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The Irrational Fear and the cost of the Wuhan Virus, Is it worth it?
- Thread starter Hypocrite-The
- Start date
So how many did not make a full recovery?
Coronavirus deaths are nearing one million — but they don't tell the whole picture
Tired mother and toddler hugging in living room. Mother has her hand over face.
The pace of scientific research on COVID-19 is unprecedented, but there's still a lot we don't know.(Getty Images: Catherine Ledner)
Share
It can be tempting to think of COVID-19 patients as falling into one of two categories.
Category 1: young, otherwise healthy individuals who experience mild symptoms and recover at home.
Category 2: older people and people with pre-existing health conditions who become seriously ill and go to hospital.
While it's true that there is a spectrum of risk when it comes to severity of disease, it's become increasingly clear that not everyone fits neatly into one of these categories.
For many people, the labels of "mild" or "severe", "sick" or "recovered" are blurred by their experience of ongoing, sometimes debilitating symptoms weeks or months after they first were infected.
Both anecdotal reports and a growing body of research suggest persistent fatigue, breathlessness, "brain fog" and muscle aches, among other symptoms, are plaguing people some time after their infection has cleared.
So what do we know about the lingering health effects of coronavirus, and how concerned should we be?
Health effects can linger for months
It's difficult to say what proportion of people with COVID-19 face medium- to long-term health impacts given how new the virus still is, said Kirsty Short, a virologist at the University of Queensland.
"It's definitely happening, I just don't think we have a grip on how common it is," Dr Short said.
Research from the US and UK, following a much broader group of people affected by COVID-19, suggests symptoms persist in about 10 to 15 per cent of cases.
In the same way the virus can sometimes cause serious illness in young, otherwise healthy individuals, lingering symptoms appear to affect people of all ages, including those with no underlying health conditions.
Lasting effects are also not restricted to those who experience severe illness when they're first infected.
People who are asymptomatic or have a mild case of COVID-19 can also face prolonged illness. Sometimes, these symptoms take weeks or months to appear.
Illustration of tired man walking on treadmill.
Even people with mild illness are experiencing fatigue well beyond the recovery period.(Getty Images: Malte Mueller)
The virus affects multiple organs
SARS-CoV-2 is primarily thought of as a respiratory virus, but the damage caused by COVID-19 is not always restricted to the lungs.
The virus binds to the body's ACE2 receptors, which are found in large numbers in the respiratory tract, but also in the heart, blood vessels, kidneys, liver and gastrointestinal tract.
In some cases, it may be that the virus itself is causing damage to the body's organs.
But researchers suspect it's high levels of inflammation in the body — triggered by the immune system trying to get rid of the virus — that's wreaking havoc, even after the infection has cleared.
"Most likely, they've had this overwhelming inflammatory response — which we know happens in COVID-19 patients — and then that's had knock-on effects."
COVID-19 can damage multiple organ systems, including:
Lungs: Lungs can be damaged when the virus enters the cells of the airways. It can cause scarred, stiff tissue that makes it difficult for the lungs to do their job of oxygenating the blood — leaving people breathless.
Heart: The virus can cause inflammation of the heart muscle or heart failure when the organ doesn't pump blood as well as it should. The heart can also fail from lack of oxygen.
Brain: If the virus enters the brain, it can cause a sudden and severe infection. Neurological symptoms may also be a result of inflammation in the brain or strokes caused by blood clots.
Symptoms seen in other infections
Self-described as COVID-19 "long haulers", some patients describe debilitating fatigue, difficulty exercising, and general "brain fog" months after their infection has cleared.
Dr Short said post-viral fatigue is seen in other viral infections too.
"We know that Epstein-Barr virus, which causes glandular fever, has also been linked to chronic fatigue syndrome," she said.
Similarly, there is evidence to suggest COVID-19 can cause heart damage, which is not unusual for a virus, said Linda Gallo of the University of Queensland.
"We know from SARS that there was evidence of cardiovascular involvement," said Dr Gallo, who is researching how coronavirus affects the heart.
"However it was generally considered to be pretty self-limiting, and not persisting beyond the period of recovery.
While research on long-term cardiovascular effects is limited, Dr Gallo said some of the preliminary evidence is concerning.
"The fact there are people who [have] recovered at home and had fairly mild symptoms are now showing evidence of heart damage is problematic, and surprising."
Dr Gallo is part of a study investigating the longer-term effects of COVID-19, especially on people with diabetes, and is currently looking for people who have had coronavirus to participate in a study.
Although it's too early to say what the impact is on people with existing diabetes, she said there is a possibility COVID-19 might be linked to the onset of diabetes.
"The thought is that the virus directly attacks the pancreas. That's just a hypothesis — there's not direct evidence of that at this point," she said.
"It could be multifactorial, so a combination of direct virus effects as well as an overall hyperinflammatory response."
A timely reminder
There are multiple studies now underway to investigate whether COVID-19 leaves a lasting health impact, and if so, to what extent.
Dr Short said without long-term studies, it's difficult to know how concerned we should be about COVID-19 in contrast to other existing viral infections.
"The question is: If you took a virus of similar severity and similar duration, would you also see long-term complications?" she said.
"It's very possible that we're just seeing this with SARS-COV-2 because of the sheer numbers of people being infected."
Even still, the emergence of symptoms down the track is a reminder of why it's important to take precautions.
"I think it's just another reason as to why we're taking all these measures ... because you just don't want to get this virus if you don't have to."
Coronavirus deaths are nearing one million — but they don't tell the whole picture
Tired mother and toddler hugging in living room. Mother has her hand over face.
The pace of scientific research on COVID-19 is unprecedented, but there's still a lot we don't know.(Getty Images: Catherine Ledner)
Share
It can be tempting to think of COVID-19 patients as falling into one of two categories.
Category 1: young, otherwise healthy individuals who experience mild symptoms and recover at home.
Category 2: older people and people with pre-existing health conditions who become seriously ill and go to hospital.
While it's true that there is a spectrum of risk when it comes to severity of disease, it's become increasingly clear that not everyone fits neatly into one of these categories.
For many people, the labels of "mild" or "severe", "sick" or "recovered" are blurred by their experience of ongoing, sometimes debilitating symptoms weeks or months after they first were infected.
Both anecdotal reports and a growing body of research suggest persistent fatigue, breathlessness, "brain fog" and muscle aches, among other symptoms, are plaguing people some time after their infection has cleared.
So what do we know about the lingering health effects of coronavirus, and how concerned should we be?
Health effects can linger for months
It's difficult to say what proportion of people with COVID-19 face medium- to long-term health impacts given how new the virus still is, said Kirsty Short, a virologist at the University of Queensland.
"It's definitely happening, I just don't think we have a grip on how common it is," Dr Short said.
Research from the US and UK, following a much broader group of people affected by COVID-19, suggests symptoms persist in about 10 to 15 per cent of cases.
In the same way the virus can sometimes cause serious illness in young, otherwise healthy individuals, lingering symptoms appear to affect people of all ages, including those with no underlying health conditions.
Lasting effects are also not restricted to those who experience severe illness when they're first infected.
People who are asymptomatic or have a mild case of COVID-19 can also face prolonged illness. Sometimes, these symptoms take weeks or months to appear.
Illustration of tired man walking on treadmill.
Even people with mild illness are experiencing fatigue well beyond the recovery period.(Getty Images: Malte Mueller)
The virus affects multiple organs
SARS-CoV-2 is primarily thought of as a respiratory virus, but the damage caused by COVID-19 is not always restricted to the lungs.
The virus binds to the body's ACE2 receptors, which are found in large numbers in the respiratory tract, but also in the heart, blood vessels, kidneys, liver and gastrointestinal tract.
In some cases, it may be that the virus itself is causing damage to the body's organs.
But researchers suspect it's high levels of inflammation in the body — triggered by the immune system trying to get rid of the virus — that's wreaking havoc, even after the infection has cleared.
"Most likely, they've had this overwhelming inflammatory response — which we know happens in COVID-19 patients — and then that's had knock-on effects."
COVID-19 can damage multiple organ systems, including:
Lungs: Lungs can be damaged when the virus enters the cells of the airways. It can cause scarred, stiff tissue that makes it difficult for the lungs to do their job of oxygenating the blood — leaving people breathless.
Heart: The virus can cause inflammation of the heart muscle or heart failure when the organ doesn't pump blood as well as it should. The heart can also fail from lack of oxygen.
Brain: If the virus enters the brain, it can cause a sudden and severe infection. Neurological symptoms may also be a result of inflammation in the brain or strokes caused by blood clots.
Symptoms seen in other infections
Self-described as COVID-19 "long haulers", some patients describe debilitating fatigue, difficulty exercising, and general "brain fog" months after their infection has cleared.
Dr Short said post-viral fatigue is seen in other viral infections too.
"We know that Epstein-Barr virus, which causes glandular fever, has also been linked to chronic fatigue syndrome," she said.
Similarly, there is evidence to suggest COVID-19 can cause heart damage, which is not unusual for a virus, said Linda Gallo of the University of Queensland.
"We know from SARS that there was evidence of cardiovascular involvement," said Dr Gallo, who is researching how coronavirus affects the heart.
"However it was generally considered to be pretty self-limiting, and not persisting beyond the period of recovery.
While research on long-term cardiovascular effects is limited, Dr Gallo said some of the preliminary evidence is concerning.
"The fact there are people who [have] recovered at home and had fairly mild symptoms are now showing evidence of heart damage is problematic, and surprising."
Dr Gallo is part of a study investigating the longer-term effects of COVID-19, especially on people with diabetes, and is currently looking for people who have had coronavirus to participate in a study.
Although it's too early to say what the impact is on people with existing diabetes, she said there is a possibility COVID-19 might be linked to the onset of diabetes.
"The thought is that the virus directly attacks the pancreas. That's just a hypothesis — there's not direct evidence of that at this point," she said.
"It could be multifactorial, so a combination of direct virus effects as well as an overall hyperinflammatory response."
A timely reminder
There are multiple studies now underway to investigate whether COVID-19 leaves a lasting health impact, and if so, to what extent.
Dr Short said without long-term studies, it's difficult to know how concerned we should be about COVID-19 in contrast to other existing viral infections.
"The question is: If you took a virus of similar severity and similar duration, would you also see long-term complications?" she said.
"It's very possible that we're just seeing this with SARS-COV-2 because of the sheer numbers of people being infected."
Even still, the emergence of symptoms down the track is a reminder of why it's important to take precautions.
"I think it's just another reason as to why we're taking all these measures ... because you just don't want to get this virus if you don't have to."
The World Health Organization, WHO, has changed their stance on coronavirus lockdowns—now they're bad! The WHO is saying quarantine lockdowns cause too much economic damage, while other experts say lockdowns carry their own negative health effects. President Donald Trump is now saying the World Health Organization said he was right about coronavirus lockdowns. The WHO says they never said that. And experts in the Great Barrington Declaration are beginning to disagree about social distancing and masks.
Singkies are 1 fucking kind,,,SIA retrench ppl,,they KPKB,,,now flights are going to start,,,they KPKB the cabin crew will be infected,,like that dont work lah,,,
Some family members of Singapore Airlines cabin crew concerned about loved ones contracting Covid-19
Thursday, 26 Nov 2020 08:45 PM MYT
Some family members of Singapore Airlines’ cabin crew are anxious about their spouses or children catching the coronavirus while others are not so. — TODAY pic
SINGAPORE, Nov 26 — Whenever Nurzakiah Adilah’s husband, a Singapore Airlines (SIA) steward, returns from his flight duties, the young couple will make it a point not to hug or kiss each other.
“Instead, he’ll blow kisses, and the first thing he does (after returning home) is to shower and wash his clothes,” Nurzakiah, a 24-year-old homemaker, said.
As an added precaution, she leaves a sanitiser spray at the door for her 27-year-old husband, who has been with the national carrier for about five years, to disinfect his belongings before he enters the house.
Nurzakiah told TODAY that with an 18-month-old daughter, and another child on the way, they just wanted to be extra careful to prevent the potential spread of Covid-19.
This is even though no SIA cabin crew member has tested positive for the coronavirus since safe travel measures took effect in May, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) said.
ADVERTISING
While there has been no community spread of Covid-19 in more than two weeks, Singapore continues to see daily cases from people who have been travelling and entering the country.
A TODAY reader, Teo Tzu Lim, 70, recently wrote to this publication, describing how he and his wife live in constant fear that their son, an SIA steward, may get infected on a flight and pass the coronavirus to them.
Teo said that he is on long-term medication for his heart condition, and wears a mask at home until his son’s coronavirus swab tests came back negative.
He then suggested that the authorities allow SIA cabin crew to use community facilities after flight duties to protect families from Covid-19.
For Nurzakiah, she said that she does not want her husband to be quarantined at a community facility whenever he returns from his monthly flights, but she is nevertheless concerned about the possibility of infection.
“This virus is invisible and takes about two weeks before the infected shows any (symptoms),” she said.
She recognised that both SIA and the authorities are doing their best to control the spread of Covid-19, but added that her husband will receive an email or call from the Ministry of Health only a day after a passenger has been tested positive.
Tracking devices, non-centralised hotels
In response to TODAY’s queries, both CAAS and SIA said that they have implemented numerous measures to mitigate the risk of flight crew contracting the virus.
Aside from wearing protective gear and minimising interaction with passengers during flights, among other measures, they said that crew members are whisked away in chartered vehicles to accommodations far away from city centres if they have to do layovers or a stop between flights.
When this happens, crew members are required to remain in their hotels and wear tracking devices to ensure that they comply with regulations, an SIA spokesperson said.
Otherwise, crew members are required to remain on board the aircraft at their overseas destination, unless they have to carry out external safety inspections of the aircraft, CAAS said.
This will “minimise their exposure to travellers in the airport terminal”, the authority added.
For the flights that her husband takes where he does not need a swab test, Nurzakiah said that he will sleep in a separate room once home and they keep a distance from each other as much as possible within the house for about two weeks.
She said that this arrangement works for them, because even though he is unable to help to take care of their daughter, he is able to help out with the household chores.
“My pregnancy now drains my energy quickly and if my husband isn’t home, I honestly wouldn’t know how I’d get through a tough day at home alone,” she said.
She has asked her husband to find another job that does not require him to fly.
‘Not overly worried’
However, not all family members of the SIA flight crew are worried about their loved ones getting infected or passing on the virus.
A 35-year-old tutor who gave the initials of her name as SR said that she was aware of all the “substantial” precautions put in place to keep her 34-year-old steward husband safe.
He has been flying with SIA for eight years and she did not want to be identified fully because of concerns that her husband will get into trouble with the employer.
“(The risk of getting Covid-19) is very minute. It’s not zero, but it’s not substantial enough for me to feel overly worried,” the wife said.
Reverend Jason Lam, 59, whose 27-year-old stewardess daughter has worked with SIA for five years, was initially worried for her safety but felt reassured when he was informed of the precautions the airline has taken.
“Our Government... is doing its best as far as I can see. I’m not concerned, all in all,” he said. — TODAY
Some family members of Singapore Airlines cabin crew concerned about loved ones contracting Covid-19
Thursday, 26 Nov 2020 08:45 PM MYT
SINGAPORE, Nov 26 — Whenever Nurzakiah Adilah’s husband, a Singapore Airlines (SIA) steward, returns from his flight duties, the young couple will make it a point not to hug or kiss each other.
“Instead, he’ll blow kisses, and the first thing he does (after returning home) is to shower and wash his clothes,” Nurzakiah, a 24-year-old homemaker, said.
As an added precaution, she leaves a sanitiser spray at the door for her 27-year-old husband, who has been with the national carrier for about five years, to disinfect his belongings before he enters the house.
Nurzakiah told TODAY that with an 18-month-old daughter, and another child on the way, they just wanted to be extra careful to prevent the potential spread of Covid-19.
This is even though no SIA cabin crew member has tested positive for the coronavirus since safe travel measures took effect in May, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) said.
ADVERTISING
While there has been no community spread of Covid-19 in more than two weeks, Singapore continues to see daily cases from people who have been travelling and entering the country.
A TODAY reader, Teo Tzu Lim, 70, recently wrote to this publication, describing how he and his wife live in constant fear that their son, an SIA steward, may get infected on a flight and pass the coronavirus to them.
Teo said that he is on long-term medication for his heart condition, and wears a mask at home until his son’s coronavirus swab tests came back negative.
He then suggested that the authorities allow SIA cabin crew to use community facilities after flight duties to protect families from Covid-19.
For Nurzakiah, she said that she does not want her husband to be quarantined at a community facility whenever he returns from his monthly flights, but she is nevertheless concerned about the possibility of infection.
“This virus is invisible and takes about two weeks before the infected shows any (symptoms),” she said.
She recognised that both SIA and the authorities are doing their best to control the spread of Covid-19, but added that her husband will receive an email or call from the Ministry of Health only a day after a passenger has been tested positive.
Tracking devices, non-centralised hotels
In response to TODAY’s queries, both CAAS and SIA said that they have implemented numerous measures to mitigate the risk of flight crew contracting the virus.
Aside from wearing protective gear and minimising interaction with passengers during flights, among other measures, they said that crew members are whisked away in chartered vehicles to accommodations far away from city centres if they have to do layovers or a stop between flights.
When this happens, crew members are required to remain in their hotels and wear tracking devices to ensure that they comply with regulations, an SIA spokesperson said.
Otherwise, crew members are required to remain on board the aircraft at their overseas destination, unless they have to carry out external safety inspections of the aircraft, CAAS said.
This will “minimise their exposure to travellers in the airport terminal”, the authority added.
For the flights that her husband takes where he does not need a swab test, Nurzakiah said that he will sleep in a separate room once home and they keep a distance from each other as much as possible within the house for about two weeks.
She said that this arrangement works for them, because even though he is unable to help to take care of their daughter, he is able to help out with the household chores.
“My pregnancy now drains my energy quickly and if my husband isn’t home, I honestly wouldn’t know how I’d get through a tough day at home alone,” she said.
She has asked her husband to find another job that does not require him to fly.
‘Not overly worried’
However, not all family members of the SIA flight crew are worried about their loved ones getting infected or passing on the virus.
A 35-year-old tutor who gave the initials of her name as SR said that she was aware of all the “substantial” precautions put in place to keep her 34-year-old steward husband safe.
He has been flying with SIA for eight years and she did not want to be identified fully because of concerns that her husband will get into trouble with the employer.
“(The risk of getting Covid-19) is very minute. It’s not zero, but it’s not substantial enough for me to feel overly worried,” the wife said.
Reverend Jason Lam, 59, whose 27-year-old stewardess daughter has worked with SIA for five years, was initially worried for her safety but felt reassured when he was informed of the precautions the airline has taken.
“Our Government... is doing its best as far as I can see. I’m not concerned, all in all,” he said. — TODAY
World lost equivalent of 255 million jobs in 2020: UN
People who lost their jobs wait in line to file for unemployment benefits at an Arkansas Workforce Centre in Fayetteville, Arkansas. (File photo: REUTERS/Nick Oxford)
25 Jan 2021 08:35PM (Updated: 25 Jan 2021 08:50PM)
Bookmark
GENEVA: The coronavirus pandemic took a huge toll on global jobs last year, the United Nations said on Monday (Jan 25), with the equivalent of more than a quarter of a billion lost.
In a fresh study, the UN's International Labour Organization (ILO) found that a full 8.8 per cent of global working hours were lost in 2020, compared to the fourth quarter of 2019.
That is equivalent to 255 million full-time jobs, or "approximately four times greater than the number lost during the 2009 global financial crisis," the ILO said in a statement.
"This has been the most severe crisis for the world of work since the Great Depression of the 1930s," ILO chief Guy Ryder told reporters in a virtual briefing.
Since surfacing in China just over a year ago, the virus has killed more than 2.1 million people, infected tens of millions of others and hammered the global economy.
The UN labour agency explained that around half of the lost working hours were calculated from reduced working hours for those remaining in employment.
But the world also saw "unprecedented levels of employment loss" last year, it said.
Official global unemployment shot up by 1.1 per cent, or 33 million more people, to a total of 220 million and a worldwide jobless rate of 6.5 per cent last year.
READ: IN FOCUS: Graduating into a COVID-19 jobs market - short-term challenges and longer-term issues?
LOST TALENT, SKILLS
Ryder stressed that another 81 million people did not register as unemployed but "simply dropped out of the labour market".
"Either they are unable to work perhaps because of pandemic restrictions or social obligations or they have given up looking for work," he said.
"And so their talents, their skills, their energy have been lost, lost to their families, lost to our society, lost to us all."
The lost working hours last year shrank global labour income by a full 8.3 per cent, the ILO said.
That amounts to a drop of some US$3.7 trillion, or 4.4 per cent of overall global gross domestic product (GDP), it added.
READ: COVID-19 pandemic speeds labour shift from humans to robots, WEF survey finds
The emergence of several safe and effective vaccines against COVID-19 has raised hopes that the world will soon be able to rein in the pandemic.
But the ILO cautioned that the prospects for a global labour market recovery this year are "slow, uneven and uncertain".
The organisation pointed to the uneven impact the crisis had had on the world's workers, affecting women and younger workers far more than others.
Globally, employment losses for women last year stood at five per cent, compared with 3.9 per cent for men.
Women are more likely to work in the harder-hit sectors of the economy, and also have taken on more of the burden of, for instance, caring for children forced to stay home from school.
READ: As COVID-19 speeds up automation, what does the future hold for non-tech job seekers?
"LOST GENERATION"
Younger workers were also far more likely to lose jobs, with employment loss among 15-year-olds to 24-year-olds at 8.7 per cent globally, compared with 3.7 per cent for older workers.
Many young people also put off trying to enter the labour market given the complicated conditions last year, the ILO found, warning that there was truly an "all too real risk of a lost generation".
Monday's report also highlighted the uneven impact on different sectors, with accommodation and food services the worst affected, showing a drop in employment of more than 20 per cent.
By contrast, employment swelled in the information and communication fields, as well as in finance and insurance.
READ: Commentary: COVID-19 could shrink earnings of 2020 graduates for years to come
Looking forward, the ILO called on countries to provide particular support to the hardest-hit groups and sectors, and also to sectors likely to be able to generate numerous jobs quickly.
It stressed the need for more support to poorer countries with fewer resources to promote employment recovery.
The report sketched out three recovery scenarios for 2021, depending on support measures provided at the national and international level.
The pessimistic scenario saw an additional 4.6 per cent drop in working hours, and even the most optimistic scenario anticipated that working hours would contract by a further 1.3 per cent this year, corresponding to 36 million full time jobs.
People who lost their jobs wait in line to file for unemployment benefits at an Arkansas Workforce Centre in Fayetteville, Arkansas. (File photo: REUTERS/Nick Oxford)
25 Jan 2021 08:35PM (Updated: 25 Jan 2021 08:50PM)
Bookmark
GENEVA: The coronavirus pandemic took a huge toll on global jobs last year, the United Nations said on Monday (Jan 25), with the equivalent of more than a quarter of a billion lost.
In a fresh study, the UN's International Labour Organization (ILO) found that a full 8.8 per cent of global working hours were lost in 2020, compared to the fourth quarter of 2019.
That is equivalent to 255 million full-time jobs, or "approximately four times greater than the number lost during the 2009 global financial crisis," the ILO said in a statement.
"This has been the most severe crisis for the world of work since the Great Depression of the 1930s," ILO chief Guy Ryder told reporters in a virtual briefing.
Since surfacing in China just over a year ago, the virus has killed more than 2.1 million people, infected tens of millions of others and hammered the global economy.
The UN labour agency explained that around half of the lost working hours were calculated from reduced working hours for those remaining in employment.
But the world also saw "unprecedented levels of employment loss" last year, it said.
Official global unemployment shot up by 1.1 per cent, or 33 million more people, to a total of 220 million and a worldwide jobless rate of 6.5 per cent last year.
READ: IN FOCUS: Graduating into a COVID-19 jobs market - short-term challenges and longer-term issues?
LOST TALENT, SKILLS
Ryder stressed that another 81 million people did not register as unemployed but "simply dropped out of the labour market".
"Either they are unable to work perhaps because of pandemic restrictions or social obligations or they have given up looking for work," he said.
"And so their talents, their skills, their energy have been lost, lost to their families, lost to our society, lost to us all."
The lost working hours last year shrank global labour income by a full 8.3 per cent, the ILO said.
That amounts to a drop of some US$3.7 trillion, or 4.4 per cent of overall global gross domestic product (GDP), it added.
READ: COVID-19 pandemic speeds labour shift from humans to robots, WEF survey finds
The emergence of several safe and effective vaccines against COVID-19 has raised hopes that the world will soon be able to rein in the pandemic.
But the ILO cautioned that the prospects for a global labour market recovery this year are "slow, uneven and uncertain".
The organisation pointed to the uneven impact the crisis had had on the world's workers, affecting women and younger workers far more than others.
Globally, employment losses for women last year stood at five per cent, compared with 3.9 per cent for men.
Women are more likely to work in the harder-hit sectors of the economy, and also have taken on more of the burden of, for instance, caring for children forced to stay home from school.
READ: As COVID-19 speeds up automation, what does the future hold for non-tech job seekers?
"LOST GENERATION"
Younger workers were also far more likely to lose jobs, with employment loss among 15-year-olds to 24-year-olds at 8.7 per cent globally, compared with 3.7 per cent for older workers.
Many young people also put off trying to enter the labour market given the complicated conditions last year, the ILO found, warning that there was truly an "all too real risk of a lost generation".
Monday's report also highlighted the uneven impact on different sectors, with accommodation and food services the worst affected, showing a drop in employment of more than 20 per cent.
By contrast, employment swelled in the information and communication fields, as well as in finance and insurance.
READ: Commentary: COVID-19 could shrink earnings of 2020 graduates for years to come
Looking forward, the ILO called on countries to provide particular support to the hardest-hit groups and sectors, and also to sectors likely to be able to generate numerous jobs quickly.
It stressed the need for more support to poorer countries with fewer resources to promote employment recovery.
The report sketched out three recovery scenarios for 2021, depending on support measures provided at the national and international level.
The pessimistic scenario saw an additional 4.6 per cent drop in working hours, and even the most optimistic scenario anticipated that working hours would contract by a further 1.3 per cent this year, corresponding to 36 million full time jobs.
A good term... virus hysteria
Tony Abbott attacks coronavirus 'hysteria' and 'health despotism' in IPA video | Tony Abbott
Tony Abbott
Former Australian prime minister Tony Abbott says in an Institute of Public Affairs video that Covid-19 has been allowed to dominate people’s lives. Photograph: Joel Carrett/AAP
Tue 26 Jan 2021 14.57 AEDT
Tony Abbott has blasted “virus hysteria and health despotism” in a video spruiking his new role with the Institute of Public Affairs, which is focused on “saving the Australian way of life”.
The former Liberal prime minister has become a “distinguished fellow” of the rightwing thinktank and used the occasion to argue the coronavirus is “dominating” people’s lives. Abbott also said Australia was complacent on China and had “imported fads like sports stars taking a knee” from overseas.
Abbott’s wide range of complaints – which echo some preoccupations of former US president Donald Trump – accompanied the publication of an IPA report claiming Australia’s quality of life had declined by 28.5% since 2000.
The report is based on 25 measures including household debt, home ownership, under-utilisation of workers, worsening vocational skills and the incarceration rate.
The IPA recognised its choice of metrics reflected normative judgments about what constituted a good life. It included measures that arguably have conservative bias such as car ownership, regulation, government debt, marriage rates and “prime-age men in fulltime work”.
In the video, released ahead of Australia Day, Abbott said Australia has “much to be proud of” although he acknowledged Indigenous disadvantage remained a “grievous blot on our national record”.
Abbott warned that even if coronavirus rules were introduced “for our own good” it was possible “freedom and self-reliance can evaporate” as a result.
He cited public health rules to “form orderly and socially distanced queues” and bans on activities such as sitting in the front seat of a taxi, “singing, dancing, and having too many friends and family round for a barbecue”.
In April, the IPA led an unsuccessful push to weaken Australia’s national restrictions on economic and social activity that effectively suppressed the spread of coronavirus.
Abbott acknowledged the rules were designed to cope with “a deadly disease” and Australia had “certainly saved lives” with a response that was better than almost any other country.
But he argued “virus hysteria and health despotism” had resulted in Australians being “barred from Victoria without first getting a visa and barred altogether from Western Australia due to just a few cases of disease with an infection fatality rate for people under 50 of less than one in 5,000”.
Abbott said rules had damaged lives as well – including those of elderly people in enforced isolation in aged care, families separated by “capricious border closures”, “businesses ruined and jobs lost in a stop-start economy” and the psychological impact of rules that “seemed absurd like wearing a face mask while driving alone”.
Abbott – whose government dismantled carbon pricing in 2014 despite experts rating it the best policy to prevent global heating – argued Australians had become “conditioned to have experts give us all the answers” and governments “then telling us what to do”.
He warned Australia could not “take for granted that our region will remain peaceful, especially if China tries to take Taiwan by force”.
“But how ready are we to join our allies to stop any attempt to crush a free people and, like our forebears, to put lives on the line in a good cause?”
Abbott argued that economic reforms were increasingly difficult “with a Senate where a government can almost never count on a majority and a federation in which … states still hold the whip hand”.
Abbott complained that there were “Indigenous, sustainability and Asian perspectives” embedded in the school curriculum and argued that explorer James Cook, New South Wales governor Arthur Phillip, general Sir John Monash and pharmacologist Howard Florey should also be put on a pedestal.
“It is time for a reset, but not the politically woke reset that seems to be brewing,” he said.
The former politician said he would help the IPA consider “cultural issues upstream of politics” like “what we were, what we are and what we should be”.
Abbott said Australia must “strengthen our culture”, which “won’t come from deconstructing our history, or our heroes, or imported fads like sports stars taking a knee”.
The IPA report – The fair go - going, gone: the decline of the Australian way of life – states that gross government debt reached a high of 34.5% of GDP in 2019-20. It rated this a net negative despite the fact the debt pays for health, education and economic support that underpin Australia’s high quality of living, and that borrowing costs are down due to record low interest rates.
Using figures from the 2019 ANU election study, the IPA also claimed trust in government had declined, ignoring more recent studies that trust surged during the coronavirus pandemic.
The report found the few metrics to have improved Australia’s quality of life since 2010 were increasing rates of car ownership and a high ratio of jobs to the level of immigration.
Topics
Tony Abbott attacks coronavirus 'hysteria' and 'health despotism' in IPA video | Tony Abbott
Tony Abbott
Former Australian prime minister Tony Abbott says in an Institute of Public Affairs video that Covid-19 has been allowed to dominate people’s lives. Photograph: Joel Carrett/AAP
Tue 26 Jan 2021 14.57 AEDT
Tony Abbott has blasted “virus hysteria and health despotism” in a video spruiking his new role with the Institute of Public Affairs, which is focused on “saving the Australian way of life”.
The former Liberal prime minister has become a “distinguished fellow” of the rightwing thinktank and used the occasion to argue the coronavirus is “dominating” people’s lives. Abbott also said Australia was complacent on China and had “imported fads like sports stars taking a knee” from overseas.
Abbott’s wide range of complaints – which echo some preoccupations of former US president Donald Trump – accompanied the publication of an IPA report claiming Australia’s quality of life had declined by 28.5% since 2000.
The report is based on 25 measures including household debt, home ownership, under-utilisation of workers, worsening vocational skills and the incarceration rate.
The IPA recognised its choice of metrics reflected normative judgments about what constituted a good life. It included measures that arguably have conservative bias such as car ownership, regulation, government debt, marriage rates and “prime-age men in fulltime work”.
In the video, released ahead of Australia Day, Abbott said Australia has “much to be proud of” although he acknowledged Indigenous disadvantage remained a “grievous blot on our national record”.
Abbott warned that even if coronavirus rules were introduced “for our own good” it was possible “freedom and self-reliance can evaporate” as a result.
He cited public health rules to “form orderly and socially distanced queues” and bans on activities such as sitting in the front seat of a taxi, “singing, dancing, and having too many friends and family round for a barbecue”.
In April, the IPA led an unsuccessful push to weaken Australia’s national restrictions on economic and social activity that effectively suppressed the spread of coronavirus.
Abbott acknowledged the rules were designed to cope with “a deadly disease” and Australia had “certainly saved lives” with a response that was better than almost any other country.
But he argued “virus hysteria and health despotism” had resulted in Australians being “barred from Victoria without first getting a visa and barred altogether from Western Australia due to just a few cases of disease with an infection fatality rate for people under 50 of less than one in 5,000”.
Abbott said rules had damaged lives as well – including those of elderly people in enforced isolation in aged care, families separated by “capricious border closures”, “businesses ruined and jobs lost in a stop-start economy” and the psychological impact of rules that “seemed absurd like wearing a face mask while driving alone”.
Abbott – whose government dismantled carbon pricing in 2014 despite experts rating it the best policy to prevent global heating – argued Australians had become “conditioned to have experts give us all the answers” and governments “then telling us what to do”.
He warned Australia could not “take for granted that our region will remain peaceful, especially if China tries to take Taiwan by force”.
“But how ready are we to join our allies to stop any attempt to crush a free people and, like our forebears, to put lives on the line in a good cause?”
Abbott argued that economic reforms were increasingly difficult “with a Senate where a government can almost never count on a majority and a federation in which … states still hold the whip hand”.
Abbott complained that there were “Indigenous, sustainability and Asian perspectives” embedded in the school curriculum and argued that explorer James Cook, New South Wales governor Arthur Phillip, general Sir John Monash and pharmacologist Howard Florey should also be put on a pedestal.
“It is time for a reset, but not the politically woke reset that seems to be brewing,” he said.
The former politician said he would help the IPA consider “cultural issues upstream of politics” like “what we were, what we are and what we should be”.
Abbott said Australia must “strengthen our culture”, which “won’t come from deconstructing our history, or our heroes, or imported fads like sports stars taking a knee”.
The IPA report – The fair go - going, gone: the decline of the Australian way of life – states that gross government debt reached a high of 34.5% of GDP in 2019-20. It rated this a net negative despite the fact the debt pays for health, education and economic support that underpin Australia’s high quality of living, and that borrowing costs are down due to record low interest rates.
Using figures from the 2019 ANU election study, the IPA also claimed trust in government had declined, ignoring more recent studies that trust surged during the coronavirus pandemic.
The report found the few metrics to have improved Australia’s quality of life since 2010 were increasing rates of car ownership and a high ratio of jobs to the level of immigration.
Topics
Europe already into lockdown mode in case you want to update.
Philippines faces 'learning crisis' after yearlong school shutdown - The Online Citizen Asia
by Allison Jackson
Andrix Serrano studies alone inside a Manila slum shack he shares with his street-sweeper grandmother. Like many in his fourth-grade class, he has no internet for his shuttered school’s online lessons.
A year after the coronavirus pandemic sent the Philippines into a months-long lockdown, classrooms across the country remain empty and children are still stuck at home.
Fearing youngsters could catch the virus and infect elderly relatives, President Rodrigo Duterte refuses to lift the restrictions until vaccinations are widespread — something that could take years.
A “blended learning” programme involving online classes, printed materials and lessons broadcast on television and social media was launched in October, four months after the school year was supposed to start.
It has been plagued with problems: most students in the Philippines don’t have a computer or internet at home.
“I can’t do it, it’s difficult for me,” said Serrano, sitting in his shack next to a polluted river, a photo of him wearing a class graduation gown hanging on the wall behind him.
“It’s fun in school. It’s easier to learn there.”
The nine-year-old’s science teacher, Kristhean Navales, runs a class over Facebook Messenger but less than half of his 43 students have access to a device.
Using heart and thumb emojis, those that can join signal if they have understood or have questions about the lesson Navales has pasted into the group chat.
They don’t always have internet and what data they have isn’t enough for video calls.
“Subjects that require hands-on activity like science, mathematics — how can we do that in the messenger?” Navales asked.
The rest of his students rely on printed materials that have been simplified by the school to ease the burden on children.
After class, Navales visits Serrano and other students who are struggling to keep up — and delivers bags of vegetables to their families.
He worries that his students are not learning much and he’s frustrated by the government’s failure to prepare schools for a return to in-person classes.
“Their right to education should not be hampered by this pandemic,” he told AFP.
Stay-at-home order
Fifteen-year-olds in the Philippines were already at or near the bottom in reading, mathematics and science, according to OECD data.
But since the school shutdown enrolments have dropped by more than a million, the UN’s children agency estimates.
Experts worry many students are falling even further behind and those that have dropped out might not come back to the classroom.
“Covid is affecting all school systems in the world, but here it is even worse,” said Isy Faingold, UNICEF’s education chief in the Philippines.
Classroom closures also leave children at greater risk of sexual violence, teenage pregnancy and recruitment by armed groups, he said.
A stay-at-home order for children under 15 makes it even more dangerous.
Many parents have flouted the order, allowing their children to play in parks or on the street. But it’s taking a toll on their development.
The rule was briefly lifted for some children in January but Duterte quickly reimposed it, telling them to watch television instead.
Plans for a limited reopening of schools in January were scrapped after a more infectious coronavirus variant emerged.
Data show the virus largely spares children, but it remains unclear how much they transmit.
‘Permanent scarring’
Duterte’s own economic managers have warned of “permanent scarring” to children that could hurt their earning potential if home-based learning is prolonged.
“Not being able to see and relate physically face to face with their classmates and friends has had a tremendous impact on the emotional development of children,” said clinical child psychologist Maria Lourdes Carandang.
She has seen “alarming” levels of depression and anxiety.
Parents and grandparents are also feeling the strain.
Every week Aida Castillo, 65, picks up printed lessons from school for her five grandchildren and supervises their study while their parents work.
Only the eldest has access to a smartphone for online classes when their mother comes home.
“It’s like you’re the one teaching them and what if you don’t know about (the subject)?” said Castillo, who left school after sixth grade.
She wants face-to-face classes to resume, but only “if the pandemic is over” — something that seems even more distant as infections soar again.
‘The rich have everything’
School closures have affected all students, but the country’s devastating rich-poor divide has made the impact unequal.
Parents with money can hire tutors for their children — or even a live-in teacher.
Recruitment company Ikon Solutions Asia has placed dozens of qualified teachers to live in a “bubble” with wealthy families during the pandemic, said managing director Paolo Martel.
For poor students like Maria Fe Morallos, who lives in a smoky charcoal-making neighbourhood, such opportunities don’t exist.
The tenth grade student can’t afford a smartphone so she sits under a naked lightbulb writing answers on worksheets, skipping lessons she doesn’t understand.
“The rich have everything they need,” said Morallos.
“It’s hard for the poor because we don’t have a gadget or the money to buy it.”
– AFP
by Allison Jackson
Andrix Serrano studies alone inside a Manila slum shack he shares with his street-sweeper grandmother. Like many in his fourth-grade class, he has no internet for his shuttered school’s online lessons.
A year after the coronavirus pandemic sent the Philippines into a months-long lockdown, classrooms across the country remain empty and children are still stuck at home.
Fearing youngsters could catch the virus and infect elderly relatives, President Rodrigo Duterte refuses to lift the restrictions until vaccinations are widespread — something that could take years.
A “blended learning” programme involving online classes, printed materials and lessons broadcast on television and social media was launched in October, four months after the school year was supposed to start.
It has been plagued with problems: most students in the Philippines don’t have a computer or internet at home.
“I can’t do it, it’s difficult for me,” said Serrano, sitting in his shack next to a polluted river, a photo of him wearing a class graduation gown hanging on the wall behind him.
“It’s fun in school. It’s easier to learn there.”
The nine-year-old’s science teacher, Kristhean Navales, runs a class over Facebook Messenger but less than half of his 43 students have access to a device.
Using heart and thumb emojis, those that can join signal if they have understood or have questions about the lesson Navales has pasted into the group chat.
They don’t always have internet and what data they have isn’t enough for video calls.
“Subjects that require hands-on activity like science, mathematics — how can we do that in the messenger?” Navales asked.
The rest of his students rely on printed materials that have been simplified by the school to ease the burden on children.
After class, Navales visits Serrano and other students who are struggling to keep up — and delivers bags of vegetables to their families.
He worries that his students are not learning much and he’s frustrated by the government’s failure to prepare schools for a return to in-person classes.
“Their right to education should not be hampered by this pandemic,” he told AFP.
Stay-at-home order
Fifteen-year-olds in the Philippines were already at or near the bottom in reading, mathematics and science, according to OECD data.
But since the school shutdown enrolments have dropped by more than a million, the UN’s children agency estimates.
Experts worry many students are falling even further behind and those that have dropped out might not come back to the classroom.
“Covid is affecting all school systems in the world, but here it is even worse,” said Isy Faingold, UNICEF’s education chief in the Philippines.
Classroom closures also leave children at greater risk of sexual violence, teenage pregnancy and recruitment by armed groups, he said.
A stay-at-home order for children under 15 makes it even more dangerous.
Many parents have flouted the order, allowing their children to play in parks or on the street. But it’s taking a toll on their development.
The rule was briefly lifted for some children in January but Duterte quickly reimposed it, telling them to watch television instead.
Plans for a limited reopening of schools in January were scrapped after a more infectious coronavirus variant emerged.
Data show the virus largely spares children, but it remains unclear how much they transmit.
‘Permanent scarring’
Duterte’s own economic managers have warned of “permanent scarring” to children that could hurt their earning potential if home-based learning is prolonged.
“Not being able to see and relate physically face to face with their classmates and friends has had a tremendous impact on the emotional development of children,” said clinical child psychologist Maria Lourdes Carandang.
She has seen “alarming” levels of depression and anxiety.
Parents and grandparents are also feeling the strain.
Every week Aida Castillo, 65, picks up printed lessons from school for her five grandchildren and supervises their study while their parents work.
Only the eldest has access to a smartphone for online classes when their mother comes home.
“It’s like you’re the one teaching them and what if you don’t know about (the subject)?” said Castillo, who left school after sixth grade.
She wants face-to-face classes to resume, but only “if the pandemic is over” — something that seems even more distant as infections soar again.
‘The rich have everything’
School closures have affected all students, but the country’s devastating rich-poor divide has made the impact unequal.
Parents with money can hire tutors for their children — or even a live-in teacher.
Recruitment company Ikon Solutions Asia has placed dozens of qualified teachers to live in a “bubble” with wealthy families during the pandemic, said managing director Paolo Martel.
For poor students like Maria Fe Morallos, who lives in a smoky charcoal-making neighbourhood, such opportunities don’t exist.
The tenth grade student can’t afford a smartphone so she sits under a naked lightbulb writing answers on worksheets, skipping lessons she doesn’t understand.
“The rich have everything they need,” said Morallos.
“It’s hard for the poor because we don’t have a gadget or the money to buy it.”
– AFP
Is the lockdown worth it?
Russia did one lockdown and that was it. The health communities in europe reportedly said russia is under reporting covid cases. But putin put economy first. Economy helps the people feel better.
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University of Queensland Professor James Allan says "public servants" and "billionaires" profited while small business owners "lost their livelihoods" as a result of the lockdowns. “I just cannot believe that our politicians did not take a pay cut – they were just deeming some businesses non-essential – and a lot of those people are going to not just lose their livelihoods, they will end up losing the family home which they put down to guarantee the mortgage," he told Sky News host Alan Jones. “It has been disgraceful. “Public servants are coming out of this better – billionaires are making money through the whole lockdown. "It has just been a disgrace how inequitable it has been.”
Cambodia closes markets to curb COVID-19, thousands plead for food
FILE PHOTO: People wait in line before being vaccinated against coronavirus disease in Phnom Penh,
FILE PHOTO: People wait in line before being vaccinated against coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, April 22, 2021. REUTERS/Cindy Liu
24 Apr 2021 04:44PM
Bookmark
PHNOM PENH: Cambodia closed all markets in the capital Phnom Penh on Saturday (Apr 24) to contain a spike in coronavirus infections as thousands of families plead for food during a two-week lockdown.
The Southeast Asian country has one of the world's smallest coronavirus caseloads, but an outbreak that started in late February has seen overall cases spike to 8,848 and 61 deaths.
Phnom Penh went into lockdown on Apr 15 and has declared some districts "red zones", banning people from leaving their homes except for medical reasons.
In a new order issued on late Friday, Phnom Penh City Hall said all markets are to be closed from Saturday until May 7, saying that they have seen rising infections in markets and urged vendors and guards to get tested for COVID-19.
READ: Cambodia's Hun Sen says country on 'brink of death' from COVID-19 surge
"During the implementation of the Royal Government of Cambodia's lockdown measures, the Phnom Penh Municipal Administration has been paying close attention to the evolving status of COVID-19 epidemic," the City Hall said in a statement.
"Focusing on vendors in all markets in Phnom Penh, it has seen continuous infection rate at a worrying high risk and urgent measures are needed to prevent," the statement added.
As part of the efforts to provide food to people who couldn't leave their homes in lockdown areas, city officials have given thousands of families 25kg of rice, a box of soy sauce, a bag of fish sauce and a bag of canned fish, according to the City Hall's Facebook page.
READ: Cambodia's Angkor site shut for 2 weeks to curb COVID-19
In the government Telegram group set up recently for people to request emergency food aid from authorities, thousands of people have requested food aid.
"My name is Tun Sreyphos and I ask for aid during the lockdown ... number of family (is) 11," said Tun Sreyphos in the Telegram group.
"I and my family ask for immediate assistance in the form of essential daily food ... I had completely lost my family income due to the closure of the factory and the lockdown," said Thorn Meng who has a family of five.
FILE PHOTO: People wait in line before being vaccinated against coronavirus disease in Phnom Penh,
FILE PHOTO: People wait in line before being vaccinated against coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, April 22, 2021. REUTERS/Cindy Liu
24 Apr 2021 04:44PM
Bookmark
PHNOM PENH: Cambodia closed all markets in the capital Phnom Penh on Saturday (Apr 24) to contain a spike in coronavirus infections as thousands of families plead for food during a two-week lockdown.
The Southeast Asian country has one of the world's smallest coronavirus caseloads, but an outbreak that started in late February has seen overall cases spike to 8,848 and 61 deaths.
Phnom Penh went into lockdown on Apr 15 and has declared some districts "red zones", banning people from leaving their homes except for medical reasons.
In a new order issued on late Friday, Phnom Penh City Hall said all markets are to be closed from Saturday until May 7, saying that they have seen rising infections in markets and urged vendors and guards to get tested for COVID-19.
READ: Cambodia's Hun Sen says country on 'brink of death' from COVID-19 surge
"During the implementation of the Royal Government of Cambodia's lockdown measures, the Phnom Penh Municipal Administration has been paying close attention to the evolving status of COVID-19 epidemic," the City Hall said in a statement.
"Focusing on vendors in all markets in Phnom Penh, it has seen continuous infection rate at a worrying high risk and urgent measures are needed to prevent," the statement added.
As part of the efforts to provide food to people who couldn't leave their homes in lockdown areas, city officials have given thousands of families 25kg of rice, a box of soy sauce, a bag of fish sauce and a bag of canned fish, according to the City Hall's Facebook page.
READ: Cambodia's Angkor site shut for 2 weeks to curb COVID-19
In the government Telegram group set up recently for people to request emergency food aid from authorities, thousands of people have requested food aid.
"My name is Tun Sreyphos and I ask for aid during the lockdown ... number of family (is) 11," said Tun Sreyphos in the Telegram group.
"I and my family ask for immediate assistance in the form of essential daily food ... I had completely lost my family income due to the closure of the factory and the lockdown," said Thorn Meng who has a family of five.
'Worst time to have a lockdown': WA hospitality businesses set to lose millions
Posted 2h
Play Video. Duration: 1 minute 58 seconds
Perth cafes are feeling the effect of COVID-19 lockdown.
Share
The lockdown in the Perth and Peel regions of WA will cost hospitality businesses up to $25 million in lost revenue, says Restaurant and Catering Australia CEO Wes Lambert.
The three-day lockdown was imposed after a man, who is now in Melbourne, tested positive to COVID-19 after he had completed 14 days of quarantine at Perth's Mercure hotel.
A woman he stayed with after leaving the hotel has also tested positive for coronavirus.
A man standing in a cafe.
Wes Lambert said having a lockdown imposed on a Friday was the worst possible time for restaurants and cafes.( ABC News: Greg Bigelow )
Mr Lambert said imposing a lockdown before the Anzac Day long weekend meant businesses would have to donate or throw away more than $7 million in produce and stock.
"Because it was Friday afternoon … they would've already been prepping for the weekend, they would've been making their stocks and soups and they would've already been grazing things," Mr Lambert said.
"It's not like you can just say, 'OK let's turn the key on the door and save that inventory till Tuesday when we can reopen.'"
Mr Lambert said it would be almost impossible to recover that loss.
"When you have lockdowns that come on mere holidays or at the end of the week, it is almost impossible for those businesses to recover those bookings and to recover that lost stock," he said.
"Whereas if it happens on a Sunday or a Monday or early week, it does allow them to re-plan that time.
"So this is quite possibly the worst time to have a lockdown."
Mr Lambert said he understood the state government's quick response was to stop any community spread of the virus.
However, he said more should be done to support the hospitality industry.
"While we do appreciate the previous stimulus of $500 in utility savings, that's just not enough," he said.
"These businesses really have no other choice but to cancel most of their bookings over the weekend and it really won't be made up by takeaway and delivery.
"To throw away millions of dollars of produce, we'd be calling on the West Australian government to give some sort of relief or grant to help them recover from this loss."
While large supermarkets have the capacity and storage to deal with snap lockdowns, small businesses do not, Mr Lambert said.
"It's the events, mainly the function events, that end up being the worst affected," he said.
"The ones that had big events planned for the Anzac Day weekend … they lose large blocks of revenue and they have had to prepare for those events potentially weeks in advance."
Business operators who are still open have appreciated the support of customers.
A glass cabinet on the bench of a cafe, with a number of pastries inside and bright coloured writing on the glass.
Trade at Steamhaus cafe in Maylands has dropped by about half.( ABC News: Evelyn Manfield )
'Better off shutting the door'
The owner of Sherbet cafe in Maylands, Matt Perroni, said his turnover was 90 per cent down.
"Probably would've been better off shutting the door," he said.
"But I thought we'd stay open because all the locals always support us."
He said while people were picking up cakes they had ordered, a lot of product would have to be given away.
"Made a lot of stuff yesterday for this morning, that type of thing, so that's alright, it is what it is," he said.
"We just try to give it to whoever needs it, whoever wants it."
Mr Perroni said nearly everyone had been using the COVID SafeWA app while others wrote their names down.
He said this was also true in the weeks leading up to the lockdown.
Nearby, Nadja Stewart estimated trade at Steamhaus cafe had dropped by about half.
Nadja wearing a polkadot pattern face mask and brown shirt, frothing milk at a coffee machine in a cafe.
Ms Stewart says customers have been very supportive during the lockdown.( ABC News: Evelyn Manfield )
"We just basically had to cut down on staff a bit and cut down on the amount we're ordering in," she said.
"But the people have been really supportive and they make the point of buying that extra piece of cake and buying that extra coffee, it's been really nice."
Ms Stewart said she thought people were just "getting on with it" and were less fearful than they had been with previous lockdowns.
She said customers had been wearing masks, and that the only issue had been when people tried to pay with mobile phones and their face recognition did not work.
"Everybody seems to embrace wearing the mask, there's not really a big issue about that," she said.
Posted 2h
Posted 2h
Play Video. Duration: 1 minute 58 seconds
Perth cafes are feeling the effect of COVID-19 lockdown.
Share
The lockdown in the Perth and Peel regions of WA will cost hospitality businesses up to $25 million in lost revenue, says Restaurant and Catering Australia CEO Wes Lambert.
The three-day lockdown was imposed after a man, who is now in Melbourne, tested positive to COVID-19 after he had completed 14 days of quarantine at Perth's Mercure hotel.
A woman he stayed with after leaving the hotel has also tested positive for coronavirus.
A man standing in a cafe.
Wes Lambert said having a lockdown imposed on a Friday was the worst possible time for restaurants and cafes.( ABC News: Greg Bigelow )
Mr Lambert said imposing a lockdown before the Anzac Day long weekend meant businesses would have to donate or throw away more than $7 million in produce and stock.
"Because it was Friday afternoon … they would've already been prepping for the weekend, they would've been making their stocks and soups and they would've already been grazing things," Mr Lambert said.
"It's not like you can just say, 'OK let's turn the key on the door and save that inventory till Tuesday when we can reopen.'"
Mr Lambert said it would be almost impossible to recover that loss.
"When you have lockdowns that come on mere holidays or at the end of the week, it is almost impossible for those businesses to recover those bookings and to recover that lost stock," he said.
"Whereas if it happens on a Sunday or a Monday or early week, it does allow them to re-plan that time.
"So this is quite possibly the worst time to have a lockdown."
Mr Lambert said he understood the state government's quick response was to stop any community spread of the virus.
However, he said more should be done to support the hospitality industry.
"While we do appreciate the previous stimulus of $500 in utility savings, that's just not enough," he said.
"These businesses really have no other choice but to cancel most of their bookings over the weekend and it really won't be made up by takeaway and delivery.
"To throw away millions of dollars of produce, we'd be calling on the West Australian government to give some sort of relief or grant to help them recover from this loss."
While large supermarkets have the capacity and storage to deal with snap lockdowns, small businesses do not, Mr Lambert said.
"It's the events, mainly the function events, that end up being the worst affected," he said.
"The ones that had big events planned for the Anzac Day weekend … they lose large blocks of revenue and they have had to prepare for those events potentially weeks in advance."
Business operators who are still open have appreciated the support of customers.
A glass cabinet on the bench of a cafe, with a number of pastries inside and bright coloured writing on the glass.
Trade at Steamhaus cafe in Maylands has dropped by about half.( ABC News: Evelyn Manfield )
'Better off shutting the door'
The owner of Sherbet cafe in Maylands, Matt Perroni, said his turnover was 90 per cent down.
"Probably would've been better off shutting the door," he said.
"But I thought we'd stay open because all the locals always support us."
He said while people were picking up cakes they had ordered, a lot of product would have to be given away.
"Made a lot of stuff yesterday for this morning, that type of thing, so that's alright, it is what it is," he said.
"We just try to give it to whoever needs it, whoever wants it."
Mr Perroni said nearly everyone had been using the COVID SafeWA app while others wrote their names down.
He said this was also true in the weeks leading up to the lockdown.
Nearby, Nadja Stewart estimated trade at Steamhaus cafe had dropped by about half.
Nadja wearing a polkadot pattern face mask and brown shirt, frothing milk at a coffee machine in a cafe.
Ms Stewart says customers have been very supportive during the lockdown.( ABC News: Evelyn Manfield )
"We just basically had to cut down on staff a bit and cut down on the amount we're ordering in," she said.
"But the people have been really supportive and they make the point of buying that extra piece of cake and buying that extra coffee, it's been really nice."
Ms Stewart said she thought people were just "getting on with it" and were less fearful than they had been with previous lockdowns.
She said customers had been wearing masks, and that the only issue had been when people tried to pay with mobile phones and their face recognition did not work.
"Everybody seems to embrace wearing the mask, there's not really a big issue about that," she said.
Posted 2h
Wat a joke. Destroy the livelihoods of ppl to save them from a flu...such logic..n since when pinoy land cares for its ppl?
Food pantries spread in Philippines as COVID-19 restrictions bite
Community-run stalls offer free food to Filipinos struggling to feed their families as virus
Community-run stalls offer free food to Filipinos struggling to feed their families as virus lockdowns have thrown thousands out of work. (Photo: AFP/Ted Aljibe)
30 Apr 2021 11:36AM
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MANILA: Community-run stalls offering free food to the needy have multiplied across the Philippines, with many struggling to feed their families as COVID-19 restrictions bite and government help falls short.
Street sweeper Juliet Reyes regularly picks up fruit and vegetables from a curbside food pantry in the capital Manila, where a recent lockdown to contain a surge in infections threw hundreds of thousands out of work.
"I'm very thankful. It's a big help for us who are most in need," said Reyes, 41, who supports a family of eight on her meagre daily wage of 200 pesos (US$4).
"When I go home I will cook what I got today."
Patricia Non ignited the nationwide movement this month after parking a bamboo cart stocked with rice, pasta, canned food and vegetables raided from her kitchen beside a busy street.
A handwritten cardboard sign urged passers-by to "Give what you can, take what you need".
Within hours the cart was empty and Non issued a plea on Facebook for donations, which went viral.
READ: Philippines to ban travellers from India over highly contagious COVID-19 variant
The scenes of community solidarity have fuelled criticism of the government's response to the
The scenes of community solidarity have fuelled criticism of the government's response to the poor after restrictions imposed to contain the virus devastated the economy and left millions hungry. (Photo: AFP/Ted Aljibe)
As contributions flooded in and a few recipients turned into thousands queueing every day - many lining up as soon as the night-time curfew lifted at 5am - Non's trolley expanded into a distribution centre for other pantries.
"Many are in need and I have more than enough for myself at home," Non, 26, told AFP.
"It's not a solution to hunger and poverty. But it's a stop-gap measure."
GOVERNMENT HELP "NOT ENOUGH"
Non's charitable act has inspired others - including police, churches and the Philippine Coast Guard - to start their own pantries across the archipelago.
Photos posted on social media show tables laden with donated food set up on streets, with people wearing masks and clutching reusable shopping bags waiting in line. Some pantries offer free pet food.
READ: India COVID-19 variant: What we know so far
Residents queue to collect free food packets from a food bank run by volunteers in Quezon City
Residents queue to collect free food packets from a food bank run by volunteers in Quezon City. (Photo: AFP/Ted Aljibe)
The scenes of community solidarity have fuelled criticism of the government's response to the poor after restrictions imposed to contain the virus devastated the economy and left millions hungry.
In the latest lockdown of Metro Manila and surrounding provinces, which began at the end of March, the national government offered a one-off payment of 1,000 pesos per person, or 4,000 pesos for a family.
So far, only about two-thirds of the aid meant for nearly 23 million people has been distributed.
President Rodrigo Duterte's spokesman Harry Roque has praised the community pantries for showing "the best of the Filipino in the worst of times".
READ: Philippines records more than 1 million COVID-19 cases
Residents collecting free food packets from a food bank
This photo taken on Apr 21, 2021 shows residents collecting free food packets from a food bank called a "community pantry", run by volunteers, along a road in Quezon City in suburban Manila. (Photo: AFP/Ted Aljibe)
But police have reportedly profiled volunteers and a spokesman for Duterte's anti-communist task force even accused the movement of being rebel sympathisers and doing the devil's work.
"I'm not saying they're doing nothing, but I really think it's not enough, especially since there's a budget for it," Non said of the government's efforts.
"The community pantry concept would not go wild if there's no need for it."
Food pantries spread in Philippines as COVID-19 restrictions bite
Community-run stalls offer free food to Filipinos struggling to feed their families as virus
Community-run stalls offer free food to Filipinos struggling to feed their families as virus lockdowns have thrown thousands out of work. (Photo: AFP/Ted Aljibe)
30 Apr 2021 11:36AM
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MANILA: Community-run stalls offering free food to the needy have multiplied across the Philippines, with many struggling to feed their families as COVID-19 restrictions bite and government help falls short.
Street sweeper Juliet Reyes regularly picks up fruit and vegetables from a curbside food pantry in the capital Manila, where a recent lockdown to contain a surge in infections threw hundreds of thousands out of work.
"I'm very thankful. It's a big help for us who are most in need," said Reyes, 41, who supports a family of eight on her meagre daily wage of 200 pesos (US$4).
"When I go home I will cook what I got today."
Patricia Non ignited the nationwide movement this month after parking a bamboo cart stocked with rice, pasta, canned food and vegetables raided from her kitchen beside a busy street.
A handwritten cardboard sign urged passers-by to "Give what you can, take what you need".
Within hours the cart was empty and Non issued a plea on Facebook for donations, which went viral.
READ: Philippines to ban travellers from India over highly contagious COVID-19 variant
The scenes of community solidarity have fuelled criticism of the government's response to the
The scenes of community solidarity have fuelled criticism of the government's response to the poor after restrictions imposed to contain the virus devastated the economy and left millions hungry. (Photo: AFP/Ted Aljibe)
As contributions flooded in and a few recipients turned into thousands queueing every day - many lining up as soon as the night-time curfew lifted at 5am - Non's trolley expanded into a distribution centre for other pantries.
"Many are in need and I have more than enough for myself at home," Non, 26, told AFP.
"It's not a solution to hunger and poverty. But it's a stop-gap measure."
GOVERNMENT HELP "NOT ENOUGH"
Non's charitable act has inspired others - including police, churches and the Philippine Coast Guard - to start their own pantries across the archipelago.
Photos posted on social media show tables laden with donated food set up on streets, with people wearing masks and clutching reusable shopping bags waiting in line. Some pantries offer free pet food.
READ: India COVID-19 variant: What we know so far
Residents queue to collect free food packets from a food bank run by volunteers in Quezon City
Residents queue to collect free food packets from a food bank run by volunteers in Quezon City. (Photo: AFP/Ted Aljibe)
The scenes of community solidarity have fuelled criticism of the government's response to the poor after restrictions imposed to contain the virus devastated the economy and left millions hungry.
In the latest lockdown of Metro Manila and surrounding provinces, which began at the end of March, the national government offered a one-off payment of 1,000 pesos per person, or 4,000 pesos for a family.
So far, only about two-thirds of the aid meant for nearly 23 million people has been distributed.
President Rodrigo Duterte's spokesman Harry Roque has praised the community pantries for showing "the best of the Filipino in the worst of times".
READ: Philippines records more than 1 million COVID-19 cases
Residents collecting free food packets from a food bank
This photo taken on Apr 21, 2021 shows residents collecting free food packets from a food bank called a "community pantry", run by volunteers, along a road in Quezon City in suburban Manila. (Photo: AFP/Ted Aljibe)
But police have reportedly profiled volunteers and a spokesman for Duterte's anti-communist task force even accused the movement of being rebel sympathisers and doing the devil's work.
"I'm not saying they're doing nothing, but I really think it's not enough, especially since there's a budget for it," Non said of the government's efforts.
"The community pantry concept would not go wild if there's no need for it."
A very good term used..
“We’ve protected lives and ruined them at the same time,” Mr Abbott said.
Tony Abbott rips into Covid rules
Finance Minister Simon Birmingham says Australia is…
Tony Abbott has ripped into Australia’s response to COVID-19, describing the nation’s rules as oppressive and overreach.
The former prime minister has been a consistent critic of the country’s pandemic response.
But he has gone much harder than ever before in a blistering essay for the Institute of Public Affairs.
“We’ve protected lives and ruined them at the same time,” Mr Abbott said.
”A bit like the Vietnam-era American officer who declared the village had to be destroyed in order to be saved.”
Mr Abbott said the pandemic response reflected a deeply ethical concern for the preciousness of every life.
“To me, it often seemed an over-reaction from people who’d forgotten the inevitability of death and the importance of living each day to the full,” he said.
Former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has been critical of the country’s Covid-19 response.
Former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has been critical of the country’s Covid-19 response.
Mr Abbott recently copped a $500 infringement after being sprung in public without a mask.
He took aim at the person who dobbed him in.
“I never thought dobbing and snitching was part of the Australian character,” Mr Abbott said.
“As soon as we can leave this health police state mindset behind us, the better for everyone.”
Late last year, Mr Abbott was investigated after he was seen cycling outside his zone of residence in Sydney’s northern beaches.
He was cleared by police of breaching public health orders.
Mr Abbott has long been a vocal critic of Australia’s pandemic response.
In August last year – when Melbourne was in the grip of a deadly second wave – he called for Covid-19 restrictions to be relaxed.
Mr Abbott argued officials had become trapped in “crisis mode” and governments needed to consider ”uncomfortable questions” about the number of deaths they could accept.
He also said the media had spread “virus hysteria” and people should be able to make their own decisions.
Tony Abbott has made comments about Australia’s Covid-19 rules, including lockdowns, saying they’ve ruined lives. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Crosling
Tony Abbott has made comments about Australia’s Covid-19 rules, including lockdowns, saying they’ve ruined lives. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Crosling
But he turned his criticism up notch in his most recent commentary, noting the “worst features” of Australia’s handling of the pandemic had been the “oppressive rules for which there’s been no medical justification”.
He said restrictions such as the curfews, outdoor mask mandates, bans on attendances at funerals and interstate trips for medical treatment and compassionate reasons were “cruel”.
“I suspect that history will marvel at how extraordinary and unprecedented the response to the pandemic has been,” he said.
“The nearest parallel, in terms of the scale of government intervention into daily life, has been the world wars; the key difference being that, back then, citizens were mobilised for action rather than inaction – What does it say about our national character that we’ve accepted this.”
The Commonwealth claims the country’s Covid-19 restrictions have saved 30,000 lives. Picture: NCA NewsWire /David Crosling
The Commonwealth claims the country’s Covid-19 restrictions have saved 30,000 lives. Picture: NCA NewsWire /David Crosling
State and federal governments have devised a staged response to reopening the country.
The next stage of easing will come into force once the nation hit a vaccination target of 80 per cent double-dosed.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison says Australia’s border ban will lift for the first time since March last year in November. Picture: Gary Ramage / NCA NewsWire
Prime Minister Scott Morrison says Australia’s border ban will lift for the first time since March last year in November. Picture: Gary Ramage / NCA NewsWire
Under the plan, lockdowns will only be used as a last resort.
The country’s border ban will also be lifted for the first time since March last year, with no caps on returning Australians.
Read related topics:
“We’ve protected lives and ruined them at the same time,” Mr Abbott said.
Tony Abbott rips into Covid rules
Finance Minister Simon Birmingham says Australia is…
Tony Abbott has ripped into Australia’s response to COVID-19, describing the nation’s rules as oppressive and overreach.
The former prime minister has been a consistent critic of the country’s pandemic response.
But he has gone much harder than ever before in a blistering essay for the Institute of Public Affairs.
“We’ve protected lives and ruined them at the same time,” Mr Abbott said.
”A bit like the Vietnam-era American officer who declared the village had to be destroyed in order to be saved.”
Mr Abbott said the pandemic response reflected a deeply ethical concern for the preciousness of every life.
“To me, it often seemed an over-reaction from people who’d forgotten the inevitability of death and the importance of living each day to the full,” he said.
Former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has been critical of the country’s Covid-19 response.
Former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has been critical of the country’s Covid-19 response.
Mr Abbott recently copped a $500 infringement after being sprung in public without a mask.
He took aim at the person who dobbed him in.
“I never thought dobbing and snitching was part of the Australian character,” Mr Abbott said.
“As soon as we can leave this health police state mindset behind us, the better for everyone.”
Late last year, Mr Abbott was investigated after he was seen cycling outside his zone of residence in Sydney’s northern beaches.
He was cleared by police of breaching public health orders.
Mr Abbott has long been a vocal critic of Australia’s pandemic response.
In August last year – when Melbourne was in the grip of a deadly second wave – he called for Covid-19 restrictions to be relaxed.
Mr Abbott argued officials had become trapped in “crisis mode” and governments needed to consider ”uncomfortable questions” about the number of deaths they could accept.
He also said the media had spread “virus hysteria” and people should be able to make their own decisions.
Tony Abbott has made comments about Australia’s Covid-19 rules, including lockdowns, saying they’ve ruined lives. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Crosling
Tony Abbott has made comments about Australia’s Covid-19 rules, including lockdowns, saying they’ve ruined lives. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Crosling
But he turned his criticism up notch in his most recent commentary, noting the “worst features” of Australia’s handling of the pandemic had been the “oppressive rules for which there’s been no medical justification”.
He said restrictions such as the curfews, outdoor mask mandates, bans on attendances at funerals and interstate trips for medical treatment and compassionate reasons were “cruel”.
“I suspect that history will marvel at how extraordinary and unprecedented the response to the pandemic has been,” he said.
“The nearest parallel, in terms of the scale of government intervention into daily life, has been the world wars; the key difference being that, back then, citizens were mobilised for action rather than inaction – What does it say about our national character that we’ve accepted this.”
The Commonwealth claims the country’s Covid-19 restrictions have saved 30,000 lives. Picture: NCA NewsWire /David Crosling
The Commonwealth claims the country’s Covid-19 restrictions have saved 30,000 lives. Picture: NCA NewsWire /David Crosling
State and federal governments have devised a staged response to reopening the country.
The next stage of easing will come into force once the nation hit a vaccination target of 80 per cent double-dosed.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison says Australia’s border ban will lift for the first time since March last year in November. Picture: Gary Ramage / NCA NewsWire
Prime Minister Scott Morrison says Australia’s border ban will lift for the first time since March last year in November. Picture: Gary Ramage / NCA NewsWire
Under the plan, lockdowns will only be used as a last resort.
The country’s border ban will also be lifted for the first time since March last year, with no caps on returning Australians.
Read related topics:
Go fuck yourself and go be fence sitter. You lanjiao mouth go find AMDK bigcock to suck...
The bottom line is. If the Wuhan virus was left to run its course. It would have burnt itself out. The nips have proven it. All this economic destruction was for nothing.
https://www.news.com.au/world/coron...n/news-story/b0c7459c05dedb1ddb41908743b585fd
https://www.news.com.au/world/coron...n/news-story/b0c7459c05dedb1ddb41908743b585fd
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