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Greece has banned swimming and watersports around its coastline for as long as the country remains in lockdown to prevent the spread of coronavirus. Sailing, windsurfing, kitesurfing, canoeing, kayaking and paddleboarding as well as snorkelling and spearfishing are included in the ban, a shipping ministry official said.
Panama, not content with a strict quarantine,has implemented a new social distancing strategy: men and women are now only allowed out on separate days. Women can go out on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and men are permitted to leave their homes on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Sunday is “everyone at home” day, according to the health ministry. Panama has one of the highest number of coronavirus cases in Latin America.
Pakistan’s prime minister Imran Khan has launched a new youth movement known as ‘Corona relief Tigers’ to deliver relief supplies to the poorest segments of society, as the country counts its losses from a de facto lockdown.
American Airlines has drawn down revolving loans totaling $2.7bn, borrowing the funds from credit agreements it set up with banks in 2013, 2014 and 2016. The 2013 and 2016 revolvers were tapped in full, while an additional $110m remains on the 2014 agreement.
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Brazil more than tripled in the past week to 6,836 on Wednesday afternoon, with 240 fatalities, as president Jair Bolsonaro tried to soothe political tensions over his response to the outbreak.
Three of the world’s biggest pharmaceutical companies, Merck, Pfizer and Eli Lilly, have announced plans that will allow global employees with medical and laboratory expertise to volunteer their services to local healthcare systems and those most affected by coronavirus.
The UN climate talks set to take place in Glasgow in November will be postponed to 2021 due to coronavirus, delaying a round of new global climate commitments. The talks, which would have been one of the biggest diplomatic summits ever hosted by the UK, will still take place in Glasgow at a date to be determined in 2021.
Mexico could this year suffer a 17 per cent fall in remittances – which last year hit a record of $36bn – because of the coronavirus crisis, dealing a severe blow to millions of Mexicans and to the states of Michoacán, Oaxaca and Zacatecas, for whom remittances make up more than 10 per cent of GDP, according to a study by BBVA.
Amundi, Europe’s largest asset manager has proposed suspending its dividend payment, becoming the first big global investment company to take such a move.
Two-thirds of elderly care homes in eastern France have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic, and 570 residents have died from the disease in the Grand Est region alone, according to regional health authorities cited by French media. Those 570 people are not recorded in France’s official coronavirus death toll, which has reached 4,032 but so far counts only those who have died in hospital.
Source: Economy - ft.com
