World Coronavirus Dispatch: Younger, asymptomatic group driving pandemic

Carlyle staff told to shun public transport, WHO alarm over outbreak in Western Pacific, South Korea tracing church goers and other pandemic-related news across the globe

Pandemic now driven by 20s, 30s, 40s group, many asymptomatic: The World Health Organization has said it was concerned that the novel coronavirus spread was being driven by people in their 20s, 30s and 40s, many of which were unaware they were infected, posing a danger to vulnerable groups. WHO officials said this month the proportion of younger people among those infected had risen globally, putting at risk vulnerable sectors of the population worldwide, including the elderly and sick people in densely populated areas. Read more here.

Let’s look at the global statistics:


Total Confirmed Cases: 21,881,585


Change Over Yesterday: 209,672


Total Deaths: 774,034


Total Recovered: 13,911,011

Nations hit with most cases: US (5,438,325), Brazil (3,359,570), India (2,702,681), Russia (925,558) and South Africa (589,886)

Source: Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Research Center

Europe confronts changing climate amid pandemic: While summer thunderstorms have provided sporadic relief for parched fields in the past week, farmers, scientists and politicians say global warming is triggering multiyear droughts and changing the climate of continental Europe. This has become challenging as nations figure out economic relieves for ailing sectors including farming. Read more here

South Korea tracing church goers, confines troops to bases as virus spreads: At least 383 infections have been linked to a churn gathering in Seoul. The authorities are contact tracing hundreds more members of the congregation, to tell them to self-quarantine and get tested as they posed the highest transmission risk. Read more here

Carlyle staff told to avoid public transport on London office return: One of the biggest PE firms in the world has told its employees in London to avoid public transport on their commute to work because of concerns about coronavirus. The policy also requires staff who use public transport at weekends to stay away from the office for 14 days. Read more here

WHO sounds alarm over coronavirus outbreak in Western Pacific: The World Health Organization said that the countries in the Western Pacific — a vast region comprising nearly 1.9 billion people — have entered a new phase of coronavirus pandemic response and urged regional governments to continue to promote behavior that protects community health. Read more here

Specials

More infectious coronavirus mutation may be 'a good thing': 
An increasingly common mutation of the novel coronavirus found in Europe, North America and parts of Asia may be more infectious but appears less deadly. Senior consultant at the National University of Singapore and president of the International Society of Infectious Diseases, Paul Tambyah, said evidence suggests the proliferation of the D614G mutation in some parts of the world has coincided with a drop in death rates, suggesting it is less lethal. Tambyah said most viruses tend to become less virulent as they mutate. Read more here

Start-ups tap a new talent pool: pandemic-weary college students

Over the past few months, several companies have presented an alternative to school: a remote internship, aimed specifically at young people looking for alternatives to a dismal school year. Dozens of Silicon Valley startups are looking to hire fall interns, according to a list assembled by startup accelerator Y Combinator. Such arrangements allow interns to get paid and learn on the job, while avoiding paying tens of thousands of dollars for Zoom University. Read more here

How the coronavirus changed US political conventions, perhaps forever: 
The US political convention, a presidential campaign ritual dating to the 1830s, is being reinvented on the fly after being short-circuited by the coronavirus pandemic - much like the campaign itself. There will be no roaring crowds of delegates in a cavernous hall, no balloon drops or wall-to-wall parties. Both Democrats and Republicans will offer mostly virtual programs featuring speeches and events from around the country. The challenge will be to generate excitement and motivate the party faithful while encouraging independents and infrequent voters to take a look. Read more here

To get people to wear masks, try comparing them to seatbelts and helmets: 
A recent survey of more than 2,000 US residents offered five different messages and gauged whether they made people more or less likely to wear a mask in public, as compared to a control group that saw no message. Comparing masks to helmets and seatbelts was the only message that had a positive impact on people’s decisions. The finding adds evidence to the argument that linking masks to safety measures already widely adopted — and legally enforced — could increase compliance with mask mandates. It may also reflect hard-won progress in persuading more Americans to buckle their seatbelts in the first place. Read more here