Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Global Update: EU's Mega-Stimulus Package; China's New Visitors' Test
After nearly five days of intense haggling, European Union leaders early on Tuesday stepped up to confront one of the gravest challenges in the bloc’s history, agreeing to a landmark spending package to rescue their economies from the ravages of the pandemic. The 750 billion euro ($857 billion) stimulus agreement, spearheaded by Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany and President Emmanuel Macron of France, sent a strong signal of solidarity even as it exposed deep new fault lines in a bloc reshaped by Britain’s exit. (Stevis-Gridneff, 7/20)
Passengers of China-bound flights must provide negative COVID-19 test results before boarding, China’s aviation authority said on Tuesday, as the government looks to further reduce the risk of imported coronavirus cases amid increased international travel. Nucleic acid tests must be completed within five days of embarkation, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) said on its website. Tests should be conducted at facilities designated or recognised by Chinese embassies in host countries, it said. (7/21)
Day traders seeking help for gambling addiction have tripled in number in South Korea, as COVID-19 social distancing and working-from-home has freed up more time for online stock market trading, data showed. ... The trend is a worrying sign of things to come should social distancing practices such as work-from-home become the norm, experts said, as isolated individuals have even fewer mechanisms such as peer support to check addictive behaviour. (Lee, 7/20)
In bullfighting, the dying animal is put out of its suffering with a quick dagger blow by the puntillero. Now, after years of decline, the whole industry may be about to receive its own coup de grâce — at the hands of the coronavirus. The pandemic struck Spain in March, just as the bullfighting season was about to get underway. A strict lockdown was introduced for the next three months, meaning the cancellation of all corridas, including major fiestas such as Seville’s Feria de Abril and San Isidro in Madrid. (Hedgecoe, 7/20)
