Bhinneka News Online: Tuesday Morning Briefing: On the economy, "medical metrics" rule for now

Tuesday 19 May 2020

What you need to know about the coronavirus today

On the economy, “medical metrics” rule for now
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will testify before the Senate Banking Committee and face questions about their plans keep the world’s largest economy afloat and missteps in rolling out some $3 trillion in aid so far.

Two months into the pandemic, many analysts have concluded that U.S. policy has at best fought back worst-case outcomes on both the health and economic front.

Powell has said he sees the likely need for up to six more months of government financial help for firms and families. With regular data on the economy at best volatile and at worst outdated when it comes out, he said “medical metrics” were the most important signs to watch right now.

The presidential pill
Donald Trump surprised many by revealing that he is taking hydroxychloroquine as a preventative medicine against the coronavirus - despite warnings about the malaria drug.

“I’ve been taking it for the last week and a half. A pill every day,” he told reporters. “All I can tell you is so far I seem to be OK.”

Weeks ago Trump had promoted the drug as a potential treatment based on a positive report about its use against the virus, but subsequent studies found it was not helpful. The Food and Drug Administration issued a warning about it.

Glimmer of hope
That overshadowed news that an experimental COVID-19 vaccine made by Moderna Inc produced protective antibodies in a small group of healthy volunteers, according to very early data released by the biotech company on Monday.

The vaccine has the green light to start the second stage of human testing. In this Phase II trial to test effectiveness and find the optimal dose, Moderna said it will drop plans to test a 250 mcg dose and test a 50 mcg dose instead.

Reducing the dose required to produce immunity could help spare the amount of vaccine required in each shot, meaning the company could produce more of the vaccine.

Eating with your mask on
Israeli inventors have developed a mask with a remote control mouth that lets diners eat without taking it off, which they say could make a visit to a restaurant less risky.

A squeeze of a lever opens a slot in the front of the mask so food can pass through.

The process could get messy with ice cream or sauces, but more solid morsels can be gobbled up a la Pac-Man in the arcade game.

Breakingviews - Corona Capital: Julius Baer, Baidu, Imperial.
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.

We need your help to tell these stories. Our news organization wants to capture the full scope of what’s happening and how we got here by drawing on a wide variety of sources. Here’s a look at our coverage.

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Life under lockdown

The novel coronavirus is spreading so fast among the indigenous people in the furthest parts of Brazil’s Amazon rainforest that doctors are now evacuating critical COVID-19 patients by plane to the only intensive care units in the vast region. “The number of COVID-19 patients has increased a lot. We are flying more planes (up the rivers); it’s the last opportunity to save their lives,” said Edson Santos Rodrigues, a pediatric doctor working on medevac planes for the state of Amazonas.

Thousands of Greeks returned to church after weeks of staying away as a ban on mass gatherings to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus was eased. It was a special moment for those who gathered in the courtyard of Ayios Spiridonas Church in Piraeus, where the melodious chants of the Sunday liturgy were broadcast on loudspeakers and heard down at the sea port.

Adorned with intricate designs of orchids, camellias and Chinese characters symbolising good luck, the stylish silk masks created by Chinese fashion designer Zhou Li have become coveted items during the coronavirus outbreak. Zhou, whose Dejin fashion brand recently exhibited at China Fashion Week, has been making embroidered silk masks equipped with high specification N95 air filters since February, providing the fashion-conscious with protective options.

As Los Angeles begins to emerge from more than two months of coronavirus lockdown, 40-year-old Marisa Sullivan will have surgery this week to remove a malignant tumor from her left breast. Now hospitals across the country are resuming care beyond the pandemic, introducing new precautions to convince people it is safe to seek treatment. For cancer patients in particular, the risk of contracting the virus in a healthcare facility is a top concern.

Follow the money

Uber to focus on core rides, delivery business as it cuts 23% of workforce

Uber will concentrate on its core businesses in ride-hailing and food delivery and cut 23% of its workforce in an attempt to become profitable despite the coronavirus pandemic, Chief Executive Officer Dara Khosrowshahi said in an email to employees. Uber will cut a total of 6,700 jobs, including the 3,700 it had announced earlier this month, Khosrowshahi said, adding that the company plans to reduce investments in several “non-core projects.”

4 min read

White House panel: Build new tech infrastructure for future jobs

A White House advisory panel will call for the government and private industry to work together to build new technological infrastructure to support future jobs and provide the underpinnings critical to a solid economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, an official briefed on the plans said. The White House American Workforce Policy Advisory Board is co-chaired by White House adviser Ivanka Trump and U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross.

6 min read

U.S. solar industry sheds five years of job growth amid the coronavirus

The United States has shed more than 65,000 solar energy jobs in the coronavirus pandemic, industry leaders said, reversing five years of job growth in a field aimed at reining in climate change. The steep losses were mostly among workers unable to install solar energy equipment as businesses have closed and shelter-in-place orders were implemented, said the Solar Energy Industries Association, a U.S. trade association.

3 min read

Mexico begins reopening despite coronavirus onslaught fears

Mexico issued guidelines for restarting operations in the automotive, mining and construction sectors, pushing ahead with reopening the economy despite a growing national toll from the COVID-19 pandemic and concerns about unsafe work sites. With Mexico’s coronavirus death toll having surged past 5,300, and with 51,633 known cases, officials are wrestling with how to restart key industries without triggering a greater spread of the highly contagious respiratory virus.

4 min read