New Delhi: The novel coronavirus pandemic continues to devastate countries across the world — the latest count is over 1.64 crore cases and more than 6.52 lakh deaths.
The US Republicans have unveiled a new $1 trillion stimulus. Spain and the UK are fighting over Britain’s quarantine rules. Everyone can learn from Scotland’s experience against the pandemic and Emirates is giving its passengers a Covid insurance.
ThePrint brings you the most important global stories on the coronavirus pandemic and why they matter.
Republicans’ $1 trillion stimulus, but cut in unemployment benefits
The US Senate Republicans set the stage for a showdown with the Democrats Monday, after they unveiled a White House-backed $1 trillion stimulus package but they also cut emergency employment benefits by almost two-thirds, reports the Financial Times.
This comes after the Republican Party establishment and the White House struggled for weeks to reach a consensus, often bringing out their disagreements in public.
The Democrats have criticised the reduction in employment benefits. However, “Republicans have argued that the Democratic bill discourages work by maintaining emergency jobless benefits at $600 a week. Under the Senate plan, enhanced unemployment insurance would be continued but at just $200 a week in September. From October, workers would receive 70 per cent of previous wages,” notes the report.
Also read: Closed bars, mandatory use of mask slow down virus spread in US, but victory still far away
UK-Spain spat over British quarantine rules
UK’s decision to impose a compulsory two-week quarantine for anyone arriving from Spain has been criticised by the Spanish Prime Minister Pedra Sanchez, reports the BBC.
Sanchez said that tourists in most parts of Spain would be safer from the virus than they are in the UK and urged the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to reconsider his move. However, the UK government has decided to stick to its plan.
The rate of infection in Spain is 35.1 cases per 100,000 people, while the UK is at 14.7, according to the latest figures from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.
While the outbreak remains under control in many parts of Spain, certain areas — in particular Catalonia in the north-east and the neighbouring region of Aragón — have seen a huge spike in infections,” states the report.
What Scotland can teach Europe about dealing with the pandemic
Scotland has devised a new “zero COVID” strategy that aims to eliminate the virus from the country, and this strategy should be used by all of Europe, Professor Devi Sridhar of University of Edinburgh and an advisor to the Scottish government told Der Spiegel.
“We want to stop the transmission of the virus entirely. And the strategy to do that is not very difficult: You leave the lockdown measures in place until the number of cases is extremely low, in the single digits, then you carefully release the lockdown, step by step, while testing a lot, tracking down and isolating contacts, and making face masks compulsory in shops and on public transport,” said Sridhar
“Scotland has also decided not to reopen schools until after the summer holidays. Now we are almost there. There are now only about 10 new cases a day — while in neighboring England there are still more than 500,” she added.
Also read: Airlines are pledging aircraft, brands, even loyalty programmes to raise funds & stay afloat
Italian stores are riding a mask boom
Many Italian stores were dependent on tourists and the sales of “wine, limoncello, truffle oil” for their survival. Now with the tourists gone, most of these stores are selling masks in an attempt to keep afloat, reports The Washington Post.
“But their effort to turn a protective device into a business opportunity also points to a broader attitude in the country, where masks are widely used, no more controversial than cellphone cases — and entrepreneurs are working to meet rising demand,” remarks the report.
Emirates announces Covid insurance to lure passengers
UAE’s national carrier Emirates has become the first airline to offer Covid-19 insurance in an attempt to lure more passengers, reports the BBC.
“Passengers will be covered for medical treatment, hotel quarantine, and even their funeral if they catch the coronavirus while travelling,” says the report.
“The coverage is free to all customers regardless of class of travel or destination and is applied automatically with no need to register,” it adds.
Also read: Not Covid, it’s affluence that is the world’s biggest threat today
Lebanon was on the edge, the virus pushed it over
Lebanon had been struggling with a chronic economic slowdown and sustained public protests, and then the coronavirus pandemic arrived making the situation much worse, reports Der Spiegel.
“Once celebrated as the Switzerland of the Middle East, Lebanon is facing a severe crisis. Its economy is collapsing, while electricity and adequate medical care are hard to find. The state has completely failed its people,” says the report.
A large part of Lebanon’s woes are linked to the complete blowout of the country’s currency, as its government amassed unsustainable amounts of debt. As the exchange rates crashed, suddenly a deeply import-dependent country could not afford any of the goods it used to consume.
“The coronavirus has exacerbated the crisis, even if case numbers in the country are low. But during the three-month lockdown, the hotels and restaurants suffered and Lebanese living abroad were unable to return home — and unable to bring their money with them,” the report adds.
Xinjiang, Dalian — provincial outbreaks in China
The Western Chinese province of Xinjiang, reported 57 new cases on Monday, marking the highest single day spike in the province, reports the Financial Times.
Most of the cases are coming from the province’s capital Urumqi, and the total number of cases in the region since 16 July has now reached 235.
“A separate outbreak in the north-east province of Liaoning also grew with a further 6 cases of Covid-19, taking its total over the past week to 45. Almost 1.7m people in the port city of Dalian have been tested for coronavirus, according to state media after officials announced a plan to test all of the city’s 6m residents,” notes the report.
Beijing saw one fresh case — which was linked to the Dalian outbreak — but has not recorded any new cases in 21 days.
Also read: These elite contact tracers show the world how to beat Covid-19
Vietnam tightens borders restrictions after surge in cases
For long, Vietnam had managed to keep the coronavirus pandemic at bay. Now, after a new case, the government has decided to crackdown on illegal immigrants from neighbouring countries, reports the Nikkei Asian Review.
“Vietnam shares land borders with countries including China, Laos and Cambodia. Thanks to strict quarantine and aggressive social distancing measures, the Southeast Asian country has managed to keep its virus total to only 420 cases with zero deaths as of Sunday. But it has found a hole in its defenses in the form of illegal immigrants from its neighbors. The new case in Danang ended a run of 99 days with no locally transmitted infections,” notes the report.
What else we are reading:
The Chainsmokers draw ire after headlining a large, ‘safe’ concert as respiratory illness surged: Washington Post
Of Wine, Hand Sanitizer and Heartbreak: The New York Times
‘That’s Ridiculous.’ How America’s Coronavirus Response Looks Abroad: The New York Times