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News Update – Thursday, April 9, 2020

APCO Worldwide's Coronavirus Beat is a twice weekly publication on the impact of COVID-19 on businesses, economies, policy and culture, and how leaders are responding. The next newsletter will appear Monday, April 13.

Have a comment about this newsletter? We welcome your feedback.

Business & Economic Impact

1. Global trade is expected to fall by up to 32% this year as the COVID-19 pandemic disrupts normal economic activity, World Trade Organization

2. Despite forecasts of a severe recession, the German short-time work model to prevent employees from getting laid off could be a crisis model for Europe, Reuters

3. The COVID-19 crisis is expected to wipe out 6.7% of working hours globally in Q2 2020 – equivalent to 195 million full-time workers, International Labor Organization

4. Analysts expect an annualized double-digit contraction in Japan in Q2 after state of emergency declared, Nikkei Asian Review

5. China reopens Wuhan after 10-week coronavirus lockdown, car boom brings hope for post-lockdown recovery, Bloomberg

6. Another 6.6 million Americans submitted applications for unemployment, bringing the total to nearly 17 million since the pandemic began, The Wall Street Journal

7. UK accountancy firms weigh up the reputational risk of furloughing staff, Financial Times

Global Policy

1. The European Central Bank will temporarily lower its collateral standards for eurozone banks to keep credit flowing, CNBC

2. As EU ministers failed to agree on a coordinated economic support package, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte warned of the bloc's collapse, Politico
3. The Trump administration is in talks with Congress to secure an additional $250 billion to fund loans for small businesses hit by the coronavirus, The Washington Post

4. Thailand approved $58 billion in borrowing and soft loans to alleviate the impact of the coronavirus outbreak, The Straits Times

5. Hong Kong's Chief Executive Carrie Lam announced $17.7 billion in stimulus, including a program to subsidize 50% of wages for up to 6 months, Bloomberg
6. Middle-income nations in the Middle East such as Jordan and Egypt are turning to the IMF for assistance amid the pandemic, Financial Times

Control Measures

1. Four out of five workers around the world are affected by full or partial lockdown measures in the COVID-19 pandemic, NPR
2. WHO says there is no need for healthy people to wear face masks, days after the CDC told all Americans to cover their faces, Business Insider

3. Some U.S. states are curbing travel and cracking down on visitors from other states to fight the coronavirus, The Economist
4. Italy declared its seaports “unsafe” due to COVID-19, meaning it will not authorize the docking of migrant rescue boats until the end of the pandemic, The Guardian
5. The Hong Kong International Airport becomes the first in the world to test all incoming passengers regardless of arrival location, Fortune
6. Singapore to ban public and private gatherings of any size as the city-state enforces 'circuit breaker' measures to curb the spread of the virus, South China Morning Post

Events & Happenings

1. The Canton Fair, China’s oldest and largest trade expo, will be held online in the second half of June, South China Morning Post
2. Broadway theaters in New York will remain closed until at least June 7, The New York Times
3. As governments scramble to find ventilators, hospitals are running short on the number of staff trained to run them, Scientific American
4. Amid privacy concerns, the EU is developing common rules on the use of mobile apps to track the spread of COVID-19, The New York Times
5. Amazon is postponing its major summer shopping event, Prime Day, until at least August, Reuters

Stay Ahead: Insights from APCO

America Adjusting

APCO is tracking Americans' attitudes and behaviors related to COVID-19 in a series of weekly polls. The latest installment, from polling conducted on April 3, looks at Americans' attitudes on the impact of social distancing and outlooks for a return to 'normal' life.

A Futurist Meets the C-Suite: Making this Moment Matter

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought to the fore some of the most salient issues we face as humanity – from the scale of people living at the edge of poverty, to huge inequities in access to technology and healthcare, to the increasing disruptions we face from a warming climate. But there are huge signs of hope – companies re-skilling workers, new innovations in distance learning and collaboration, and rapid innovation across countless industries.

On Tuesday, April 14 from 10:00-11:00 AM EST, The Tembo Group, an APCO Worldwide company, and Business for Social Responsibility (BSR) will host a virtual roundtable on post-COVID scenarios and the best paths for business and philanthropic leaders to secure social and environmental progress. RSVP here.

Webinar: Americans' Views on Key Healthcare Topics Evolve During Crisis

APCO Insight conducted a poll of Americans from March 26–27, 2020, to explore how the pandemic is impacting Americans' attitudes related to helathcare, measuring their views on the resilience and evolution of healthcare systems and the value of vaccines. APCO's Chrystine Zacherau shares the key findings:

Americans have improved sentiment towards healthcare providers and institutions directly responsible for responding to the crisis.

Americans expect healthcare delivery to change as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, with new emphasis on telehealth and out-of-office provider services.

An overwhelming majority would get a vaccine that protects against the coronavirus if it were made available. But, views on vaccine safety have not shifted and only strengthened slightly when compared to two years ago.

For more on APCO Insight's latest research, including a full webinar on the impact and transformation of the healthcare industry, please visit APCO's Coronavirus Hub.

THE INEQUITY OF SOCIAL DISTANCING

As the government impose lockdowns and stay-at-home orders to encourage social distancing, research argues that the very idea of social distancing is a privilege. In Singapore, despite stricter distancing measures to contain growing community transmission, a core part of the community fell through the cracks: immigrant workers who are neither citizens nor permanent residents but are critical to Singapore’s economy. Cramped conditions impeded sufficient distancing measures in dormitories, turning infection clusters into hotspots. Similar challenges are also occurring in India, where social distancing is incredibly difficult in its poorest areas, and in China, where surveys show that lockdowns disproportionately affect lower-income households. This problem is acute in the United States as well, where location data illustrates how lower-income workers continue to move around at a higher rate due to work obligations.

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated inequality already witnessed across global society, from the ability to work from home to the ability to hoard groceries or access a fast internet connection. The continued spread of COVID-19 from more affluent, globally-connected centers to community transmission in rural or poorer areas is also drawing concerns for a more prolonged impact on health systems. As governments grapple with the growing economic and social costs of the pandemic, policies to support those bearing the greatest risk of infection due to the crisis are likely to be essential in squashing the curve, but also in kickstarting national economies moving forward.

DIGITAL DILEMMA

The global response to the COVID-19 pandemic is accelerating the adoption of new technologies and digital solutions to not only ensure the supply of key goods, but also to streamline essential services which save lives. From online classes to entertainment streaming and remote medical services, companies have leveraged technologies such as 5G, big data and artificial intelligence to expand their offerings and rise to the challenge of a transformed consumer market. In adapting to remote operations and automation, companies are also innovating in ways that were not expected for some time to come.

At the same time, increasing reliance on digital technologies amid COVID-19 reinforces cybersecurity concerns. Zoom’s recent exposure for its lack of end-to-end encryption of public meetings and routing of traffic through China triggered a global backlash, as businesses and governments move to ban the app citing safety and privacy concerns. This crisis also exposed just how crucial technology is for business continuity and the increasing role it will play in the future. To ensure smooth operations in this "new normal," businesses and IT managers should remain diligent in adopting new technologies and deploy strategies to maintain good practices amongst all employees, such as verifying information sources and keeping abreast on rapidly changing cybersecurity policies.

Some Positive News

Joint efforts from small business: Small manufacturers are pivoting to produce cloth masks, as public health officials advise public to cover their faces, The Wall Street Journal
Drug advancements: Researchers are reporting positive signs that an oral medicine can hinder the coronavirus behind COVID-19, which could be easier to administer than intravenous injections, NPR
Essential workers: New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and premiers across Canada declared the Easter Bunny an essential worker to help young children cope with the continuing pandemic, CNET

More Tips from Around the Water Cooler

How to elevate your presence in a virtual meeting, Harvard Business Review
Three ways businesses can protect LGBTIQ rights in the face of COVID-19, World Economic Forum
Best practices for filming with a mobile device, APCO Worldwide
Supporting customer service through the coronavirus crisis, Harvard Business Review

Quotables

“At face value there is a trade-off to make: either save lives or save livelihoods. This is a false dilemma – getting the virus under control is, if anything, a prerequisite to saving livelihoods."

- Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund

“As long as the coronavirus threatens lives somewhere, we are not safe. This is the core of international cooperation and partnerships. We need to work together in order to tackle our shared challenges."

- Jutta Urpilainen, EU Commissioner for International Partnerships

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.

About Coronavirus Beat

Coronavirus Beat is a bulletin of updates and clippings from the most relevant media and government sources created to help APCO’s clients keep abreast of the impacts of COVID-19 from around the world. APCO is supporting clients in managing the issues they confront related to the outbreak. Contact our crisis team at Crisis360@apcoworldwide.com or +1.866.360.APCO (toll-free) or +1.866.483.2726 (outside the United States).

APCO Worldwide is an advisory and advocacy communications consultancy helping leading public and private sector organizations act with agility, and build organizational reputations, brands, relationships and solutions to succeed. APCO has offices in more than 30 major cities throughout the world. To find out how APCO’s integrated services can help your company, visit apcoworldwide.com.