Raphael Stevens

Aerial images of Kea island also known as Gia or Tzia, Zea, and, in antiquity, Keos, is a Greek island in the Cyclades archipelago in the Aegean Sea. Kea is part of the Kea-Kythnos regional unit.NurPhoto | NurPhoto | Getty ImagesAndreas Patiniotis can’t help sounding cheerful as Greece once again welcomes tourists back to the country.”I’m very happy,” said the owner of four hotels in one of Greece’s most iconic holiday destinations, Santorini.And that feeling is spreading across this entire sunny nation, with the economy relying heavily on international visitors.In 2020, Greece’s gross domestic product sank more than 8% and a large part of that was due to the lack of tourists.This year, the government expects the whole summer season to be double 2020 levels, Alex Patelis, an economic advisor to the Greek prime minister, told CNBC on Thursday.He said this summer “is going to be much easier than before.” He said the industry would have now adjusted to Covid-19 safety rules; the vaccination campaign is underway both domestically and abroad; and travelers are keen to seek out some sun.In fact, the main message in the government’s latest tourism campaign is: “All you want is Greece” — looking to lure mainly northern Europeans that are desperate for some warmer weather after more than a year in lockdowns and strict social-distancing measures.SANTORINI, GREECE – 2020/09/22: View of Oia village of Santorini volcano island during sunset.SOPA Images | LightRocket | Getty ImagesOne of the key government strategies to support tourism was to waive priority for certain age groups and the medically vulnerable in its vaccination program, instead focusing on the residents of the many Greek islands. The idea is to ensure that tourist hotspots are protected before the large number of visitors arrive.Athanasia Kokkinogeni, 31, is fully vaccinated. She told CNBC that in her home island, Kythnos, big hotel chains have been remodeling and upgrading ahead of the summer season.”In general, there’s optimism,” she said, noting that some tourists have already started to arrive. The official date for the tourism industry to reopen is Friday but some establishments have been working over the past days to deal with upcoming bookings.Data shows that as of Wednesday more than 25% of the Greek population have received at least one dose of a vaccine. This is largely in line with the whole of the European Union, which has around 30% of the adult population vaccinated with at least one dose.Brits to quarantine?The 2021 summer season will also depend on whether governments in some countries, such as the U.K. and Germany, lift their quarantine policies for when holidaymakers return from Greece. The two nations are among the most important for Greek tourism.The British government recently decided to not include Greece on its “green list” of foreign destinations, meaning travelers from England face a period of quarantine when they return from the Mediterranean nation.”All of tourism is very important,” Patelis told CNBC. “But we are optimistic we will be included soon,” he said regarding the U.K. green list. Panoramic view of Thera and Imerovigli of Santorini Volcanic Island in Cyclades – Aegean sea.NurPhoto | NurPhoto | Getty ImagesThe British government is due to revise its green list every three weeks.Quarantine requirements are an impediment to tourism. However, the European Union is working on a Covid-19 certificate to promote intra-EU travel. The idea is that people that have received a negative coronavirus test, have been vaccinated, or have recently recovered from the disease will not have to quarantine.”We hope this will be the last summer like this,” Patiniotis in Santorini told CNBC.A couple of tourists looks at the Balos beach and its lagoon in the north west of the island of Crete, on May 13, 2021.LOUISA GOULIAMAKI | AFP | Getty Images More

Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro is undergoing a probe carried by the Congress on mismanagement of the pandemic.Andressa Anholete | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesHealth experts fear Brazil’s Covid-19 catastrophe could get even worse in the coming months, while a parliamentary inquiry into the government’s response to the pandemic is expected to ratchet up political pressure on President Jair Bolsonaro.South America’s largest country, previously renowned for demonstrating leadership during health crises, has become an international pariah amid the coronavirus pandemic. Brazil has recorded the highest coronavirus-related death toll in the world outside the U.S., is lagging in terms of vaccinations and is still without an effective and coordinated public health response to the outbreak.An official inquiry, approved by Brazil’s Supreme Court, was opened late last month to investigate the government’s handling of the pandemic that has killed more than 430,000 people. The inquiry could pave the way to Bolsonaro’s impeachment, though analysts say political opponents of the right-wing leader may prefer to contest the president at elections in October 2022.Bolsonaro has reportedly said he is “not worried” about the inquiry. A spokesperson for Brazil’s government did not respond to a request for comment when contacted by CNBC.Bolsonaro has repeatedly spoken out against public health measures, which have become a political battlefield in Brazil, and continues to oppose any lockdown measures to curb the spread of the virus.”The current unmitigated epidemic won’t be overcome without a dramatic change of direction,” said Dr. Antonio Flores, an infectious disease specialist and Covid medical advisor for aid group Medecins Sans Frontieres in Brazil.He said that if life continues as normal “at such high daily incidence, one can only expect a new wave of cases, additional thousands of deaths and more pressure on the already stretched health system.”A gravedigger walks among graves of COVID-19 victims at the Nossa Senhora Aparecida cemetery in Manaus, Amazonas state, Brazil, on April 29, 2021.MICHAEL DANTAS | AFP | Getty ImagesHis comments echo warnings from other health experts that say Brazil could soon see a third wave of Covid infections in the coming weeks. It is feared that the country’s lackluster vaccination effort won’t be enough to prevent a new surge during the winter months of June through to September, with indoor gatherings and activities especially risky.Flores told CNBC that all available public health measures should be stepped up “as soon as possible” and the country’s vaccination campaign needs to be accelerated. He added that an effective testing and tracing system along with coherent guidance on public health restrictions must also be implemented.’A decisive element of next year’s election’As of May 12, around 15% of Brazil’s population of roughly 211 million have received at least one dose of a Covid vaccine, according to statistics compiled by Our World in Data. Chile, meanwhile, has vaccinated close to 46% of its population with at least one dose of a Covid vaccine, reflecting one of the highest vaccination rates worldwide.Brazil’s lower rate of vaccination means millions of people nationwide, and beyond its borders, are at risk from more than 90 variants of the coronavirus currently circulating in the country — in addition to any new mutations that may emerge.Brazil’s Covid vaccination campaign is in stark contrast to its response to the H1N1 swine flu pandemic in 2009, when it vaccinated 92 million people against the virus in just three months. The key difference this time around, analysts say, is Bolsonaro’s refusal to embrace a science-led approach to the health crisis.This is a very dangerous government but because it was democratically elected there is very little that can be done at the moment to push back.Ilona SzaboPresident of the Igarape InstituteThe Pan American Health Organization said on Wednesday that almost 40% of all global Covid-related deaths reported last week occurred in the Americas, with nearly 80% of the region’s intensive care units currently filled with patients. PAHO Director Carissa Etienne warned it was clear that transmission is “far from being controlled,” even as the U.S. and Brazil report reductions in cases, Reuters reported.Brazil recorded more than 74,000 cases of the coronavirus on Thursday, down from a peak of over 100,000 daily infections in April. In terms of infection numbers, it remains the third-worst Covid-hit country in the world, behind the U.S. and India respectively.”I think that, whereas the situation in India has worsened considerably recently, in Brazil, numbers have plateaued at a very, very high level. The country has been in a state of collapse for months actually,” Oliver Stuenkel, associate professor of international relations at the Getulio Vargas Foundation in Sao Paulo, told CNBC via telephone.A man is vaccinated against Covid-19 by a health worker in a remote area of Moju, Para state, Brazil on April 16, 2021.JOAO PAULO GUIMARAES | AFP | Getty Images”What is really so fascinating is whereas (former U.S. President Donald) Trump and to some extent (Indian Prime Minister Narendra) Modi are paying a political price, Bolsonaro through a combination of factors has been able to retain fairly high political support and has not yet had to pay for it because his strategy of avoiding responsibility has been remarkably successful so far,” he added.Analysts said the length of the inquiry into the government’s handling of the pandemic would typically be expected to take around three months, but there is scope for the process to drag on for much longer.Stuenkel said he expected the inquiry to take around six months to complete given that “the actual goal is to hammer home the message on the evening news that Bolsonaro is to blame.””In essence, I think the investigation will be crucial because if the investigation cannot alter public opinion at this stage, after 400,000 people have died and after basically the permanent collapse of the health system, then basically nothing can … To me that is a decisive element of next year’s election,” he added.What happens next?Earlier this week, Brazil’s former health minister Luiz Henrique Mandetta — who was fired over a year ago after opposing Bolsonaro’s push to use the malaria drug chloroquine as a Covid treatment — testified before a parliamentary inquiry.Mandetta said Bolsonaro was fully aware that the treatment had no scientific basis. Former U.S. President Donald Trump had also pushed for the use of the related drug hydroxychloroquine amid the pandemic despite a lack of scientific evidence.”Unfortunately, this is a very dangerous government but because it was democratically elected there is very little that can be done at the moment to push back,” said Ilona Szabo, president of the Igarape Institute, a think tank based in Rio de Janeiro.Szabo said that while she did not believe the inquiry would have “immediate” ramifications for Bolsonaro in political terms, “it is important that what is happening today has consequences in the future.””It will be proved that they are responsible and that most of the deaths were preventable,” Szabo said. More

In this articleSATS-SGSIAL-SG.STIA woman jogs past a cordoned off Merlion Park on June 12, 2020 in Singapore.Suhaimi Abdullah | Getty ImagesSINGAPORE — Singapore’s benchmark Straits Times Index closed 2.18% lower on Friday after the government announced further tightening in Covid-19 restrictions and the likelihood that the air travel bubble with Hong Kong may be delayed again.Aviation-related stocks were hit hard. Singapore Airlines dived 5.66% while SATS, an aviation catering and airport ground handling firm, fell 3.91%.The Singapore government said it’s “very likely” that the travel bubble with Hong Kong will not begin on May 26 as planned. It comes as the Southeast Asian country further tightened measures to curb rising local Covid cases, including stopping all dine-in services and capping public gatherings to two.The Singapore-Hong Kong air travel bubble would have allowed travelers to skip quarantine. It has faced multiple delays from its initial launch date on November 2020 as Hong Kong reported resurgence in Covid-19 cases.Both Singapore and Hong Kong are major Asian business hubs without domestic air travel markets. Their tourism and aviation industries, heavily reliant on international travel, have been badly hit by the pandemic.Singapore’s Transport Minister Ong Ye Kung said Hong Kong is “a very safe region” now, with few new Covid cases detected daily. However, infections in Singapore have been climbing and the city-state likely won’t meet the threshold to start the travel bubble, he added.Singapore and Hong Kong have previously agreed that the travel arrangement will be suspended if the number of unlinked local Covid cases in either cities exceed five on a seven-day moving average basis.In a preliminary update on Friday, Singapore’s health ministry said it has confirmed 52 new cases of Covid-19. Among the cases, 24 are locally transmitted infections — four of which were not linked to previous cases.The latest numbers take the Southeast Asian city-state’s cumulative confirmed infections to more than 61,500, according to health ministry data.Meanwhile, Hong Kong on Friday identified one imported case, bringing its total of confirmed or probable infections to 11,819 since the outbreak, official data showed. The city has reported 210 deaths, according to the data.Ong said he’s spoken with Edward Yau, Hong Kong’s secretary for commerce and economic development, about the Covid situation in Singapore. Both sides will make a decision early next week on whether to go ahead with the air travel bubble launch, said Ong.Singapore tightens restrictionsThe Singapore government also announced there will be more Covid-19 restrictions starting this weekend following a rise in local infections. The measures will take effect from this Sunday until June 13.The new measures include:No dining-in at food and beverage establishments;Smaller social gatherings: A maximum of two people are allowed, from five previously;All workers who can work from home will have to do so.The government will review the measures at the mid-way point — or around two weeks later — to see if there’s a need to adjust them, said Lawrence Wong, Singapore’s education minister and co-chair of the Covid taskforce.Zoom In IconArrows pointing outwardsYu Liuqing, country analyst at consultancy The Economic Intelligence Unit, said in a note that the tightening “will effectively freeze the recovery of private consumption in the short term.”But the Singapore economy overall will not contract unless another round of lockdown — domestically called a “circuit breaker” — is imposed for a prolonged period of time, he added.Before Friday’s announcement, Singapore had already further tightened restrictions. Those measures started the previous weekend and included pre-event testing for large gatherings and the closure of some indoor gyms. More

Health workers wearing personal protective equipment attend to Covid-19 patients inside a banquet hall temporarily converted into a Covid care center in New Delhi on May 7, 2021.Prakash Singh | AFP | Getty ImagesIndia’s total Covid-19 cases crossed 24 million as the country fights a devastating second wave of infections that has overwhelmed its health-care system.Government data released Friday showed there were 343,144 new reported cases over a 24-hour period, where at least 4,000 people died. It was the third consecutive day where the official death toll was 4,000 or higher.Still, daily cases have stayed below the record 414,188 figure reported on May 7 but the pressure has not yet eased off hospitals. Reports also suggest that the virus is making rounds in rural India, where experts have said the health-care system is not designed to cope with a surge in cases.A professor from the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur said on Friday that daily cases in India may have peaked.”According to our model, the number of new cases coming every day has already crossed the peak and we are on the way down,” Manindra Agrawal, a professor in the computer science and engineering department, told CNBC’s “Street Signs Asia.” He added that India’s number of active cases is also “very close to the peak” and that it could happen in the next few days, after which things are likely to improve.Agrawal co-authored a mathematic model for pandemics called SUTRA (Susceptible, Undetected, Tested (positive), and Removed Approach) with two scientists to predict the spread of the coronavirus.Previously, the model predicted India’s second wave would peak by the third week of April and that daily cases would likely stay around 100,000. April was India’s worst month so far with nearly 7 million cases officially reported, while more than 48,000 people died. Experts have said the actual tally is likely much higher.The scientists behind SUTRA then said the model’s shortcomings were due to the changing nature of the Covid-19 virus.According to the World Health Organization, several mutant variants, including the B.1.617, which was first detected in India, could partially be responsible for the surge. In its assessment, the international health body also said mass gatherings and reduced adherence to public health and social measures likely contributed to the acceleration in cases.Indian news outlet The Hindu reported that some experts have pointed out the SUTRA model’s apparent flaws, including the fact that its predictions were too variable to guide public policy on the second wave. Others have outlined why India should view mathematical models about Covid-19 progression with caution.India’s Covid crisisRead CNBC’s latest coverage of India’s battle with the coronavirus pandemic:WHO labels a Covid strain in India as a ‘variant of concern’ — here’s what we knowIndia’s worsening Covid crisis could spiral into a problem for the worldIndia is the home of the world’s biggest producer of Covid vaccines. But it’s facing a major internal shortageIndia’s economy will likely contract this quarter as Covid cases soar, economists warnFor his part, Agrawal told CNBC that the SUTRA model had predicted the second wave would have a similar intensity as the first wave and would peak towards the end of April.”This is the feedback we gave to the government,” he said, adding, “While we got the location or the timing more or less right, of the peak, but we didn’t get the intensity right.””Nobody could really gauge the intensity of the wave and that took us all by surprise,” Agrawal added.Indian officials are already keeping an eye on a potential third wave as the government aims to step up its massive inoculation program by increasing the production of vaccines.The principal scientific advisor to the Indian government, K. VijayRaghavan, this month said a third wave is “inevitable, given the higher levels of circulating virus.” More

Terrace of historic shops and buildings, Skibbereen, County Cork, Ireland, Irish Republic. (Photo by: Geography Photos/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)Geography Photos | Universal Images Group | Getty ImagesDUBLIN — In March, the Irish government unveiled a plan to revive the country’s rural economy by enticing more people to work remotely.A long-standing challenge for rural Ireland has been the migration to urban areas. With the shadow of the Covid-19 pandemic and what can be achieved through remote working, the Our Rural Future plan aims to incentivize more people to stay in or move to non-urban areas.The plan commits to providing financial support for local authorities to turn vacant properties in towns into remote working hubs. This includes a plan for “over 400 remote working facilities” across the country.Grainne O’Keeffe has first-hand experience of attracting people to a rural town. She heads up the Ludgate Hub, a co-working space and start-up support organization in the small town of Skibbereen, about 80 km west of the city of Cork in the south of Ireland.Ludgate Hub — which is named after scientist Percy Ludgate — was set up in 2016 and was an early mover in rural start-up efforts.O’Keeffe told CNBC that Ludgate provides a practical example of attracting founders and employees to a small town.It operates out of an old bakery and is opening a second facility in an empty school building later this year. It has mostly attracted individuals whose start-ups allow for working remotely, including Eric Yuan-backed start-up Workvivo.O’Keeffe said significant investments in physical infrastructure like high-speed broadband and sourcing suitable buildings are key to making any town viable for remote working.Skibbereen is connected to high-speed broadband through a Vodafone-led venture called Siro.”That is without doubt a game changer for every region. That is fundamental and so is having a building that is conducive to a work environment,” she said.Rural broadband connectivity has been a regular bugbear in Ireland. The government’s National Broadband Plan is rolling out services in previously underserved areas but it has had its fair share of delays. Other operators like Eir are in the midst of their own rural rollouts while Elon Musk’s Starlink is testing in one location in Ireland.Work environmentGarret Flower made the move from Dublin to his native county of Longford, in the midlands. He is the chief executive of software start-up ParkOffice, whose team of 15 has now gone fully remote.”The countryside has so much to offer,” he said. “I think remote working is something that can really drive people back to the rural areas.”But he also warned against an over reliance on home working. As lockdowns eventually ease, the availability of office space or desks in towns and villages will be a key component of any strategy, he said.”Not everyone has an enjoyable living area to work from. You can’t put that pressure on everybody to be able to work from their home. I grew up in the family home and it was chaos. I could never have worked with everyone there in the house,” he said.Separately, a government-funded start-up accelerator called NDRC, which is now run by a consortium of business groups around the country, is focusing on developing start-up ecosystems in more diverse areas of the country.One of its members is the RDI Hub, a facility in the town of Killorglin in County Kerry, in the southwest of the country.”In Kerry we traditionally have a very ingrained migration. People leave Kerry. It’s rare that you would stay, most people go away for college, most people go away to start a job. Some come back but the majority go and keep going,” said Reidin O’Connor, the manager of RDI Hub.O’Connor is from the area originally and relocated from Dublin with her partner and children a few months before the pandemic arrived.She said that government efforts on remote working hubs need to focus not only on workers but how they can be integrated into local communities as well.”Hubs should be the space where you have your start-ups and your creatives working together. But you also have classes and it becomes the hive of the community and it’s where people gather,” she said.P A Thompson | The Image Bank | Getty ImagesHousing and transportA lingering issue for the development of any region in Ireland is housing. Prior to the pandemic, the housing shortage was long a hot-button issue. But since the onset of the pandemic, the issue has become more acute with construction activity halting.Of late, institutional investor activity in the housing market has attracted a great deal of public scorn.Ludgate’s O’Keeffe said that rural regeneration efforts will have to contend with housing and that authorities like county councils will need to “recognize that there will be increases in populations and that there is a need for housing to be accommodated.”O’Keeffe acknowledges that transport links between rural towns like Skibbereen and nearby cities like Cork or further afield in Dublin presents challenges too.”It is certainly an issue that we have for us, that remoteness, but I do think digital enablement reduces physical divide,” she said, adding that reducing digital divides can help address shortcomings in physical infrastructure like transport links.Flower said there’s a significant opportunity afoot to revitalize large swathes of the country that could be otherwise forgotten about.”A boatload of my friends in the last recession up and left for Australia and Canada and haven’t come back. We need to put images in people’s heads that they can come back and that they can work these world class jobs in remote parts of the country.” More