Coronavirus – Page 20

Business, Coronavirus, Science & Technology News, Shopping

Calvin Klein owner: ‘Retail companies are not built to have their stores closed’

April 23, 2020

Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger and other PVH stores in North America and Europe have been closed since mid-March.

The company has furloughed about 75% of its workforce in North America.

With stores closed, the retail industry is struggling with inventory piling up in warehouses and no place to sell it, the head of the company that owns such names as Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger told CNBC on Wednesday.

“Retail companies are not built to have their stores closed for extended periods of time,” PVH CEO Manny Chirico said in an interview with Becky Quick on “Squawk Box.”

PVH’s stores in North America and Europe have been closed since mid-March, along with many other businesses. The closures as expected to drag on for weeks if not months as the world tries to contain the coronavirus pandemic.

The company has furloughed about 75% of its workforce in North America, Chirico said, adding to the hundreds of thousands of furloughs taking place in an industry that employees more than 50 million people in the U.S. alone.

Continue reading… “Calvin Klein owner: ‘Retail companies are not built to have their stores closed’”

Analysis, Aviation, Coronavirus, Science & Technology News, Travel

Latest survey shows 1 in 5 Americans won’t travel again until 2021- Representing extreme concern for already struggling airline industry

April 23, 2020

Upgraded points is a trusted source for a wide variety of similar in-depth airline studies, as well as advice and pointers for travelers.

Upgraded Points recently released its newest targeted study featuring a survey based on questions given to airline travelers concerning the recent global pandemic. The study seeks to understand American travelers’ plans and concerns, helping to better illuminate the travel crisis as it unfolds; while also delivering important data about the American airline industry itself – which recently asked for and will receive a reported $50 billion bailout from the U.S. government. Upgraded points is a trusted source for a wide variety of similar in-depth airline studies, as well as advice and pointers for travelers.

“The airline industry is in a great deal of trouble again,” said Alex Miller, founder of Upgraded Points. “They’ve certainly seen their share of difficulty over the years: after 9/11, during the 2008 economic downturn, etc. But this is probably the worst crisis the industry has ever faced. Without millions of travelers on planes and in airports, the industry just can’t make the revenue it needs to survive. Whole countries are asking citizens to stay indoors, and that includes enforcing travel restrictions and closing borders. No one knows exactly when this global pandemic will peak and then begin to recede. So all we can do now is wait, and gather valuable data to help understand the situation as it happens. That is the goal of this particular study.”

Continue reading… “Latest survey shows 1 in 5 Americans won’t travel again until 2021- Representing extreme concern for already struggling airline industry”

Coronavirus, Food, Future, Robots, Science & Technology News

Five ways that coronavirus will change the way we eat

April 23, 2020

A self-driving food delivery robot might appear in a post-pandemic world in which consumers want to avoid human contact.

These are unprecedented times. One thing is for sure— with the widespread acceptance that coronavirus originated in an exotic meat market in China, there has been a massive consumer rethink around food.

This shift is impacting the type of food that is consumed, where it is obtained, how and where it is prepared and how it is produced and stored.

The overarching theme? Fear of contagion and oftentimes human contact.

Here are some predictions of how coronavirus will change the way we eat, based on recent surveys and forecasting.

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Coronavirus, Housing, Human Behavior, New Viewpoints, Science & Technology News

The one percent are fleeing for New Zealand to avoid COVID-19

April 22, 2020

“They have all said it looks like the safest place to be is New Zealand right now. That’s been a theory since before COVID-19.”

As the COVID-19 pandemic worsens across the United States, some of the country’s richest citizens have fled for a remote oasis: New Zealand.

This is not a new phenomenon; New Zealand has long been a destination getaway for those with the time and money to fly there. In fact, so many people consider it ideal for an emergency home that New Zealand passed a law two years ago that bans foreigners from purchasing real estate in the country

The rapid spread of COVID-19 and subsequent economic fallout in the U.S. brought renewed interest to New Zealand as a place to run away from the troubles of the world. Though non-essential travel to and from the U.S. has now been locked down — and New Zealand closed its own borders in mid-March — plenty of people made it out in time.

Now they’re holed up in luxury bunkers waiting for the pandemic to blow over.

Continue reading… “The one percent are fleeing for New Zealand to avoid COVID-19”

Coronavirus, Education, Human Behavior, Science & Technology News

Quarantine survey: 3 in 5 adults plan on self-improving during coronavirus lockdown

April 22, 2020

LONDON — The sudden and mandatory lockdown we all find ourselves stuck in right now is frustrating, to say the least, but it also represents an opportunity to catch up on long abandoned goals, ideas or hobbies. A recent survey asked 2,000 British residents about their quarantine plans, and according to the results there may be a few superheroes across the pond by the time this is all over.

All in all, 60% of respondents say they are planning on, or already started, self-improving and becoming “super human” during lockdown. Some plan to master an instrument (12%), while others want to paint the next Mona Lisa or become a modern day Ernest Hemingway.

Additional goals cited by respondents included enrolling in online university courses, taking up yoga, learning how to garden, researching family history, and learning a new skill. A full third say they’re going to work out at home every single day, and 25% plan on being fluent in a new language by the time the lockdown is lifted. Another 32% are hoping to become master chefs.

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Coronavirus, Employment, Science & Technology News, Uber

Uber launches effort to help drivers find other work during coronavirus crisis

April 21, 2020

The Work Hub can be used to find gigs with Uber Eats, Uber Freight, or over a dozen other companies

Demand for ride-hailing in cities is down severely due to the coronavirus pandemic, and as such, drivers are struggling to find work. Uber is rolling out a new feature for drivers that is designed to help them find work during this crisis — even if that work is for a different company.

Uber drivers received an email on Monday announcing a new feature in the driver app called the Work Hub designed to help drivers earn money with the company’s other ventures. Drivers can use the Hub to receive orders through Uber Eats; haul freight with the company’s trucking business, Uber Freight; pick up a shift with Uber’s temporary worker program, Uber Works; or respond to an opening from over a dozen other companies that are looking to hire.

Like most shared transportation services, Uber has seen a precipitous drop in ridership as a result of the pandemic. The company’s gross bookings in Seattle, a city hit hard by COVID-19, is down by 60 to 70 percent, and Uber is assuming similar declines in other big cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York City. The virus has cut Uber’s overall business by as much as 50 percent, according to The Information.

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Coronavirus, Healthcare, Science & Technology News, Tesla

Tesla unveils coronavirus ventilator prototype that uses Model 3 parts

April 20, 2020

The Model 3 infotainment system provides the basis for Tesla’s ventilator, hastily designed to combat device shortages around the world.

Ventilators are one of the most important medical devices in the battle against the coronavirus, helping keep patients with critical COVID-19 infections alive. But as the coronavirus pandemic has spread, hospitals in the worst-hit nations have found the devices in short supply. Fortunately, a handful of manufacturers have been trying to plug the shortfall including Tesla, the electric vehicle giant led by Elon Musk, which is using its New York gigafactory to help produce ventilators.

On April 5, Tesla engineering provided an update on the company’s own ventilator, which is “heavily based on Tesla car parts,” according to engineering director Joseph Mardall. A four-minute-long video was posted to YouTube revealing a prototype ventilator powered by many of the same components used in the Tesla Model 3.

Continue reading… “Tesla unveils coronavirus ventilator prototype that uses Model 3 parts”

Coronavirus, Google, mobile apps, privacy, Science & Technology News

Coronavirus: Google reveals travel habits during the pandemic

April 20, 2020

Google is to publicly track people’s movements over the course of the coronavirus pandemic.

The tech firm will publish details of the different types of places people are going to on a county-by-county basis in the UK, as well as similar data for 130 other countries.

The plan is to issue a regular updates with the figures referring back to activity from two or three days prior.

The company has promised that individuals’ privacy will be preserved.

Continue reading… “Coronavirus: Google reveals travel habits during the pandemic”

2020 Predictions, Coronavirus, Future, Science & Technology News

9 future predictions for a post-corona world

April 19, 2020

As the ripple of COVID-19 careens around the globe, it’s forcing humankind to innovate and change the way we work and live. The upside of where we find ourselves right now is that individuals and corporations will be more resilient in a post-COVID-19 world. Here are nine predictions of what our world may look like once we have left the pandemic behind.

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Coronavirus, Employment, Science & Technology News, Trending

One Chart Shows Coronavirus’ Stunning Job Losses

April 19, 2020

Job seekers wait in line at the JobLink Career [+]

The U.S. Department of Labor reported unemployment insurance claims for the week ending Saturday, April 11, came in at 5.245 million, a decline of over 1.4 million from the prior week, but still the third highest weekly total ever recorded. The coronavirus has driven the four-week total over 22 million, and the past seven weeks of claims have been:

Unfortunately the job losses and unemployment claims probably won’t fall to zero or even close to it next week and above average claims will probably persist for the next few weeks and maybe even a month or two.

Continue reading… “One Chart Shows Coronavirus’ Stunning Job Losses”

Coronavirus, Higher Education, Robots, Science & Technology News

University holds graduation using robot ‘avatars’ for students: ‘They took it a step further’

April 18, 2020

A college in Japan has found a high-tech way to ensure its students can still walk across the stage at graduation — sort of.

The students at the Business BreakThrough University (BBT), like many graduates around the world, risked having their ceremony canceled due to the current global health crisis.

However, BBT found a solution. The college, which held its graduation on March 28, arranged to have several students receive their diplomas as digital “avatars” of themselves — complete with screens for faces and caps and gowns on robot “bodies.”

Basically, the students were able to navigate the ceremony from the comfort and safety of their homes while their avatars wheeled up to the school’s president, who handed them certificates.

Continue reading… “University holds graduation using robot ‘avatars’ for students: ‘They took it a step further’”