COVID-19: What you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic on 12 May

May 12, 2020

Children wearing face masks to avoid the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) play in a stream at a shopping mall in Gimpo, South Korea May 1, 2020.

Children wearing face masks to avoid the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) play in a stream at a shopping mall in Gimpo, South Korea. Image: REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji

Linda Lacina

Digital Editor, World Economic Forum

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COVID-19

This daily roundup brings you a selection of the latest news updates on the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, as well as tips and tools to help you stay informed and protected.
Today's top stories: Over 100 new infections in South Korea; WHO urges caution over reopening schools; and why obese people are at greater risk.

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What is the World Economic Forum doing about the coronavirus outbreak?

Responding to the COVID-19 pandemic requires global cooperation among governments, international organizations and the business community, which is at the centre of the World Economic Forum’s mission as the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation.

Since its launch on 11 March, the Forum’s COVID Action Platform has brought together 1,667 stakeholders from 1,106 businesses and organizations to mitigate the risk and impact of the unprecedented global health emergency that is COVID-19.

The platform is created with the support of the World Health Organization and is open to all businesses and industry groups, as well as other stakeholders, aiming to integrate and inform joint action.

As an organization, the Forum has a track record of supporting efforts to contain epidemics. In 2017, at our Annual Meeting, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) was launched – bringing together experts from government, business, health, academia and civil society to accelerate the development of vaccines. CEPI is currently supporting the race to develop a vaccine against this strand of the coronavirus.

1. How COVID-19 is impacting the globe

Confirmed coronavirus cases have surpassed 4.1 million worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University. More than 286,000 people have died from the virus, while over 1.4 million have recovered.
More than 100 new infections in South Korea have been linked to a nightclub district in Seoul.
The UK is to set out guidelines on how to make workplaces safer.
The top infectious disease expert in the US is set to warn the Senate that Americans would face "needless suffering and death" were the country to reopen too quickly.

2. What schools and businesses should consider before reopening

The World Health Organization (WHO) released new guidance for schools and non-essential businesses to help decision makers thinking about easing restrictions. Among the recommendations:

For schools: Decision-makers should consider COVID-19's spread in children and how the disease is impacting people in a particular geographic location.
For businesses: Leaders should develop action plans that complement their business continuity plans, while ensuring there are measures in place to prevent and mitigate the spread of the virus.

WHO officials said communities must maintain discipline as they ease restrictions.

“We have a second chance now as a society to put in place the necessary public health interventions, to put in place the necessary community supports,” said Michael Ryan, Chief Executive Director of the WHO Health Emergencies Programme. “We need to get our priorities right as we enter the next phase of this fight."

3. Ways COVID-19 could actually spark a better future for Africa

Post-COVID-19, the African continent is forecast to face billions in losses. Still, as one finance minister explains, the crisis could spark action in three crucial areas:

Health investment
Social protection systems for the continent's most disadvantaged
A move toward industrialization, improving access to essentials

There is reason to believe that the crisis can lead to such positive changes, writes Cesar Augusto Mba Abogo, Minister of Finance, Economy and Planning of Equatorial Guinea. "Nestled in the souls of all Africans is a rational expectation, an unshakable faith that the most important resource that Africa needs in order to rise up is none other than Africans themselves."

4. Why people with obesity are more likely to die from coronavirus
New research shows that the obese are more likely to suffer severe forms of COVID-19. Several factors account for this, according to two experts from the University College Cork.

For instance, obese individuals have reduced breathing capacity due to higher levels of fat on the chest and belly that make it more difficult to fill one's lungs. Obese people also face a higher demand for oxygen.

Given COVID-19's impact on the obese, special efforts should be taken in certain communities. "Public health attention should also be drawn to underpriviledged, overcrowded neighbourhoods where poor diet and obesity often coexist," the researchers argue.

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