Global economy struggles under COVID-19’s impact
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A woman walks past a commercial sign at a shopping district in Seoul on July 23, 2020 (Photo: AFP) |
S.Korea economy has been reporting its worst economic performance during the past 20 years. Export production has plunged to its most serious level since 1963 due to the effects of the COVID-19 epidemic. The country’s second-quarter GDP shrank by 3.3 percent, the deepest decline since 1998, according to the Central Bank of S.Korea. GDP in the first three months of 2020 had earlier decreased by 1.3 percent.
With two consecutive quarters seeing a decline in GDP, Asia's fourth-largest economy officially fell into recession for the first time in two decades, following other countries such as Japan, Thailand and Singapore since the COVID- 19 outbreaks, according to Reuters.
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Australia released its gloomy economic data with the largest budget deficit since World War 2 (Photo: Jakarta Globe) |
Also on July 23, Australia released its gloomy economic data with the largest budget deficit since World War 2. In a special announcement on July 23, Finance Minister Josh Frydenberg said the country’s budget deficit hit AUD 85.8 billion (around US $60.9 billion) within 12 months as of June 2020.
To make the matter worse, Frydenberg is expecting the budget deficit will continue to expand to a record AUD 184.5 billion (US $131 billion) between 2020-21, the highest since World World 2. “Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said the figures revealed "the true pain" that many Australians were going through as a result of the virus.
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The UN Development Program (UNDP) is calling for immediate application of temporary basic income to help the poor people (Photo: ReliefWeb) |
Meanwhile, the UN Development Program (UNDP) is calling for immediate application of temporary basic income, according to Bloomberg. The measure allows the world's poorest people to stay home without having to go out to earn a living, thereby preventing the spread of the Covid-19 epidemic.
The UNDP estimates that only about 199 billion USD per month is enough to ensure food distribution for 2.7 billion needy people in 132 countries. The proposed program is planned to last for 6 months.
Earlier, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged developing countries to suspend debt repayment and reschedule while the Covid-19 epidemic was making a global attack. This initiative allows countries to use the money supposed to be paid for debt to support its residents during the epidemic.
To date, the COVID-19 pandemic is still complicated in many places. According to Reuters, Hong Kong on Thursday detected a record number of 118 Covid-19 cases within 24 hours. Tokyo, Japan, also recorded a new record of 366 cases, raising concerns about the risk of the next COVID-19 infection. South Africa saw 572 deaths, bringing the total number of victims killed by COVID-19 in the country to 5,940. The novel coronavirus which first emerged in China's Wuhan city has now spread to 213 countries and territories around the world and 2 international conveyances, infecting 15.9 million people and killing over 642,000 patients worldwide. The US is still the hardest-hit country with over 4.2 million cases, almost double the size of Brazil - the second-stricken country. India, Russia, and South Africa are the three remaining countries in the top 5 globally. |
![]() | Japan to ease travel ban on Vietnam this month Japan will introduce the “Residence Track” which will allow the resumption of travel between the two countries as early as late July. |
![]() | COVID-19 (July 25): Hanoi requires wearing mask in public places Considering the high risk of Covid-19 pandemic, Hanoi requires continued implementation of prevention and control measures, starting with quick tests, hands washing, and masks wearing in public places. |
![]() | South Korea and Germany highly appreciate Vietnam's success in Covid-19 response During significant virtual talks on July 23, between representatives of the Vietnamese Government and South Korean and German counterparts, the foreign countries spoke highly of ... |
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