In just 16 days, the number of confirmed cases worldwide surged by 10 million. On December 12, Beijing time, data from Johns Hopkins University in the United States showed that the cumulative number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 worldwide exceeded 70 million. The time for every 10 million new cases in the world has been reduced from more than a hundred days at the beginning to more than ten days now, and it only took 16 days to increase from 60 million to 70 million.
2020 is coming to an end, but the pace of the COVID-19 epidemic raging around the world has not slowed down at all. The time it takes for every 10 million new cases in the world to be reported has shrunk from more than a hundred days at the beginning to more than ten days now; currently, one person dies from COVID-19 every 9 seconds around the world…
United States: Death toll from COVID-19 exceeds World War II!
According to statistics from the “New York Times”, as of the 12th, at least 295,664 people in the United States have died due to infection with the new coronavirus. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the number of combat deaths in the United States during World War II was 291,557. It is worth noting that the record number of deaths due to the new crown epidemic in the United States only occurred in less than a year, while the United States’ participation in World War II lasted about four years.
Whether the U.S. epidemic can finally get out of the woods, Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, predicts that the launch of vaccines will allow the U.S. to survive in 2021 Get out of trouble at the end of the year. But before the vaccine can truly achieve full vaccination, the United States still has a long way to go in fighting the epidemic.
The Christmas holiday is approaching, but with the arrival of winter, the new crown epidemic continues to worsen. Not only is the epidemic in the United States anxious, but the epidemic in many countries is also getting worse day by day. The cumulative number of newly confirmed cases and deaths in many countries has hit a new high since the epidemic, and they have to take more stringent measures.
Germany: Announced a nationwide “hard blockade” in advance
According to CCTV News, on the 13th local time, the German Prime Minister silently Kerr announced at an urgent new coronavirus summit that Germany will begin to tighten restrictions on public life on a large scale from December 16 and implement a “hard blockade order” until January 10 next year.
Although it has been about 6 weeks since the “mild version of the blockade” was implemented, the epidemic in Germany has shown no signs of improvement, and the number of new confirmed cases and deaths of new coronavirus pneumonia has even increased daily recently. Both numbers hit new highs.
The German government urgently held a new round of new crown summit on the 13th local time, focusing on discussing whether to implement stricter restrictions before or after the Christmas holiday. After consulting with the governors of various federal states on the epidemic situation, German Chancellor Merkel announced that the entire territory will begin to tighten restrictions on public life on a large scale from December 16, and implement a “hard blockade order” until January 10 next year. day.
According to Merkel’s press conference that day, all retail shops except those providing daily necessities must be closed; Primary and secondary schools and kindergartens should theoretically be closed, but emergency care for children is allowed; social contact restrictions remain as usual. Although they can be relaxed appropriately during holidays, gatherings are allowed, but the maximum number of people, including children, is limited to 5 people and should be “relationships” “Very close relatives and friends, such as spouses or immediate family members”, the specific details can be decided by each federal state; the sale of fireworks and firecrackers is prohibited on New Year’s Eve, and gatherings are not allowed; religious activities can be carried out while ensuring a safe distance between people; barber shops Not allowed to open.
Merkel pointed out on the 13th that the “mild blockade order” implemented from early November is obviously not strong enough. Recently, the epidemic in Germany has “recurred” The momentum of “exponential growth” has forced the government to take action again to prevent the public health system from being overloaded. She also promised to provide more economic support policies to help companies and individuals tide over the difficulties.
South Korea: Facing the biggest crisis since the outbreak
This is the first time that the number of new cases in a single day has exceeded 1,000 since the outbreak in South Korea this year example. South Korea’s epidemic prevention and control has once again turned on the red light.
Since late November, new cases in South Korea have increased sharply, and clusters of infections have frequently occurred in public places such as shops, saunas, restaurants, beauty salons, nursing homes, and sports facilities. Unlike the mass infection at the Shincheonji Church in February and the Itaewon nightclub mass infection in August, this round of epidemic in South Korea is mainly centered on the capital area and is accelerating its spread across the country. At the same time, the number of asymptomatic infections, mainly young people, has increased significantly. This brings considerable challenges to prevention and control work.
When South Korean Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun presided over an emergency epidemic prevention countermeasures meeting on the 12th, he said frankly that this is the “biggest crisis” encountered since the outbreak, and we must race against time to fight the virus. , “The situation is very urgent.” South Korea’s Central Epidemic Prevention Countermeasures Headquarters believes that compared with the large-scale spread of the previous two epidemics, this wave of epidemics will take longer to reach the turning point, and it is currently difficult to predict when the turning point will arrive.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in posted a message on social media on the 12th, expressing his guilt for the spread of the current epidemic. He instructed to mobilize all administrative forces to focus on responding to the epidemic and dispatch…��Loading.
The price changes every day, and even if there are no empty boxes, the price can double every other week. If this situation continues, Vietnamese businesses will be unable to export, which is the time to speed up exports to boost annual revenue.
At present, exporters can only wait in line to load empty containers based on shipping company quotations, and there is no room for negotiation. This situation will greatly affect the flow of goods and export volume. And most shipping companies are foreign, so companies don’t know who to turn to.
CMACGM Vietnam Company stated that this situation does not only happen in Vietnam, but all countries in the world are experiencing the same difficulties due to the impact of the new crown epidemic. After being interrupted for a long time, export companies concentrated on delivering orders that had been postponed before. There were not many containers for loading and importing into Vietnam, resulting in a shortage of empty containers.
On the other hand, China’s major ports have so far served as transshipment ports for cargo from regional countries to other continents, especially the United States. However, due to the trade friction between China and the United States in the past period, the export of goods from China to the United States has not been smooth. This has caused sellers in the region to shift their transshipment locations to Vietnam and then export to the United States and other markets, resulting in an increase in demand for empty containers in Vietnam. .
As for freight, due to epidemic prevention requirements, goods, containers, and ships must be disinfected and monitored when entering and leaving the port, resulting in a slight increase in costs. In terms of container leasing, due to strong customer demand, shipping companies must also adjust prices according to market mechanisms.
Three months ago, the price of a 20-foot container from Vietnam to China ranged from 5-10 US dollars, and now shipping companies are quoting more than 150 US dollars. The freight to India and the Middle East increased from US$200-300/container to US$1,500. At the same time, prices are increasingly rising in other regions such as Europe and the United States, a situation unprecedented in the shipping industry in decades.
At the same time, some logistics service companies believe that shipping companies may take advantage of the post-epidemic cargo congestion situation and simultaneously raise freight and container rental fees to make up for the losses caused by the interruption of shipping due to the epidemic.
Logistics services companies predict that container shortages and freight increases may continue until the end of the first quarter of 2021, when market demand for goods will decline after the holidays.
2. The shortage of containers has begun to affect exports
Affected by the recent strong exports and delays in the return of containers , a shortage of containers has begun to limit China’s exports.
The China Container Industry Association said the average turnaround time for Chinese containers has jumped from 60 days to 100 days as the United States and Europe cut capacity due to the virus, exacerbating the situation in China. shortage.
Some US importers have expressed their inability to receive goods on time during the November-December shopping season. This will result in businesses being unable to deliver enough goods to meet local holiday consumer demand.
With Chinese container manufacturers’ bookings ending in February, the market expects that related shortages may continue into the first quarter of 2021.
As for China’s export prospects next year, UBS analysis believes that as the global epidemic is gradually controlled, the resumption of work in other economies has improved, and China Exports face resistance and are expected to maintain strong growth in the first quarter and then gradually decline. </p
