COVID-19 Monitor

Last Updated:October 15, 2020

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L’Oreal Reports E-Commerce Spike of 65% (Born Digital) Published on: August 1, 2020 | Category: Canadian Business, Economic Impact

The company’s sales increased for the first time since January 2020, the company also reported, as consumers began to purchase beauty and cosmetics products online in earnest amid store closures resulting from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Chairman and CEO Jean-Paul Agon told the Financial Times that the period marked a “tipping point” for the company, as “many [consumers] discovered buying online for the first time.”
Agon characterized the spike in digital sales to be “unbelievable,” noting that it “has been the biggest phenomenon for us in the past six months.”
Notably, its virtual try-on tool—a partnership with Canadian company Modiface, available via Amazon—helped consumers see how color cosmetics would look on their own faces, improving product confidence.

Should Youth Come First in Coronavirus Care? (NY Times) Published on: July 31, 2020 | Category: Global Response

If medical rationing becomes necessary, some older adults are prepared to step aside. But many have the opposite concern: that they will be arbitrarily sent to the rear of the line.
Some policies adopted by states or health care systems to allocate medical resources — equipment, drugs, critical care and intensive-care beds — specifically make age part of the equation. Other guidelines appear more neutral, but incorporate factors that nevertheless disfavor older people, like other health conditions or life expectancy.
But he subscribes to a “life span approach” to ethics, sometimes called the “fair innings” approach: He has had his turns at bat. Younger people have had less time to experience life’s opportunities and pleasures.

Dollar blues: why the pandemic is testing confidence in the US currency (FT) Published on: July 31, 2020 | Category: Economic Impact

When coronavirus kicked off a historic economic crash and sent stock markets into freefall in March, investors and companies all over the world rushed in to the one currency they trusted above all others: the dollar.
The scale of the rally — 9 per cent in as many days — was extreme, matching the scale of the crisis.
Just a few months later, however, the US currency has suffered its poorest monthly performance in 10 years, hitting its lowest point against a basket of peers since 2018. The 5 per cent drop in the value of the dollar in July might sound modest, but in the relatively stable foreign exchange market that counts as dramatic.

30 million unemployed to lose extra jobless benefits, as talks between Congress and the White House are at an impasse (Washington Post) Published on: July 31, 2020 | Category: Economic Impact, Global Response

Nearly 30 million workers are set to lose $600 in enhanced weekly unemployment benefits that have kept much of the economy afloat these past four months during the coronavirus pandemic, as top lawmakers in Congress and the White House remain at an impasse over how and whether to extend the benefits.
Many economists and workers credit the additional money with helping them keep up with basic bills during the crisis: rent, mortgage, car and credit card payments, as well as everyday expenses like food. Most states cap weekly unemployment benefits well below $600; some pay as little as $275 a week as their maximum.
The wrangling over whether and how to extend jobless benefits has occupied Washington for months.

Federal COVID-19 app launches after month-long delay (The Logic) Published on: July 31, 2020 | Category: Canadian Business, Global Response

The federal government’s exposure-notification app launched in Ontario Friday, after a nearly month-long delay during which Ottawa unsuccessfully tried to get other provinces to sign on.
“Health experts say if enough people sign up, this app can help prevent future outbreaks of COVID-19 in Canada.”
The federal government worked with Apple and Google on the technology underlying the app. A Shopify volunteer team provided the original code, and BlackBerry helped with security reviews.

Coronavirus: Trudeau announces plans for end of CERB, transition to EI (CTV News) Published on: July 31, 2020 | Category: Canadian Business

The federal government plans to transition recipients of the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) to the Employment Insurance (EI) program as the $80-billion coronavirus aid program wraps up this fall, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Friday.
Ottawa will also create a “transitional, parallel benefit” that is similar to EI for people who don’t qualify for the unemployment benefit, such as contract and gig workers.
“It will include access to training, and being able to work more hours and earn more money while receiving the benefit,” Trudeau said.

Follow rules to avoid second national lockdown, warns Boris Johnson (Guardian) Published on: July 31, 2020 | Category: Global Response

PM pauses easing of England’s coronavirus lockdown and says government ‘may need to go further’.
His stark assessment comes just weeks before schools across England are due to reopen, raising questions about what else might have to be restricted to allow them to do so.
He said he was pausing the reopening of leisure businesses, such as casinos and bowling alleys, and preventing beauty salons resuming close-up treatments, for at least two weeks.

Taking responsibility for front-line health-care workers (The Lancet) Published on: July 31, 2020 | Category: Global Response

Inspiring stories about the bravery and resilience of health-care workers in the fight against COVID-19 are touted in news coverage around the world. However, little attention is paid to the factors that undermine global efforts to protect front-line health-care workers.
In May, 2020, Amnesty International reported that more than 3000 health-care workers have died from COVID-19 across 79 countries.
According to estimates from the International Council of Nurses, more than 600 nurses have died from COVID-19 globally.
45% of nurses reported PPE shortages, 79% were encouraged or required to reuse PPE, and 36% reported reusing N-95 masks for 5 days or longer.

TD and RBC extend work from home policy for most staff until 2021 (CTV News) Published on: July 30, 2020 | Category: Canadian Business

Royal Bank of Canada and TD Bank Group say most of their staff will work from home until next year to further stop the spread of COVID-19.
The move comes after the Bank of Nova Scotia informed head office employees in the General Toronto Area currently working remotely that they can continue to do so until 2021 and after all of the major banks in the city agreed to a May request from mayor John Tory, who asked companies in the area to keep their workers home for the summer.

COVID-19 and the great reset: Briefing note #16, July 30, 2020 (McKinsey) Published on: July 30, 2020 | Category: Economic Impact, Global Response

In North America and in developing markets, executives have become less hopeful about their countries’ economies and more cautious in their views on potential scenarios for COVID-19 recovery.
Leaders in China and India, on the other hand, are growing more upbeat.
Our review of historical attrition rates suggests that the current pipeline may yield more than seven approved products over the next few years, with some available for emergency use late this year or early in the next.
Some young middle managers are defying the problems and frustrations of this difficult period to achieve far more than others. Leading companies are capitalizing on this by installing four talent-management practices to thrive beyond the pandemic.

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