020 | Category: Economic Impact

The diminished chances of additional fiscal support have caused many economists to fret that the US rebound will lose steam in later 2020 or early 2021, creating a drag on the global economy as it tries to recover from the worst contraction since the second world war.
“The risk of fiscal fatigue where policymakers stop providing stimulus or start trying to claw back too early is a meaningful global risk,” said Nathan Sheets, chief economist for PGIM Fixed Income.
Economists say one of the biggest dangers to the recovery is that consumption could falter after being supported so heavily by direct payments to households worth up to $1,200 per adult and emergency federal unemployment benefits of $600 per week that were included in the $3tn of stimulus approved at the start of the pandemic.

Financial Anxiety Is Up Around the Globe (BNN Bloomberg) Published on: September 14, 2020 | Category: Canadian Business, Global Response

According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s 2020 International Survey of Adult Financial Literacy, 42% of the 125,787 adults polled reported worrying about meeting everyday expenses; 40% were concerned about their financial situation; and 37% reported they were just getting by.
Most concerning, given the threat of mass long-term unemployment, in response to the question, “If you lost your main source of income, how long could you continue to cover your living expenses, without borrowing any money or moving house?” 28% said about a week; 25% said about a month; 15% said about three months; and 18% said more than six months.

Amazon to hire 100,000 workers as e-commerce swells amid the pandemic (Washington Post) Published on: September 14, 2020 | Category: Economic Impact, Global Response

It’s the fourth large hiring drive announced by the Seattle-based retail giant this year, adding up to 308,000 jobs.
Competition among major online retailers has intensified as many Americans adapt to a prolonged period of working from home, and consumers look to online shopping to replace visits to the store.
As consumers rushed to stock up on cleaning supplies, home office equipment and recreational goods, Amazon was rocked by shipping delays and a depleted inventory.
As a result, Amazon’s share of the U.S. online retail market fell from 42.1 percent in January to 38.5 percent in June, according to data from Rakuten Intelligence.

Americans who can afford to hoard cash are waiting for a vaccine to spend it (Washington Post) Published on: September 14, 2020 | Category: Economic Impact, Global Response

Gallup and Franklin Templeton released a survey that found 54 percent of Americans are saving at least a little money, and until there’s a vaccine, they largely plan to keep stashing it away.
“A lot of people are just waiting on the vaccine to be developed to continue their normal spending,” Grant Buckles, a senior research consultant who worked on the survey, said in an interview.
Only 24 percent have increased their contributions to retirement accounts, 17 percent have invested in the stock or bond markets, 5 percent have put it into real estate and just 3 percent have invested in other assets, such as cryptocurrency.

How remote staff will build a new corporate culture (FT) Published on: September 14, 2020 | Category: Leadership

Since the pandemic started to lock down economies and shut down workplaces, strong existing ties between colleagues have sustained teams.
Keeping even long-serving staff aligned with the corporate mission will become harder, the longer they spend away from the workplace.
As a wave of recruits arrives for the first day at the online office, human resources departments are bombarding them with welcome videos from senior staff and invitations to “buddy” virtually with colleagues.

Coronavirus: 86% of doctors in England expect second wave within six months (Guardian) Published on: September 14, 2020 | Category: Global Response

Almost 86% of doctors in England say they expect a second peak of coronavirus in the next six months, according to a new survey, as concern continues to grow over a recent rise in cases.
When asked which of a range of factors might risk causing a second peak, almost 90% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that failures of the test-and-trace system posed a risk, while a similar proportion cited a lack of infection-control measures in places like bars and restaurants, and 86% agreed or strongly agreed confusing messaging on public health measures was a risk.

10 huge companies, from Amazon to UPS to Home Depot, that are each looking to hire at least 20,000 people (Business Insider) Published on: September 13, 2020 | Category: Economic Impact

With more than 13 million out of work and 884,000 people filing for unemployment just last week, Americans are on the job hunt, according to the Department of Labor.
Delivery businesses, grocery stores, and budget options are reigning supreme right now, and that means that they need to beef up their workforces to keep up with demand.
Take a look at following 10 companies, all of which are looking to hire at least 20,000 employees right now.

More than 200 meat plant workers in the U.S. have died of covid-19. Federal regulators just issued two modest fines. (Washington Post) Published on: September 13, 2020 | Category: Global Response

Federal regulators knew about serious safety problems in dozens of the nation’s meat plants that became deadly coronavirus hot spots this spring but took six months to take action, recently citing two plants and finally requiring changes to protect workers.
The financial penalties for a Smithfield Foods plant in South Dakota and a JBS plant in Colorado issued last week total about $29,000 — an amount critics said was so small that it would fail to serve as an incentive for the nation’s meatpackers to take social distancing and other measures to protect their employees.
Meat plant workers, union leaders and worker safety groups are also outraged that the two plants, with some of the most severe outbreaks in the nation, were only cited for a total of three safety violations and that hundreds of other meat plants have faced no fines.

The next subprime crisis could be in food (FT) Published on: September 13, 2020 | Category: Global Response

Of all the many problems caused by Covid-19, three of the most visible have been food insecurity, the demise of small businesses and asset market volatility.
All of those things might be poised to get worse, thanks to an unexpected but important financial shift. Big banks, including ABN Amro, ING and BNP Paribas, are either pulling out of commodity trade financing or scaling it back.
This will leave a funding hole for some farmers, agricultural producers and distributors, as well as grocery chains and other small and medium-sized companies that represent crucial parts of the global food supply chain.

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