Washington Post (March 26)
The “psychological grip” of the coronavirus “on the United States has weakened. Pandemic fatigue, warmer weather and a surge in vaccinations have led to a spring fever palpable across much of the country.” The number of Americans flying surged last weekend and cellphone data shows “movement steadily increasing everywhere except in large cities, where office buildings remain empty.” The pandemic “won’t last forever. But even as people are on the move, so is the virus.” There may yet be “a spring bump, if not yet anything as significant as a surge.”
Tags: Cities, Coronavirus, Fatigue, Movement, Office buildings, Pandemic, Psychological grip, Spring fever, Surge, U.S., Vaccinations
Atlanta Journal Constitution (March 25)
“Far more workers are becoming eligible for vaccines now. Gov. Brian Kemp announced Tuesday that all Georgians over the age of 16 will qualify for access starting today. An array of Georgia-based companies…said they are strongly encouraging employees to get shots that could curb the pandemic, protect the public and help open workplaces more quickly.”
Tags: Access, Companies, Eligible, Employees, Encouraging, Georgia, Kemp, Pandemic, Protect, Public, Shots, Vaccines, Workers, Workplaces
Boston Globe (March 15)
“A year into the COVID-19 pandemic, the timeline for our return to the office is still hazy.” The schedule keeps “getting extended. Some of the area’s biggest companies now have June or July circled on their calendars. Many others are talking about Labor Day [September 6] again. And many aren’t giving any return dates, no matter how tentative, just yet. They’ve been burned before.”
Reuters (March 15)
U.S. airlines are pointing to “concrete signs of an industry recovery as a slowing COVID-19 pandemic helps leisure bookings.” One of them, “Chicago-based United, which had been among the most pessimistic of the airlines heading into the pandemic a year ago, is the first to say it could hit the industry’s cash burn milestone” and return to the black in March.
Tags: Airlines, Bookings, Cash burn, Chicago, COVID-19, Leisure, March, Milestone, Pandemic, Pessimistic, Recovery, U.S., United
The Guardian (March 14)
“A third wave of the Covid pandemic is now advancing swiftly across much of Europe. As a result, many nations – bogged down by sluggish vaccination campaigns – are witnessing sharp rises in infection rates and numbers of cases.” With infections rising to levels last seen in early February, “several countries are now set to impose strict new lockdown measures in the next few days.”
Tags: Covid, Europe, Infection rates, Lockdown, Pandemic, Sluggish, Third wave, Vaccination campaigns
New York Times (March 7)
“The pandemic has disrupted international trade, driving up the cost of shipping goods and adding a fresh challenge to the global economic recovery.” Although “the volume of global trade dipped by only 1 percent in 2020,” that fact obscures “a plunge of more than 12 percent in April and May, followed by an equally dramatic reversal. The system could not adjust, leaving containers in the wrong places, and pushing shipping prices to extraordinary heights.” Some experts believe the upheaval will last the remainder of the year.
Tags: Containers, Cost of shipping, Disrupted, Economic recovery, Global trade, International trade, Pandemic, Plunge, Reversal
Boston Globe Times (March 3)
“The president’s timetable” of having enough vaccine for every American by the end of May “provides a bright light at the end of a long, dark tunnel, although he acknowledged that the nation remains in a tenuous situation” as experts “fear a fourth surge of the pandemic, fueled by worrisome new variants, as states like Texas and Mississippi rush to fully reopen.”
Tags: Bright light, Dark tunnel, Experts, Fourth surge, Mississippi, Pandemic, President, Reopen, Tenuous, Texas, Timetable, Vaccine, Variants, Worrisome
Tampa Bay Times (March 1)
“Tourism businesses have struggled mightily during the pandemic. Last year’s spring break—normally their most lucrative time of year—was interrupted by the coronavirus outbreak and subsequent business shutdowns and beach restrictions.” This year, they are “hoping that tourists with a pent-up desire to travel will turn this year’s spring break into a financial boon. They’re also counting on people using masks, socially distancing and washing their hands to help keep festivities safe.”
Tags: Coronavirus, Distancing, Interrupted, Lucrative, Masks, Outbreak, Pandemic, Restrictions, Shutdowns, Spring break, Struggled, Tourism
Star-Ledger (February 25)
“As the pandemic bore down…. traditional sources of fun and relaxation gave way to greater isolation.” States are now finding their citizens “drank and smoked more,” providing an unexpected boost to tax revenue. New Jersey alone is welcoming “$68 million in unanticipated revenue” from alcohol and tobacco taxes.
Tags: Alcohol, Fun, Isolation, New Jersey, Pandemic, Relaxation, Tax revenue, Unanticipated
Wall Street Journal (February 17)
“Continental governments have spent trillions during the pandemic keeping firms alive and people in jobs, but that safety net could be putting off the economic deep cleaning that normally comes with recessions.” Concern is growing that “mothballing the economy for so long will leave it struggling to adapt to the seismic business and social changes the crisis is driving. That could stall an economic recovery.”
Tags: Adapt, Crisis, Economic deep cleaning, Firms, Governments, Jobs, Mothballing, Pandemic, Recessions, Recovery, Safety net, Struggling
