- This weekly COVID-19 news round-up brings you a selection of the latest news and updates on the coronavirus pandemic, as well as tips and tools to help you stay informed and protected.
- Top COVID-19 news stories: North Korea reports COVID-19 outbreak; US passes 1 million confirmed COVID-19 deaths; Shanghai plans to ease restrictions from 1 June.
1. How COVID-19 is affecting the globe
Confirmed cases of COVID-19 have passed 521.4 million globally, according to Johns Hopkins University. The number of confirmed deaths has now passed 6.26 million. More than 11.65 billion vaccination doses have been administered globally, according to Our World in Data.
Shanghai, China, has set out plans for the return of more normal life from 1 June and the end of a COVID-19 lockdown.
Omicron sub-variants and a relaxing of COVID-19 public health measures are driving a current surge in infections in southern Africa, a World Health Organization official announced on 12 May.
Japan plans to extend up to $100 million in aid to developing countries in the Indo-Pacific region to help them better battle the COVID-19 pandemic, Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said on 13 May.
Switzerland has authorized the use of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 6-11 years, the drug maker said on 13 May.
The prevalence of COVID-19 infections in England fell to 1 in 45 people in the week ending 7 May, the Office for National Statistics’ Infection Survey said, down from an estimated 1 in 35 people who had the infection the previous week.
The World Health Organization announced on 12 May that COVID-19 deaths had exceeded 2 million in the WHO European region.
South Korea’s new President Yoon Suk-yeol pledged on 12 May to provide new investment to a global initiative to fund COVID-19 tests, treatments and vaccines for poorer countries.
Daily new confirmed COVID-19 cases per million people in selected countries.
Image: Our World in Data
The COVID Response Alliance to Social Entrepreneurs – soon to continue its work as the Global Alliance for Social Entrepreneurship – was launched in April 2020 in response to the devastating effects of the pandemic. Co-founded by the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship together with Ashoka, Echoing Green, GHR Foundation, Skoll Foundation, and Yunus Social Business.
The Alliance provides a trusted community for the world’s leading corporations, investors, governments, intermediaries, academics, and media who share a commitment to social entrepreneurship and innovation.
Since its inception, it has since grown to become the largest multi-stakeholder coalition in the social enterprise sector: its 90+ members collectively support over 100,000 social entrepreneurs across the world. These entrepreneurs, in turn, have a direct or indirect impact on the lives of an estimated 2 billion people.
Together, they work to (i) mobilize support for social entrepreneurs and their agendas; (ii) take action on urgent global agendas using the power of social entrepreneurship, and (iii) share insights from the sector so that social entrepreneurs can flourish and lead the way in shaping an inclusive, just and sustainable world.
The Alliance works closely together with member organizations Echoing Green and GHR Foundation, as well as the Centre for the New Economy and Society on the roll out of its 2022 roadmap (soon to be announced).
2. First COVID-19 cases and deaths reported in North Korea
North Korea reported its first COVID-19 outbreak 12 May, describing it as the “gravest national emergency”. A national lockdown has been in place since, and the country said yesterday that 42 people had died so far.
State news agency KCNA said the country was taking “swift state emergency measures” to control the epidemic. “All provinces, cities and counties of the country have been totally locked down and working units, production units and residential units closed from each other since the morning of 12 May and strict and intensive examination of all the people is being conducted,” KCNA reported on 15 May.
However, there are concerns the outbreak could devastate the country, which has no COVID-19 vaccine programme. Leader Kim Jong Un said the spread of COVID-19 has thrust his country in “great turmoil”.
3. US passes 1 million confirmed COVID-19 deaths
The United States has now recorded more than 1 million COVID-19 deaths, according to a Reuters tally. It represents about one death for every 327 Americans, or more than the entire population of San Francisco or Seattle.
President Joe Biden marked on 12 May what he called a “tragic milestone” and urged Americans to “remain vigilant” during the ongoing pandemic.
In a statement, Biden acknowledged the impact of the deaths on families left behind and urged the country not to “grow numb to such sorrow”.
Written by
Joe Myers, Writer, Formative Content
The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.
Subscribe for updates
A weekly update of what’s on the Global Agenda
