The world has officially surpassed 28 million Covid-19 cases. While the United States appears to be stabilizing (though new cases are still registered in the tens of thousands), the situation in India is getting worse. The latter had nearly 100,000 new coronavirus cases yesterday alone, and the numbers keep rising every day. South America also remains in the throes of the pandemic.
Moreover, the coronavirus is seriously threatening Europe once again. Both Spain and France are seeing daily increases similar to the peak of their respective outbreaks. In the case of France, the numbers observed now (8,500 yesterday) are actually higher than before. The rest of Western Europe is also seeing spikes, though not quite as high,
As cases of the coronavirus are once again on the rise in the United Kingdom, Boris Johnson’s government has proposed a new plan to increase the testing capabilities of the country. The Prime Minister has also issued a new limit on public gatherings (to no more than six people), but has said that people who test negative should be allowed free movement.
Johnson’s ideas came under criticism from medical experts. On the one hand, the United Kingdom’s testing capabilities are limited by the number of labs and lab workers. On the other hand, the 20-minute tests the Prime Minister mentioned do not currently exist. In addition, the idea of relaxing measures for people who test negative is a slippery slope, as many people who carry the dormant version of Covid-19 can be contagious and still test negative.
In addition, Johnson also finds himself in hot water over the proposed Internal Market Bill he unveiled yesterday. By his government’s own admission, the bill is in breach of international law. The EU has sent Maros Sefcovic, the Vice President of the European Commission, over to the UK to discuss the bill. According to the Brexit withdrawal agreement the EU and the UK signed, the EU could take the UK government to court over the new bill.
Today the European Central Bank is holding its September policy meeting. The bank recently announced it does not wish to see the euro strengthen too much, but no adjustments to the interest rate are expected today.
