World coronavirus dispatch: UK debt outgrows economy in a first since 1963

UK debt is bigger than economy, Beijing outbreak tops 180, Germany Wants to Bolster EU, and other Covid-19 related news from across the globe

UK debt is bigger than economy for first time since 1963: Britain’s public debt is larger than the size of the country’s economy for the first time since 1963, after the government borrowed a record pound 55 billion in May. The total level of debt has risen by pound 173 billion over the last year to reach pound 1.95 trillion, or 100.9 per cent of GDP, as ministers introduced unprecedented support for businesses and households during the coronavirus crisis. Read more here.

Let’s look at the global statistics:

Total Confirmed Cases: 8,500,398

Change Over Yesterday: 150,426

Total Deaths: 454,215

Total Recovered: 4,169,082

Nations hit with most cases: US (2,191,200), Brazil (978,142), Russia (568,292), India (380,532), and United Kingdom (301,935)

Source: Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Research Center

Singapore expands reopening in bid to boost economy: Singapore has further eased one of the world’s toughest coronavirus lockdowns after more than two months, as authorities focus on re-booting an economy that has been pummeled by the pandemic. Singapore this week registered the lowest daily number of new cases since an outbreak in migrant worker dormitories exploded in early April. The city had been praised as a model for its handling of the health crisis before cases surged among the tightly packed housing complexes. The outbreak propelled the country into one of the worst-affected in the region. Read more here.

Beijing outbreak tops 180 as China says peak has passed: Beijing reported 25 new infections on Friday, lower than at the start of the week, after China declared that the peak of the outbreak has passed. But anxiety remains high across the capital as residents went back under partial lockdown and transport links continue to be interrupted. Beijing’s two airports have canceled more than 800 flights scheduled for Friday, while the government tightened other intra-city and cross-province transportation. Read more here.

Brits don’t want to go back to working pre-Covid-19 office hours: As offices and shops in Brit-ain start to reopen, most business executives and their workers would rather not return to work in the way did before the pandemic, a poll shows. Accountancy and consulting firm Theta Financial Reporting’s survey of 2,000 adults also found that two-thirds of people aren’t comfortable commut-ing on public transport and 35 per cent worry that going back to a traditional office will harm both their mental health and productivity. Read more here.

Australians come out of lockdown and spend like never before: Australians took to the shops in May as the initial easing of the Covid-19 lockdown, combined with stimulus cash flowing into bank accounts, fueled record monthly gains. Preliminary retail figures showed turnover rose 16.3 per cent from April, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said Friday in Sydney. Following a record 17.7 per cent slump in April, May’s increase was the largest in 38 years of published surveys, with gains in every industry, the bureau said. Read more here.

Germany wants to bolster EU shaken by pandemic: The coronavirus pandemic has exposed the weakness of the European Union and Germany will use its presidency of the bloc to promote soli-darity and economic prosperity among its 27 member states, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday. In a speech to parliament, Merkel said the most immediate challenge facing the bloc reel-ing from more than 100,000 deaths linked to Covid-19 and facing its worst recession since World War Two was to agree on a multi-year budget and a recovery fund. Read more here.

Decline in new US virus deaths may be temporary reprieve: The number of deaths per day from the coronavirus in the U.S. has fallen in recent weeks to the lowest level since late March, even as states increasingly reopen for business. But scientists are deeply afraid the trend may be about to reverse itself. Deaths from Covid-19 across the country are down to about 680 a day, compared with around 960 two weeks ago. The analysis looked at a seven-day rolling average of deaths through Wednesday. Read more here.

Specials

We will be living with the coronavirus pandemic well into 2021: The virus is winning. That much is certain more than six months into a shape-shifting pandemic that’s killed 450,000 people world-wide, is gaining ground globally and has disrupted lives from Wuhan to Sao Paulo. While promis-ing, fast-moving vaccine projects are underway in China, Europe and the U.S., only the most opti-mistic expect an effective shot to be ready for global distribution this year. Most experts believe a vaccine won’t be ready until next year. It’s time to reset our expectations and change our behaviour. Read more here.

How safe is flying in the age of coronavirus? With many governments loosening travel restrictions to restart economies, airlines have begun restoring flights that were put on hold as the coronavirus pandemic spread. Business is slow, as would-be passengers worry about being stuck in a cabin for an extended time with possibly infectious strangers. The record shows the risks aren’t negligible. Read more here.

Covid creates a boom for Röhm’s protective plexiglas panels: Demand from the automotive and construction industries was lackluster, and hurting prices. In March there was a sudden uptick in acrylic sheets sold under the Plexiglas brand. Orders were pouring in from retailers, offices, hospi-tals, and public transport companies, which were eager to get their hands on protective shields to separate employees from a coughing and sneezing public spreading the coronavirus. Like face masks and disinfectant, Plexiglas became omnipresent almost overnight, a translucent guard between cash-iers, bus drivers, and receptionists on one side and customers on the other. Read more here.

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