COVID-19 Monitor

Last Updated:October 15, 2020

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Companies Agonize Over Reopening Timetables as Covid-19 Spreads (WSJ) Published on: June 24, 2020 | Category: Global Response

Apple Inc., which said Friday it would close nearly a dozen stores in four states, said Wednesday it would shut seven more in the Houston area, where cases have doubled so far this month.
Restaurants around the country that recently reopened have closed again for anywhere from three days of deep cleaning to two full weeks so staff could self-quarantine after outbreaks.
Political leaders also signaled concerns. In New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Wednesday that the state would delay reopening shopping malls, movie theaters and gyms, while the State Department of Health reviews more data about indoor viral transmission.

Data Shows Significant Drop in IT Services Spending Post COVID-19 (NextGov) Published on: June 24, 2020 | Category: Economic Impact, Global Response

Federal and central governments across the globe have shifted spending priorities to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, with notable declines in IT spending worldwide, according to a new report.
The U.S. has not been immune to this shift, with a major drop in spending on IT services canceling out continued investments in hardware and software, according to IDC’s “COVID-19: Global and U.S. Federal Spending—Where the Money Is Going,” published Tuesday.
The report notes the COVID-19 pandemic has forced changes for every sector but argues “the health crisis is affecting government IT spending differently than other industries.”
Even though trillions of extra dollars are being disbursed, most is going into grants, health and expense relief, not [new] IT systems.

Fitch Downgrades Canada’s Ratings to ‘AA+’; Outlook Stable (Fitch Ratings) Published on: June 24, 2020 | Category: Canadian Business, Economic Impact

The rating downgrade reflects the deterioration of Canada’s public finances in 2020 resulting from the coronavirus pandemic.
Fitch expects the coronavirus response to raise Canada’s consolidated gross general government debt to 115.1% of GDP in 2020, up from 88.3% of GDP in 2019.
Canada has a track record of fiscal adjustment during the 1990s. However, the structure of Canada’s decentralized fiscal framework increases the complexity of any fiscal adjustment.

Atlantic provinces agree to regional COVID-19 pandemic bubble (CBC) Published on: June 24, 2020 | Category: Canadian Business, Global Response

The four Atlantic provinces have agreed to open their borders to each other on July 3, the Council of Atlantic Premiers announced Wednesday in a news release.
Other Canadian visitors to the three Maritime provinces who have self-isolated for 14 days may travel within the Maritime region, but not to Newfoundland and Labrador, said P.E.I. Premier Dennis King.

IMF Downgrades Already-Glum Economic Outlook Due to Coronavirus Crisis (WSJ) Published on: June 24, 2020 | Category: Economic Impact

The IMF said on Wednesday the global economy will shrink 4.9% this year, compared with its April estimate of 3%.
The IMF said global employment loss in the second quarter of 2020 could be equivalent to losing 300 million full-time jobs.
Though the current decline appears significantly worse than anything since the Great Depression, it isn’t nearly as bad as that downturn, which began in 1929. During that episode, the global economy shrunk by 10% over three years—compared with this year’s 4.9% forecast.
Advanced economies contracted by around 16% then compared with the 8% expected for this year.

Over 700 cash-strapped cities halt plans to repair roads, water systems or make other key investments (Washington Post) Published on: June 23, 2020 | Category: Economic Impact

The decision to suspend or terminate some of these long-planned purchases, upgrades and repairs threatens to worsen municipal services and harm local businesses, according to the National League of Cities, which deduced from a new survey released Tuesday that more federal aid is necessary to ensure that local financial woes do not imperil the country’s economic recovery.
Cities had already predicted they would need about $500 billion from Washington to help cover the massive, unanticipated declines in tax revenue and other costs incurred from the pandemic, which has shuttered businesses and left millions of Americans out of work.
But federal lawmakers have been unwilling to authorize such a cash infusion, forcing many cities to take drastic steps to balance their budgets for fiscal 2021, which for many governments begins on July 1.

A Multibillion-Dollar Opportunity: Virus-Proofing the New Office (NY Times) Published on: June 22, 2020 | Category: Economic Impact, Global Response

Truework, an income verification start-up, recently introduced software to help employers keep track of their workers’ health status.
Gensler, an architecture and design firm, has a workplace floor-planning app that generates social-distancing layouts for desks and other office furniture.
In the United States, the market for contact-tracing technologies for employers could soon be worth $4 billion annually, according to estimates from International Data Corporation, a market research firm.

Housing demand to drop as COVID-19 hit on economy deepens: CMHC (BNN Bloomberg) Published on: June 22, 2020 | Category: Canadian Business, Economic Impact

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. expects a drop in home prices in the country’s biggest cities amid “severe declines” in home sales and construction.
CMHC says the market likely won’t see a return to pre-pandemic levels before the end of 2022.
He noted that a decline in immigration and interprovincial activity will lower demand for rental units, which combined with a “significant new supply in rental properties close to being completed,” could mean that vacancy rates are likely to jump.

Global Economy Shows Signs of Pulling Out of Its Slump (WSJ) Published on: June 22, 2020 | Category: Economic Impact

The global economy is gradually pulling out of its stall as businesses reopen after pandemic-induced lockdowns, with output contracting at a slower pace in the U.S., Europe and Asia this month, according to surveys of purchasing managers.
The data could be a sign that the sharp drop in economic activity that started in March, when coronavirus cases began to rise, could be bottoming out.
The slower decline, albeit tentative, is most visible in countries that issued stringent stay-at-home rules during the coronavirus pandemic, where economic activity fell sharply in March, April and May.

What insurers can learn from China’s continuing COVID-19 recovery (McKinsey) Published on: June 22, 2020 | Category: Economic Impact

While the broad economic view in China may be encouraging, the outlook for the insurance industry is complex—some lines fared well, while others suffered significant declines and are just now recovering.
For example, awareness of health insurance increased, translating to a 17 per cent growth in sales from first quarter 2019 to first quarter 2020, while life (or mortality) products were down 1 per cent over the same period.
Two-thirds of agents experienced a decline in business performance during the COVID-19 pandemic, while around 20 per cent of agents reported an improvement.

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