World Coronavirus Dispatch: Spike in US deaths as pandemic epicentre shifts

China retail sales slip in July as consumers remain elusive, WeWork secures $1.1bn loan from SoftBank, North Korea says 'No Thanks' to outside aid and other pandemic-related news across the globe

Across the United States, at least 200,000 more people have died than usual since March, according to a New York Times analysis of estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This is about 60,000 higher than the number of deaths that have been directly linked to the coronavirus. As the pandemic has moved south and west from its epicenter in New York City, so have the unusual patterns in deaths from all causes. That suggests that the official death counts may be substantially underestimating the overall effects of the virus. Read more here

Let’s look at the global statistics:

Total Confirmed Cases: 20,924,603



Change Over Yesterday: 302,654


Total Deaths: 759,716


Total Recovered: 12,999,228

Nations hit with most cases: US (5,254,171), Brazil (3,224,876), India (2,461,190), Russia (905,762) and South Africa (572,865)

Source: Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Research Center 

Novavax to deliver 60 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine to UK for trial: US drug developer Novavax said the UK would buy 60 million doses of its coronavirus vaccine candidate, NVX-CoV2373, for a phase 3 clinical trial in the country. The trial will be a study in about 9,000 adults between 18 years and 85 years of age. Read more here

China's economic recovery underwhelms as consumer comeback stays elusive: China’s retail sales slipped in July, dashing expectations for a modest rise, while the factory sector’s recovery struggled to pick up pace. July data showed weaker-than-expected year-on-year industrial output growth and retail sales extending declines into a seventh straight month. Read more here 

North Korea, fighting to hold back virus and floods, says No Thanks to outside aid: North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, said the nation is facing “two crises at the same time” — fighting the spread of the coronavirus and coping with extensive flood damage. But Mr. Kim has ordered his country not to accept any international aid for fear that outside help might bring in Covid-19, the state news media reported on Friday. Read more here 

Infections climb in South Korea as unknown origin cases rise: South Korea reported 103 new confirmed coronavirus cases Friday, nearly twice as many as the day before. The situation is creating alarm as the transmission route is unknown for more than 13 percent of the cases. Health officials said the latest infections, mostly linked to church gatherings, may pose a greater challenge. Read more here

UK adds France and Netherlands to ‘Must Quarantine’ list: The UK has added France, the Netherlands and Malta to its list of countries from which people arriving have to quarantine for 14 days, a move likely to cause dismay among holidaymakers and anger from the countries involved. Also on the list are Monaco, the Turks and Caicos Islands and Aruba. Read more here

WeWork secures $1.1bn loan from SoftBank: SoftBank has agreed to lend $1.1 billion to WeWork to help cover the disruptions caused by coronavirus, on top of the more than $10 billion it has already invested in the lossmaking property group, according to a memo sent by WeWork’s chief financial officer to employees on Thursday. WeWork has not yet tapped the $1.1 billion financing. Read more here

New US jobless claims dip below 1m for first time since March: New applications for US unemployment benefits fell below 1 million for the first time since mid-March, as the pace of claims eased for a second straight week. Initial jobless claims totalled 963,000 on a seasonally adjusted basis last week, compared with 1.2 million a week earlier, and less than anticipated 1.1 million new claims. Read more here

Specials

Elite Thai visa program aims to lure expats seeking virus haven: 
The Thailand Elite Card is a residential-visa program for affluent expats, investors and long-stay groups. Membership, which ranges from 500,000 baht to 2 million baht ($16,000 to $64,000), provides for a renewable five-year visa. It also comes with perks, which at the top end include limousine transport, jet and yacht charters, medical checkups and golf at championship courses in Bangkok, Phuket and Pattaya. Thailand forecasts 2,288 new enrollees in the fiscal year through September, up 6.8 percent from the previous year, and revenue is seen climbing 7.7 percent to 1.4 billion baht.

Expats already living in the country on other types of visas have accounted for 70 percent of subscriptions this year, having concluded that it’s better than dealing with one-year work, retirement or marriage permits. Read more here

Wall Street bankers’ jobs are changing as coronavirus transforms business

In the absence of continuous, big-ticket takeovers, investment bankers found themselves providing more informal advice for clients and would-be clients on everything from supply chain disruptions to how to handle a trade war, or the best way to position a company for the outcome of the US election. All of this to stay on top of the call list when a company starts looking for help with its next deal. In short, bankers have to know more and do more—including the occasional odd job. One Citigroup banker who works with governments trying to borrow money found herself trying to procure face masks for those clients. Others are helping troubled companies overhaul their finances. Restructuring specialists, , haven’t been this busy since the last financial crisis. And bankers are arranging alternative forms of funding for clients from private equity firms, institutions, and billionaire investors. Read more here

Opinion


The logic behind contact tracing apps is all wrong
The op-ed in the Wired magazine argues that rather than tracking individual exposures, we should be using them for real-time info on what activities and locations may be responsible for the spread. Read it here