World Coronavirus Dispatch: UK sees record collapse in output in Q2 of 2020

Royal Dutch Shell to cut 9,000 jobs, seven US airlines get stimulus loans, Saudi economy shrinks 7% in Q2 and other pandemic-related news across the globe

Britain suffered a record collapse in economic output in the second quarter of 2020 when Covid-19 lockdown measures were in full force, though the decline was slightly smaller than first estimated. Gross domestic product shrank by 19.8 percent in the three months to June, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said, slightly less than the initial estimate of a quarterly 20.4 percent crash but still more than for any other major advanced economy. The fall was the biggest since the ONS records began in 1955. Read more here

Let’s look at the global statistics:

Total Confirmed Cases: 33,652,960

Change Over Yesterday: 299,346

Total Deaths: 1,007,922

Total Recovered: 23,402,148

Nations hit with most cases: US (7,191,061), India (6,225,763), Brazil (4,777,522), Russia (1,162,428) and Colombia (824,042)

Source: Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Research Center

Royal Dutch Shell to cut 9,000 jobs as Covid-19 spurs restructuring: Royal Dutch Shell Plc will cut as many as 9,000 jobs as Covid-19 accelerates a companywide restructuring into low-carbon energy. The move reflects the challenge facing Big Oil as the pandemic persists, with some in the industry believing the era of demand growth is already over. As the crisis hastens the shift to cleaner energy, oil majors are axing jobs, taking multibillion-dollar writedowns and even slashing once-sacrosanct dividends. Read more here

‘Game Changing’ 15-minute Covid-19 test cleared in Europe: Becton Dickinson and Co.’s Covid-19 test that returns results in 15 minutes has been cleared for use in countries that accept Europe’s CE marking. The test is part of a new class of quicker screening tools named for the identifying proteins called antigens they detect on the surface of SARS-CoV-2. Becton Dickinson expects to begin selling the test in October. Read more here

Seven US airlines receive stimulus loans from the CARES Act: The Treasury Department said that it had completed loans for seven passenger airlines, drawing from the $25 billion set aside for the industry under the March stimulus law known as the CARES Act. The beneficiaries include laska Airlines, American Airlines, Frontier Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Hawaiian Airlines, SkyWest Airlines and United Airlines. Read more here

Saudi economy shrank 7 percent, unemployment at record as virus hit: Saudi Arabia’s economy contracted 7 percent in Q2 from a year earlier as citizen unemployment hit its highest level on record, illustrating the damage wrought by the oil market turmoil combined with the coronavirus pandemic. The oil sector shrank an annual 5.3 percent, while the non-oil sector declined by 8.2 percent, according to data released on Wednesday. Read more here

Britons saved on record scale during coronavirus lockdown: The saving ratio soared to an unprecedented 29.1 percent in the second quarter, the Office for National Statistics said Wednesday. The figures confirmed Britain as the worst-performing major advanced economy during the quarter, with gross domestic product shrinking 19.8 percent, slightly less than previously estimated. Read more here

China’s factory outlook brightens on signs of solid recovery: “Although overall manufacturing demand has improved, the recovery of industries is uneven,” according to Statistics Bureau Economist Zhao Qinghe. More than half the companies in the textile, clothing and apparel, wood processing and other manufacturing industries said demand was insufficient, and with the global epidemic not yet fully and effectively controlled there are still uncertainties in China’s imports and exports, he said. Read more here

Consumer confidence in US posts biggest gain in 17 years: The Conference Board’s index increased 15.5 points, the most since April 2003, to 101.8 from August’s upwardly revised 86.3. The group’s gauge of current conditions rose 12.7 points to 98.5, while a measure of the short-term outlook jumped 17.4 points to a three-month high. The gain in the expectations index was the largest since 2009. The S&P 500 turned positive after the report. Read more here

Disney to cut about 25 percent, or 28,000, of its resort work force: Walt Disney Co said on Tuesday it will lay off roughly 28,000 employees, mostly at its US theme parks, where attendance has been crushed by the coronavirus pandemic, especially in California where Disneyland remains closed. About two-thirds of the laid-off employees will be part-time workers. Read more here

Specials 

‘Super healthy’ college student dies of rare Covid-19 complications
 

Chad Dorrill was in “tremendous shape.” Tall and slender. Played basketball. Ran long distances. But the 19-year-old college student died on Monday night, apparently of neurological complications related to Covid-19. Dorrill, a sophomore at Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C., had been living off campus and taking classes online when he became ill with flulike symptoms. He tested positive for the coronavirus on September 7 and quarantined for 10 days before returning to Boone. He said that after his nephew returned to college, he almost immediately began experiencing serious neurological problems. Although the coronavirus targets the lungs foremost, it also attacks the kidneys, liver and blood vessels, and a significant number of patients report neurological symptoms, including headaches, confusion and delirium. Read more here

Here’s an updated list of 22 of the most-talked-about treatments for the coronavirus. While some are accumulating evidence that they’re effective, most are still at early stages of research. It also included a warning about a few that are just bunk. Read more here

Comping with the pandemic: Should you break up?
 

In a pandemic, it’s hard to tell when, and if, to break up. Are you frustrated with him because it’s the apocalypse, or are you frustrated with him because you’re incompatible? To help you doubters take an objective look, NYT asked experts about the questions they’d pose to patients. This amalgam is not any sort of when-to-dump equation. But pay attention to your answers. And, if you do decide to break up, do so kindly, but firmly. Read here