Devastating: A Majority of COVID-19 Lockdown Business Closures Are Permanent
By CNBC. Yelp on Wednesday released its latest Economic Impact Report, revealing business closures across the U.S. are increasing as a result of the coronavirus pandemic’s economic toll.
As of Aug, 31, 163,735 businesses have indicated on Yelp that they have closed. That’s down from the 180,000 that closed at the very beginning of the pandemic. However, it actually shows a 23% increase in the number of closures since mid-July.
In addition to monitoring closed businesses, Yelp also takes into account the businesses whose closures have become permanent. That number has steadily increased throughout the past six months, now reaching 97,966, representing 60% of closed businesses that won’t be reopening.
“Overall, Yelp’s data shows that business closures have continued to rise with a 34% increase in permanent closures since our last report in mid-July,” Justin Norman, vice president of data science at Yelp, told CNBC.
Yelp’s September report marks six months since March 1, the date that the company considers to be the beginning of the business crisis. (Read more from “A Majority of COVID-19 Lockdown Business Closures Are Permanent” HERE)
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Trump, Biden Spar Over COVID-19 Vaccine Development
By Newsweek. Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden claims President Donald Trump could be rushing the development of a COVID-19 vaccine to score political points in the November election, while Trump’s allies are accusing Biden of promoting “anti-vaccine conspiracy theories.”
The fight over the monumental scientific undertaking is one of many between Trump and Biden related to the nation’s coronavirus response, but new polls suggest that public confidence in vaccines may be taking the biggest blow as the two political rivals brawl. . .
During a town hall discussion hosted by ABC News Tuesday, Trump said he believes a vaccine could be ready for distribution in a matter of weeks.
“We’re very close to having a vaccine,” he told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos. “Could be three weeks, four weeks.” (Read more from “Trump, Biden Spar Over COVID-19 Vaccine Development” HERE)
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