New Delhi: The novel coronavirus pandemic continues to devastate countries across the world — the latest count is over 1.48 crore cases and more than 6.13 lakh deaths.
After nearly three months, the US President Donald Trump has come back into the pandemic spotlight and Southern Europe celebrates the much-needed recovery package. Meanwhile, more than 8,00,000 Indian workers might lose their jobs in Kuwait as leaders think of a policy shift.
ThePrint brings you the most important global stories on the coronavirus pandemic and why they matter.
Trump back in the pandemic spotlight
As both the pandemic and the presidential race gather steam in the US, President Donald Trump has decided to step back into the spotlight as the “pandemic’s executive producer”, reports Time.
“Facing lagging poll numbers, dwindling public confidence in his ability to manage a response to the coronavirus threat and a shrinking window to turn it all around before Election Day in November, President Donald Trump plans to return to the White House briefing room on Tuesday evening to restart the regular coronavirus briefings,” notes the report.
The last time he appeared for a full briefing was on 23 April and his approval rating stood at 49 per cent according to Gallup. Since then, millions more have been detected with the virus, and his approval ratings have slipped to 38 per cent.
Also read: ‘It’ll get worse before it gets better’ – Trump shifts tone, asks Americans to wear masks
White House, Senate Republicans fail to agree on stimulus package
As the date for expiry of emergency aid nears, the White House and Senate Republicans can’t agree on what future spending plans should look like, reports the Washington Post.
While some Republicans have denied support to Trump’s payroll tax cuts, others failed to convince the White House regarding expanding allocations for Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for testing and other urgent purposes.
“The whole process now appears likely to spill into August, something the White House and congressional Democrats had hoped to avoid, because it would mean more than 20 million Americans would lose emergency unemployment benefits when they expire at the end of this month,” remarks the report.
Almost 8 lakh Indian workers could lose jobs in Kuwait
A proposed changed in policy in Kuwait could risk jobs for nearly 8 lakh Indians in the country, reports the Al Jazeera.
“After the pandemic hit oil prices and local jobs, Kuwait is considering setting new limits that could force about 800,000 Indians to leave the country, potentially slashing their remittances — a crucial lifeline for families back home,” states the report.
“The proposal is in a new bill that would cut the total number of migrant workers in the country by 40 percent and require that the number of Indians not exceed 15 percent of the Kuwaiti population,” it adds.
Also read: Coronavirus infections in US far exceed reported cases, CDC says
Hard-hit Southern Europe celebrates bailout by northern neighbours
A day after EU leaders managed to finalise a recovery package, the most visibly relived were people in Mediterranean countries such as Spain and Italy — the hardest hit countries by the Covid-19 pandemic, reports the Washington Post.
“Under the deal struck Tuesday, Italy will receive the largest share of the stimulus money, with Spain receiving the second-largest. Nearly as important as the result were the political dynamics: Though some northern nations wanted a smaller rescue package with tighter conditions, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron pushed back, smoothing over a north-south divide that has plagued previous crises,” explains the report.
Europe’s upcoming sustained economic slowdown
While some parts of the European economy that were the hardest hit are now showing signs of recovery, others that had begun to recover are now levelling out, suggesting a much more long-lasting damage, reports the Financial Times.
“Travel and tourism — an important part of southern European countries’ economies — is picking up from very low levels, according to high-frequency data indicators such as travel and mobility trackers,” notes the report. “However, industry and trade indicators that improved in May and June are plateauing well below normal activity levels and there is no sign of any improvement in the labour market.”
The signs of levelling out are raising alarm among economists, investors and decision-makers.
Also read: How marathon, ‘cranky’ negotiations gave Europe its $860 billion Covid stimulus plan
Ongoing WHO inquiry in China could be largely symbolic
Two experts from the World Health Organization (WHO) are in China to investigate the source of the Covid-19, but it is unclear how much access they would actually be given by the governmental authorities, reports The New York Times.
“The W.H.O.’s investigation comes as China faces intense global backlash, including from the United States, for initially downplaying and failing to contain the virus, which emerged in December in the central Chinese city of Wuhan,” remarks the report.
And as this backlash against China is gathering steam, the on-going WHO investigation is likely to be largely symbolic — as Chinese scientists would be less willing to share information, according to experts. Instead, the expectation is that Beijing might use the opportunity to tout its Covid-19 response.
Duterte’s Covid failings give opportunity to younger leaders
While Philippines’ President Rodrigo Duterte is being blamed for the country’s botched pandemic response, it has also highlighted the importance of a younger generation of leadership in the country, argues an opinion piece in the Nikkei Asian Review by Asia-based academic Richard Heydarian.
According to the International Monetary Fund, the country’s economy is set to contract by 3.6 per cent and 83 per cent of the population said their lives became worse off during the pandemic.
“Duterte had record popularity before the outbreak, but — despite a lack of recent surveys — this has undoubtedly fallen, and young and progressive mayors such as Vico Sotto in Pasig and Isko Moreno in Manila are emerging as rivals,” argues the author.
Also read: Indonesia faces unusual challenges as Covid cases climb — theft of corpses, smiling
The great mystery of contact-tracing apps
As most countries around the world adopt contact-tracing apps, it is still unclear whether they actually work or not, reports the BBC.
“From Germany to UK, many governments are hailing their contact-tracing app as the best and the most effective in the world. And yet, as large part of those countries’ populations haven’t started using them yet, it is impossible to comment on their efficacy,” states the report.
The report by BBC looks at many unanswered questions about contact tracing apps and notes that since these apps are designed in a “privacy-conscious way”, it may never be known exactly how effective they are.
What else we are reading:
Trump increases advertising spending during pandemic: Financial Times
WeWork In The Covid And Post-Covid Coworking Race: Forbes
I Spoke to Anthony Fauci. He Says His Inbox Isn’t Pretty: The New York Times