COVID-19 Monitor

Last Updated:October 15, 2020

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Pandemic boosting relevance of financial wellness offerings: survey (Benefits Canada) Published on: July 22, 2020 | Category: Canadian Business

40 per cent of employers reported that addressing financial stress is a key reason for increasing their voluntary benefits program, well up from just 16 per cent of respondents in 2017, the last time Buck performed a similar survey.
While just 38 per cent of employers cited helping employees retire when ready as their top financial well-being priority, 68 per cent listed budgeting and saving, 66 per cent said credit card debt and 59 per cent said unexpected medical expenses.
One in five (20 per cent) said they’re looking to add student loan guidance and refinancing, while 18 per cent are looking at student loan repayment, 13 per cent at indemnity and 11 per cent at long-term care.

America’s backwards coronavirus strategy (The Economist) Published on: July 22, 2020 | Category: Global Response

The federal government’s approach is like a hospital that invests in palliative care while abolishing the oncology department.
When Congress passed the CARES Act, a fiscal-stimulus package costing $2.2trn, in March, it included important stabilisers for an economy placed in a medical coma.
These measures were set to expire after four months, by which time the epidemic was expected to be under control.
The “V-shaped recovery” that America had hoped for seems out of reach. About 18m are still unemployed, compared with 6m before the recession.

Small businesses struggle to stay afloat as Ontario reopens amid pandemic (CBC) Published on: July 22, 2020 | Category: Canadian Business

But even if Stage 3 is just another week or two away, many shop owners and restaurateurs are worried their revenues won’t make up for all the money they’ve lost, and what they have to spend to adhere to COVID-19 restrictions.
Many businesses say they’re incurring extra costs associated with buying masks and PPE for customers and employees, as well as other measures to ensure physical distancing. They say they aren’t bringing in enough revenue to offset those expenses.
To make up some of that lost revenue, other businesses like Physioplus Health Group started charging customers an “infection prevention fee” of $5.

Heir apparent (Reuters Breaking Views) Published on: July 22, 2020 | Category: Economic Impact

The European Union has shoved the euro a step closer to being a safe haven.
In theory, the euro is an ideal safe haven. The combined debt of the EU’s 27 members was worth 78 per cent of GDP before the pandemic, lower than the United States or Japan.
The region runs a current account surplus, making it less dependent on flighty foreign lenders. And nearly a third of global payments involve the euro.
Yet it’s still not clear if the fund is the template for more integration or an exception. It took a global pandemic for EU leaders to agree to something that is worth less than 6 per cent of the bloc’s 2019 GDP.

Parents fight lost rites of passage as pandemic rages on (Axios) Published on: July 21, 2020 | Category: Global Response

Nearly 100 recent New Hampshire high school grads got dressed up last weekend for a private prom, AP reports, one of several held around the country.
The state’s rules for wedding and event venues don’t prohibit dancing but strongly discourage it unless dancers stick with members of their own household or remain 6 feet apart, AP notes.
“Everyone I’ve talked to is saying, ‘Thank you for doing this for the kids,’” said Andrea Gately, who helped organize the event.

Lockheed Martin Boosts 2020 Guidance (WSJ) Published on: July 21, 2020 | Category: Economic Impact, Global Response

Lockheed Martin Corp. said rising Covid-19 cases are affecting production of its combat jets and missiles in Texas and Florida, impacting an industry that had mostly dodged the financial fallout from the pandemic.
The world’s biggest defense company by sales on Tuesday cut its expected deliveries of F-35 aircraft produced in Fort Worth, Texas, by 15% for this year.
The defense industry has been one of the U.S. economy’s most-resilient sectors, with its designation as an essential industry allowing plants to avoid shelter-in-place orders.
The Pentagon has pledged to cover contractors’ additional costs from continuing work through the pandemic, and it is seeking more than $10 billion in funding that has yet to be authorized by Congress.

Coca-Cola quarterly sales suffer biggest drop in at least 25 years (FT) Published on: July 21, 2020 | Category: Economic Impact

Coca-Cola has suffered its steepest quarterly sales drop in at least 25 years, in stark contrast to a resilient performance from its rival PepsiCo and raising questions about the drinks company’s defensive qualities.
The US multinational said it would axe “zombie” brands as part of efforts to protect its bottom line after the closure of bars, restaurants and other venues pushed second-quarter sales down 28 per cent year on year to $7.2bn.
James Quincey, chief executive since 2017 who also became the company’s chairman in 2019, indicated that he expected demand to pick up in the months ahead, despite a resurgence of coronavirus cases in the US and other countries. Volumes globally had recovered from a 25 per cent slump in April to a 10 per cent decline in June, the company said.

Canadian health officials using Uber data to track COVID-19 (The Logic) Published on: July 21, 2020 | Category: Canadian Business, Global Response

Health officials across Canada are using data from Uber to beef up their contact-tracing efforts in a bid to slow the spread of COVID-19, The Logic has learned.
Ten Canadian public health units have made a total of 145 requests for data from Uber since the ride-hailing giant launched a tool that lets health officials quickly access personal information on riders and drivers who may have come in contact with someone infected.
The service is an extension of Uber’s law enforcement and public safety portal, which provides law enforcement officials with user data when Uber is legally compelled to, or when its team of internal and external law enforcement experts determines it’s in the interest of the public safety to do so.

‘Holiday shopping will be different’: Walmart says it will keep stores closed this Thanksgiving (USA Today) Published on: July 21, 2020 | Category: Global Response

Walmart stores will be closed this Thanksgiving, the retailer announced Tuesday.
“We know holiday shopping will be different this year, and we will be managing sales events differently,” CEO John Furner wrote. “Our best ideas come from our associates, and this year we have decided to close our stores on Thanksgiving Day – November 26.”
Walmart stores and Sam’s Club locations will operate with normal hours, the day before Thanksgiving, Nov. 25. Store and club hours for Friday, Nov. 27, which is Black Friday, will be shared at a later date, the company said in a news release.

Early Oxford-AstraZeneca Coronavirus Vaccine Data ‘Encouraging,’ Scientists Say (NPR) Published on: July 20, 2020 | Category: Global Response

An experimental coronavirus vaccine triggered an immune response against COVID-19 in study participants, and it has only minor side effects, according to new data published in the medical journal The Lancet.
According to a phase one/phase two study of more than 1,000 patients, the vaccine triggered two immune responses: an increase in antibodies and a T-cell response.
Professor Adrian Hill, one of the study authors, said that the two-pronged immune response is ideal. The antibodies prevent healthy cells from becoming infected, and the T-cells work to kill cells that have already become infected.
There are 24 coronavirus vaccine candidates currently in clinical trial, according to the World Health Organization. Only two — the Oxford-AstraZeneca candidate and another candidate by Sinovac Biotech — have begun phase three trials so far.

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