World Coronavirus Dispatch: Demand for MBAs back to pre-pandemic levels

60% of Asia still closed to tourists, third wave grips Iran, Seoul schools resume in-person classes and other pandemic-related news across the globe

MBA graduates can feel less gloomy about their employment prospects after a survey of recruiters indicated that demand had returned almost to pre-pandemic levels. The number of consultancies, banks and large technology groups saying they planned to hire MBA graduates this year fell from 92 per cent of 712 companies in a survey conducted before March, to 77 per cent by July.

However, in the most recent update to the figures, which are compiled by the Graduate Management Admission Council, the administrator for business school entrance exams, 90 per cent said they would be hiring MBA graduates next year. Read more here

Let’s look at the global statistics:

Total Confirmed Cases: 31,028,757

Change Over Yesterday: 344,929

Total Deaths: 960,698

Total Recovered: 21,254,847

Nations hit with most cases: US (6,804,814), India (5,487,580), Brazil (4,555,629), Russia (1,098,958) and Colombia (768,895)

Source: Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Research Center

Over 60 per cent of Asia still closed to tourists, versus 17 per cent of Europe: As of September 1, 28 countries or territories in the Asia-Pacific region – 61 per cent -- remained completely closed to foreign tourists according to World Tourism Organization. This was far ahead of the 17 per cent of European destinations that were still off-limits, and exceeded the 41 per cent for the Americas and 51 per cent for Africa.  Globally, 43 per cent of 215 surveyed destinations were keeping their borders closed to tourists. Read more here

Iran in grip of a third wave: Iran appears to be in the grip of a “third wave” of the coronavirus outbreak, with the number of new infections above 3,000 a day – as high as at any point since the virus first hit in February. According to latest figures, 144 people had died and 3,049 new cases had been registered in the previous 24 hours. The total number of confirmed deaths from Covid-19 stands at 23,952. Read more here

New Zealand ends all pandemic restrictions outside main city Auckland: Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Monday lifted all coronavirus restrictions across the country, except in second-wave hotspot Auckland, as the number of new infections slowed to a trickle. Some restrictions were also eased in Auckland to allow gatherings of up to 100 people. Read more here

Seoul schools resume in-person classes: Schools in the South Korean capital Seoul and nearby areas resumed in-person classes for the first time in almost a month on Monday after daily coronavirus cases dropped to the lowest levels since mid-August. Students returned to schools under a hybrid schedule to limit the number of people at schools at any given time. Students will attend in-person classes once or twice a week. Read more here

Jakarta readies more beds as virus overwhelms health system: Indonesia’s capital is adding thousands of beds to house Covid-19 patients as its health system struggles with record increases in virus cases. Jakarta, home to more than 10 million people, has brought back social distancing measures and pledged to isolate people who have tested positive for the virus, instead of letting them quarantine at home. Read more here

Lockdown chokes Indian gold smuggling routes: Illegal shipments of gold to India are estimated to have slowed to a trickle of about 2 tons a month, and may total about 25 tons this year, according to All India Gem and Jewellery Domestic Council. That compares with an estimate of as much as 120 tons last year, or about 17 percent of the nation’s annual demand, according to the World Gold Council. Read more here

Why has AI disappointed on Covid
 

AI seemed on track to crush the new pathogen, just as it mastered the ancient Chinese board game Go. And then — nothing. At a time when we expect AI to solve most problems — since that has been the industry promise for years — why has it been so ineffective in the fight against the biggest global crisis in a generation? There are inherent limitations to AI today. Current systems learn by finding patterns in data. In general, the more data you feed in, the smarter the AI. GPT-3, an algorithm by San Francisco-based OpenAI, can write coherent paragraphs on any topic with only a few word prompts. It learnt to do this by analysing almost half a trillion words. Yet such data also restricts AI. Read more here

Covid grows less deadly as doctors gain practice, drugs improve
 

Since the first case arrived in the U.S. at the start of the year, medical professionals have gone from fumbling in the dark to better understanding which drugs work -- such as steroids and blood thinners, and the antiviral medicine remdesivir. Allocation of intensive medical resources have improved. And doctors have learned to hold off on the use of ventilators for some patients, unlike with many other severe respiratory illnesses. One study looked at 4,689 Covid-19 hospitalizations from March to June in New York, adjusting patients’ mortality rate for factors such as age, race, obesity and any underlying illnesses they might have had. In the first half of March, the mortality rate for hospitalized patients was 23 percent. By June, it had fallen to 8 percent. Read more here

Opinion
 

A pandemic is a terrible time to buy real estate
 

Buying in a sellers’ market is not a good move. Home sellers are taking their once-in-a-lifetime moment to sell their house substantially over asking prices, asking prices that were connected to rental prices in the neighborhood. Conventional financial advice suggests if a home costs more than 20 times the annual rent the home could fetch, the house is probably overvalued — a $400,000 home should rent for $1,667 per month or more. In times of low mortgage rates, the breakeven ratio can be a bit higher. But in this K-shaped recovery (in US), rents are falling, occupancy rates are down, and your house might remain overpriced. Read more here

Watch: Being a fresher during the coronavirus 
 

The start of university life is usually a time to mix and socialise with fellow students and make friends. But with Covid restrictions in place, and social distancing a must, how can first year students make the most of their new surroundings?

Here’s a feature of University of Hull students sharing their experiences, and first impressions of university life in these unique times.