Good morning, this is James Murray bringing you the main stories and must-reads on Wednesday 15 April.
Coronavirus
The International Monetary Fund has said the world economy is set to suffer its worst year since the Great Depression of the 1930s as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. In its half-yearly forecasts, the IMF said the “Great Lockdown” would cause a dramatic drop in activity that would be far more painful than the recession that followed the banking meltdown of the late 2000s. The IMF said the sudden shock caused by the spread of the coronavirus meant it had been forced to tear up an estimate it made just three months ago of 3.3% global growth this year and replace it with an expected contraction of 3%.
The Australian government is planning to introduce an app that will track people with coronavirus. It’s part of a wider strategy to provide Australia with a “road out” from the virus. Scott Morrison warned that although this strategy was being considered, it would be weeks before Australia could start easing restrictions. “Yes, we’ve had a good couple of weeks, but that does not a virus beat,” the prime minister said. It comes as dozens of Australian newspapers halt printing, the university sector warns of a catastrophe for its overseas student business worth $23bn to the economy, and tourism in Queensland grinds to a halt with towns like Port Douglas and Cairns almost deserted. An increase in online orders and the reduction in domestic flights have contributed to delivery delays across the country.
Donald Trump and New York governor Andrew Cuomo invoked the Mutiny on the Bounty and Alexander Hamilton in a bizarre exchange on Tuesday, as they disputed the balance of power between the White House and the 50 US states when it comes to battling the coronavirus pandemic. Trump is eager to reopen the US economy by presidential fiat, potentially as early as 1 May. At a chaotic, angry and rambling White House briefing on Monday night, he claimed: “When somebody is the president of the United States, the authority is total.” Constitutional scholars and state governors alike were quick to reject the idea the federal government could force states to reopen, with Cuomo leading the charge. “I don’t know what the president is talking about, frankly,” Cuomo told NBC. “We have a constitution … we don’t have a king … the president doesn’t have total authority.”
Australia
Westpac has been urged by more than 50 climate change and environment groups to stop supporting projects that boost the fossil fuel industry. Westpac’s website says it will be releasing a new position statement on climate change “shortly”.
George Pell has used an interview with Sky News conservative commentator Andrew Bolt to say his accuser may have been “used”. Pell also spoke of corruption in the Vatican, and also made allegations of corruption in Victoria.
A boom in online orders combined with flight cutbacks has fuelled parcel delivery delays across Australia. Australia Post warn has warned letters and parcels will take longer to arrive at their destination, particularly in regional and rural communities.
Journalist Jess Hill has won the $50,000 Stella prize for See What You Made Me Do, her book investigating domestic violence. Her “incredibly powerful” work turned a lens turned firmly on perpetrators.
The world
Barack Obama has endorsed Joe Biden for president, casting his former vice-president as the experienced statesman and unifying leader that will be needed to confront the public health and economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic that will probably be the defining issue of the 2020 presidential election.
A rare photograph of Stonehenge has shed light on its construction technique. Knobs and holes on top of the rocks suggest they were fitted together in a similar way to Lego.
Despite being told it will save thousands of lives a year, the Trump administration has declined to stiffen US clean air standards. Fine soot particles are linked with heart and lung diseases, higher rates of asthma, bronchitis and cancer.
Physical distancing may have to stay in place in some form until 2022, according to a paper in the journal Science. The paper concludes that a one-time lockdown will not be sufficient to bring the coronavirus pandemic under control.
Recommended reads
The Last Man on Earth is possibly the most relevant sitcom for these times. Will Forte plays Phil Miller, a man who believes he is the sole survivor of a pandemic that has wiped out the world’s population. Running for four seasons, before being cancelled on a cliffhanger, Van Badham writes that this is no reason to not try out a comedy whose quirky tone earned it a cult following. “The conceptual triumph of Forte’s show is that the tragedy of the event is enhanced, rather than trivialised, by the comedy taking place in its aftermath. Its survivor characters may be clowns who trip over the imperfect humanity of themselves and one another, but The Last Man on Earth treats the dead with solemnity, and against this, the haplessness of living people who consistently struggle to manage the heroic is tender and powerfully life-affirming.”
Australia’s physical distancing measures have had great success at reducing the rate of Covid-19 infection. The estimated effective reproduction number is below 1, meaning each person infected is believed to pass the coronavirus on to less than one other person on average – an important milestone to decrease the number of active cases. The conversation has now turned to how Australia will move from the suppression phase to what the federal health minister, Greg Hunt, describes as “the road out”. Paul Karp writes about the scenarios Australia has to choose from, and what an exit strategy might look like.
Dr Mindy Sotiri and Dr Ruth McCausland take a look at what the pandemic means for Australia’s homeless prisoners. With overcrowded prisons considered to be a health risk, states are releasing prisoners into the community, but some have nowhere secure to live. With almost half of all released prisoners expecting to be homeless, there is now a pressing need to stop the vicious cycle of release, homelessness and reincarceration.
Listen
Around the world, countries hit early by coronavirus, are starting to loosen social restrictions. While Scott Morrison is cautioning against premature action, on Thursday the federal cabinet will meet to discuss how, and when, Australia could do the same. In this episode of Full Story, Ben Doherty explains how this process could work, and what Australia can learn from countries that are already taking action.
Sport
The Tour De France may be held in August after President Emmanuel Macron banned large public events in the country until 11 July. The race was to have begun in Nice on 27 June and event organisers have already ruled out staging the Tour without crowds lining the way.
Media roundup
The Sydney Morning Herald reports that the coronavirus pandemic will leave a $130bn hole in the Australian economy, according to the IMF. The Age reports that nurses in Tasmania who were accused of having an illegal dinner party that sparked a Covid-19 outbreak are demanding an apology. The rumour was spread by chief medical officer Brendan Murphy at a New Zealand parliamentary committee on Tuesday morning. And the Australian reveals that the commodore of the Ruby Princess may have been exposed to Covid-19 after the crew member responsible for serving his meals tested positive.
Coming up
A Perth man who repeatedly broke Covid-19 quarantine by sneaking out of his hotel to visit his girlfriend will be sentenced.
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