APCO is tracking Americans’ attitudes and behaviors related to COVID-19. The latest installment, from polling conducted on April 17, 2020, looks at Americans’ outlook on the pandemic’s global impact on trade, politics and the economy:
- 58% believe COVID-19 will weaken the strength of the U.S. economy over the next three years.
- Half (48%) see the United States’ image as a global leader weakening.
- 44% say the pandemic will cause long term mistrust with U.S. allies, like the UK and Japan.
- Three-in-five (59%) believe there will be a decrease in global trade over the next three years, and the same number believe the crisis will harm businesses that operate in multiple countries.
- A plurality of Americans (42%) blame the Chinese government for harm caused to the American people by the COVID-19 pandemic, with 71% of Americans viewing China as a “competitor” and 48% viewing it as an “enemy” of the US.
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The uncertainty of what the post-pandemic world will look like has heightened the need to start planning for the future. APCO is gathering intelligence and monitoring the situation on the ground from our teams around the world to identify critical insights needed as we work with businesses to come back stronger. Beginning this week, APCO Worldwide is proud to launch the Come Back Stronger resource page and a blog series to share our perspectives, learnings and recommendations. This week looks at the future of the healthcare industry in the post-pandemic era. |
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| "As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to keep countries around the world under lockdown, there is an increased focus on the health sector. The pandemic has highlighted, albeit in a painful manner, the critical role of these healthcare professionals in ensuring a healthy, productive society, the continued need for innovation and access to essential health services. With uncertainties looming around what the “new normal” will be in the post-pandemic era, there is one undeniable certainty: the pandemic has, and will, fundamentally change the health industry and how healthcare companies run their businesses forever." |
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APCO colleagues are sharing on-the-ground insights and analysis on the impact of COVID-19 in markets around the world. Today’s dispatch from APCO’s Moscow office highlights the impact of government stimulus on businesses.Russia's economy is reportedly losing USD 1.34 billion of GDP a day due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Although domestic health services continue to struggle with growth infection rates, the government is preparing for the phased removal of control measures beginning on May 12. President Vladamir Putin instructed the government to ease restrictions by May 5 and emphasized that regional authorities should "retain their powers" to ease or tighten restrictions depending on the spread of COVID-19 in their regions. Russia has taken steps to provide economic relief, including canceling import duties on "socially important goods," helping businesses to restructure loans and introducing tax deferments. The federal government has also expanded a list of 1151 "systematically important" enterprises eligible for state support, including multinationals such as IKEA, McDonald's and Coca Cola. The estimated total volume of pandemic-related economic measures to date amounts to USD 10.5 billion or 0.7% of GDP, with the total volume of state support expected to reach 3.0 - 3.5% by year's end. However, these measures are seen as helping mainly large businesses rather than SMEs expected to be among the hardest hit. The Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry warned that nearly 3 million SMEs in the retail trade and services sectors with approximately 18 million employees may go bankrupt in May. On the other hand, according to AmCham Russia, none of its foreign businesses surveyed have voiced plans to curtail business or stop investing. |
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Some Positive News- 101-year-old survives two pandemics: Angelina Friedman recovered from the novel coronavirus after living through the 1918 influenza pandemic, CNN
- Musical van during quarantine: Luis Armando Velasquez is using his van to share birthday messages to those celebrating during the lockdown in Colombia, Reuters
- Happy milestones: A few governments are now reporting zero new domestically transmitted coronavirus cases, or no new cases at all, including Hong Kong and South Korea, South China Morning Post
More Tips from Around the Water Cooler- Coronavirus safety tips: How to handle the pandemic at work, Los Angeles Times
- How coronavirus charts can mislead us, Vox (video, 5 minutes)
- Coronavirus: 4 tips for parents who are homeschooling, World Economic Forum
- Delivering constructive criticism remotely—without sinking employee morale, Fast Company
- How to politely deal with people who break social distancing rules, according to etiquette experts, Insider
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Quotables
"If somebody wants to stay in their house, that's great, they should be allowed to stay in their house, and they should not be compelled to leave. But to say they cannot leave their house, and they'll be arrested if they do, this is fascist. This is not democratic, this is not freedom. Give people back their goddamn freedom."
- Elon Musk, Chief Executive Officer, Tesla
"While there are massive societal costs from the current shelter-in-place restrictions, I worry that reopening certain places too quickly before inaction rates have been reduced to very minimal levels will almost guarantee future outbreaks and worsen longer-term health and economic outcomes."
- Mark Zuckerberg, Chief Executive Officer, Facebook
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| The APCO team is working with clients globally to manage this crisis, and we stand ready to support your needs. For more resources from APCO, including our latest research, information on how we can help or to contact us, visit apcoworldwide.com/coronavirus. |
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