Global Breaking News - Monday, December 23, 2024
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[Misc] (HL-20200412~20200418) Weekly Headlines Review
최고관리자 | 20-04-10 10:43
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!!! Coronavirus Worldwide !!!
!!! A state-by-state breakdown of US coronavirus cases !!!
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(Mon) GM gets $500 mln ventilator contract
GM, 5억 달러 규모 인공호흡기 생산계약 체결
GM is already making surgical masks in Michigan, and soon it will turn out ventilators in Indiana. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services awarded a nearly half-billion dollar contract to the automaker Wednesday to produce 30,000 ventilators for hospitals in short supply battling the coronavirus. The government's first contract for ventilator production comes just five days after President Donald Trump signed an order requiring GM to make that medical device under the Defense Production Act. He had accused GM on Friday of wasting time in negotiations but shifted gears on Sunday, praising the auto maker. GM will work with Ventec Life Systems to make the ventilators and deliver the first batch of roughly 6,000 by June 1. GM says it has the capacity to supply more if needed . It says it is spending tens of millions of dollars to retool the factory. Just last week, its rival Ford said it's working with General Electric to produce 50,000 ventilators in Michigan.
(Tue) Streaming service Quibi launches to housebound audiences
새로운 스트리밍 서비스 퀴비 출시
Hollywood's latest gamble - a new streaming service called Quibi - launched to housebound audiences on Monday. Quibi stands for "quick bites," and it delivers movies, reality shows and news in chunks of 10 minutes or shorter-but only to your mobile phone. The initial lineup boasts celebrities ranging from Lebron James to Jennifer Lopez. Quibi has been criticized for not making its shows available to watch on TVs or PCs. But founder Jeffrey Katzenberg says the mobile aspect sets the service apart from competitors like Disney+ and HBO Max, which mainly stick to full-length shows and movies. "The very thing that differentiates us from all the other OTT stuff going on today is that we are only on a mobile device and using this technology, it looks beautiful on a phone." Quibi is being backed by almost $2 billion from movie studios and other investors. Executives had originally promoted Quibi as on-the-go viewing and considered postponing its launch at a time of social distancing. But they ultimately decided newly stuck-at-home audiences might embrace the new service. "The mega-dream here is this becomes the next generation of film narrative, that we had the era for movies and then the era of TV and then I hope we're into the era of the next one, which is the era of Quibi." As for Hollywood hitting some speed bumps this year, Katzenberg isn't too worried. He says Quibi has enough in the pipeline to last until this November.
(Wed) Mnuchin says small business loans start Friday
므누신 미 재무장관, 금요일부터 중소기업 대출 지원 개시
The U.S. is pressing ahead with launching a nearly $350 billion loan program for small businesses on Friday. It's a centerpiece of the $2 trillion coronavirus relief package passed last week. The aim is to keep businesses from laying off their employees during the economic shutdown. On Thursday U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin encouraged businesses to go to lenders to apply for loans , although he acknowledged not every bank would be able to start processing applications. "You get the money, you'll get it the same day, you use this to pay your workers. Please bring your workers back to work if you've let them go. You have eight weeks plus overhead . This is a very important program." Depending on the size of their businesses, owners can get loans of up to $10 million for expenses like rent, utilities, and cover about eight weeks of payroll. The loans would then be fully refundable by the Treasury. But bankers say that program could run out fast. The massive program has put major strains on the Small Business Administration. The SBA is known for usually taking a slow approach to government-backed loans for small companies. So lenders were initially concerned that the rapid rollout of the loans, which the administration promised would be issued within days, could lead to fraud and money laundering. But the Treasury and SBA also announced on Thursday it will allow banks to rely on borrower certifications, and told banks they won't liable if borrowers break the rules of the program.
(Thu) Are lockdowns working? Google location data says...
구글의 위치정보 기반 '사회적 거리두기' 실천 분석
Google has released its mobile phone users' location data for 131 countries, hoping that the trove will show whether people are obeying the world's various lockdowns and social distancing measures. It may be the world's largest such data dump available to the public and covers a span from mid-February to the end of March. The results are varied. Italy for example has seen a drop in traffic to places like shopping centers and recreational areas by 94% compared to the same time last year. California though, the first state in the U.S. to impose a lockdown, has only seen a drop by half. Arkansas is the lowest American state, with only a 29% drop. The data also shows surges in activity at parks and grocery stores in some countries, such as the UK. Google says the info is anonymous - without names, locations of individuals, or other personal info - hoping to allay privacy concerns. But it declined to say whether any authorities had requested more info. Facebook is also sharing some location data with researchers and governments, but has not made their findings public.
(Fri) Japan, IOC set July 23 next year for start of delayed Olympics
IOC와 일본, 내년 7월 23일로 올림픽 개막 연기
After last week’s postponement, new dates have been set for the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The decision was taken Monday after a conference call between the Tokyo 2020 organizers and the International Olympic Committee. The new dates mean the rescheduled Olympics will begin on July 23, 2021 and will run until August 8, with the Paralympics starting just over two weeks later. The Olympics was one of the last major sporting events to be canceled in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, but the IOC took the decision to ensure the safety of athletes and spectators. Japan must now shift its attention to finalizing a new schedule and use of the venues for each of the 33 sports that make up this Olympic program. Still to have its fate officially determined for this year is the Wimbledon tennis championships. Shifting the June and July, southwest London event later to the three-week window vacated by the Olympics is still an option for this year, but seems unlikely, given the current restrictions in preparing the All England club. A decision is expected this week for the world’s most famous grass court tournament, but playing matches behind closed doors has already been ruled out.
** Other Latest Headlines **
* Who gets a ventilator? The 'gut-wrenching' choices facing US health workers
From ambulances to intensive care units, the Covid-19 pandemic has forced American healthcare workers to make “gut-wrenching” decisions about a patient’s fate – once rare even for hospital ethics committees. Those decisions are now made under a new paradigm – scarcity. “We’re just not used to this in the United States, where we feel like resources are always available,” said Mildred Z Solomon, the president of the New York-based Hastings Center, one of the world’s leading bioethics thinktanks. “It’s a tragedy.” Physicians in America now practice in an “exceedingly rare” time of shortages many and varied, one ethicist said. The most pressing national concern is lack of ventilators. Medical device analysts predict another 75,000 will be needed across the United States to care for the roughly 10% of Covid-19 patients who need them.
* By all means, wear a face mask. Just don't think it will make you invincible
A popular example of masks’ protective proof is through comparisons between the western and eastern world. South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan have had the best results in combating this coronavirus, while Europe and the US are seeing record highs in cases and deaths. The crux of this argument is the belief that donning face masks will imbue us with the same viral protection as citizens of these other nations – but neglects the myriad, intertwined societal and behavioral factors at play.
Those eastern countries have much in common other than wearing masks and keeping the virus at bay. Their community-oriented cultures reveal that unified social behaviors and personal sacrifices are effective in defeating a virus that thrives in chaos. Such air-tight behavior is what therefore enables loosening of social distancing measures, as once the virus becomes a threat (again) those individual behaviors will collectively adjust (again). Meanwhile, the pandemic responses in the US and Europe have had little cohesion, with rules varying wildly by state and region – resulting in lax individual behaviors and an increase in deaths. It would be difficult to isolate the effect of masks in these cultures, as their ubiquity is part of what makes them protective. Masks work because they are worn on top of layers of well-perfected behaviors.
Masks are not the cure. With a virus there is no silver (or copper) bullet. A lifetime of research on antivirals for other deadly diseases tells us that finding a true cure is unlikely before a vaccine is approved. So, in that approximately 18-month interval before the vaccine, our best offense hinges on our ability to make behavioral changes together, as a society. If we do not wish to take up more invasive measures, such as surveillance and centralized quarantine, then we must become far more stringent in our efforts to change the behaviors we can individually control.
* Why is South Korea beating coronavirus?
South Korea is one of the few countries that has succeeded in flattening the coronavirus curve. Its policy of testing, tracing and treating without lockdowns has been widely lauded. Some attribute this to South Korea’s experience of having dealt with previous epidemics such as Sars and Mers. Commentators in the US tend to stress the country’s effective leadership, contrasting it with that of Donald Trump’s. Others point to cultural factors, such as the willingness of the public to sacrifice privacy for the greater good.
What is often overlooked, though, is that at the roots of South Korea’s success against Covid-19 are a well-funded and efficient system of delivering public services. Without this baseline infrastructure, the policy of test, trace and treat could not have been sustained or expanded to the degree that it has. Likewise, effective leadership cannot achieve much if it lacks a well-oiled public service system that can deliver.
* Proposal: You Get A $2,000 Stimulus Check Every Month
As millions of Americans receive their $1,200 stimulus check today, a new proposal would give you $2,000 a month during the Coronavirus pandemic. Here’s what you need to know.
Proposal: New Legislation
Two House Democrats want to enhance the $2.2 trillion stimulus package known as the CARES Act. Representatives Tim Ryan (D-OH) and Ro Khanna (D-CA) have introduced new congressional legislation — the Emergency Money for the People Act — to provide $2,000 per month to Americans who have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Under their proposed legislation, the congressmen would continue monthly cash payments to eligible Americans until employment returns to pre-COVID-19 levels. “A one-time, twelve hundred dollar check isn’t going to cut it,” Rep. Khanna said. “Americans need sustained cash infusions for the duration of this crisis in order to come out on the other side alive, healthy, and ready to get back to work.”
How It Would Work
The Emergency Money for the People Act would work like this:
* Eligible Americans would receive $2,000 in cash per month guaranteed for at least six months.
* These monthly cash payments would continue until the employment to population ratio for people ages 16 and older is greater than 60%.
* The monthly cash payments would not count as income.
* The monthly cash payments would not adversely impact anyone’s ability to qualify for an income-based federal or state assistance program.
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