Coronavirus digest: Japan’s economy shrinks at record pace
Asia
Japan’s economy shrank a historic 7.8% in the April-June quarter, the worst contraction in the nation’s modern history, as the coronavirus deepens economic woes. At an annualized rate, the economy contracted 27.8%, the biggest fall since 1980, when comparable data became available.
It was the third straight quarter of contraction for the world’s third-largest economy. The coronavirus pandemic has hit business and consumer spending. Private consumption, which accounts for more than half of Japan’s economy, fell 8.2% for the quarter.
While the economy has re-opened after the government lifted state of emergency measures in late May, a worrying resurgence in infections cloud the outlook for business and household spending.
New Zealand has delayed its upcoming general election by one month due to the renewed virus outbreak in the country. The election was originally supposed to take place on September 19 but will now be held on October 17.
“This decision gives all parties time over the next nine weeks to campaign and the Electoral Commission enough time to ensure an election can go ahead,” said Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.
New Zealand is currently battling a return of COVID-19 which last week forced the country’s largest city Auckland into lockdown and ended 102 days without new infections.
South Korea counted its fourth straight day of triple-digit increases in new coronavirus cases Monday as the government urged people to stay home and curb travel.
The government had drawn up a special holiday on Monday with hopes of spurring domestic consumption. But as infections in the capital region increase, Health Minister Park Neung-hoo urged people to stay home and for residents in Seoul and nearby Gyeonggi province to avoid visiting other parts of the country for two weeks.
Read more: Coronavirus trend: The pandemic is far from over
Europe
Spain has imposed new restrictions to stop the spread of the coronavirus, which include the closure of discos and a partial ban on smoking outdoors. Restaurants and bars will be required to close by 1:00 a.m., with no new guests allowed in from midnight.
The new changes have been prescribed for all regions. The small, northern wine-growing region of La Rioja and the southeastern region of Murcia are the first to have enforced the measures this weekend.
Under the guidelines, announced by Spain’s Health Minister Salvador Illa, visits to retirement homes will be limited, while smoking outdoors in public places is banned when a distance of two meters cannot be maintained.
Italy also announced it would close discos and clubs from Monday and make it compulsory to wear a mask outdoors in some areas at night, especially around pubs and bars.
France has registered its highest one-day increase in COVID-19 cases since May. Labor Minister Elisabeth Borne said in an interview with Le Journal du Dimanche newspaper that the government wants to expand mask use, especially in workplaces. ”We must avoid a new lockdown at any cost,” she said.
France still plans to reopen schools nationwide in two weeks. The country’s infection count has rebounded in recent weeks, blamed in part on people traveling across the country for weddings, family gatherings or annual summer vacations with friends.
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Coronavirus brings back-to-school challenges
Thailand: Class in a box
The roughly 250 students who attend Wat Khlong Toey School in Bangkok now sit in plastic cubicles during class, and must keep their face masks all day. Sinks and soap dispensers are positioned outside each classroom, and temperatures are taken as students arrive to school in the morning. The strict measures seem to be working: the school has reported no new infections since July.
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Coronavirus brings back-to-school challenges
New Zealand: School for some
These students in the capital, Wellington, are happy they can still go to school. Those in Auckland aren’t so lucky. After the country went virus-free for three months, four new cases were reported in the country’s largest city on August 11. Health authorities ordered the closure of schools and non-essential businesses in the city, and told citizens to stay home.
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Coronavirus brings back-to-school challenges
Sweden: No special measures
Students in Sweden are still enjoying their summer holidays, but this picture of graduates taken before the break continues to symbolize the country’s special approach to dealing with COVID-19. Unlike almost everywhere else in the world, the Scandinavian country has never required citizens to wear masks. Businesses, bars, restaurants and schools have all remained open.
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Coronavirus brings back-to-school challenges
Germany: Single file, at a distance
These students at Petri Primary School in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia, are exhibiting exemplary behavior. Like all schools in Germany’s most populous state, theirs requires face masks. Yet unlike students in Germany’s other 15 states, they must also wear them in the classroom. It’s too early to tell if the measures are working, however — the school year only kicked off on August 12.
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Coronavirus brings back-to-school challenges
West Bank: Back to school after 5 months
School has also resumed in Hebron, some 30 kilometers (19 miles) south of Jerusalem. Students in the region are required to wear face masks, with some schools even calling for gloves. Yet despite her mask, this teacher’s enthusiasm is evident. Schools in the Palestinian territories have been closed since March, with Hebron being an epicenter of infections.
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Coronavirus brings back-to-school challenges
Tunisia: Masked since May
This class of high school students in Tunis began wearing masks in May. As schools across the North African country resume in the coming weeks, all students will be required to wear them. When Tunisia’s schools were closed for several weeks in March, parents had to school their children at home, helping them with TV and internet-based learning programs until classes could resume in early summer.
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Coronavirus brings back-to-school challenges
India: Teaching by loudspeaker
This school in Dandwal, in the western Indian state of Maharashtra, has a special setup for students who have no access to the internet. Here they can attend a type of tutoring session to catch up on missed assignments, listening to prerecorded classes over a loudspeaker. Maharashtra was particularly hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic.
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Coronavirus brings back-to-school challenges
Congo: No class without temperature check
Authorities in Lingwala, a well-heeled suburb in the Congolese capital, Kinshasa, are taking the threat of coronavirus infections among students extremely seriously. Every student attending the suburb’s Reverend Kim School is required to have his or her temperature taken before being allowed to enter the building. Face masks are also mandatory.
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Coronavirus brings back-to-school challenges
United States: Lessons in the world’s hot spot
Schools in the US are also doing daily temperature checks to detect potential COVID-19 cases. Such measures are urgently needed in the country, which continues to see some of the world’s highest infection rates. On August 13, Johns Hopkins University reported that more people had died within the past 24 hours than at any point since late May.
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Coronavirus brings back-to-school challenges
Brazil: Gloves and a hug
Maura Silva (left) is a teacher at a public school in western Rio de Janeiro, near one of the city’s largest slums. She makes an effort to visit her students at home, and brings along her “hug kit.” Before taking them in her arms, Silva and her students put on masks and she helps them to put on plastic gloves.
The German state of Bavaria said it had traced most of the people returning from abroad who tested positive for COVID-19, but who had not been notified. Authorities said in a statement that they had found 903 of the 949 people who tested positive out of a total of 44,000 travelers returning to the country.
The tests had been carried out up to two weeks ago, but problems with data entry meant that the travelers faced a long wait for their test results. Germany has seen an alarming rise in coronavirus in recent weeks, with many fearing the country has already entered a second wave.
Read more: Germany looks abroad for nurses, caregivers
Middle East
Firms from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Israel signed an agreement to jointly develop research and studies on the novel coronavirus. The move follows the normalization of the two countries’ political relations.
The UAE’s APEX National Investment and Israel’s TeraGroup signed the “strategic commercial agreement” in Abu Dhabi. The two companies hope to develop a rapid test for coronavirus, among other joint ventures.
Read more: Coronavirus digest: Germany warns against ‘party holidays’ after Spain travel warning
jcg/sri (AP, AFP, dpa, Reuters)
Article source: https://www.dw.com/en/coronavirus-digest-japan-s-economy-shrinks-at-record-pace/a-54589088?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf