Australian economy likely to face biggest output contraction since Great Depression
Australia’s reserve bank governor, Phil Lowe, says the country’s economy faces the biggest contraction in output since the Great Depression.
The RBA expects:
- Australia is likely to experience “the biggest contraction in national output since the 1930s”.
- The decline is estimated to be 10% over the first half of 2020, with most of the decline in June quarter.
- Total hours work are estimated to decline by 20%, a “staggeringly large number”, Lowe said.
- Unemployment is expected to be 10% by June.
- The RBA also predicts negative inflation, for the first time since the 1960s.
Lowe sounds a positive note though: “As a country we are up to the task … all arms of public policy are pulling together.”
Follow the latest on this story with the Australia coronavirus live blog.
Visa conditions that block thousands of migrants in the UK from accessing most state-funded benefits, tax credits and housing assistance should be suspended during the Covid-19 crisis, the shadow immigration minister has said.
Most migrants from outside the European Economic Area with temporary permission to remain in the UK have “no recourse to public funds” status, including sponsored skilled workers, family members of British citizens, self-employed people, investors, entrepreneurs and asylum seekers. The NRPF rules also apply to undocumented migrants.
There have been warnings that without other sources of financial support, some temporary migrants with NRPF status may feel compelled to continue working and risk exposing themselves and others to coronavirus.
The Grenfell Tower inquiry could resume by Zoom videolink, as the inquiry’s solicitor sets out options for restarting hearings during coronavirus crisis.
The public inquiry into the disaster could resume in virtual form, its senior legal adviser has told bereaved people and survivors.
An online system has been successfully tested by role-playing barristers, and hearings could be restarted within weeks if the option is chosen following a consultation launched on Monday.
Updated
Here is everything we know so far about Trump’s tweet saying he plans to sign an executive order temporarily halting immigration to the US.
Donald Trump has been accused of “xenophobic scapegoating” after he announced he will order a temporary ban on immigration into the US to combat the coronavirus pandemic.
There were no other details on the timing or scope of the president’s proposed executive order and no official policy statement from the White House.
Instead there was a lone tweet issued by Trump at 10.06pm on Monday. Without warning, he wrote: “In light of the attack from the Invisible Enemy” – a phrase he commonly applies to Covid-19 – “as well as the need to protect the jobs of our GREAT American Citizens, I will be signing an Executive Order to temporarily suspend immigration into the United States!”
The post generated instant uncertainty. Similar moves by Trump in the past have triggered mayhem at airports in America and beyond as well as legal challenges. Such an order would be a far-reaching use of executive power from a president who last week claimed he had “total” authority over states’ efforts to reopen their economies.
Zimbabwe faces malaria outbreak as it locks down to counter coronavirus
Nyasha Chingono reports for the Guardian from Harare:
At least 131 people have died from malaria in Zimbabwe in a new outbreak, adding pressure to a country already struggling to deal with Covid-19.
The fatalities occurred in 201 outbreaks recorded across the country, according to the Ministry of Health. Meanwhile Zimbabwe’s lockdown has been extended by two weeks to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
Malaria transmission is seasonal and unstable, causing sickness and death across all age groups. In Zimbabwe, epidemics occasionally occur during the warm and wet season, particularly in February, March and April.
Health experts predict the figures will continue to rise across the country, although the true figures may well be masked by families being unable to access clinics or failing to report cases.
More than 13,400 people linked to a Covid-19 outbreak in a village on the outskirts of the Vietnamese capital Hanoi have tested negative for the coronavirus, the government said on Monday.
Supported by the mass quarantine of tens of thousands and an aggressive contact-tracing programme, Vietnam has recorded just 268 cases of the novel coronavirus so far, and no deaths. The country has stayed clear of the virus for four consecutive days so far, Reuters reports.
The government said in a statement: “97.7% of the total samples tested negative for the virus. Results of the rest will be released in coming days.”
Ha Loi village, 32km (20 miles) from the capital city, was considered an epicentre and was placed under lockdown since April 7, after 13 people living there, including a Samsung Display worker, were infected.
Vietnam’s health ministry on Monday said over 200 samples linked to the Samsung Display worker also tested negative for the virus.
Staying in Asia pacific for now: about 800,000 Australians lost their job in the first three weeks of coronavirus restrictions.
Australian workers suffered a 6.7% reduction in take-home pay and about 800,000 people – 6% of the workforce – lost their job in the first three weeks of restrictions to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
According to Australian Bureau of Statistics figures released on Tuesday, people under 20 have suffered the biggest decline in jobs and wages, with accommodation and food services, arts and recreation services the hardest hit industries.
The very old and very young experienced the worst job cuts, with 9.7% of those 70 and over losing employment, and 9.9% of those 20 and under.
Women were slightly more likely than men to have lost their jobs – 5.9% and 5.8% respectively – and lost more pay – 7%, compared with 6.4% for men.
Japanese police reported last month the deaths of 11 people deemed to be unnatural before tests showed the victims had been infected with the new coronavirus, media said on Tuesday.
Japan, has more than 260 virus-related deaths according to public broadcaster NHK, but there are questions as to whether it is testing sufficiently.
Some of the 11 died at home and one was found lying in the street, the Nikkei business daily and other media said, citing the National Police Agency. Six were in Tokyo, the capital, where virus cases have topped 3,000, from a nationwide tally of 11,157.
Contacted by Reuters, the National Police Agency said it could not confirm the facts before receiving questions by fax.
One of the cases police reported in the month to mid-April involved a man in his 60s found on a street in eastern Tokyo and taken to hospital, the Nikkei said. A PCR test after he died from symptoms of pneumonia confirmed that he had been infected, it added.
The government has said it follows World Health Organization guidelines for virus testing, with all suspicious pneumonia deaths tested for the respiratory disease caused by the virus.
In Australia, foreign minister Marise Payne told the ABC television programme Insiders on Sunday that that her concerns over China’s transparency were “at a very high point”, and that she also shared some of the US’s concerns about the WHO. She joined called for an independent review into the origins of the virus as well as the outbreak response.
Reaction from China continues to roll in, this time from state-backed online news site, the Global Times. The editorial accuses Australia of being a “petty follower” of the US, and “engineering a divorce from China”.
The Global Times editorial, published late yesterday, saidAustralia was acting more and more like “a petty follower of the US”, after having alreadybanned Huawei from its 5G network, and allegedChinese infiltration in domestic politics.
It said Australia was trying but failing to recalibrate its Asia policy, and there was “no area of importance to Australia politically that doesn’t have a China dimension to it”.
“However, the debate in Australia in recent years has largely centered on China as inimical to Australian interests and poses a threat,” it said.
“Therefore, Australian politicians are engineering a divorce from China in the context of US policy objectives.”
It said Australia didn’t miss the chance to talk on behalf of the US in the wake of the outbreak, and was using the pandemic as an excuse “to engage in political point scoring with the US and its egotistical president”.
In non-coronavirus news:
Kim Jong-un underwent heart surgery earlier this month and is recovering at his private villa, according to a South Korean report, with US media citing officials as saying the North Korean leader was in “grave danger” after the procedure.
If accurate, the surgery claim, made by the Daily NK website, would explain Kim’s absence from an event to mark the anniversary of the birth of his grandfather – and the country’s founder – Kim Il-sung.
