Four imparatives for the African continent in order to combat the pandemic, outlined by Mehari Taddele Maru.
Data on restrictions in worldwide
Oxford’s Blavatnik School of Government is tracking government responses to Covid-19 on a by country basis. The data is downloadable in several formats and there is a working paper describing how it is collected and what it means.
Poverty and lockdowns do not mix
An article by Julian Jamison in the Washington Post warning of the consequences of locking down for low income countries.
Random (?) testing in Santa Clara County
Bendavid et al report the results of a “representative sample” recruited from Facebook of anti-body testing.
Impact of the lockdown on economic activity in Spain
Carvalho et al in “Tracking the COVID-19 crisis with high resolution transaction data” find a nearly 50% decline in activity after the lockdown and about a 50% increase in the share of online sales. In the days before the lockdown there was about a 20% increase in sales – presumably due to stockpiling.
EU and Africa in times of COVID-19
Fabrizio Tassinari and Mehari Maru on why the EU needs to support Africa in its efforts to combat the pandemic.
Fundamental rights and the COVID-19 emergency
Martin Scheinin offers best practice and problems drawing on the Finish experience.
More interesting back of the envelope calculations from Kevin Drum
“Stay Nearby or Get Checked”
Looking for a viable exit strategy Jan-Tino Brethouwer, Arnout van de Rijt et al. simulate a scenario in which the lockdown is partially lifted while long-range transmissions of the contagion are strictly prevented. Such strategy, their results show, can limit significantly the spread of a second wave. First public resonance here. Bloomberg reported on these findings on 24 April.
Grocery store risk
Some interesting back of the envelope calculations by Kevin Drum.