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Considering Faith, Community, and Mental Health During the COVID-19 Crisis
From the Document: "One in four people who seek help for mental health concerns turn to faith leaders before they seek help from clinical professionals. This document is written with faith- and community-based leaders in mind, as they serve people experiencing fear and anxiety associated with COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019]. The following are resources that address these fears and the mental health concerns that may be associated with COVID-19."
Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives (United States. Department of Health and Human Services)
2020-04-02?
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Emergence of a Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19): Protocol for Extending Surveillance Used by the Royal College of General Practitioners Research and Surveillance Centre and Public Health England
From the Abstract: "The Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) Research and Surveillance Centre (RSC) and Public Health England (PHE) have successfully worked together on the surveillance of influenza and other infectious diseases for over 50 years, including three previous pandemics. With the emergence of the international outbreak of the coronavirus infection (COVID-19), a UK national approach to containment has been established to test people suspected of exposure to COVID-19. At the same time and separately, the RCGP RSC's surveillance has been extended to monitor the temporal and geographical distribution of COVID-19 infection in the community as well as assess the effectiveness of the containment strategy. [...] The aims of this study are to surveil COVID-19 in both asymptomatic populations and ambulatory cases with respiratory infections, ascertain both the rate and pattern of COVID-19 spread, and assess the effectiveness of the containment policy. [...] General practice clinical system providers have introduced an emergency new set of clinical codes to support COVID-19 surveillance. Additionally, practices participating in current virology surveillance are now taking samples for COVID-19 surveillance from low-risk patients presenting with LRTIs [lower respiratory tract infections]. Within the first 2 weeks of setup of this surveillance, we have identified 3 cases: 1 through the new coding system, the other 2 through the extended virology sampling. [...] We have rapidly converted the established national RCGP RSC influenza surveillance system into one that can test the effectiveness of the COVID-19 containment policy. The extended surveillance has already seen the use of new codes with 3 cases reported. Rapid sharing of this protocol should enable scientific critique and shared learning."
JMIR Publications
de Lusignan, Simon; Bernal, Jamie Lopez; Zambon, Maria . . .
2020-04-02
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Misinformation of COVID-19 on the Internet: Infodemiology Study
From the Abstract: "The internet has become an important source of health information for users worldwide. The novel coronavirus caused a pandemic search for information with broad dissemination of false or misleading health information. [...] The aim of this study was to evaluate the quality and readability of online information about the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), which was a trending topic on the internet, using validated instruments and relating the quality of information to its readability. [...] Nonhealth personnel and the scientific community need to be aware about the quality of the information they read and produce, respectively. The Wuhan coronavirus health crisis misinformation was produced by the media, and the misinformation was obtained by users from the internet. The use of the internet has a risk to public health, and, in cases like this, the governments should be developing strategies to regulate health information on the internet without censuring the population. By February 6, 2020, no quality information was available on the internet about COVID-19." This article can also be found here on the Journal of Medical Internet Research (JMIR) Public Health and Surveillance website: [http://publichealth.jmir.org/2020/2/e18444/].
JMIR Publications
Cuan-Baltazar, Jose Yunam; Muñoz-Perez, Maria José; Robledo-Vega, Carolina . . .
2020-04-02
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Global Telemedicine Implementation and Integration Within Health Systems to Fight the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Call to Action
From the Abstract: "On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak as a pandemic, with over 720,000 cases reported in more than 203 countries as of 31 March. The response strategy included early diagnosis, patient isolation, symptomatic monitoring of contacts as well as suspected and confirmed cases, and public health quarantine. In this context, telemedicine, particularly video consultations, has been promoted and scaled up to reduce the risk of transmission, especially in the United Kingdom and the United States of America. Based on a literature review, the first conceptual framework for telemedicine implementation during outbreaks was published in 2015. An updated framework for telemedicine in the COVID-19 pandemic has been defined. This framework could be applied at a large scale to improve the national public health response. Most countries, however, lack a regulatory framework to authorize, integrate, and reimburse telemedicine services, including in emergency and outbreak situations. [...] All stakeholders are encouraged to address the challenges and collaborate to promote the safe and evidence-based use of telemedicine during the current pandemic and future outbreaks. For countries without integrated telemedicine in their national health care system, the COVID-19 pandemic is a call to adopt the necessary regulatory frameworks for supporting wide adoption of telemedicine." This article can also be found here on the Journal of Medical Internet Research (JMIR) Public Health and Surveillance website: [https://publichealth.jmir.org/2020/2/e18810].
JMIR Publications
Ohannessian, Robin; Duong, Tu Anh; Odone, Anna
2020-04-02
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How China and Russia Could Join Forces Against the European Union
From the Executive Summary: "[1] Once bitter adversaries, Russia and China continue to strengthen their relations. A Russia-China 'alliance' could directly affect and threaten the European Union's global agenda, its political, economic and social interests, and the functioning of the Union as a whole and its Member States. The Russian and Chinese approaches to international relations, trade practices, and norms of international and internal behaviour differ significantly from the EU's. [2] Both Russia and China benefit from cooperation with the EU, mostly in the economic domain, and in that sense are not interested in the EU's collapse. However, the two countries also pursue a number of policies detrimental to the EU's interests, security, and welfare to strengthen their global positions and demonstrate they can set the agenda."
Polish Institute of International Affairs (PISM)
Szczudlik, Justyna; Kulesa, Lukasz
2020-04
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YouTube Enabling (Maybe Validating) Shadowy Sellers of Medical Masks and Bogus Vaccines
From the Introduction: "Sellers hawking medical masks and bogus coronavirus cures are doing brisk business on YouTube, researchers for the Digital Citizens Alliance (DCA) and the Coalition for a Safer Web (CSW) found after an 18-day investigation from March 6-24. While law enforcement has called for a crackdown on those profiteering from the coronavirus crisis, the social media platforms have either been unable or unwilling to stop potentially dangerous activities. Additionally, researchers found the most concerning videos pushing coronavirus-related products were accompanied by links to a Center for Disease Control (CDC) website, which could create confusion for users trying to distinguish between legitimate sources of information and the shadowy figures that DCA's and CSW's investigators identified."
Digital Citizens Alliance; Coalition for a Safer Web
2020-04
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COVID-19 Pandemic is Straining Families' Abilities to Afford Basic Needs
From the Document: "As it confronts the COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic, the US faces what could be its worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. The social distancing measures needed to slow transmission of the novel coronavirus have already taken a staggering economic toll, with over 26 million unemployment insurance claims filed between March 15 and April 18. To combat the crisis, federal policymakers have passed four major relief bills to date, including the $2 trillion CARES [Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security] Act, which includes enhanced benefits and expanded eligibility for unemployment insurance, forgivable small-business loans, economic relief payments sent directly to most US households, aid to state and local governments, and increased funding for housing assistance and other safety net programs. A successful government response to the economic consequences of the pandemic is critical for sustaining families' health and well-being and allowing families to remain housed as major sectors of the economy remain closed."
Urban Institute
Karpman, Michael; Zuckerman, Stephen; Gonzalez, Dulce . . .
2020-04
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Incidence of COVID-19 and Connections with Air Pollution Exposure: Evidence from the Netherlands
From the Abstract: "The fast spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 has resulted in the emergence of several hot-spots around the world. Several of these are located in areas associated with high levels of air pollution. This study investigates the relationship between exposure to particulate matter and COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] incidence in 355 municipalities in the Netherlands. The results show that atmospheric particulate matter with diameter less than 2.5 is a highly significant predictor of the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases and related hospital admissions. The estimates suggest that expected COVID-19 cases increase by nearly 100 percent when pollution concentrations increase by 20 percent. The association between air pollution and case incidence is robust in the presence of data on health-related preconditions, proxies for symptom severity, and demographic control variables. The results are obtained with ground-measurements and satellite-derived measures of atmospheric particulate matter as well as COVID-19 data from alternative dates. The findings call for further investigation into the association between air pollution and SARS-CoV-2 [severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2] infection risk. If particulate matter plays a significant role in COVID-19 incidence, it has strong implications for the mitigation strategies required to prevent spreading."
World Bank Group
Andrée, Bo Pieter Johannes
2020-04
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COVID-19 and Direct Payments to Individuals: Will Social Security and Supplemental Security Income Beneficiaries Receive the Recovery Rebate in the CARES Act? [Updated April 1, 2020]
From the Document: "The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act (P.L. 116-136) provides emergency relief measures in response to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Section 2201 of the CARES Act provides recovery rebates for most individuals, structured as automatically advanced tax credits to be disbursed by the Treasury Department. This Insight addresses the recovery rebates from the perspective of Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) beneficiaries."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Davies, Paul S., 1970-; Morton, William R.
2020-04-01
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COVID-19 in Humanitarian Crises: A Double Emergency
From the Executive Summary: "The International Rescue Committee's (IRC) analysis and approach to COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] draws on decades of experience as a humanitarian and health responder in the world's most complex crises, including as one of the largest responders to the Ebola outbreaks in West Africa and the DRC [Democratic Republic of the Congo] and Cholera in Yemen - the largest outbreaks of the diseases in modern history. IRC's experience finds conflict-affected and fragile countries face a double emergency: 1. The direct impact of COVID-19 and its lethal and destructive direct impact on unprepared health care systems and populations with pre-existing vulnerabilities; 2. The secondary havoc the disease will cause to these states' already fragile humanitarian, economic, security and political environments."
International Rescue Committee
2020-04
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Protecting the Economic Well-Being of Immigrants and Refugees During COVID-19: Lessons Learned by the IRC in the First 30 Days
From the Document: "The International Rescue Committee (IRC), like social service organizations across the U.S., has had to rapidly adapt to an unprecedented model of service delivery at a time when America's most vulnerable families are being profoundly impacted by the dual impact of a public health crisis and an economic shut down. As of April 15, 2020, more than 22 million Americans have been laid off, representing 1 in 7 workers, and low-income communities, communities of color, and linguistically and culturally isolated families are facing ever deepening challenges. The goal of this brief report is to provide a succinct, 'real-time' snapshot of the main economic challenges that families are facing, adaptations that IRC programs are making, and the lessons that are emerging as IRC continues to deliver economic empowerment programming across 26 U.S. cities. [...] By sharing this ever-evolving, 'real-time' picture, IRC hopes to contribute to the capacity of all stakeholders - practitioners, policymakers, and funders - to forge a collaborative, effective response for America's most vulnerable."
International Rescue Committee
2020-04
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Smuggling in the Time of COVID-19: The Impact of the Pandemic on Human-Smuggling Dynamics and Migrant-Protection Risks
From the Summary: "Efforts to counter the COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic have seen unprecedented restrictions on movement being imposed in many countries, both at borders and within countries. Some communities and policymakers have adopted increasingly hostile attitudes towards migrants, whom they perceive as contagion risks. Barriers to movement are therefore not only state-imposed but can also be community led. While these measures are reducing migration and the smuggling business in many regions in the short term, they are also heightening migrant-protection risks. Such measures are also likely to swell the profits of the smuggling industry in the medium term. COVID-19, and the measures introduced to control it are likely to increase the drivers for movement; the vulnerability of migrants at any point in their journey; the militarization of borders; and the further reduction of safe and legal routes. As the policy environment becomes more hostile to migration, the operating risks and prices of smuggling look set to rise. This may drive out operators with a lower risk appetite and attract organized-crime groups, who are more likely to exploit migrants for ever greater profit. To avoid emerging into a post-pandemic landscape characterized by a dramatically more severe migrant crisis and a more lucrative and professionalized smuggling market controlled by organized crime, it is key to monitor and mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on migrants and refugees throughout the pandemic."
Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime
Bird, Lucia
2020-04
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When to Release the Lockdown? A Wellbeing Framework for Analysing Costs and Benefits
From the Abstract: "It is politicians who have to decide when to release the lockdown, and in what way. In doing so, they have to balance many considerations (as with any decision). Often the different considerations appear incommensurable so that only the roughest of judgements can be made. For example, in the case of COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019], one has to compare the economic benefits of releasing the lockdown with the social and psychological benefits, and then compare the total of these with the increase in deaths that would result from an early exit. We here propose a way of doing this more systematically."
IZA Institute of Labor Economics
Layard, Richard, 1934-; Clark, Andrew; De Neve, Jan-Emmanuel . . .
2020-04
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Impact of COVID-19 on Public Transit Businesses
From the Document: "APTA [American Public Transportation Association] surveyed its business members on the impacts of COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] on their operations in late March and early April 2020. Two hundred thirty-one (231) APTA business members responded to the survey." From the Key Takeaways: "1. Eighty-seven percent of all businesses, and 94 percent of large businesses, said their business operations had been disrupted by COVID-19. 2. Over one-half of businesses said their business activity had decreased over the past month. 3. Forty-three percent of all businesses, and 52 percent of large businesses, said that they had experienced supply chain disruptions."
American Public Transportation Association
Dickens, Matthew
2020-04
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Continuing Impacts of COVID-19 on Public Transit Agencies
From the Key Takeaways: "1. Public transportation has been and will continue to be an essential frontline service, particularly during the COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic, and continues to provide a vital lifeline to communities nationwide. 2. The overwhelming majority of agencies (83 percent) are using their CARES [Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security] Act funds to maintain their workforce and avoid layoffs. 3. Public transit agencies are increasing the cleaning of vehicles and facilities, purchasing of personal protective equipment (PPE), and eliminating or not enforcing fare collection. 4. More than one-half of agencies have developed a restoration or recovery plan that includes new safety precautions for riders and the workforce."
American Public Transportation Association
Dickens, Matthew; Grisby, Darnell Chadwick; Mollet, Petra
2020-04
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Fair Resource Allocation During the COVID-19 Pandemic
From the Document: "This white paper examines the practices and conditions of treating people who have fallen victim to the COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic has presented the world with a situation that has not been seen since the 1918 flu pandemic over 100 years ago. Healthcare professionals and policymakers alike are challenged by the need to navigate best practices for all patients who, in many instances, may have a wide variety of health concerns in addition to contracting the coronavirus. With the COVID-19 pandemic engulfing much of the world, healthcare providers are forced to follow policy guidelines with regards to who receives certain treatments and what those treatments consist of. Often, receiving the treatment, or lack thereof, could be the result of a person having a disability, a pre-existing medical condition, or any one of several other discriminatory factors that could value one life over another. This white paper delves into these issues and also provides suggestions on how to make the treatment process more inclusive, so that no one has to suffer more from the coronavirus simply because they are vulnerable or have a disability. When we do this, we are exercising equal rights for all."
Ruderman Family Foundation
Sisti, Dominic A.; Stramondo, Joseph; Bar Nissim, Hanna Shaul
2020-04
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Coronavirus Compensation? Assessing China's Potential Culpability and Avenues of Legal Response
From the Executive Summary: "[1] The COVID-19 [coronavirus disease] outbreak is a global catastrophe of a historic scale. [...] [2] The People's Republic of China (PRC) was bound by international law, in the form of the International Health Regulations (2005), to report timely, accurate and detailed public health information. However, throughout December 2019 and January 2020, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) - the government of the PRC - failed in its obligations to do this. In fact, it appears at least possible that this was a deliberate act of mendacity. [3] As a direct consequence of the CCP's decision to not share information about the initial stages of the outbreak of COVID-19, the disease spread far faster than it would otherwise have done and reactions by countries globally were hampered. It is possible that - had accurate information have been provided at an early juncture - the infection would not have left China. [4] Beyond the human cost of this pandemic, governments globally have responded to the virus by taking robust economic measures, with entire nations going into various forms of lockdown. The measures taken by the G7 [Group of Seven] - the group of the world's major advanced economies - amount to £3.2 trillion (US$4 trillion). [5] In order to preserve the rules-based international system and to protect taxpayers from punitive liabilities, the world should seek to take legal action against the PRC for the breaches of international law and their consequences."
Henry Jackson Society
Henderson, Matthew; Mendoza, Alan; Foxall, Andrew . . .
2020-04
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Disaster Financial Management Guide: Guidance for State, Local, Tribal & Territorial Partners
From the Introduction: "Effective disaster financial management is critical for successful response and recovery. It helps jurisdictions obtain the resources needed to support their communities, increases the efficiency of recovery efforts and reduces the likelihood of audits and financial penalties for the jurisdiction. Fiscal and grant regulations are strict and apply to all jurisdictions, regardless of size, so it is imperative that all jurisdictions have robust scalable, flexible and adaptable disaster financial management plans and processes in place pre-disaster for all types of incidents."
United States. Federal Emergency Management Agency
2020-04
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Revised Recommendations for Reducing the Risk of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Transmission by Blood and Blood Products: Guidance for Industry
From the Introduction: "This revised guidance document provides you, blood establishments that collect blood or blood components, including Source Plasma, with FDA's revised donor deferral recommendations for individuals with increased risk for transmitting human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. We (FDA) are also recommending that you make corresponding revisions to your donor educational materials, donor history questionnaires and accompanying materials, along with revisions to your donor requalification and product management procedures. This guidance also incorporates certain other recommendations related to donor educational materials and supersedes the December 2015 guidance of the same title (Notice of Availability, 80 FR 79913 (December 17, 2015)). The recommendations contained in this guidance apply to the collection of blood and blood components, including Source Plasma."
United States. Department of Health and Human Services; United States. Food and Drug Administration; Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (U.S.)
2020-04
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One Size Does Not Fit All: Mitigating COVID-19 in Humanitarian Settings
From the Executive Summary: "'COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] has already overwhelmed health systems in high-income countries. As it spreads to fragile and crisis-affected countries, it threatens even greater devastation. There is a small window left to mount a robust response while COVID-19 is still in the early stages of spreading to these settings. COVID-19 is a global threat requiring a global response, but the steps to contain it should be designed locally, particularly in the crisis settings where the International Rescue Committee (IRC) works, to avoid exacerbating humanitarian suffering.' [...] In humanitarian contexts, living conditions make social distancing nearly impossible, workers in informal sectors cannot transition to working from home, and governments are unable to provide sufficient relief packages or social safety nets. Sweeping mitigation measures like those undertaken in Italy or the United States will not just be difficult to implement but could cause longer term and more widespread harm than the disease itself. Already, international and domestic restrictions have slowed the transportation of COVID-19 equipment, halted vaccination campaigns, disrupted supply chains of treatment for malnourished children, and prevented medical staff from being deployed in countries with weaker health systems. To avoid these outcomes, COVID-19 mitigation efforts need to be adapted to local contexts as part of a balanced response that considers all needs."
International Rescue Committee
2020-04
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Impact of the Coronavirus Pandemic on Polarization in Turkey
From the Document: "With the coronavirus, the world is threatened by one of the most dangerous pandemics in human history. Several countries have introduced strict measures such as travel bans, closing schools, canceling social events, quarantining specific zones, and even economic lockdowns. As the pandemic continues to spread, these measures are likely to be adopted by an increasing number of countries. [...] The relative successes of democratic states or authoritarian states in dealing with the pandemic could have a long-term impact on the future of democracy. Democratic countries such as the Italy, Spain, the United States, and the United Kingdom have not made a good start while China is busy making propaganda about having contained the pandemic and even helping others. Facing the crisis with a deeply polarized society and having recently adopted a system in which power is concentrated in the hands of the president, Turkey presents an interesting test case in this debate. With 15,679 official cases of coronavirus infections and 277 related death as of April 2, it is implementing radical measures. Schools, universities, shops, cafes, restaurants, and other public places, including even mosques, are closed. Citizens are advised to stay home, and a curfew for the elderly is imposed. A total lockdown, as in some European countries, is yet not imposed, but the option remains on the table."
German Marshall Fund of the United States
Erdoğan, Emre
2020-04
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Taking Back Responsibility: A Joint Effort to Increase the Production of Medical Masks in Europe
From the Document: "Celebrities, athletes, and businesspersons all over the world are donating money to fight the coronavirus pandemic. However, even all the money in the world cannot solve the shortage of face masks for medical personnel. The reason for this shortcoming of the power of money is that global production of face masks is hampered by a global shortage of the crucial material 'melt-blown filter media'. China scaled up its production of this material as much as it could, but it is still nowhere near enough to produce face masks for China and the rest of the world. In fact, it is not even enough for China itself. The supply of face masks from China is therefore expected to dry up soon and Europe needs to act quickly to scale up its own production of melt-blown filter media in order to become self-sufficient in the production of masks."
Netherlands Institute of International Relations
van der Lugt, Sanne
2020-04
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Pandemics and Violence Against Women and Children
From the Abstract: "[W]e document nine main (direct and indirect) pathways linking pandemics and VAW/C [violence against women and children], through effects of (on): (1) economic insecurity and poverty-related stress, (2) quarantines and social isolation, (3) disaster and conflict-related unrest and instability, (4) exposure to exploitative relationships due to changing demographics, (5) reduced health service availability and access to first responders, (6) inability of women to temporarily escape abusive partners, (7) virus-specific sources of violence, (8) exposure to violence and coercion in response efforts, and (9) violence perpetrated against health care workers. We also suggest additional pathways with limited or anecdotal evidence likely to effect smaller subgroups. Based on these mechanisms, we suggest eight policy and program responses for action by governments, civil society, international and community-based organizations. Finally, as research linking pandemics directly to diverse forms of VAW/C is scarce, we lay out a research agenda comprising three main streams, to better (1) understand the magnitude of the problem, (2) elucidate mechanisms and linkages with other social and economic factors and (3) inform intervention and response options. We hope this paper can be used by researchers, practitioners, and policymakers to help inform further evidence generation and policy action while situating VAW/C within the broader need for intersectional gender- and feminist-informed pandemic response."
Center for Global Development
Peterman, Amber; Potts, Alina; O'Donnell, Megan . . .
2020-04
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AI and Contact Tracing: How to Protect Privacy While Fighting the COVID-19 Pandemic
From the Introduction: "COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] is having a debilitating effect on people's health and their economic well-being. People are being forced by social distancing/isolating edicts and provincial emergency closure orders to stay home. As we slowly look like we may be emerging from the first wave of this health and economic emergency, people are rightly asking how we can gradually start to re-open the economy and resume 'semblances of normalcy' without triggering substantial negative health rebounds or violating privacy norms or rights. Governments, medical practitioners, researchers, policy-makers and others have been feverishly pursuing solutions to this challenge. Medical solutions such as vaccines and treatment methods, including the use of antibodies and experimental medications such as placenta-based cell-therapy (Jaffe-Hoffman 2020) are being pursued with understandable urgency. Testing for COVID-19 and persons with COVID-19 antibodies to identify lower risk groups of individuals for whom the emergency measures could be relaxed is an obvious strategy being debated (Watson 2020). German researchers are planning to introduce 'immunity certificates' (Smith 2020), which theoretically could be used to identify some of these individuals. So far these conversations about testing have focused only on voluntary and not mandatory testing for the virus, thus not implicating privacy concerns, at least insofar as the testing results are used only for diagnosing and treating the individuals tested."
Macdonald-Laurier Institute
Sookman, Barry B., 1954-
2020-04
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Covid-19 and Oil Price Collapse: Coping with a Dual Shock in the Gulf Cooperation Council
From the Document: "[1] Countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) face a dual shock--from both the Covid-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic and the collapse in oil prices. [2] Authorities should focus first on responding to the health emergency and the associated risk of economic depression and postpone fiscal consolidation linked to the persistent drop in oil prices until recovery from the pandemic is well underway. [3] A combination of bailouts, eased credit condition and monitoring is needed to support the private sector, including small- and medium-sized enterprises. Cash transfers to vulnerable households, including expatriate workers, would help protect them and support consumption."
Economic Research Forum for the Arab Countries, Iran, and Turkey
Arezki, Rabah; Nguyen, Ha; Fan, Rachel Yuting
2020-04
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How Are Small Businesses Adjusting to COVID-19? Early Evidence from a Survey
From the Abstract: "In addition to its impact on public health, COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] has had a major impact on the economy. To shed light on how COVID-19 is affecting small businesses - and on the likely impact of the recent stimulus bill, we conducted a survey of more than 5,800 small businesses. Several main themes emerge from the results. First, mass layoffs and closures have already occurred. In our sample, 43 percent of businesses are temporarily closed, and businesses have - on average - reduced their employee counts by 40 percent relative to January. Second, consistent with previous literature, we find that many small businesses are financially fragile. For example, the median business has more than $10,000 in monthly expenses and less than one month of cash on hand. Third, businesses have widely varying beliefs about the likely duration of COVID related disruptions. Fourth, the majority of businesses planned to seek funding through the CARES [Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security] act. However, many anticipated problems with accessing the aid, such as bureaucratic hassles and difficulties establishing eligibility."
Becker Friedman Institute for Research in Economics
Bartik, Alexander W.; Bertrand, Marianne; Cullen, Zoë B. . . .
2020-04
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Childcare Obligations Will Constrain Many Workers When Reopening the US Economy
From the Document: "Most states and cities in the U.S. have shut all non-essential businesses in response to COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019]. In this note, we argue that as policies are developed to 're-open' the economy and send people back to work, strategies for childcare arrangements, such as re-opening schools and daycares, will be important. Substantial fractions of the U.S. labor force have children at home and will likely face obstacles to returning to work if childcare options remain closed. Younger workers, who might be able to return to work earlier to the extent that they are less susceptible to the virus, are also more likely to require childcare arrangements in order to return to work. Using 2018 data from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey, we calculate the share of employed households who are affected by childcare constraints. We focus on the civilian employed population older than 18."
Becker Friedman Institute for Research in Economics
Dingel, Jonathan I.; Patterson, Christina; Vavra, Joseph
2020-04
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Covid-19 Disinformation and Social Media Manipulation Trends
From the Document: "A range of actors are manipulating the information environment to exploit the Covid-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] crisis for strategic gain. ASPI's [Australian Strategic Policy Institute] International Cyber Policy Centre is tracking many of these state and non-state actors online and will occasionally publish investigative data-driven reporting that will focus on the use of disinformation, propaganda, extremist narratives and conspiracy theories. The bulk of ASPI's data analysis uses our in-house 'Influence' Tracker tool--a machine learning and data analytics capability that draws out insights from multi-language social media datasets. This report includes three case studies that feature China, Taiwan, Russia and Africa."
Australian Strategic Policy Institute. International Cyber Policy Centre
2020-04
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Corona Virus and the Law of Unintended Consequences
From the Executive Summary: "[1] As the Corona Virus crisis continues to unfold and deepen - long-term patterns for the post-crisis world emerge and become increasingly clear. The most pronounced mega-trend is that the key elements of the greater Eurasia - China, Russia and the main European powers led by Germany - are gravitating toward each other. [2] The ongoing demonstration by the Trump Administration that the US will stop at nothing in the pursuit of the best interests of the American People while disregarding the interests of, and conscientiously at the expense of, both friends and foes unnerves everybody. While the US might have gained short-term achievements in the pursuit of this policy - the incurred long-term hostility is incalculable. [3] The lowest common denominator that brings the European, Russian and Chinese leaders together is fear. They fear that Trump, in his desperation to be reelected, will spark a major international crisis and war. Trump seems adamant not to let the current 'crisis go to waste' even when his policies 'could set the world on fire.'"
Institute for Strategic- Political- Security- and Economic Consultancy (ISPSW)
Bodansky, Yossef
2020-04
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Why US Outsourced Bat Virus Research to Wuhan
From the Abstract: "A U.S. NIH [National Institute of Health]-funded $3.7 million project was approved by Trump's Covid-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci in 2015, after the Obama White House imposed a ban on 'monster-germ' research. In October 2014, the federal government declared a moratorium on gain-of-function research to weaponize viruses related to influenza, Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). As a result, the research was outsourced to China's Wuhan Institute of Virology, which is currently at the center of scrutiny for the Covid-19 pandemic."
Institute for Strategic- Political- Security- and Economic Consultancy (ISPSW)
Lin, Christina
2020-04
