Mercury News (May 3)
“Of the many problems confronting Bay Area companies as they move out of pandemic lockdowns and into the workplaces of the future, one issue is proving especially thorny: Do they make their workers get COVID shots?” Legally, they can require vaccinations “as a condition of employment. But just because they can mandate injections doesn’t mean they should.”
Tags: Bay Area, Companies, COVID shots, Employment, Lockdowns, Pandemic, U.S., Vaccinations, Workers, Workplaces
Supply Chain Management Review (April 27)
“Global manufacturing and supply chains were severely disrupted by the COVID-19 global pandemic, forcing companies to adapt and plan for a new business reality.” This year, however, the industry “is already quickly rebounding with investments in digital transformation aimed at improving speed, resilience and sustainability. While areas of concern persist, most report that lessons from the pandemic have paved the way for new innovations.”
Tags: Adapt, COVID-19, Disrupted, DX, Investments, Manufacturing, Pandemic, Rebounding, Resilience, Speed, Supply chains, Sustainability
Seattle Times (April 25)
“Even as optimism abounds in the United States, where cases are in steep decline and the vaccine supply has begun to exceed the demand,” fueled on by new variants, the pandemic “has reached one of its bleakest points.” Last week brought a record 5.7 million new COVID-19 infections worldwide, “nearly double the seven-day average in late February. The death toll — now approaching 3.1 million — grew by more than 87,000.”
Atlanta Journal-Constitution (April 22)
“The coronavirus has pulverized the balance sheets of many restaurants. But anyone with a drive-thru had a potential advantage as Americans shifted their eating habits and seating positions.” Atlanta-based Chick-fil-A is in that enviable position. Though “the vast majority” of the firm’s 2,000 dining rooms were closed due to the pandemic and remain that way, “sales and profits have soared over the last year.”
Tags: Advantage, Balance sheets, Chick-fil-A, Closed, Coronavirus, Dining rooms, Drive-thru, Eating habits, Pandemic, Profits, Pulverized, Restaurants, Sales, U.S.
The Guardian (April 12)
“Japan does not especially want to deliver the prestige of the first major global sporting event since the pandemic started to China.” Cancelling the Olympics would also place “billions of dollars at stake.” But “set against that are the lives that could be lost…. Undoubtedly, the cancellation of the Games would lead to disappointment and financial losses. However, these factors must be weighed against any risk that the Olympics could make the pandemic worse.”
Tags: Cancellation, China, Disappointment, Dollars, Global, Japan, Lives, Losses, Olympics, Pandemic, Prestige, Risk, Sporting event
Boston Globe (April 5)
“After a year of forced dormancy, the restaurant industry is scrambling to get ready for an expected boom this summer…. Despite a massive labor pool, some restaurants say they are having trouble finding people willing to return to the business. The pandemic, it seems, prompted some to reconsider life in an industry notorious for difficult working conditions.”
Tags: Boom, Dormancy, Industry, Labor pool, Notorious, Pandemic, Reconsider, Restaurants, Scrambling, Summer
Tampa Bay Times (April 5)
“Physical distancing and masks are being credited for a decline in common viruses.” Pediatric hospitalizations for respiratory illness are down 62% while only a single child has died of the flu, an illness that usually claims the lives of 100 – 200 children per season in the U.S. Beyond masks and physical distancing, other pandemic factors also play a role. “It’s become a serious societal faux pas to go anywhere with a fever – so parents don’t send their ailing kids to school.”
Tags: Ailing, Credited, Distancing, Faux pas, Fever, Flu, Hospitalizations, Illness, Masks, Pandemic, Pediatric, Respiratory, School, U.S., Viruses
The Economist (April 3)
There are now “growing worries that, like a ship which is too big to steer, supply chains have become a source of vulnerability…. As they battle the pandemic and face up to rising geopolitical tensions, governments everywhere are switching from the pursuit of efficiency to a new mantra of resilience and self-reliance.”
Tags: Efficiency, Geopolitical tensions, Governments, Pandemic, Resilience, Self-reliance, Supply chains, Vulnerability, Worries
Washington Post (April 2)
“At the onset of the pandemic, analysts feared it would mark a disaster for women.” All of their “concerns proved to be true. But the social damage wrought by what’s been dubbed the ‘shadow pandemic’ may be felt for decades to come.”
Tags: “Shadow pandemic”, Analysts, Concerns, Disaster, Onset, Pandemic, Social damage, Women
Wall Street Journal (March 29)
“The downward trend in personal bankruptcies bucks predictions by analysts and economists that disruptions from Covid-19 lockdowns and restrictions early in the pandemic would lead to a sharp increase in filings. Economists and bankruptcy lawyers say federal suspensions of evictions, home foreclosures and student-loan obligations have helped limit bankruptcies—though they worry bankruptcy rates could go up after aid ends.”
Tags: Analysts, COVID-19, Disruptions, Downward, Economists, Evictions, Foreclosures, Lockdowns, Pandemic, Personal bankruptcies, Predictions, Restrictions, Student loans, Trend
