World Coronavirus Dispatch: US plans $2bn aid as airlines send workers home

Germany plans to give legal protection for work from home and Google launches phone for economic downturn

The Trump administration has proposed including a $20 billion extension in aid for the battered airline industry in a new stimulus proposal to House Democrats worth over $1.5 trillion, White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said. “There’s $20 billion in the most recent proposal for the airlines that would give them a six month extension,” Meadows told reporters, noting that the industry was in urgent need of support. Read more here

Let’s look at the global statistics:

Total Confirmed Cases: 33,968,271

Change Over Yesterday: 315,311

Total Deaths: 1,014,158

Total Recovered: 23,637,268

Nations hit with most cases: US (7,233,043), India (6,312,584), Brazil (4,810,935), Russia (1,170,799) and Colombia (829,679)

Source: Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Research Center

Germany plans work from home law: Germany will unveil a draft law that would give employees the legal right to work from home, within the next few weeks, Labor Minister Hubertus Heil told the Financial Times, the latest example of how the pandemic is altering working life. The law would seek to ensure workers have the option of working from home and regulate home office work. Read more here.

American, United Airlines to begin furloughs for tens of thousands of workers: US carriers American Airlines Group Inc. and United Airlines Holdings Inc. will start laying off and furlough a combined 32,000 workers as they contend with the unprecedented collapsein travel demand. The move comes in light of the federal Payroll Support Program (PSP) underthe CARES Act expiring on October 1. Read more here.

Japan restaurant and hotel bankruptcies climb: Of 563 Japanese companies that filed for bankruptcy due to factors related to the Covid-19 outbreak this year, 24 percent are those thatoperate either restaurants or hotels and inns, according to credit research firm Teikoku Databank Ltd. That compares with just 9.6 percent of all bankruptcies last year. Read more here

Singapore plans cruises to nowhere to revive leisure industry: Singapore is planning to allow so-called cruises to nowhere in what could be among the first of measures to reopen leisure travel in the city-state. The cruises will have a maximum occupancy of 50%, and could give some relief to cruise operators. The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) is creating a health and safety framework for the same. Read more here.

Goldman Sachs resumes job cuts after halting them during the pandemic: Goldman Sachs is resuming layoffs after pausing them during the coronavirus pandemic.The bank confirmed that it plans to eliminate less than 1 percent of its workforce — about 400 positions. The job cuts will take place across the firm, which totalled 39,100 employees as of July. Read more here.

Madrid coronavirus: Spain orders lockdown amid rise in cases: The Spanish governmenthas ordered a lockdown in the capital Madrid and surrounding areas badly affected by coronavirus after a rise in cases. Under the new restrictions, residents will not be allowed to leave the area unless they have to make an essential journey. However, Madrid's regional government says the lockdown is not legally valid. Read more here.

Mississippi becomes first state to lift mask mandate: Mississippi is ending its state-wide mask mandate and easing some social-distancing rules after cutting new coronavirus infections in half and Covid-19-related hospitalizations by two-thirds. Masks still will be required in schools and for certain workers, such as salon and barbershop employees. Read more here.

Oxford-Astra Covid vaccine review to start in Europe: European regulators are set to startan accelerated review of a Covid-19 vaccine front-runner from the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca Plc, according to a source, in a sign the shot could be the first to seek approval in the region. The European Medicines Agency is expected to announce the “rolling review” as soon as this week. Read more here.

Specials 

Google Pixel phone 'designed for economic downturn': Google's hardware chief has said its new flagship smartphone was designed to go on sale during an economic downturn. As a result, the Pixel 5 has abandoned some of its predecessor's headline features and runs on a slower chip in order to be sold at a lower price.However, it does gain 5G connectivity and some new photography capabilities. Experts say it will face tough competition from other mid-range Android handsets, but the included bundle of Google services could help. "To not bring to market a true flagship demonstrates Google is now thinking about the market in a very different way than it was last year," commented Ben Stanton from the tech consultancy Canalys. Read more here.

How work became an inescapable hellhole: Instead of optimising work, technology has created a nonstop barrage of notifications and interactions. Six months into a pandemic, it's worse than ever. Read here.

Spotting the risks of indoor dining: The risk of coronavirus transmission is lower for outdoor than for indoor dining in almost every case, and the safest course of all is staying at home. But if you do decide to eat inside a restaurant, try to go at an hour when it’s less crowded. Before you sit down, take a quick look around. If the management doesn’t seem to be taking things like airflow and masks seriously,public health experts suggest eating somewhere else. Here are some tips from the experts.