Chevy Bolt EV belonging to Vermont lawmaker who has backed business catches fireplace

The Vermont State Police released this photo of the 2019 Chevrolet Bolt EV that caught fire on July 1, 2021 in the driveway of state Rep. Timothy Briglin, a Democrat.

Vermont State Police

A Chevrolet electric vehicle owned by a Vermont state lawmaker who has backed the industry recently caught fire while charging in the politician’s driveway, according to Vermont State Police.

The vehicle, a 2019 Chevrolet Bolt EV, is part of a recall of nearly 69,000 of the electric vehicles globally due to fire risks that was announced in November by General Motors and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

State Rep. Timothy Briglin, a Democrat, told authorities the EV had been serviced for the recall in recent weeks, Vermont State Police Det. Sgt. Matthew Hill said Wednesday. That could mean the repair was not done correctly; it’s not a solution for the fires; or there’s another problem with the vehicle.

GM said in a statement sent to CNBC on Wednesday that it’s working with local authorities and “will investigate to learn more about the specific situation of this incident.” A spokesman for the Detroit automaker declined to comment further on the fire, including whether the recall repair had been completed for the vehicle.

Hill said he had not been contacted yet by GM regarding the incident, which he said occurred while the vehicle was plugged in to charge.

The fire is the most recent to highlight an ongoing concern of automakers and vehicle safety watchdogs as companies release an influx of new electric vehicles in the coming years. Automakers have continually touted the environmental benefits of EVs, however, the lithium-ion batteries that power the vehicles can be dangerous and result in significant chemical fires if something goes wrong.

Similar to previous fires

The Vermont State Police said the cause of the fire “appears to be an undetermined electrical system failure” that started within the passenger compartment in the area of the back seat. The origin of the fire is consistent with a handful of previous fires reported to federal regulators and the company in Bolt EVs.

Briglin — who is chair of the state House Committee on Energy and Technology and has supported EVs, including co-sponsoring a bill relating to electric and plug-in hybrid EV incentives — did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Officials with the NHTSA, local fire department and Vermont Department of Public Safety Fire and Explosion Investigation Unit, which investigated the fire, also did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The fire was reported at about 9 a.m. Thursday at Briglin’s house in Thetford, Vermont, according to a release from Vermont State Police and public records. No injuries were reported.

GM recalled the vehicles in November over electrical fires it said were caused by a rare manufacturing defect in certain battery modules in vehicles produced for the 2017-2019 model years.

The repair requires installing advanced onboard diagnostic software into the vehicles that, among other things, has the ability to detect potential issues related to changes in battery module performance before problems can develop.

Customers must take their vehicles into a Chevrolet dealer to get the fix.

Ongoing concern

EVs produced by Tesla have been among the most high-profile reported fires, including a high-performance 2021 Tesla Model S Plaid sedan last week. But EV fires are a potential problem for all companies as the industry releases a fleet of new electric vehicles in the coming years.

“Safety needs to come first,” Jason Levine, executive director of the Center for Auto Safety, a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group, told CNBC. “There remain open questions as to why there seems to be a growing trend of lithium-ion batteries in vehicles catching on fire.”

This Tesla Model S Plaid caught fire while the driver was at the wheel, according to a local fire department chief and attorneys representing the driver, on June 29, 2021, in Haverford, Pennsylvania

Provided by Geragos & Geragos

The lithium-ion batteries that power EVs are extremely complex and can result in long-lasting chemical fires if there’s a problem or following a high-speed crash. Traditional vehicles with internal combustion engines also can catch fire, but it’s unclear at this time if EVs pose more of a threat, according to Levine.

“There’s no good data on this yet,” he said. Regarding crashes, Levine questioned whether more fires are being reported just because more EVs are on U.S. roadways or if there is more of a risk of fires for EVs than vehicles with internal combustion engines.

Following reports of EV fires, the National Transportation Safety Board published a report last year about the risks to emergency responders from battery fires in electric vehicles. The NHTSA also released a report earlier this year on a “Battery Safety Initiative” designed to collect and analyze data related to electric-vehicle battery safety as well as conduct special investigations of electric-vehicle crash and non-crash events related to battery safety.

Levine said he’s “encouraged” by the environmental benefits of EVs but more needs to be done regarding protocols and regulations around the safety of EVs in the U.S. He specifically cited new standards in Europe around EV safety ratings that the U.S. has yet to take up.

“This is the moment to get this right,” he said. “As both public and private infrastructure is really investing in the future of EVs and the potential for them, we get our hands collectively as an auto field universe around making sure these things are safe, or as safe as can be.”

Halsey Poses With a Child on New Album Cowl

Yes, queen. In the artwork for their upcoming fourth album, Halsey posed on a throne to deliver a few royal decrees. 

“This album is a concept album about the joys and horrors of pregnancy and childbirth,” Halsey, who is currently pregnant with their first child, wrote on Instagram of posing half topless and holding a baby. “It was very important to me that the cover art conveyed the sentiment of my journey over the past few months. The dichotomy of the Madonna and the Whore.”

The “Bad at Love” singer continued by explaining their pregnancy has taught them that “me as a sexual being and my body as a vessel and gift to my child are two concepts that can co-exist peacefully and powerfully.”

Having been in the public eye since the 2015 release of their debut disc, Badlands, “My body has belonged to the world in many different ways the past few years, and this image is my means of reclaiming my autonomy and establishing my pride and strength as a life force for my human being,” noted Halsey, who revealed they and boyfriend Alev Aydin were expecting this past January. “This cover image celebrates pregnant and postpartum bodies as something beautiful, to be admired.”

The WHO urges excessive warning to utterly repeal public well being measures

A couple enjoy evening aperitivo drinks in a bar as much of the country becomes a “yellow zone” easing coronavirus disease (COVID-19) restrictions, allowing bars and restaurants to have customers at outdoor tables in Venice , Italy, on 26., 2021.

Manuel Silvestri | Reuters

The World Health Organization urges “extreme caution” in lifting public health measures in countries around the world as the Covid pandemic rages in countries with low vaccination rates and puts other regions at risk for the spread of variants.

Countries with high vaccination rates like the United States and the United Kingdom have gradually lifted public health measures as other countries grapple with their worst outbreaks since the pandemic began.

“We are tracking this virus circulation around the world and are currently seeing a sharp increase in far too many countries,” said Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO technical director for Covid-19, at a briefing on Wednesday.

The European region saw Covid cases rise by 33% last week, but high vaccination rates can create the impression that the pandemic is over, WHO officials said.

“This is not a flat curve, this is a rising curve. The assumption that transmission will not increase because we open up because of vaccines is a false assumption, transmission will increase when you open,” said Dr. Mike Ryan. Executive Director of the WHO Emergency Health Program. “There are consequences.”

The Delta variant that dominated the UK is now the dominant variety in the United States. The variant is more communicable and could lead to more serious illnesses, although more studies are needed to confirm this, WHO officials said earlier.

Ryan said he hopes we don’t see a return to overworked hospitals and exhausted health workers in Europe as the virus is still evolving and changing. He warned that nations need to be “very, very careful” in order to maintain the successes they have had in fighting the pandemic.

“The idea that everyone is safe and it’s Kumbaya and everything is back to normal is, in my opinion, a very dangerous assumption right now anywhere in the world,” said Ryan.

There have been around 185 million confirmed cases of Covid and 4 million deaths worldwide to date, which is likely too few, according to WHO officials.

Some countries with high vaccination rates are planning to give booster vaccinations in the coming months, drop mask requirements and “relax as if the pandemic is over,” said WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Far too many countries are seeing an increase in cases and hospitalizations resulting in oxygen starvation and causing a “death wave” in parts of Africa, Asia and Latin America, he said.

“Vaccination nationalism, with a handful of nations taking the lion’s share, is morally unjustifiable and an ineffective public health strategy against a respiratory virus that is rapidly mutating and becoming increasingly effective at moving from person to person,” Tedros said .

He said variants are currently winning the race against vaccines due to the unfair distribution of the life-saving syringes. At this stage of the pandemic, there are still millions of health workers who have not been vaccinated, which Tedros described as hideous: “It doesn’t have to be this way in the future.”

Shares that make the most important strikes round midday: Didi, Diamondback, Whirlpool

A navigation map in the app of the Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi can be seen on a mobile phone in front of the app logo shown in this illustration image dated July 1, 2021.

Florence Lo | Reuters

Check out the companies that are making the headlines in midday trading.

Didi – The sell-off in the Chinese ride-hailing company continued, with shares falling more than 5%. Didi’s shares fell nearly 20% on Tuesday after Chinese regulators announced a cybersecurity review of the company, less than a week after Didi’s public debut on the New York Stock Exchange.

Nio, Pinduoduo, Baidu and Alibaba – The US-traded stocks of several other Chinese companies also continued to decline on Wednesday. Electric vehicle maker Nio lost more than 6%, online agriculture marketplace Pinduoduo lost about 3%, search giant Baidu lost 1.9% and Alibaba lost about 1%.

Diamondback Energy – The exploration and production company’s shares were down nearly 3% on the ongoing weakness in oil prices. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures fell more than 2% during volatile trading on Wednesday, hurting the energy sector broadly. Valero, Occidental and Halliburton all lost over 2%.

Whirlpool – The household goods manufacturer’s shares rose 2.5% on Wednesday after JPMorgan named Whirlpool a top pick. The company issued a statement to its customers that Whirlpool was a “hated” stock on Wall Street but was poised to beat expectations in the quarters ahead, opening up upside for investors.

Beyond Meat – The plant-based meat substitute company’s shares fell 3% in midday trading after CRFA downgraded the stock from a buy rating to a hold rating. CFRA said in its downgrade the stock that it sees a “more balanced” risk / reward ratio in the current market environment.

Boston Beer – Boston Beer stocks rose 2.6% after Credit Suisse upgraded the stock from neutral to outperformance. The company found that the Truly Hard Seltzer brand could add performance to the stock. Credit Suisse also raised its target price to $ 1,490, which is roughly 61% above its stock’s closing price on Tuesday.

– CNBC’s Jesse Pound, Pippa Stevens, Yun Li, Tanaya Macheel and Tom Franck contributed to the coverage

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Housekeeper Suing Chris Brown After His Canine Allegedly Mauled Her, Claims He Tried To Cowl Up The Assault

A woman who worked as a housekeeper for Chris Brown is suing him for an alleged dog attack that happened back in December at his Tarzana, California home.

In the suit, the woman–who is suing as a Jane Doe–is claiming that Chris tried to cover up the attack when 911 was called, TMZ reports. The woman claims Breezy is responsible for injuries she suffered when his Caucasian Shepherd Ovcharka, Hades, attacked her.

In the docs obtained by TMZ, the woman alleges she was emptying the trash somewhere outside on his property, when out of nowhere, the massive dog appeared and began tearing into her skin. The woman alleges Chris’ dog ripped chunks of flesh off her face, arms and body and left her a bloody mess.

She also claimed that even though Chris Brown and his crew were home at the time of the attack, no one came out to help her despite her cries for help.

The unidentified woman alleges once the attack was over, she was literally lying in a pool of her own blood. She then said when Chris found her, he allegedly started directing his team to snatch up his dogs and told them to bounce before the cops and paramedics showed up.

The woman was taken to a hospital by ambulance but she claims that when authorities tried to get the story, Chris was allegedly evasive and misleading. He allegedly told the cops that he didn’t know what happened, or who took the dogs away.

She claims she had to undergo extensive life-saving surgery for the injuries she sustained. She also says she is permanently scarred for life.

Apparently the housekeeper’s husband is also suing Chris for loss of the ability to have the love and companionship of his wife.

In the suit, the woman claims Hades was euthanized weeks later by the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office Animal Shelter after finding the dog to be dangerous.

Chris’ legal team has not publicly spoken on the matter.

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TJ Ducklo will get new job at PR agency after quitting White Home amid scandal

White House deputy press secretary TJ Ducklo listens as press secretary Jen Psaki speaks during a press briefing at the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2021, in Washington.

Patrick Semansky | AP

TJ Ducklo, President Joe Biden’s former deputy White House press secretary, is starting to work for an influential public relations and crisis communications firm, months after he quit the White House for reportedly threatening to destroy a reporter’s career.

Ducklo is now working for Risa Heller Communications, which is run by its namesake, Risa Heller. She was once a communications director for Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and had a stint working for former New York Gov. David Paterson.

She confirmed the hire to political newsletter Punchbowl News.

“Like all of us, he’s made mistakes, paid the consequences, and learned from it,” she told the outlet, which ran the announcement Wednesday morning. “We’re incredibly excited to have him on our team where he’s already leading high-profile crisis and issues engagements in NY, LA, and globally, and becoming a trusted advisor to corporate leaders.”

Heller didn’t respond to requests for comment Tuesday after CNBC inquired about whether her firm had hired Ducklo.

According to the firm’s website, Ducklo started working there in June.

CNBC Politics

Read more of CNBC’s politics coverage:

Heller also did some work for former President Donald Trump’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, according to Buzzfeed.

Ducklo, who has lung cancer, was briefly suspended from his White House post before he resigned due to reportedly telling a reporter “I will destroy you.” He also reportedly made derogatory and misogynistic comments to the reporter, who is a woman.

He apologized after the reported incident in February.

People who first told CNBC about Ducklo’s new employer, before the annoucement in Punchbowl, declined to be named in order to speak freely about a hire that had yet to be announced.

Heller’s office specializes in corporate and crisis communications, conducting campaigns for nonprofits, along with assisting in issue advocacy and regulatory affairs, among other items. With his ties to Biden and the administration, Ducklo could be of assistance on the regulatory front for Heller’s clients.

Ducklo and Heller did not return repeated requests for comment, notably not denying anything CNBC asked them about the former deputy White House press secretary.

Many of the firm’s others leaders come from a wide range of backgrounds, including previous stints at Fox News, the New York Post and within Sen. Amy Klobuchar’s office.

Few of the employees listed on Heller’s website have previous ties to Biden. Crain’s New York reports that Heller’s company represents marquee clients such as Major League Soccer’s New York City FC, Airbnb and the Metropolitan Opera.

Prior to Ducklo leaving the Biden administration, he was known to be one of the president’s closest communications advisors. He previously was Biden’s chief campaign spokesman.

Ducklo also has experience outside of politics, including as a communications director for NBC News.

Biden’s new Covid vaccine push focuses on staff, college students, and Delta variants

President Joe Biden again on Tuesday urged that all eligible Americans receive Covid vaccinations, stressing the importance of being protected against the highly transmissible Delta variant.

Although the US is well on its way to meeting 160 million fully vaccinated people in the coming days, millions remain unvaccinated against Covid, “and because of this, their communities are at risk, their friends are at risk, the people they care about” said Biden are at risk. “

“This is an even bigger concern because of the Delta variant,” said the president.

“It seems to me that this should make everyone think,” said Biden. But “the good news is that our vaccinations are highly effective,” he added.

Biden described his government’s recent push to increase vaccination rates two days after failing to meet his July 4th Covid vaccination goal.

His team is now training its focus on increasing the availability of vaccinations in doctor’s offices and work environments. They are also stepping up efforts to provide vaccines to pediatricians and other child health care providers, Biden said, with the goal of vaccinating more teens ages 12-18 before they go back to school this fall.

The team is also aiming to expand efforts to include mobile clinics and will work to refine door-to-door efforts to provide vaccine information to Americans who have not yet been vaccinated, the president said.

“Our focus now is on redoubling our efforts” to get more people vaccinated, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said at a briefing Tuesday afternoon.

“There is more to be done,” said Psaki before realizing that “the vast majority of people will be safe from the virus” once they are vaccinated.

“If you aren’t vaccinated, you are not. That is also a message that we will continue to communicate clearly,” she said.

In his speech at the White House, Biden stressed that by the end of this week, nearly 160 million people in the US will be fully vaccinated.

There are currently 157 million people in the United States fully vaccinated, which is less than half of the total population, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For people in the United States aged 18 and over, the percentage of CDC for those who are fully vaccinated rises to 58.2% and is 78.7% for those aged 65 and over who are most at risk from Covid.

Biden set a goal in May of vaccinating 70% of American adults with at least one vaccine by Independence Day. On the holiday itself, about 67% of US adults had received at least one dose, according to the CDC.

“The bottom line is that the virus is on the run and America is coming back, coming back together,” said Biden. It is “one of the greatest achievements in American history,” he said, “but our fight against the virus is not over yet.”

The Delta variant, observed for the first time in India, has now spread to at least 96 countries, including the USA, according to the World Health Organization.

The variant, which WHO says is about 55% more transmissible than another strain of the virus found in the UK, has thwarted some countries’ plans to lift social distancing restrictions. About 25% of all newly reported US Covid cases belong to the Delta variant, according to the CDC, which predicts it will become the dominant variant.

White House senior medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci last month named Delta the “greatest threat” to the nation’s fight against the pandemic.

Dr. Scott Gottlieb, the former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, told CNBC last week that while the Delta variant may lead to an increase in cases, he does not expect the massive increase in infections to the extent that it has seen earlier times Case was in the pandemic.

“I don’t think there’s going to be a raging epidemic across the country like we saw last winter. I think that there will be niches of spread and the overall prevalence will increase, “said Gottlieb in the” Squawk Box “. ”

The White House is deploying Covid-19 response teams across the country focused on fighting the variant. The teams, made up of officials from the CDC and other federal agencies, will work with communities at higher risk for outbreaks.

There are still about 1,000 counties in the U.S. with a vaccination rate of less than 30%, said CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky told reporters last week.

The counties are mainly in the southeast and midwest, and the agency is already seeing rising disease rates in these locations due to the further spread of the delta variant, she said.

– CNBC’s Ylan Mui contributed to this report.

Disclosure: Scott Gottlieb is a CNBC employee and a member of the board of directors of Pfizer, genetic testing startup Tempus, health technology company Aetion Inc., and biotechnology company Illumina. He is also co-chair of the Healthy Sail Panel of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings and Royal Caribbean.

Intelligent debut on a uncommon London direct checklist

The Wise logo is displayed on a smartphone screen.

Pavlo Gonchar | SOPA pictures | LightRocket via Getty Images

LONDON – UK fintech giant Wise got off to a solid start on its highly anticipated debut Wednesday, which left the company with a market value of £ 8 billion ($ 11 billion).

Stock of Wise, formerly known as TransferWise, opened at £ 8 a share at 11am London time and rose to £ 8.31 before settling at £ 8.26 in early afternoon trading.

The money transfer company chose to be listed in London through direct listing, a rare method of IPO introduced by Spotify in the US in 2018. Instead of raising money on an IPO, Wise’s private backers are selling their existing shares to the public.

The listing is a victory for London, which aims to become a leading global technology center after the UK leaves the European Union.

Unconventional listing

In an unusual move, Wise also introduced a program called OwnWise, which allows users to own an interest in the company. Customers who participate in the program will be eligible for bonus shares worth up to £ 100 after 12 months.

“It feels very consistent with their brand, especially the direct listing,” Russ Shaw, founder of Tech London Advocates, told CNBC.

“They bypass the often very expensive process of going public and go straight to the market, straight to their customers, to avoid as many interim costs as possible,” he added.

Wise is one of the UK’s biggest and most famous fintech unicorns. The listing is seen as endorsement of the country’s burgeoning fintech sector, which spawned multibillion dollar companies like Revolut and Checkout.com and attracted $ 4.1 billion in investments in 2020.

The company was founded in 2010 by Estonian friends Taavet Hinrikus and Kristo Käärmann. Frustrated with the high fees they had to pay to send money between the UK and Estonia, the pair devised a new way to make cross-border transfers at the real exchange rate.

Wise, which makes money on cross-border transaction fees, has been profitable since 2017. In fiscal 2021, the company doubled profits to £ 30.9 million ($ 42.7 million) while sales climbed 39% to £ 421 million.

A victory for London

At $ 11 billion, Wise’s market cap is more than double the $ 5 billion private investors valued in 2020. The float turned the founders of Wise into billionaires. Käärmann’s share is now around US $ 2.1 billion and Hinrikus’s stake is US $ 1.2 billion.

The debut is also good news for early Wise investors like Peter Thiels Valar Ventures and Andreessen Horowitz.

Wise’s debut is also a big win for the UK, which aims to attract more tech companies to the stock market with reforms to London’s listing rules after Brexit. At the same time, as the first direct listing of a technology company in London, it was also a risky venture. That said, it has emerged as the largest London technology listing in history by market cap.

“Joining the main market wisely through its direct listing shows that global technology companies can build, expand and go public in London,” said Julia Hoggett, CEO of the London Stock Exchange.

“In addition to high standards of corporate governance and effective regulations, London offers access to extensive international capital pools.”

However, Wise’s decision to list with a two-class stock structure – which gives founders and early investors expanded voting rights – could prove controversial for some investors. Grocery delivery company Deliveroo slumped up to 30% on its first day of trading, in part due to governance concerns about its two-tier stock structure.

Supported by Google, BlackRock, Benioff

A number of SkySat satellites before a launch.

planet

Satellite imagery and data specialist Planet Labs is preparing to go public and announced on Wednesday that it will merge with a SPAC to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

Planet Labs is joining forces with the special purpose vehicle dMY Technology Group IV, which is traded on the NYSE under the ticker DMYQ. The deal gives the aerospace company a $ 2.8 billion stock valuation and is expected to close in the fourth quarter, leading to Planet listing on the NYSE under the ticker PL.

“Planet is a data company … we are a mature company with a massive new and unique set of data from our 190 satellites, the largest terrestrial fleet ever, and more than ten times the size of any other,” Planet co-founder and CEO Will Marshall told CNBC.

DYMQ’s stock rose over 7% in pre-trading hours from its previous closing price of $ 9.81.

Co-founder and CEO Will Marshall

planet

The deal is set to gross Planet $ 434 million in total, including a $ 200 million PIPE round – or a private investment in public equity – led by BlackRock and along with Google, Koch, and Marc Benioff’s TIME Ventures. Previously, Planet raised more than $ 380 million in capital from investors such as Google, DFJ, Lux Capital, DCVC, Founders Fund, Space Capital, and others.

“I am very excited to have such high quality partners as we approach this important milestone for Planet,” said Marshall. “We’ll do this in the long run.”

Planet joins a trend of space companies going public through SPAC deals. Redwire, Satellogic and Momentus should follow in the coming months.

A data subscription business

Planet has launched 462 satellites to date, and its current orbital fleet includes 21 satellites that can take images with a resolution of 50 centimeters and about 120 that can take images with a resolution of nearly three meters. Resolution is a way of measuring the details that a satellite can image. A smaller resolution means a better view of the ground.

Marshall found that his higher resolution satellites do a “scan of the entire landmass of the earth once a day”.

The company’s images then flow into a data index that, according to Planet, makes the earth “searchable” for its more than 600 customers. Planet’s customer contracts are concluded as subscriptions, 90% of which are annual recurring contracts. Existing revenues are largely divided into four sectors: civil law with 24%, agriculture with 23%, defense and intelligence with 22% and mapping with 17%.

“Analytics is the foundation of the biggest trillion dollar trends in the global economy as various industries digitally transform,” said Marshall. “‘You can’t manage what you can’t measure.”

He analogized Planet as a data company rather than a satellite company, just as Google is a search engine and advertising company and not a server company.

“They have servers in the backend, yes … Planet has satellites in the backend and we’re really good at that,” Marshall said. “But we’re a data company – we sell data to our customers; that’s the value you get “

Over $ 100 million last year

Planet generated $ 113 million in revenue last year – as fiscal year 2021 ended January 31, the company expanded its sales, marketing, and software lines.

The company aims to be profitable on an adjusted EBITDA basis by early 2025 and grow sales to nearly $ 700 million by early 2026.

“We’re ready to go out into the world now, and the world really needs us,” Marshall said. “If we look around the world, pretty much every company in every industry has to measure ESG [environmental, social and governance] every government in every country has to measure its emissions and so on. “

“We have to be a global company, and we’re getting there,” added Marshall.

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Covid instances surge whereas vaccines stagnate in Africa, as consultants urge better international contribution

Health workers chat near an ambulance at the parking lot of the Steve Biko Academic Hospital, amid a nationwide coronavirus disease (COVID-19) lockdown, in Pretoria, South Africa, January 11, 2021.

Siphiwe Sibeko | Reuters

African nations are bracing for what is expected to be the continent’s worst wave of Covid-19 yet, with vaccine supplies continuing to hamper recovery efforts.

Last week, the continent surpassed its second-wave peak of 528,000 active cases in January, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University and aggregated by the BBC, with active cases now sitting at 642,823. 

Across Africa, cases rose by almost 200% between June and July and the rolling weekly average of daily new deaths has surged since the start of June, with the sharp inclines attributed primarily to the rapid spread of the highly-transmissible delta variant.

A total of 36 countries reported a rise in active infections last week, while 15 posted declines and three recorded no change. Meanwhile, 12 countries have now detected “variants of concern,” nine of which are battling Delta. 

The One Campaign, an international nonprofit focusing on extreme poverty and preventable disease, highlighted that testing remains “woefully low.” It also noted that limited data reporting means the understanding of the evolution of the pandemic is based primarily on around a dozen countries, which are able to conduct mass testing and report reliable data. 

“Hospitalisations increased by 40% across the continent in the week to 20 June, and by a further 42% the week after, stretching healthcare services to breaking point,” the report said. 

“Consequently, several countries are experiencing severe shortages of life-saving medical treatments, with reports of patients dying while waiting for a hospital bed.” 

The organization also highlighted that vaccine supply is set to outstrip demand in the G-7 major economies by the end of the summer. One’s Africa Covid Tracker indicates that of more than 3 billion doses administered globally, less than 2% were in Africa. 

“These same countries have purchased enough doses to vaccinate their entire population and still have more than 2.5 billion doses left over, which could be used to reduce the spread of variants, reopen the global economy, and end the global pandemic faster,” the report added. One has highlighted that this quantity would suffice in protecting the entire adult population of Africa. 

Daily confirmed cases across Africa have spiked from a recent low of 7,849 on May 17 to more than 36,700 as of Monday, according to a seven-day rolling average from Our World in Data, while total vaccinations have increased over the same period from 1.8 per 100 people to 3.9.  

Over the same period, Europe has seen its total vaccinations rise from 39.8 per 100 people to 69.8, and the U.S. has climbed from 54.8 to 74.7. 

The World Bank and the African Union’s Covid-19 Vaccine Acquisition Task Team agreed last month to collaborate on the deployment of vaccines for 400 million Africans, while G-7 leaders pledged a further 870 million doses to support equitable access at June’s summit. 

However in June, the WHO’s COVAX facility, aimed at ensuring equitable access to vaccines worldwide, was forced to lower its 2021 targets from 27% coverage of its target lower-income countries’ populations to 23%. One also pointed out that recent pledges on vaccine sharing, including from the G-7, are nowhere near the 11 billion doses required to reach global herd immunity. 

Economic ‘speed bump in the road’? 

Almost half of the new cases recorded last week were in South Africa, which has now reported more than 2 million cases and 62,171 deaths. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has previously decried what he termed “vaccine apartheid” on the part of major economies for hoarding supplies. 

The recent spike has led to a re-imposition of level four containment measures, the second-highest tier available. These include an extended curfew and bans on all gatherings, alcohol sales and leisure travel in and out of the densely-populated Gauteng region, which includes Johannesburg and Pretoria.

However, economists do not expect this to significantly impact the country’s economic outlook. South African Reserve Bank Deputy Governor Kuben Naidoo has stated that the restrictions will be a “speed bump on the road.” 

Jason Tuvey, senior emerging markets economist at Capital Economics, suggested in a note Friday that interest rates will likely be raised later and more slowly than investors currently anticipate.  

South Africa’s closely-watched manufacturing PMI (purchasing managers’ index) edged lower in June but remained robust given the severe third wave the country faces. 

“For the manufacturing sector at least, no limits have been imposed on operating capacity (although beverage producers will suffer due to the latest alcohol ban),” Tuvey said.  

“That said, the recovery still faces a number of headwinds including slow vaccination progress, persistent power problems and the dampening effect of fiscal austerity on demand.” 

Sharp increases in caseloads have also been recorded in Tunisia, Namibia and Rwanda in recent weeks, while Zimbabwe has introduced adjusted level four lockdown measures. 

NKC African Economics’ Jee-A van der Linde suggested that the restrictions in South Africa and neighboring Zimbabwe will not prevent a third wave, while Zimbabwean regulations are likely to hit economic activity more substantially. 

“Zimbabwe faces a myriad of complex economic issues which have been in place long before the pandemic, and meaningful policy changes are needed to address them,” he said in a note Thursday.  

“Even if the political will existed, it would take time to implement the changes and current policy pronouncements have an air of defense as opposed to progress.”