COVID-19 Monitor

Last Updated:October 15, 2020

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Remote Schooling Out of Reach for Many Students in West Virginia Without Internet (WSJ) Published on: September 13, 2020 | Category: Global Response

Between 30% and 50% of K-12 students in the state lack internet access.
Nationwide, about 21 million people lack access to broadband, according to the Federal Communications Commission.
When people with slow or unreliable internet connections are included, the number swells to 157 million, nearly half the U.S. population, according to a study by Microsoft Corp.

UHN head raises alarm about society’s ‘sloppy’ anti-virus behaviour, potential impact on COVID-19 hospitalizations (Toronto Star) Published on: September 13, 2020 | Category: Canadian Business

University Health Network’s chief executive, Kevin Smith, is alarmed by new COVID-19 hospitalizations coupled with increasingly sloppy habits he sees in society that could intensify the virus’s GTA resurgence
After Kevin Smith tweeted “I’m worried” and noting the UHN — which includes Princess Margaret Hospital, Toronto General Hospital and Toronto Western Hospital — is again seeing COVID-19 patients, he elaborated in an interview.
“I’m seeing a lot less physical distancing, a lot of people gathering, a lot of social events occurring and worst of all poor masking. I see so many people who think (their mask) is a chin warmer or don’t bother to cover their nose…”

Alaska Built One of the Most Comprehensive Covid-19 Testing Operations in U.S. (WSJ) Published on: September 12, 2020 | Category: Global Response, Leadership

The last comparable pandemic, the 1918 Spanish Flu, had devastated the state’s Native American population, and Mr. Dunleavy wanted to make sure that didn’t happen again.
During the summer surge of cases, Alaska was testing more people per capita than any other state in the U.S., according to Worldometers. It currently ranks No. 2, behind Rhode Island, and has the nation’s lowest Covid-19 deaths per capita.
Alaska stands out as an example of a state that, in the absence of a centralized testing operation by the federal government, managed to cobble together a program that helped state and tribal officials track the outbreak.

EU vows extended stimulus as crisis uncertainty looms (FT) Published on: September 12, 2020 | Category: Economic Impact

EU finance ministers meeting in Berlin vowed not to cut short the recovery with a premature fiscal clampdown, as they decided to postpone any debate over when to reimpose the bloc’s budget restrictions or how to reform them.
Speaking after informal eurogroup meetings on Friday, Mr Gentiloni warned that the risks of cutting back stimulus too soon outweighed those of leaving it in place too long, given the enormous uncertainties lying ahead.
Early in the crisis the European Commission took the unusual step of suspending the stability and growth pact, rules designed to ensure EU countries pursue sound public finances, as it sought to put in place maximum support for economic activity.

COVID-19: Pandemic rewrites pro sports’ fan-experience playbook, poll suggests (Sudbury.com) Published on: September 12, 2020 | Category: Canadian Business

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced seasons to be modified, postponed or cancelled. We are looking into several more weeks, and maybe months, of teams playing without fans in attendance.
In Canada, 54 per cent of adults describe themselves as fans of the National Hockey League (NHL).
The Canadian Football League (CFL) and the National Football League (NFL) are appealing to 31 per cent of Canadians each, followed by Major League Soccer (21 per cent).

Covid-19: Fauci says US life won’t return to normal until deep into 2021 (Guardian) Published on: September 12, 2020 | Category: Global Response

The White House coronavirus taskforce’s most senior public health expert, Anthony Fauci, said on Friday that it would probably take another year before life returns to a sense of “normality” in the US, even if a successful Covid-19 vaccine is approved in the next few months.
And in an apparent rebuke to Donald Trump’s claim this week that the US is “rounding the corner” on Covid-19, Fauci said that current data on the pandemic is, in fact, “disturbing”.
While daily new cases in the US have halved since late July, when rates peaked at around 70,000 new casesa day, Fauci reiterated his concern that the approach of fall and winter – when people will spend more time indoors – could push the US into a “precarious situation”.

Amazon accused of price-gouging for essentials during COVID-19 (NY Post) Published on: September 11, 2020 | Category: Economic Impact

A watchdog group accused Amazon of jacking up prices for essential goods it sold directly to consumers during the coronavirus pandemic, even though the company has blamed spikes on third-party merchants.
The e-commerce giant hiked prices for 10 basic products — from corn starch and flour to hand sanitizer and face masks — as much as 1,010 percent from February to mid-August, according to a report from Public Citizen.
All of the products reviewed were listed as “sold by Amazon” and not sold by third-party vendors, the left-leaning consumer-rights group said in its report.

Whole Foods CEO John Mackey Says Many People Are Done With Grocery Stores (WSJ) Published on: September 11, 2020 | Category: Global Response

Since the coronavirus pandemic gripped the U.S. in March, consumers have been ordering more groceries online, making bigger purchases at a time and avoiding lingering in Whole Foods’ aisles.
To meet the rush for grocery deliveries, the chain temporarily closed some urban stores to walk-in shoppers and converted them to handling online orders only. The grocer is also expanding its pickup operations.
In the second quarter of this year, Amazon’s online grocery sales, which include Whole Foods’ business, tripled from a year ago.

Canadian employers enhancing well-being programs in response to pandemic: survey (Benefits Canada) Published on: September 11, 2020 | Category: Canadian Business

In response to the coronavirus pandemic, more than half of Canadian employers (53 per cent) are enhancing their well-being programs, while 27 per cent are planning to make changes to improve health benefits, according to a new survey by Willis Towers Watson.
The survey, which polled nearly 150 Canadian employers with more than 800,000 employees, also found only four per cent of survey respondents said they’ve reduced or are planning to reduce health-care benefits during this time.
In particular, 45 per cent of employers said they’re offering or expanding access to virtual mental-health services, while 60 per cent said they expect mental-health services and stress management to be one of their organizations’ most important benefits priorities over the next six months.

Who Gets Hurt When the World Stops Using Cash (NY Times) Published on: September 11, 2020 | Category: Economic Impact, Global Response

Some people don’t have credit or debit cards, so a growing number of state and local governments are requiring businesses to accept cash.
Businesses that refuse cash put at a disadvantage people who lack traditional bank accounts or can’t qualify for credit cards, consumer advocates say.
About one-fourth of American adults were unbanked or underbanked in 2019 — meaning they lacked a bank account or had one but also used alternatives like check-cashing services, the Federal Reserve found.

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