COVID-19 Monitor

Last Updated:October 15, 2020

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Covid-19 Appeared to Be Under Control in Europe. Now It’s Surging Again. (WSJ) Published on: August 19, 2020 | Category: Global Response

Coronavirus infections are surging again across much of Europe and governments are racing to prevent a full-fledged second wave of the pandemic —without resorting to the kind of broad lockdowns that devastated their economies in the spring.
The seven-day moving average of reported new daily cases has more than doubled since the end of July in the five largest European countries, nearing 11,000. That is the biggest sustained rise on the continent since it beat back the virus’s initial spike in March and April.
In response, governments are broadening requirements to wear masks, ordering nightclubs to close again, tightening restrictions on gatherings and forcing some travelers to quarantine.

Most Americans embarrassed by U.S. response to coronavirus, CNN poll finds (CTV News) Published on: August 19, 2020 | Category: Global Response

Nearly 7 in 10 Americans say the U.S. response to the coronavirus outbreak makes them feel embarrassed, according to a new CNN Poll conducted by SSRS, as 62% of the public says President Donald Trump could be doing more to fight the outbreak.
About 8 in 10 say they are at least somewhat angry about the way things are going in the country today, including an astonishing 51% who say they are very angry.
A narrow majority of Americans, 52%, say they are not comfortable returning to their regular routines right now, and in the last two months, this group’s expectations for when they might return to life as it was before the coronavirus have changed dramatically.

The US needs direct cash payments through this crisis — and the next (FT) Published on: August 19, 2020 | Category: Economic Impact

In the middle of a pandemic, millions of Americans have seen their unemployment benefits drastically reduced by congressional inaction, thereby pushing many into financial precarity or poverty.
Economists have long championed the role of “automatic stabilisers”. When an economy tanks, these fiscal policies kick in immediately, without any need for congressional approval, and provide a countercyclical economic stimulus.
They see that a one-off cheque is not enough when unemployment is rising precipitously. The payments should also be targeted to families on the bottom half of the income spectrum, who spend money quickest, thereby stimulating the economy.

Coronavirus brings a wave of early retirements (Axios) Published on: August 18, 2020 | Category: Economic Impact

Since March, 2.9 million workers between 55 and 70 have left the workforce, according to the New School’s Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis.
That’s far more than the 1.9 million such workers who exited the workforce in the three months after the start of the Great Recession.
These early retirements will shrink the U.S. labor supply. “You have less workers and more retirees, which is bad for long-run growth,” says Nicholas Bloom, an economist at Stanford.

Coronavirus: South Korea bans all religious meetings in ‘last ditch’ bid to quash new outbreak (SCMP) Published on: August 18, 2020 | Category: Global Response

South Korea on Tuesday shut down all religious gatherings in Seoul after the latest cluster linked to a church stirred memories of the country’s initial outbreak earlier this year.
Nightclubs, karaoke rooms, buffet restaurants, computer gaming cafes and other “high-risk” facilities will also be shut.
The latest infections are believed to be the so-called GH genetic strain, which is more infectious than earlier Shincheonji-linked cases, health authorities said.

Quebec announces plan to deal with second wave of COVID-19, avoid fatal failures of the spring (CBC) Published on: August 18, 2020 | Category: Canadian Business

The Quebec government is giving its beleaguered health-care system six weeks to fix the problems that caused the novel coronavirus to spread throughout the province this spring, killing nearly 6,000 people in its wake.
Health Minister Christian Dubé revealed an ambitious series of reforms on Tuesday that he wants to see in place by Sept. 30. They range from faster testing to new staffing procedures, from better infection control to more accountable managers.
The vast majority of the deaths were residents of long-term care homes — known in French as CHSLDs — or private seniors’ residences (RPAs). It’s believed the infections were often spread by staff who, at the outset of the pandemic, were forced to work at multiple locations because of severe personnel shortages.

Walmart Flexes Its Scale to Power Through Pandemic (WSJ) Published on: August 18, 2020 | Category: Economic Impact

The company’s e-commerce business nearly doubled, with revenue jumping 97% from a year ago, boosted by people ordering groceries online to pick up in store parking lots.
Walmart expanded the availability of delivery and pickup time slots about 30% since February in response to the health crisis, said Walmart Chief Financial Officer Brett Biggs on a call to discuss earnings.
In the April quarter, Walmart’s comparable U.S. sales grew 10% and Wall Street was expecting growth of 5.9% for the July quarter, according to estimates compiled by FactSet.

Norway’s oil fund fears market disconnect from real economy (FT) Published on: August 18, 2020 | Category: Economic Impact

The world’s largest sovereign wealth fund has warned over the disconnect between the financial markets and the real economy as US stocks set a new intraday record on Tuesday.
The recovery in equities, turbocharged by central banks’ stimulus, helped Norway’s $1tn oil fund, the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund, to the second-best quarter in its history, returning 13.1 per cent in the three months to the end of June.
At a press conference in Oslo, Trond Grande, deputy managing director of Norges Bank Investment Management, added that the pandemic “doesn’t seem to be under control in any shape or form”.

Why the end of CERB could jolt consumer spending – and complicate the recovery (The Globe and Mail) Published on: August 17, 2020 | Category: Canadian Business

The end of federal emergency-income supports will leave a sizable number of unemployed Canadians with less generous benefits, potentially reducing consumer spending and adding uncertainty to the recovery this fall.
It is estimated that sales climbed another 25 per cent in June, which would bring consumer spending back to precrisis levels.
“With household spending accounting for more than half of the Canadian economy, it’s a relief to see such a sharp recovery in retail sales,” said Royce Mendes, senior economist at CIBC World Markets.

COVID experience shows transit systems need to be nimble (Vancouver Sun) Published on: August 17, 2020 | Category: Canadian Business

Some 958 respondents participated in the poll between June 10 and July 5, in which 80 per cent said they had reduced their transit use, 75 per cent worked from home (compared to 13 per cent before the pandemic), 50 per cent were doing less or no socializing or exercising and 17 per cent didn’t leave their homes.
The main criteria given for choosing a transportation option was physical distancing and the frequency and quality of disinfecting surfaces — such health concerns rose to 61 per cent from nine per cent before COVID-19 — which Phillips said was a first in any survey she’s been involved with.
Another surprising survey result was that only 14 per cent of those without cars were saying they were going to purchase one because of the pandemic, because that percentage had been as high as 30 per cent in northern Italy, she said.

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