COVID-19: What you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic on 21 May

May 21, 2020

A railway worker wearing a protective gear disinfects a train car, after Pakistan started easing the lockdown restrictions and allowed to resume passenger trains, following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Peshawar, Pakistan May 20, 2020.

Image: REUTERS/Fayaz Aziz

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: Confirmed cases of COVID-19 surpass 5 million globally; largest number of coronavirus cases reported in a single day; and Pakistan's PM warns 'millions facing starvation'.

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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 5 million worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University. More than 328,000 people have died from the virus, while over 1.9 million have recovered.
New flight guidelines from the EU require face masks and hand hygiene.
Cuba has not reported a single death in one week.
UK healthcare workers begin hydrochloroquine trial.

2. Largest number of COVID-19 cases reported in a single day

According to World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, there were 106,000 cases reported from Tuesday to Wednesday of this week. That's the most cases reported in a single day since the outbreak began last December.

"We still have a long way to go in this pandemic," he said.

3. 'Millions facing starvation' - Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan on COVID-19 Action Platform call

Millions will face starvation unless developing economies can reopen. That was the statement of Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan on the impact of COVID-19 lockdowns during a virtual meeting of the Forum's COVID Action Platform yesterday.

Khan explained that Pakistan had 25 million workers who depended on daily wages or who were self-employed. When the world locked down, he said, "all these people became unemployed. When we're talking about 25 million workers, you're talking about 25 million families and it has affected almost 120-150 million people."

Added Khan, "Unless the men and women work, they cannot feed their families."

Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan speaks during a session at the 50th World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos. Image: REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

4. New Zealand Prime Minister opens door to 4-day working week

New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has suggested businesses could shift to a four-day working week to help boost domestic tourism.

Talking on a Facebook Live video, Ardern acknowledged shorter workweeks have become a topic of discussion as companies have adjusted to remote work. A four-day week, structured so workers pay levels remained the same, could be one way to give New Zealanders the leisure time to explore their home country. “I really encourage people, if they’re an employer and in a position to do so, to think about whether or not that’s something that would work for their workplace, because it certainly would help tourism all around the country.”

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