The World Health Organization, on Wednesday said that more cases had been reported to the agency in the last 24 hours than any time since the novel coronavirus outbreak began. “We still have a long way to go in this pandemic,” said director-general, Tedros Adhanom-Ghebreyesus, “In the last 24 hours, there have been 106,000 cases reported to WHO – the most in a single day since the outbreak began. Almost two-thirds of these cases were reported in just four countries.”
Those four countries, confirmed by WHO infectious disease epidemiologist Maria Van Kerkhove, are: the United States, Russia, Brazil and India.
Canada
Prince Edward Island has gone 22 days without any new COVID-19 cases and says it will ease its travel ban to allow seasonal home owners to start entering the province next month. However, they must first apply for approval.
PEI will start taking applications on June 1st from seasonal residents who must submit property ownership documentation and self-isolation plans. Seasonal residents will be monitored throughout the 14-day isolation period in an effort to protect the province from a new outbreak of COVID-19.
Corporations
Hertz CEO Kathryn Marinello has resigned from her US$1.5 million a year position. It was reported last week that the car rental giant, which was estimated to be worth US$2.2 billion at the end of 2019, might need to file for bankruptcy after it missed lease payments. Paul Stone, who was Hertz executive vice president and chief retail operations officer for North America. Marinello will remain with Hertz for up to a year, during which she will work as a consultant. Hertz, which also owns Dollar and Thrifty, announced in April that it would lay off 10,000 staff members due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Vice-President Mike Pence visited central Florida to meet with tourism officials Wednesday as the region’s biggest tourist destination – Walt Disney World – began reopening a shopping and entertainment complex. All workers and visitors older than 2 must wear masks, temperatures will be checked at entrances to keep out anyone with a temperature higher than 100.4 and a limited number of people will be admitted to allow social distancing at the high-end outdoor shopping area with restaurants, movie theatres, a bowling alley and a Cirque du Soleil theatre.
Theme park executives, restaurant owners and hoteliers told Pence at a roundtable discussion that the damage caused by shutdowns from the virus was unprecedented in a US $86 billion industry that survived travel declines after the 9-11 attacks and the recession a dozen years ago.
“If we don’t get people back to work quickly, it’s all over,” central Florida hotelier Harris Rosen said. “Orlando is suffering. Orlando is struggling. The hospitality industry is in deep depression.”
Walt Disney World and crosstown rivals Universal Orlando and SeaWorld have been closed since mid-March in an effort to stop the spread of the new coronavirus. Interim SeaWorld CEO Marc Swanson told Pence that he expected to be open in June. The other theme park resorts haven’t said when they will reopen.
Aviation
The Air France-KLM Group has announced the end of Air France Airbus A380 operations. Initially scheduled by the end of 2022, the phase-out of Airbus A380 fleet fits in the Air France-KLM Group fleet simplification strategy of making the fleet more competitive, by continuing its transformation with more modern, high-performance aircraft with a significantly reduced environmental footprint.
Five of the Airbus A380 aircraft in the current fleet are owned by Air France or on finance lease, while four are on operating lease. The global impact of the Airbus A380 phase-out write down is estimated at €500 ($759) million and will be booked in the second quarter of 2020 as a non-current cost/expenses. Airbus A380 will be replaced by new generation aircraft, including Airbus A350 and Boeing 787, whose deliveries are ongoing.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Wednesday that her government is in “intensive talks” with Lufthansa and the European Commission over a potential bailout for the airline, whose business has dwindled due to the virus outbreak. Merkel said that an agreement could come “shortly,” but added that any deal “has to be completed.”
The dpa news agency reported that Lufthansa shares rose in after-hours trading on the back of a media report that a deal had been reached, but the government and the company would not comment.
UK based budget airline easyJet says that “highly sophisticated” hackers have accessed the email addresses and travel details of approximately 9 million customers. It also said Tuesday that its “forensic” investigation found that the credit card details of 2,208 people were accessed. All affected customers will be contacted in the next few days and that there was “no evidence” that the personal information has been misused.
“Since we became aware of the incident, it has become clear that owing to COVID-19 there is heightened concern about personal data being used for online scams,” said easyJet chief executive officer Johan Lundgren. (Canadians will remember Lundgren from his stint at MyTravel).
Lundgren apologized to those customers affected and said every business must continue to “stay agile to stay ahead of the threat.”
Virgin Australia administrator Deloitte has whittled down interested suitors to a shortlist of four ‘highly credentialed’ bidders. According to Australian media, the shortlist is made up of investment firms Bain Capital, BGH Capital, Cyrus Capital Partners, and US based Indigo Partners, which has interests in a number of budget airlines including Wizz Air, Frontier Airlines and Volaris. All the shortlisted firms have ‘strong aviation credentials’ Delotte said. Bidders which either pulled out or didn’t make the cut included the Queensland State Government.
Italian airline Alitalia announced Wednesday that it is resuming direct flights from Rome to New York, Barcelona and Madrid in June as it increases flights by more than a third compared with May. Alitalia discontinued its Rome-New York flight on May 5 due to the “worrying level” of coronavirus cases in New York, which in April had emptied flights to just 12% of capacity, or an average of 32 passengers each flight.
The struggling airline said from June, it will fly 30 routes to 25 airports, of which 10 are abroad, including London, Brussels and Frankfurt. The number of passengers on each flight will be halved, in keeping with distancing rules imposed by Rome. Alitalia was again in a phase of relaunch when Italy became the first western country with a domestic outbreak of coronavirus in February.
Low-cost carrier Norwegian Air Shuttle’s restructuring plan has been completed. The government’s loan guarantees worth 3 billion kroner ($430million) have also been approved. Norwegian has temporarily laid off approximately 90% of its workforce and will continue to implement additional cost measures going forward.
Aerospace engine maker Rolls-Royce plans to cut approximately 9,000 jobs globally as it grapples with the collapse of air travel due to the pandemic. The company employs 52,000 people overall, and it is not immediately clear where the cuts will occur. The move will result in about £700 million pounds ($1.2 billion) in savings, with an overall aim of £1.3 ($2.2)billion in annual savings.
The new CEO of United Airlines says it may take until there is a vaccine for COVID-19 before most people feel comfortable about air travel. Scott Kirby said Wednesday that demand for air travel is improving, especially bookings in the second half of the year, “but the question is, are those people going to show up?” Kirby, the company’s president, spoke to CNBC shortly before United’s online annual meeting in which he was scheduled to replace Oscar Munoz as CEO.
Travel and tourism
Greece’s long-awaited tourist season will begin on June 15 with the opening of seasonal hotels and the arrival of the first foreign visitors, while international flights will begin heading directly for holiday destinations gradually as of July 1. A list of countries from which visitors will be able to arrive in Greece will be announced before the end of May. The selection will be based on “epidemiological criteria” as determined by Greece’s committee of experts dealing with the pandemic.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said visitors would be subject to sample coronavirus testing and “our general health protocols will be adhered to, without them, however, overshadowing our bright sun or the natural beauties of Greece.”
Balkan and Baltic countries, Germany and regional countries such as Israel and Cyprus are expected to be in the first wave of those whose citizens will be allowed to enter Greece, he said.
Mitsotakis noted that Greece has “managed to restrict the spread of the virus. … We made our country an example to follow in the handling of the health crisis.
The Swiss government has a message for travellers whose trips in Switzerland were cancelled over the COVID-19 outbreak: Don’t expect any reimbursement from your travel agency just yet. The executive Federal Council on Wednesday ordered a temporary halt to any legal action against travel agencies seeking payback for cancelled trips starting Thursday until the end of September. The measure only involves amounts already paid by customers whose trips were cancelled over the pandemic. The sums remain due, and “must be paid by travel agencies insofar as possible.”
The move is also aimed to protect consumers, who could stand to receive only part of their expected reimbursement if the travel agencies they used go bankrupt, it said. The government is also to ensure that airlines Swiss and Edelweiss, which are benefiting from emergency Swiss measures adopted to help the ailing airline sector, to uphold their obligations to reimburse travel agencies. Travellers who booked package tours before March 8 are entitled to a refund. They’re encouraged to accept vouchers from operators in an effort to aid the industry.
Germany’s federal and state culture ministers published a proposal on safety measures for the reopening of art galleries, museums, theatres and other facilities. It recommends contact details for visitors be recorded and people be kept at least 1.5 metres apart by leaving theatre seats empty and other measures.
The guidelines seek to provide continuity across Germany’s 16 states, which have been opening museums and other cultural institutions.
The Dutch prime minister says the Netherlands‘ bars and restaurants can reopen on June 1, with limited numbers of guests and social distancing. Prime Minister Mark Rutte says the country can begin the next phase of emerging from what he has called an intelligent lockdown, while stressing people should continue practicing social distancing and work from home whenever possible.
The number of new deaths and coronavirus infections has been falling for weeks in the Netherlands, where the official death toll stands at 5,715, although it is thought to be much higher since it only includes people who have tested positive.
Bars and restaurants will be allowed a maximum of 30 clients inside, and people on terraces outside will have to sit at tables. Cinemas, theatres and concert halls also will be allowed to reopen with a maximum of 30 visitors and social distancing. Museums also can reopen with the number of visitors based on the size of the buildings.
Spain is mandating facial masks in all public spaces, including outdoors when a safe distance of 2-meters (6.5-feet) between people can’t be kept. Health Minister Salvador Illa says the decision expands recommendations in March for masks worn only in hospitals and nursing homes. Previously, masks were in short supply in a country ravaged by the pandemic. Last month, masks became mandatory on public transportation.
Shakespeare’s Globe theatre, one of London’s major tourist attractions, says it could be forced to close because of the coronavirus pandemic. All of Britain’s theatres have been shut since March, when the government imposed a nationwide lockdown to slow the spread of the virus. While some venues receive government subsidy, the Globe gets 95% of its revenue from ticket sales. The theatre says the blow from the pandemic “has been financially devastating and could even be terminal.”
Parliament’s culture committee told the government that the Globe was “part of our national identity.” It says, “for this national treasure to succumb to COVID-19 would be a tragedy.”
The Globe is a reconstructed Elizabethan playhouse beside the River Thames modeled on the theatre where many of Shakespeare’s plays were first performed. It opened in 1997 and draws hundreds of thousands of people a year to its open-air productions.
Club Med announced the development of “Safe Together” – new hygiene and safety protocols that will be implemented in all of the brand’s international resorts, including their resorts in Florida, Mexico, and the Caribbean. Club Med Sandpiper Bay in Port St. Lucie, FL will be the first of the North American resorts to welcome guests back to their favorite all-inclusive Floridian property on Friday, June 12,, with an updated Free Cancellation Policy to provide flexibility to anyone booking a Club Med stay up to December 2020.
To ensure health and cleanliness guidelines are well-aligned with the “new normal” as well as recommendations from worldwide health authorities and local regulations, Club Med worked with an International Scientific Committee comprised of a specialized team of doctors and professors, and closely monitored guest sentiment around the world, including in its recently reopened Chinese resorts.
India says it will commence domestic flights on Monday after nearly two months of suspension under a country-wide lockdown extended through the end of May. International flights will remain suspended.
India imposed a lockdown on March 25 to contain the spread of coronavirus infections. Chartered flights have operated in and out of India to carry stranded passengers from various countries. All airports and air carriers in the country were informed to be ready for operations on Monday. India eased the lockdown earlier this month by reopening shops and manufacturing. However, schools and colleges, shopping malls, movie theatres and religious places remain closed.
After laying off 3,700 employees earlier this month, Uber has announced another round of cost-cutting which will see 3,000 more workers laid off. That represents about 25% of its workforce in total and means the closure or merging of about 40 offices around the world. Uber said ride volumes have been down about 80% although they are slowly starting to rebound. It will continue to focus on the core ride-hailing and food delivery businesses, said CEO Dara Khosrowshahi.
Due to stay at home orders, the UberEats food delivery orders have spiked while passenger rides had plummeted. Uber also said it will relocate its Asia-Pacific headquarters out of Singapore to “a market where we operate our services.” That could be Australia or possibly India, as it now has very little coverage elsewhere in Asia after selling out to Grab in Southeast Asia and Didi in China.
On Monday, May 18, Barbados entered Phase 3 of the reopening of its economy following its suspension of non-essential services in the fight against COVID-19. The protocols established by the Ministry of Health and Wellness to contain the virus for visitors arriving from other countries, remain in effect. All persons coming to Barbados will be quarantined for a period of fourteen days.
A number of businesses have been allowed to reopen, including key Government offices, construction, manufacturing and delivery companies. The Government has also issued a number of mandatory health and safety protocols for the reopening businesses, including limiting work requiring human contact, wearing face masks, increased sanitising of facilities, and practicing social distancing. Phase 3 has also seen the relaxation of previously implemented measures, including returned beach access between the hours of 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. and again between 4:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. However, residents remain under curfew between 8 p.m. and 5 a.m.
The future of tourism Speaking to the country’s key revenue generating industry, Mottley indicated that the Government of Barbados is committed to supporting the sector through this critical time. “Tourism will still be a mainstay of our economy; all different types of tourism from the traditional sun and sea to medical and educational tourism, from new visitors to repeat visitor to those from the diaspora.”