COVID-19 Monitor

Last Updated:October 15, 2020

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US online grocery shopping jumps as chains rush to add capacity (FT) Published on: June 1, 2020 | Category: Economic Impact

A Brick Meets Click/Mercatus survey suggested that 43m US shoppers placed 73.5m online grocery orders in May, at an average of $90 per order.
Sales in the period are estimated at $6.6bn, a 24 per cent increase over April — and a 450 per cent increase on the level in August last year.
It also found that household penetration for online grocery buying had risen to 33 per cent in May, up 2 per cent from April, and more than double what had been projected for this period before the impact of coronavirus.

Ontario makes temporary change to layoff regulations to help businesses (CP24) Published on: June 1, 2020 | Category: Canadian Business

Ontario is temporarily amending its labour laws to help businesses avoid permanently laying off workers and paying out severance, which could send some into bankruptcy during the pandemic.
The change will see non-unionized workers who have had their hours reduced or eliminated placed on a temporary leave that preserves their job. Workers will still be eligible for federal emergency income support programs.
The amendment to the law will expire six weeks after the province’s declared state of emergency ends.

Co-working spaces could play a key role in the post-pandemic world of work—if they can survive the shutdown (The Logic) Published on: June 1, 2020 | Category: Canadian Business

When the COVID-19 pandemic forced the temporary closure of the Okanagan coLab co-working space in Kelowna, B.C., its 150-strong membership dropped by just five per cent.
The drop was minor, because the space suddenly became “a life raft” for the community that used it to stay connected, and to learn together how to traverse uncharted waters, said Shane Austin, who runs the coLab.
The Logic spoke to six owners of independent co-working-spaces who reported that they’re struggling with short-term overhead costs at a time when the future of their business model is uncertain.

Tenants Largely Stay Current on Rent, for Now (NY Times) Published on: May 31, 2020 | Category: Economic Impact

Despite a 14.7 percent unemployment rate and millions of new jobless claims each week, collections at many buildings are only slightly below where they were last year, when the economy was booming.
How can this be? The answer is a little negotiation and a lot of government money.
The $2 trillion CARES Act, which backstopped household finances with stimulus checks and extended unemployment benefits, has kept a surprising number of tenants current on their monthly balances.

As pandemic persists, courts could see permanent changes some consider positive (National Post) Published on: May 31, 2020 | Category: Canadian Business, Global Response

One of the most dramatic impacts may be happening in courthouses, where hearings that have always occurred in person, are instead being adjudicated through online video or even over the telephone.
But the pandemic is also forcing lawyers and judges into a debate about the merits of technology and access to justice.
The judge wrote that the videoconferencing system he used allowed all the participants to see each other, and one member of the press even witnessed the proceeding.

Four ways Ontario has made it harder to know how COVID-19 is hitting the province (Toronto Star) Published on: May 31, 2020 | Category: Canadian Business, Global Response

In Ontario, the primary public sources of information on the spread of the virus have been the province’s 34 local public health units and Public Health Ontario, a government agency created to protect and promote health.
“In this case, it’s even more critical for us to know of the people who are being tested, what per cent of them are actually coming back positive, what per cent are coming back negative, because that can help at least give us some idea of how to extrapolate those numbers to the wider community,” said Aleman, a professor of industrial engineering at the University of Toronto .
The caveat is that such an extrapolation would be imperfect because of a biased selection scenario where the province has only been testing people strongly suspected of having the virus.
Before that date, Ontario’s data included some cases of COVID-19 that had been confirmed by the fact a patient had symptoms and was living in a facility that was experiencing an outbreak, but not a test — the logic being that if a resident got sick where the virus was present, there was no need to conduct a test to confirm the obvious.

New York governor signs bill that provides death benefits to families of frontline workers (CNN) Published on: May 30, 2020 | Category: Economic Impact, Global Response

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has signed a bill that gives death benefits to families of frontline workers who died battling the coronavirus pandemic.
“It is the least we can do to say thank you, and we honor you, and we remember you. You gave your lives for us. We will be there to support your families going forward,” Cuomo said at a news conference on Saturday.

After Twitter and Shopify, Transport Canada? Federal department becoming work-from-home office by default (National Post) Published on: May 30, 2020 | Category: Canadian Business

If Transport Canada keeps a work-from-home policy beyond COVID-19, it will be the first federal department to join the ranks of tech giants who made similar announcements.
That’s what Transport Canada’s deputy minister announced to some 3,500 employees who tuned in to a departmentwide virtual town hall on Wednesday called TC Talks, according to multiple public servants who were on the call.
“Our default will be telework, and working virtually, and that’s going to open up – as people have raised questions and comments – that is going to open lots of good opportunities for how we organize our work and how people can work remotely, not just in the same city but even between regions,” he added during the virtual meeting, Transport Canada confirmed to the National Post.

Banks set aside $11-billion in loan-loss provisions, but will it prove to be enough? (The Globe and Mail) Published on: May 30, 2020 | Category: Canadian Business

Canada’s largest banks just earmarked an unparalleled $11-billion in new reserves to cover losses on loans as the novel coronavirus pandemic batters the global economy.
Actual losses and loans in arrears were still modest in the banks’ fiscal second quarter, which ended April 30, as they deferred payments on hundreds of thousands of loans, and governments rolled out an array of relief measures.
The loans most at risk are unsecured types of personal debt, such as credit cards and credit lines, as well as corporate and commercial loans to oil and gas companies, and to sectors that rely on discretionary spending, such as restaurants, retailers and hotels.

Working life has entered a new era (The Economist) Published on: May 30, 2020 | Category: Leadership

First, broadband services are today quick enough to allow for document downloads and videoconferencing. Second, advanced economies revolve around services, not manufacturing.
Back in the 1970s, when Britain adopted a three-day week (to combat a miners’ strike), there were power cuts and tv stations had to close down early. In other words, home life was severely affected as well. The pandemic has not turned the lights off.
Many businesses and employees may thus have had their “Wizard of Oz” moment: the corporate hq is shown to be an old man behind the curtain. Faith in the centralised office may never be restored.

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