Bhinneka News Online: Wednesday Morning Briefing: Coronavirus and "green" shock

Coronavirus

Coronavirus and "green" shock

Will it be back to business as normal - or a new normal? On the 50th anniversary of Earth Day celebrating the environment, some politicians, investors and companies are calling for post-pandemic recovery plans to be green.

"There's a lot of pressure for those fiscal stimulus packages, when they come, to be low-carbon, climate-smart," Peter Betts, a former lead climate negotiator for Britain and the European Union, told Reuters Television.

So far, the United States, China, Japan, India and European governments have focused on simply staunching the damage to industry, preserving jobs or trying to avoid corporate failures.

While some acknowledge that such schemes should be tied to respect for climate change goals, others see it differently - notably Donald Trump who has been tweeting his support for rescue packages for the U.S. oil sector.

Boost for plant-based protein

One behavioral change could already be taking place: Demand for plant-based protein foods is surging in Asia, suppliers say, as suspicion over possible links between wild animal meat and the new coronavirus drives some consumers to rethink diets. Though still a tiny business compared to Asia's giant meat supply chain, vegetarian alternatives to meat, dairy and seafood are gaining growing custom, particularly in Hong Kong and mainland China.

Zoom parliament

The British government is facing mounting questions over its handling of the coronavirus crisis - and on Wednesday it will face them in an unprecedented "hybrid" session of parliament held partly via the Zoom videoconferencing system.

To respect social distancing codes, a maximum of 50 lawmakers will be physically allowed into the usually rowdy debating chamber. Another 120 will be able to join in via Zoom beamed onto television screens dotted around the walls of the 18th century wood-panelled room.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson's team have been sharply criticized for a lack of preparedness and public communications snafus which opponents say have contributed to one of the highest death tolls in Europe. Whether their track record can be properly scrutinized on Zoom remains to be seen.

Bugs, debris and dirt in Japan masks

Japan's Health Ministry has received 1,903 complaints of soiled or defective masks, after shipping nearly 30 million by Friday to pregnant women, medical facilities and schools.

The complaints of mold, insects and stains in the protective cloth masks has tainted the scheme announced by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to supply each of the country's 50 million households with two washable, reusable masks, further fueling concern that the government has botched its handling of the pandemic.

The manufacturers of the masks are being asked to replace the defective ones, a ministry spokesman said.

Canceled, cut, postponed

Among the things that won't be happening as usual this year:
-Berlin's Marathon, no longer set for September
-The annual tulip festival in the Japanese city of Sakura, after authorities razed more than 100,000 stems to comply with social-distancing rules
-And in golf, calls are growing for this year's Ryder Cup to be postponed until 2021

Track the spread with our interactive graphic

Breakingviews - Corona Capital: Oil, Phones, Drugs, Beer
Read concise views on the pandemic’s financial fallout from Breakingviews columnists across the globe.

Reuters reporters and editors around the world are investigating the response to the coronavirus pandemic.

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RACING FOR A CURE

Dressed in a hazmat suit, two masks and a face shield, Du Mingjun knocked on the mahogany door of a flat in a suburban district of Wuhan on a recent morning. A man wearing a single mask opened the door a crack and, after Du introduced herself as a psychological counsellor, burst into tears. “I really can’t take it anymore,” he said. Diagnosed with the novel coronavirus in early February, the man, had been treated at two hospitals before being transferred to a quarantine center.

Quest Diagnostics Inc said it has started testing using blood samples to detect COVID-19 antibodies and expects to ramp up capacity over the coming weeks as public health experts push for wider testing in the United States. Antibody tests are considered a potential game changer in the battle to contain infections and offers the chance to get the economy back on track by identifying people who may have immunity to the virus and could return to their jobs.

An old malaria drug touted by U.S. President Donald Trump as a “game changer” in the fight against the coronavirus provided no benefit and potentially higher risk of death for patients at U.S. veterans hospitals, according to an analysis that has been submitted for expert review. There are currently no approved treatments or vaccines specifically for the new coronavirus.

LIVING UNDER LOCKDOWN

Confirmed coronavirus infections surpassed 10,000 in Poland, the highest number in post-communist central Europe, as it slowly eases restrictions on public life ahead of a presidential election set for May 10. Poland was among the first in Europe to impose stringent curbs on public life such as travel bans, school closures and a shutdown of its borders to try to contain the pandemic.

Special Report: As a pandemic races through New York, killing some 14,000 people in the city alone, all the frantic layers of everyday life are pulled away. The homeless – always there, but usually invisible – are now in sharp relief. Many are spending their nights on the ghost trains and platforms of the New York subway system, finding shelter in a place abandoned by almost everyone else in a shut-down city.

Doctor Cristina Fernandez stands in a residential Madrid stairway, both feet in a red plastic bag while a coworker gingerly peels off her personal protective equipment, taking care to only touch the inside of her disposable overalls. “The exterior could be contaminated,” explains Juan Carlos Lopez, an ambulance technician with Summa 112, the only first-responders’ unit to cover the whole Madrid region, where the coronavirus outbreak has raged.

Last April, medical student Mohamed Amashah stood on Cairo’s Tahrir Square and held up a sign saying “Freedom for prisoners”. He was detained. Now awaiting trial for more than a year on charges of misusing social media and helping a terrorist group, the Egyptian-American fears the spread of the coronavirus in Egypt’s crowded jails.

FOLLOW THE MONEY

Coffee, chocolates and pills shield Swiss stocks from virus rout

Shielded by the resilience of three behemoth defensive stocks, the Swiss blue-chip index has comfortably weathered the coronavirus storm compared with other European benchmarks which have sustained up to three times more damage.

3 min read

Georgia residents torn between desire to return to work and fear of coronavirus resurgence

Rebecca Hardin, a 47-year-old hairdresser who also manages Salon Red in Atlanta’s Candler Park neighborhood, said she needs to get back to work as soon as possible. Even so, she worried that the state is risking a fresh surge of coronavirus infections and loss of life.
“I want to get back to work, but I’m worried it’s too soon,” she said.

4 min read