News Update – Tuesday, October 20, 2020

APCO Worldwide's Coronavirus Beat is a weekly publication on the impact of COVID-19 on businesses, economies, policy and culture, and how leaders are responding. The next newsletter will appear Tuesday, October 27.

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

Business & Economic Impact

1. China's economy grew by 4.9 percent in the third quarter, the first country to show positive economic signs since the beginning of the pandemic, NBC News

2. Oil demand decreased due to concerns of surging coronavirus cases and tightening lockdown measures, while hopes for a U.S. stimulus package lent support to prices, Reuters
3. While the coronavirus tanked the U.S. economy, Americans’ credit scores, a metric used for lending decisions, were rising due to government support, The Wall Street Journal

Global Policy

1. The International Monetary Fund and World Bank meetings focusing on the issue of global poverty due to the pandemic as countries bolster their own economy, The Wall Street Journal

2. According to the Lowy Institute, the United States remains the top power in the Indo-Pacific but suffered the biggest fall partly because of the mishandling of COVID-19, The Guardian
3. The World Trade Organization will hold on waiving intellectual property rights to COVID-19 drugs after advocacy groups and governments urged the WTO to widen access, STAT

Control Measures

1. Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte allowed mayors to shut public squares at night to halt gatherings as he unveiled further measures to halt a sharp rise in COVID-19 cases, BBC

2. As COVID-19 cases subside, Israel starts to ease its second nationwide lockdown, allowing gatherings of up to 10 people indoors and 20 outdoors, The Wall Street Journal
3. Ireland has intensified coronavirus restrictions, closing all “non-essential” retailers and curtailing the hospitality sector in a new lockdown that is expected to put 150,000 people out of work within days, Financial Times

Worth Noting

1. The WHO expressed concerns over Europe’s coronavirus outbreak as the number of available intensive care beds continue to dwindle in some regions, CNBC

2. Mexico’s Day of the Dead will be a more subdued affair this year as graveyards will not be open to visitors as a result of the pandemic, Reuters
3. The International Air Transport Association is setting up a scalable, affordable and fast testing system that will replace compulsory quarantine to help revive the industry, Bloomberg

Stay Ahead: Insights from APCO

APCO is tracking attitudes and behaviors related to COVID-19 in a series of polls. The latest installment, from polling conducted October 6-7, 2020, included research from around the world on coronavirus recovery. For more on APCO’s research, follow us on Twitter and look for the full report on our blog in the coming days.

Webinar: The State of US Elections and the Nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the US Supreme Court

As the U.S. elections near, APCO Worldwide hosted a robust virtual conversation with the New York Times’ Chief Washington Correspondent and bestselling author, Carl Hulse. Mr. Hulse is also the recent author of a best-selling book, Confirmation Bias: Inside Washington's War Over the Supreme Court, from Scalia's Death to Justice Kavanaugh. The moderated conversation focused on the state and impact of the U.S. elections, recent geopolitical events, and the most recent vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court. Watch the recording here.

Some Positive News

A boost for eco-tourism: The plunge in visitor numbers during the pandemic has enabled nature to recover in Thailand’s tourist hot spots and given new impetus to encourage more sustainable, eco-friendly forms of tourism in the future, Bloomberg
Rickshaw classrooms: Rickshaws have been used to deliver books and pre-recorded lessons screened on monitors to students in the Philippines who do not have internet access, enabling them to continue studying during the pandemic, Reuters
Start-up offering health support: A home and nursing care start-up in Singapore has been playing a critical role in providing much-needed healthcare support during the pandemic, The Straits Times

More Tips from Around the Water Cooler

How to make the hybrid workforce model work, Financial Times
Put employees at the center of your post pandemic strategy, Harvard Business Review
When should your company speak up about a social issue?, Harvard Business Review
How to have a safe and still spooky Halloween, The New York Times

Quotables

“We need to work together to facilitate the changes needed for an inclusive and resilient recovery. A key step to generate a sustainable recovery will be for economies and people to allow change and embrace it. Countries will need to allow capital, labor, skills, and innovation to shift to a different, post-COVID business environment. This puts a premium on workers and businesses using their skills and innovations in new ways—and in a commercial environment that is likely to rely more on electronic connections and less on travel and handshakes.”

- David Malpass, World Bank Group President

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.