Tag Archives: COVID-19

“There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen.” How have the Isle of Man and other small states responded to those recent COVID-19 related weeks? The Isle of Man is an island of around 85,000 people and 227 square miles, located in the Irish Sea roughly midway between England, Scotland and Ireland. It is […]

As a frequent traveller to China, having been to several cities there in November and to Hong Kong in January, I nervously tracked news of the outbreak of a new viral disease in Wuhan as it emerged. With the number of cases of infection growing in the UK, I was surprised by the complacency of […]

Immigrants have been vital to this nation’s success pre-COVID, and they will be key participants in ensuring the U.S. economy grows when the pandemic is over. Foreign born workers were instrumental in powering the consistent economic growth the U.S. saw from 2010 to early 2020. To see that growth again, it will take native-born Americans […]

America First is clearly a failed policy – for the United States and the world at large. This Trumpian isolationist doctrine appeals to a small base of nativist Americans who subscribe to hard-core isolationist views. As America pulls back from the very international institutions it helped establish in the post-World War II era, the guardrails […]

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected that a best-case scenario sees global GDP growth falling to negative 3 percent in 2020 (IMF). Their worst-case scenario, in which the pandemic’s spread does not diminish in the second half of 2020, subtracts an additional 3 percent from GDP growth (IMF). Before the coronavirus pandemic began circulating […]

India has extended the world’s biggest coronavirus lockdown until May 3rd, 2020 (AP). India went into lockdown on March 25th, 2020, closing schools, offices, factories, parks, temples, railways, and airspace (NYT). The lockdown was originally set to be lifted on April 14th, 2020 but will now last for a few more weeks. At the end […]

Caribbean nations  seeking to acquire protective gear to prevent the spread of the coronavirus (Miami Herald). A new policy from the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) prevents U.S. vendors from shipping personal protective equipment, PPE, overseas (Miami Herald). To accomplish this, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection will detain shipments of PPE and allow […]

The regional director of the World Health Organization, Hans Kluge, stated that European nations should be cautious when considering easing lockdowns and restrictions (Reuters). Kluge told reporters “In the past 10 days, the number of cases reported in Europe has nearly doubled to close to one million” (France 24). He also stated that about 50% […]

A spike in coronavirus cases in immigration detention centers has increased concern for the safety of children across the globe (ABC). As numbers rise, those in overcrowded spaces such as jail cells or detentions pose greater vulnerability to the virus. Inadequate access to healthcare, nutrition, or hygiene services are not uncommon and create a highly […]

According to a new model from the Imperial College London, under the best-case scenario Africa could see a death-toll of 300,000 due to coronavirus (A.P News). This estimate is projected given all countries introduce and maintain strict social distancing practices, but still sees 122.8 million infections, 2.2 million hospitalizations and 300,000 deaths (Reuters). In contrast […]