Category:

Eco/Invest/Demography

Insurer AIA’s new business drops 37% in first-half as pandemic hits sales

Insurers across the world have been hit by pandemic-related claims including for travel, business interruption and event cancellation, while economic slowdown and job losses have led to reduced demand for life insurance.

In Asia, insurance firms mainly rely on their army of agents for product sales, which have been dented by lockdown and social distancing measures put in place in various countries to contain the pandemic.

read more

Mystery grows over virus spread via contaminated food packaging

“We know that viruses usually can survive being frozen. So that means in theory it’s possible that infection could spread that way,” said Benjamin Cowling, head of epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of Hong Kong. “But in reality, it’s a very low risk that that would happen because so many steps would need to be involved.”

The virus would need to survive freezing and then defrosting. It would need to get onto someone’s hands and then into their nose or mouth, and still survive. “I don’t think it would be a frequent mode of transmission, but it is possible,” he said.

read more

Drug costs for COVID-19 patients plunge at U.S. hospitals, but may rise

Research by the health data firm IllumiCare and exclusively shared with Reuters found that hospitals spent $1,090 per COVID-19 patient on medication in July. That was down from $3,011 in May among more than 50 hospitals in 10 states that were analyzed.

Several factors drove down the number. The average length of stay for COVID-19 patients declined by nearly 30%, from 9.6 days in April to 6.8 days in July, the hospital data show. And the number of medications used dropped by 22%, from nearly 20 individual drugs in April to 15.4 drugs in July.

read more

India faces protracted slowdown as virus clouds rural revival

“The economic situation has in fact worsened since April and May, and we are likely moving towards a longer economic slowdown than earlier expected,” a finance ministry official said.

The official pointed to sluggish consumer demand and a slowdown in rural lending as causes for concern.

“The situation on the economy front is very serious and the government’s hands are tied on the fiscal front,” a government adviser with direct knowledge of India’s budget plans said.

read more

14 hospitalised after ammonia gas leak in Andhra Pradesh

“We got the information that Ammonia gas was leaked at Hatson company milk process unit near Putalapattu at around 5 PM. 14 labourers who were working in that shift are brought to the hospital here in Chittoor. Among them, 3 people are serious and probably will be shifted to SVIMS or Ruia hospital in Tirupati,” Dr Narayan Bharat Gupta, Chittoor District Collector said.

“All are stable. All of them are women. It is to yet be ascertained whether this incident is a result of the negligence of management or the negligence of the workers. Industries department General Manager and fire department officials will review the ground-level situation on Friday,” he said.

read more

World Health Organization’s struggle for a global COVID-19 vaccine plan

The WHO has expressed concern that wealthier countries hoarding vaccines for their own citizens could impede efforts to end the pandemic.

“We need to prevent vaccine nationalism,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during a Tuesday virtual briefing. “Sharing finite supplies strategically and globally is actually in each country’s national interest.”

read more

WHO blasts ‘vaccine nationalism’ in last-ditch push against hoarding

The WHO has an Aug. 31 deadline for wealthier nations to join the “COVAX Global Vaccines Facility” for sharing vaccine hopefuls with developing countries. Tedros said he sent a letter to the WHO’s 194 member states, urging participation.
So far, the COVAX facility has attracted interest from 92 poorer countries hoping for voluntary donations and 80 wealthier countries, a number little changed from a month ago, that would finance the scheme, the WHO said.

read more