Coronavirus News Update for Sept. 16 – Economic Damage from Pandemic 4 Times Worse Than Financial Crisis
As the world headed towards 30 million coronavirus cases, the Organization for Economic Development and Cooperation said that the damage to the world’s economies from the pandemic was four times greater than the 2009 global financial crisis.
Macy’s said it would scale back its annual Thanksgiving Day parade in New York to be a television-only event. The department store chain said that the event will take place around its flagship store at Herald Square versus the 2.5-mile (4-kilometer) parade route and will require 75% fewer participants.
In Washington, D.C., Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that the U.S. House of Representatives would not adjourn at the end of the month for the November elections without first acting on an additional round of pandemic aid.
Officials in Connecticut announced $100 fines for hosting or attending events or parties that exceed the state’s limit on gatherings. Private gatherings are limited indoors to 25 people and outdoors to 100.
The chief expert for biosafety at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention said that a coronavirus vaccine could be available to the public by November or December. Dr. Wu Guizhen said in an interview with the state broadcast network CCTV that “ordinary people” could receive the vaccine at that time.
In Germany, officials linked a coronavirus outbreak at a popular ski resort in Garmisch-Partenkirchen with a U.S. citizen who worked at a lodge operated by U.S. military forces there who did not follow quarantine rules. Local prosecutors are investigating a charge of assault through negligence.
Separately, the German government said it plans to invest €750 million $888 million) to support the efforts of three domestic companies there in developing a Covid-19 vaccine.
A number of high school parties in the Northeast in recent weeks that led to coronavirus outbreaks have caused some schools to delay the start of in-person classes. Schools in Pelham, New York; Dedham, Massachusetts; and Sudbury, Massachusetts were among those affected.
(Photo: Accura Media Group)
