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Germany’s economic recovery loses momentum as daily cases spike above 5,000

Germany’s economic recovery loses momentum as daily cases spike above 5,000

  • Germany’s growth prospects for 2020 are looking increasingly bleak, with the country’s leading economic research institutes downgrading GDP forecasts for 2020 and beyond.
  • Publishing a joint economic forecast Wednesday, Germany’s leading economists warned that the coronavirus pandemic is leaving what they called “substantial marks” on the German economy.
  • The impact of the virus “is more persistent than assumed in spring.”



a person holding a sign: Advertising figures with a protective face masks in Munich, Germany.

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Advertising figures with a protective face masks in Munich, Germany.

Germany’s economic prospects for 2020 are looking increasingly bleak, with the country’s leading research institutes downgrading GDP (gross domestic product) forecasts for this year and beyond.

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Publishing a joint economic forecast Wednesday, Germany’s prominent economists warned that the coronavirus pandemic is leaving what they called “substantial marks” on the German economy, adding that “its impact is more persistent than assumed in spring.”

They revised their economic outlook downward by roughly one percentage point for both 2020 and 2021. They now expect GDP to fall by 5.4% in 2020 (lower than a previous -4.2% forecast) and to grow by 4.7% (less than a previously forecast 5.8%) in 2021, and 2.7% in 2022.

The “Joint Economic Forecast” is published twice a year on behalf of the German Economy Ministry and is prepared by the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin) and the Ifo Institute in Munich, as well as several other organizations.

They said the downgrade follows a more pessimistic assessment of the recovery process. “Although a substantial part of the drop in output experienced in spring has already been recovered, the remaining catch-up process is the more difficult part of the return to normality,” Stefan Kooths, head of forecasting at the Kiel Institute, said on the outlook.

The downgrades are not surprising given a second wave of coronavirus cases that is ravaging Europe and

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New 3-tier COVID-19 system announced for England to combat rise in cases

New 3-tier COVID-19 system announced for England to combat rise in cases

Infection rates are highest in the north of England.

October 12, 2020, 3:14 PM

6 min read

LONDON — U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a new three-tier coronavirus program that outlines stringent local restrictions in England as the country attempts to curb an increase in cases and avoid another national lockdown.

Different areas in the country will now be evaluated as on “medium,” “high” or “very high” alert levels, with restrictions imposed depending on the severity of the outbreak. “Medium” areas will face the current national rules in place, which include a ban on social gatherings over six people and a 10 p.m. curfew for bars and pubs, while “very high” alert (tier three) areas will face bars, pubs and gyms being shuttered and bans on household mixing. However, retail stores, schools and universities will remain open.

“We must act to save lives, and the evidence shows that in changing our behavior, in restricting transmission between us, our actions are saving lives,” Johnson said in the House of Commons on Monday. “But we need to go further.”

In recent months, the government has targeted COVID hotspots with local restrictions, but this new system is designed to “simplify and standardize” the rules, Johnson said. The measures will come into force on Wednesday and will be the subject of regular review, he said.

The harshest measures in the U.K. have been imposed in the Liverpool City Region, which is now in the “very high” alert level, meaning bars, pubs and gyms have been ordered to shutter. COVID-19 cases are rising at the highest rates in northern England, according to Public Health England data.

Many northern areas already under restrictions will be placed into the “high” level. Comparatively, the rate of infection

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Wisconsin businesses brace for economic impact as COVID-19 cases soar

Wisconsin businesses brace for economic impact as COVID-19 cases soar

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Owner of Q-Tea Premium Tea House and The Sense Spa + Wellness Center, Quan Hoang, pictured on Thursday, Oct. 8, 2020, at 124 S. Military Ave., Green Bay, Wis. “We have to be super careful,” he said. “Customers are required to wear a mask when they enter the building. They are asked to wash their hands once they enter the building and we have installed air ventilation systems which we hope can keep us safe.” (Photo: Ebony Cox/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin)

The region’s explosion of coronavirus cases doesn’t just threaten more lives but could reverse Wisconsin’s economic recovery as it infects more of the workforce and saps consumer demand. 

Wisconsin’s Department of Health Services is reporting more than 2,300 new, positive test results each day right now with the Green Bay, Appleton, Oshkosh, Fond du Lac and Marinette areas all in counties with very high case activity. They’re among the 20 U.S. metro areas with the greatest number of positive COVID-19 tests per 100,000 people, according to the New York Times.

The impact is being felt by large and small businesses, alike. 

The Green Bay Packers, for instance, announced Tuesday fans would not be allowed to attend home games indefinitely, citing the rampant community spread of the coronavirus. Two miles from Lambeau, the owner of a small tea shop says he’s selling only a few dozen cups a day compared with a few hundred during normal times. 

Noah Williams, director of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Center for Research on the Wisconsin Economy, said the state’s economic recovery seems to have slowed, if not reversed, with the increasing number of COVID-19 cases.

“Clearly it’s going to depend on how long it takes to get this spike under control and get things back to normal,” Williams said. “But I think there’s already

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Coronavirus live news: England’s northern leaders say they do not support financial package; Portugal reports 1,646 new cases | World news

Coronavirus live news: England’s northern leaders say they do not support financial package; Portugal reports 1,646 new cases | World news

Spain’s Socialist prime minister Pedro Sanchez appealed for unity on Saturday after the far-right Vox party said it would take legal action against a partial lockdown imposed on Madrid to contain one of Europe’s worst coronavirus outbreaks.

Vox, which is echoing the conservative-led Madrid regional authority’s opposition to the new restrictions implemented via a state of emergency, has also called for protests.

The measures affecting 3.8 million people in the Spanish capital and eight satellite towns include a ban on non-essential travel except for work, school or medical reasons.

Around 7,000 police are deployed to ensure compliance.

Vox leader Santiago Abascal said his party, Spain’s third largest, would appeal in the constitutional court against the “illegal” state of emergency.

Opponents say the measures in Madrid are excessive and will crush the economy, Reuters reports.

Spanish prime minister Pedro Sanchez holds a press conference with his Portuguese counterpart during the 31st Portuguese-Spanish summit this year dedicated to cross-border cooperation and articulation of a joint strategy for economic recovery in Guarda on 10 October, 2020.

 Spanish prime minister Pedro Sanchez holds a press conference with his Portuguese counterpart during the 31st Portuguese-Spanish summit this year dedicated to cross-border cooperation and articulation of a joint strategy for economic recovery in Guarda on 10 October, 2020. Photograph: Patrícia de Melo Moreira/AFP/Getty Images

But Sanchez told a news conference that health should come before politics. “We have to be united. This is an epidemiological battle, not ideological,” he said.

Spaniards are bemused and angry over the political bickering, as their nation suffers the highest Covid-19 caseload in Western Europe and its worst recession since the civil war.

“I feel frustrated, deceived, I feel afraid because I see that we are in the middle of political disputes that lead nowhere,” said Miguel Angel, 63, a Madrid resident.

The Madrid region had 723 coronavirus cases per 100,000 people in the two weeks to 8 October, according to the World Health Organization, making it Europe’s second densest cluster after Andorra.

Spain said on Friday it had

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Analysis: 28 states have seen increase in new coronavirus cases in past two weeks

Analysis: 28 states have seen increase in new coronavirus cases in past two weeks

Twenty-eight states, as well as Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico, have experienced increases in new COVID-19 cases over the past two weeks, a trend that could be treacherous as the flu season approaches.

ABC conducted an analysis that also revealed increases in new daily positivity rate for 25 states, increases on COVID-19 hospitalization in 35 states, and upticks in daily COVID-19 deaths in 18 states and Puerto Rico.

These data contributed to the rise of the seven-day average of new cases in the U.S. to over 44,000 –– the highest it has been since Aug. 21.

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Some of the current hotspots in the U.S. are the Midwest states, including North and South Dakotas, Wisconsin, Indiana, and Nebraska. ABC notes that two states in particular, Montana and South Dakota, recorded their highest single-day increase in new coronavirus cases this week.

Hospitalizations in the Midwest have also hit record highs.

Other regions in the country, like the Northeast and South, are relatively low, although Northeast states are seeing increases in cases, with seven-day averages of new cases hitting the highest numbers seen since June. 

Meanwhile, the South still contributed over 45 percent of the country’s daily regional caseload, averaging 18,000 new cases a day. 

States out west like Montana, Idaho, and Utah have also witnessed increases, with a 26 percent new-case uptick reported over the past three weeks. 

Montana Gov. Steve Bullock (D) recently announced that the state’s health department will be publicly displaying hospital bed capacity and ICU status on Thursday. 

“It’s our actions as

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