Hello Quartz readers,
There’s a new strain of coronavirus in the UK. Don’t panic.
The new variant was first reported to the WHO on Dec. 14, and this week prompted widespread travel restrictions in Europe just ahead of the Christmas holiday. Experts think the strain may be more transmissible than others while still responsive to existing vaccines, though little is known for certain.
As scary as a mutating virus may seem, it’s good to remember that mutations—changes in the coronavirus genetic code—are normal and inevitable. SARS-CoV-2 has been mutating its whole life, gradually accumulating changes as it replicates.
The main reason to stay calm is because what’s been true for the past 10 months continues to be true now: Until a vaccine is widely available, the best thing you can do to prevent transmission is mask up, social distance, and—yup, you guessed it—keep up that handwashing. Are we thrilled that our top piece of advice in December 2020 is the same as it was in March? We’re not! But at least it’s consistent.
Okay, let’s get started.
A tale of two Singapores
Singapore is signaling to the world that it’s ready to get back to business. Next week, the country will move to the final phase of reopening, with social gatherings, more people in malls, and even live music performances. But for Singapore’s 940,200 low-wage migrant workers, the long-awaited reopening will largely be a sideshow.
Foreign migrant workers have borne the brunt of Singapore’s coronavirus cases, making up over 93% of all infections as of December. Cases among the migrant workers first began to skyrocket in April, when outbreaks spread in cramped worker dormitories where a dozen people might share a toilet. Since Oct. 1, Singapore’s health ministry numbers show it has had fewer than 10 local Covid-19 cases a day. But data released by the government last week showed that a staggering 47% of all migrant workers who live in dormitories had been infected.
Labor rights activists have for months balked not just at the infection rates among migrant workers, but the government’s restrictive measures for the population. Eligible workers—those who have immunity or tested negative—must apply for approval to be allowed to venture outside their dormitories on rest days for three hours at a time. Rule-breakers are swiftly punished: The government has revoked at least 44 work visas of those who breached stay-home requirements. In June, two nonprofit groups said that the stringent rules essentially “[made] migrant workers prisoners of employers.”
In the next phase of reopening, migrant workers will get a small reprieve: Starting in the first quarter of 2021, they will be allowed “to access the community once a month” if they wear contact-tracing devices and get tested routinely.
That’s a relief?
The US Congress this week passed a $900 billion relief package that is both less than what’s needed and better than nothing. It includes:
💰 An 11-week extension of pandemic unemployment insurance programs, plus a $300/week federal unemployment supplement
✉️ $600 stimulus checks for Americans earning less than $75,000, plus an additional $600 for each dependent
🏪 Additional funding for the Paycheck Protection Program
🏡 An extension of the eviction moratorium through Jan. 31, plus rental and nutrition assistance and funding for the childcare sector
💉 Money for Covid-19 testing, tracing, and vaccine distribution
🌎 What could be the most important climate legislation Congress has ever passed (really!)
What’s not included: the corporate immunity Republicans had been seeking. But also aid to state and local governments, student loan relief, an extension of guaranteed emergency leave, and a plan for what happens after March.
Whose line is it anyway?
“Priority 1a for us is getting our employees into that ‘priority 1b’ priority group. Workers at our companies are making life-sustaining products.” —Bryan Zumwalt, executive vice president of public affairs for the Consumer Brands Association, which represents companies that make household products
With front-line health workers and nursing home residents and staff getting the initial doses of Covid-19 vaccines, the thornier question is who goes next. That’s led to a free-for-all in recent weeks as manufacturers, grocers, bank tellers, dentists, and ride-share companies all jostle to get a spot near the front of the line.
Just the vax
Check any of the following that apply. (Don’t worry, we’re not judging.)
- I worry that Covid-19 vaccines weren’t thoroughly vetted.
- I don’t know if the vaccines are safe for my ethnic group.
- I worry the vaccines will give me Covid-19.
- I was exposed to Covid-19 and don’t know if I need a vaccine.
- I worry the vaccine can have severe side effects.
You trust science. You trust scientists. You know that the fastest way to end the pandemic is through immunization, and you were thrilled to watch the first vaccinations go out. And yet. You might still find yourself pausing, instinctively, over concerns about Covid-19 vaccination.
Don’t worry: Our science and health team collected many of the questions and doubts you might have, and addressed them with the help of experts.
A billion little pieces
India’s economy has been pummeled by the pandemic, making the prospects of a vaccine particularly urgent. But managing the inoculation of a billion people isn’t going to be any easier for the country than navigating lockdown was. Here’s what you need to know:
💰 India’s richest man sees opportunity in crisis. Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani says this moment presents “an opportunity for new growth.”
🏡 Working from home is catching on. It took a pandemic for the Indian IT sector to finally accept remote work, and now it might never return to its pre-pandemic ways.
😞 The glass ceiling is getting stronger. The rate of female labor participation in India is the lowest it’s been in the past four years.
💵 Cash is still king. As of November, Indians held $356 billion (Rs26.74 lakh crore) in physical cash, the highest this number has ever been.
🔔 India has IPO fever, too. So far in 2020, companies have raised $3.5 billion (Rs25,500 crore) from initial public offerings on Indian bourses, 40% higher than last year.
(Pssst, Indian numeral tip: lakh = 100,000 and crore = 10 million. So for example: 45 lakh crore is 45 x 100,000 x 10 million = 45 trillion. Rs45 lakh crore is 45 trillion rupees, but there could also be, say, 45 lakh crore stars in the sky.)
You asked
Will companies make Covid-19 vaccines mandatory for employees?
In the US at least, the same legal guidelines that apply to the flu shot and other fully approved immunizations are expected to eventually apply to Covid-19 vaccines. That is, yes, employers have the option to make the needle necessary and fire anyone who refuses it, but employees can request exemptions for medical reasons or on religious grounds.
What’s more likely, in many settings, is that employers will encourage but not require vaccination. “There’s going to have to be a decision made in this next quarter, because they’re going to have to define what workplace safety looks like in their office,” Justin Holland, co-founder of employee benefits platform HealthJoy, told Lila MacLellan. With vaccines becoming more widely available in the coming months, “a lot of employees are going to demand clarity.”
Essential reading
- The latest 🌏 figures: 77.7 million confirmed cases; 43.9 million classified as “recovered.”
- Silver lining: Lab leases are booming despite Covid-19’s hit to commercial real estate.
- What is time? Sales of super expensive watches are bouncing back.
- Coolcoolcool: Inside PayPal’s 29-hour virtual office party.
- If you do one more thing in 2020: Support our journalism by becoming a Quartz member. You can take 50% off your first year with the apropos code BYE2020. (And hurry! This deal expires when that sad ball drops in an empty Times Square on Dec. 31.)
Our best wishes for a healthy day. Get in touch with us at needtoknow@qz.com, and live your best Quartz life by downloading our iOS app and becoming a member. Today’s newsletter was brought to you by Mary Hui, Annalisa Merelli, Katherine Ellen Foley, Lila MacLellan, Katie Palmer, and Kira Bindrim.