ISA Coronavirus Update (7th of May)
Daily Summary
More than 3.8 million cases of the coronavirus (Covid-19) have now been officially diagnosed worldwide, while the number of fatalities blamed on the virus has risen to more than 265,000. Of the active cases of the coronavirus, only 2% are currently classified as being serious or critical.
Five wealthy Western countries (the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain and France) now account for more than 70% of the official deaths linked to this pandemic around the world.
The death toll (8,588) from the coronavirus pandemic in Brazil continued to rise at a faster rate than in most other countries. This led to some members of the Brazilian government to call for much more stringent lockdown measures to be imposed.
Exports from China surprisingly rose by 3.5% last month as exporters made up for losses incurred during that first quarter. However, imports into China fell sharply by 14.2% in April as domestic demand in that country remained very weak.
The European Commission warned that the Eurozone’s economy was likely to shrink by a record 7.8% in 2020 as the coronavirus crisis ravages many of Europe’s leading economies. Some European economies could shrink by more than 10% this year.
Key Developments
Germany Relaxes its Lockdown: The German government announced that all shops in that country would be allowed to reopen and that the country’s leading football (soccer) league would be able to resume matches later this month (without fans).
Re-Tasking the US Coronavirus Task Force: United States President Donald Trump announced that his government’s coronavirus task force would shift its focus from attempting to slow the spread of the virus to reviving the US economy and getting the US back on its feet.
Trend to Watch
Poland’s decision to postpone its presidential election that was to have taken place this weekend (exclusively by postal vote) highlights just how difficult it will be to hold large-scale elections during the pandemic.
The Coming Days
Instead of working more closely together to attempt to stop the spread of the coronavirus, the world’s two leading powers, the United States and China, appear to be drifting further apart, something that is bad news for future global stability.