Reuters (July 6)
The spectator ban on the opening ceremony is yet “another downgrade” for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, leaving its “pomp and public spectacle overshadowed by the coronavirus pandemic. Once promoted as an extravaganza to showcase Japan to the world, the Games appear in danger of taking place largely out of public view in a country closed to foreign tourists due to the pandemic.”
Tags: Ban, Closed, Coronavirus, Downgrade, Extravaganza, Foreign, Japan, Olympics, Opening ceremony, Overshadowed, Pandemic, Showcase, Spectacle, Spectator, Tokyo 2020
Washington Post (May 20)
“Cryptocurrency investors woke up to grim news Wednesday: A brutal sell-off sent prices crashing across the board, wiping more than half a trillion dollars off the market.” It’s unclear if or when the dramatic turnaround will end. The cryptocurrency market “has roared since the coronavirus pandemic first gripped the world,” with “hordes of new investors…drawn by the allure of sudden price spikes and life-changing winnings.”
Tags: Allure, Brutal, Coronavirus, Crashing, Cryptocurrency, Investors, Life-changing, Pandemic, Price spikes, Sell-off, Winnings
New York Times (May 18)
“With much of the country under a state of emergency and deaths climbing,” Japan’s “yo-yoing economic pattern” is expected to continue “until the country has vaccinated a significant portion of its population.” Given the “plodding” pace of its vaccination program, this “dynamic could potentially push the country back into recession — defined as two consecutive quarters of contraction — later this year, as it struggles to check the spread of deadlier and more contagious coronavirus variants.”
Tags: Contagious, Contraction, Coronavirus, Deadlier, Deaths, Economy, Japan, Recession, Spread, State of emergency, Struggles, Vaccination, Yo-yoing
The Guardian (April 30)
“It is time for a public inquiry. The coronavirus crisis has been an extraordinary period for the UK, and the toll substantial. More than 127,000 people have died, children have lost years of education, and we have seen the largest drop in GDP since consistent records began more than half a century ago…. While the government has done some things well – the vaccine programme is an undisputed success so far – there are sincere, legitimate questions about many of its other choices.*
Tags: Coronavirus, Crisis, Drop, Education, Extraordinary, GDP, Government, Legitimate, Public inquiry, Questions, UK, Vaccine
LA Times (April 29)
“All across India, a trail of death and misery is devastating a country whose leaders boasted of defeating the coronavirus just a few months ago. A surge of new cases fueled by the so-called double mutant variant of the coronavirus first discovered in India is now pushing the nation’s overburdened healthcare system toward collapse” and presenting “a cautionary tale for a world wanting to rush back to its rhythms.”
Tags: Boasted, Collapse, Coronavirus, Death, Defeating, Devastating, Double mutant, Healthcare, India, Leaders, Misery, Surge, Variant
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.
Financial Times (April 19)
“India’s currency has swung from emerging market leader to laggard as the country battles a ferocious wave of coronavirus infections, prompting concerns among global investors that a nascent economic recovery will crumble.” During Q1, the rupee was “the only emerging market currency to gain ground on the dollar.” Since April, it has plummeted 3%, “the worst performance” of its peers.
Tags: Coronavirus, Currency, Dollar, Economic recovery, Emerging market, Ferocious, India, Infections, Investors, Laggard, Leader, Nascent, Rupee, Worst
USA Today (April 17)
“Nearly half of US adults have gotten at least 1 vaccine dose,” but cases are on the rise with more contagious variants. Globally, the “death toll from the coronavirus topped a staggering 3 million people Saturday… more than the population of Chicago (2.7 million) and equivalent to Philadelphia and Dallas combined.”
Tags: Adults, Chicago, Contagious, Coronavirus, Death toll, Philadelphia, U.S., Vaccine, Variants
USA Today (March 31)
“As coronavirus cases creep up again across the country, federal officials and epidemiologists say they’re worried Americans could hit another tipping point, leading to a forth significant surge of infections, hospitalizations and deaths.”
Tags: Cases, Coronavirus, Deaths, Epidemiologists, Hospitalizations, Infections, Officials, Surge, Tipping point, U.S., Worried
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
