World Coronavirus Dispatch: China rolls out vaccine, eyes global market

Central Europe struggles in second Covid surge after earlier success: The region handled the first wave of the pandemic far better than the more developed economies of southern or western Europe. But the second wave looks more threatening. Like the Czechs, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania have in the last four days all reported their highest caseloads since the start of the pandemic. Higher rates of testing mean the number of cases reported now is not directly comparable with the first wave. Deaths have also so far remained low. But unlike in April and May, there are signs that the region’s health systems are beginning to struggle. Read more here 

Let’s look at the global statistics:

Total Confirmed Cases: 34,924,564

Change Over Yesterday: 612,054

Total Deaths: 1,033,469

Total Recovered: 24,319,853

Nations hit with most cases: US (7,382,944), India (6,549,373), Brazil (4,906,833), Russia (1,209,039) and Colombia(848,147)

Source:Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Research Center 

China rolls out experimental Covid vaccine as it eyes global market: Beijing is set to expand a programme that administers experimental coronavirus vaccines as Chinese developers chart a risky path to dominating global supplies. In a surprise announcement last month, a representative from state-owned China National Biotec Group, or Sinopharm, revealed that hundreds of thousands of Chinese had already taken the company’s two leading experimental Covid-19 vaccines. Read more here 

Trump Covid diagnosis shortens Mike Pompeo's Asia trip: The US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, will cut short his trip to east Asia following the hospitalisation of Donald Trump with Covid-19. Pompeo would leave for Japan on Sunday but would not go to Mongolia and South Korea as originally planned. Pompeo was meant to visit all three countries from 4-8 October. Read more here 

German cases surpass 300,000: Germany’s total cases surpassed 300,000 as the reproduction value rose above 1.0 for the first time in four days, indicating that the spread is growing. Health Minister Jens Spahn announced plans for fast tests in hospitals and nursing homes. Details will be sorted out by October 15. In efforts to enforce hygiene rules, Munich has taken in 1.2 million euros from 9,100 fines on people not abiding by coronavirus restrictions. Read more here 

Brazil cases, deaths slow: Brazil’s new cases slowed to 26,310 after two days of increases, as the nation finished the week with the fewest infections since early June. Total cases are 4.9 million, the Health Ministry reported. Another 599 people died, a decline from the previous day and roughly a third of the number reported at the peak of fatalities in July. Total deaths are now 145,987. Read more here 

Specials 

All you need to know about Donald Trump’s Covid-19 diagnosis
 

President Donald Trump’s Covid-19 diagnosis is reverberating through Washington and around the world, raising new questions about the November election, public perception of the virus, and governance of the country. Trump's initial symptoms were mild, sources told Bloomberg, though some of his closest aides said they sensed the president was feeling poorly as early as September 30, more than 24 hours before he announced his test result on Twitter. Read more here

Also read, Virus result puts focus on Donald Trump’s medical history 

Workers of world unite in crisis gloom for their jobs
 

The global economy is entering the final quarter of its worst year in living memory in a precarious state with the coronavirus threatening to wreak yet more destruction on labor markets. The darkening outlook for US employment, the impending halt to a U.K. furlough and the expiry of a moratorium on German insolvencies provide a glimpse of the trouble in store. The International Labour Organisation estimated recently that the world would lose working hours equivalent to 245 million full-time jobs in the last three months of 2020. The quarter began with a portent as blue-chip employers from Walt Disney Co. to Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Continental AG announced tens of thousands of staff cuts within a 24-hour period. Then on Friday, the US Labor Department revealed slowing job gains in September, with many Americans giving up on looking for work. Adding to those omens, the UK’s main furlough program will end later this month. Read more here

Opinion
 

The hard business lessons Covid is about to teach\
 

Why the hair salon, the gym and work-related travel may never be the same again. Read here

Pandemic-appropriate wedding gifts
 

Wedding pros and seasoned guests share a few of their go-to gifts that newlyweds can enjoy now while quarantining. See here