COVID-19 Monitor

Last Updated:October 15, 2020

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California requires masks statewide in bid to slow coronavirus spread (Politico) Published on: June 18, 2020 | Category: Global Response

California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Thursday he will require masks in most public settings statewide in an effort to slow the spread of Covid-19 as new cases rise by thousands daily in the state.
The California Department of Public Health released updated guidance Thursday that requires Californians to wear a face covering in most indoor settings, as well as outdoors when social distancing isn’t possible.
Any workers who engage with the public will be required to wear a mask. So will riders of public transit and anyone visiting a health-related office.

Canadian exports set to plunge in 2020, with rebound in store next year (The Globe and Mail) Published on: June 18, 2020 | Category: Canadian Business, Economic Impact

The worst industry that anybody would have expected would have had the numbers that we’re now posting for the best industries.
The industries hit hardest by the pandemic include aerospace, oil, autos and travel services, while the ones weathering the storm the best include agriculture, consumer goods, ores and metals, and chemicals and plastics, according to the report.
Consumer goods, according to EDC’s forecasts, will see a 9 per cent decline in exports in 2020, followed by a 10 per cent increase next year.
Mary Robinson, president of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, says agriculture may fare better than some of its counterparts in exports because the industry is responsible for feeding Canadians and consumers globally.

A Tidal Wave of Bankruptcies Is Coming (NY Times) Published on: June 18, 2020 | Category: Economic Impact

Already, companies large and small are succumbing to the effects of the coronavirus. They include household names like Hertz and J. Crew and comparatively anonymous energy companies like Diamond Offshore Drilling and Whiting Petroleum.
Many are teetering on the edge. Chesapeake Energy, once the second-largest natural gas company in the country, is wrestling with about $9 billion in debt.
More than 6,800 companies filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last year, and this year will almost certainly have more.

Despite reopening orders, real-time economic data shows Canada’s economy remains largely frozen (The Logic) Published on: June 18, 2020 | Category: Canadian Business, Economic Impact

Nationwide restaurant reservations are down 75 per cent from the same time last year, but up from the 100 per cent drop in March.
That increase is driven largely by Edmonton, which leads not only the average in Canada, but most of the world when it comes to restaurant reservations, down only 42 per cent from last year.
Nationwide walking searches are up 22 per cent, according to Apple, which aggregates changes in search volume for directions on its Maps app.
Searches for transit maps are down 56 per cent, but driving searches are up 24 per cent.

Why the US pandemic response risks widening the economic divide (FT) Published on: June 18, 2020 | Category: Economic Impact

In terms of raw numbers, the US economic response to coronavirus has been overwhelming. As well as the $3tn in fiscal stimulus that has been introduced so far, there has also been a massive injection of liquidity into the financial system by the Fed. Steven Mnuchin, the US treasury secretary, has hailed the rescue effort for saving millions of jobs.
Many of the measures aimed at ordinary people are set to fade or expire soon and, given opposition from many Republican lawmakers, it is not at all clear that they will be extended.
In the US after the financial crisis, it was the wealthy who saw their incomes and wealth come back fairly quickly, in the first couple of years, while the rest of America had to wait, and for many, in fact, wealth never recovered.

The pandemic has shown that Amazon is essential—but vulnerable (The Economist) Published on: June 18, 2020 | Category: Economic Impact, Leadership

Jeff Bezos’s vision of a world shopping online is coming true faster than ever. But the job of running Amazon hasn’t got any easier.
The digital surge began with online “pantry-loading” as consumers bulk-ordered toilet rolls and pasta. Amazon’s first-quarter sales rose by 26% year on year.
Amazon has hired 175,000 staff, equipped its people with 34m gloves, and leased 12 new cargo aircraft, bringing its fleet to 82.
Last year Amazon had a 40% share of American e-commerce and 6% of all retail sales. There is little evidence that it kills jobs.

Pandemic stress is bringing out our boss’s nasty side (Washington Post) Published on: June 17, 2020 | Category: Leadership

Reader: This pandemic has brought out an ugly side of my boss’s personality. He publicly shoots down our team’s ideas in a dismissive and antagonistic way, then complains that no one is taking any initiative.
Bosses in particular have a responsibility to demonstrate calm, even-keeled leadership and be open to feedback about requests that seem erratic or inconsistent.
I recommend an all-business approach. Meet with your boss in private to focus on a work issue that needs solving — but use common therapy tools designed to defuse defensiveness: validating, mirroring, drawing him out.

Many shoppers to continue with ‘cheaper’ online workouts and hairdressing post-lockdown (Wales Online) Published on: June 17, 2020 | Category: Global Response

A survey has found that 35 per cent of shoppers say they intend to still use online workout classes and follow remote hairdressing tips post-lockdown.
Nearly nine in 10 (88 per cent) retailers said they had seen an increased demand for in-home experiences over the past three months. Over half (56 per cent) had initially planned these at-home product lines or services to be temporary.
Kirsty Morris, managing director for account development at Barclaycard Payments, said: “Lockdown has undoubtedly been challenging for retailers, but it’s promising to see how many have been quick to cater their product lines to consumers looking for entertainment and personalised products while at home.”

CAMH survey shows pandemic affecting mental health, but anxiety levels may be easing (CBC) Published on: June 17, 2020 | Category: Canadian Business, Global Response

The study sampled more than 2,000 Canadians — about half in early May and the other half in late May — and asked a series of questions to determine the effects of the pandemic on mental health.
It found that 20 per cent of Canadians surveyed say they have been experiencing loneliness during the pandemic.
The study also questioned Canadians on patterns of binge drinking and whether they had been drinking more alcohol during the pandemic outbreak, as well as about feelings of depression.
Approximately 24 per cent of the respondents said they were drinking more than usual , and 20 per cent reported feeling more depressed.

Learning from the Future (HBR) Published on: June 17, 2020 | Category: Leadership

Even before the Covid-19 crisis, rapid technological change, growing economic interdependence, and mounting political instability had conspired to make the future increasingly murky.
In response, many leaders sought refuge in the more predictable short term—a mechanism for coping with uncertainty that research has shown leaves billions of dollars of earnings on the table and millions of people needlessly unemployed.
The most recognizable tool of strategic foresight is scenario planning. It involves several stages: identifying forces that will shape future market and operating conditions; exploring how those drivers may interact; imagining a variety of plausible futures; revising mental models of the present on the basis of those futures; and then using those new models to devise strategies that prepare organizations for whatever the future actually brings.

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