Reports across the newswires sugges that Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has formally asked for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics to be postponed by one year due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
The games were set to be a flagship moment in perception for hydrogen energy/fuel.
Hydrogen was planned to be used to fuel the Olympic flame cauldron – marking the first time in the international sporting event’s history that hydrogen would be used for this purpose.
12:00 – ICYMI: Air Products launches coronavirus information webpage
In case you missed it last week, industrial gas giant has launched a coronavirus information webpage to keep its customers informed on any company updates.
“We have established this web page for updates on COVID-19 as they pertain to Air Products and our stakeholders, and we will continue to update with relevant information,” the company states.
Read more here.
Air Products is playing an active role in support relief efforts. Back in February, the Air Products Foundation awarded a $100,000 grant to assist novel coronavirus recovery efforts in China.
Full story here.
11:00 – Digitisation and coronavirus
Keep calm and embrace new learnings, was the message last week from gasworld’s Global Managing Editor Rob Cockerill as he looked at the impact of Covid-19 on the industrial gases business and sought to look for any silver linings.
What this disaster could bring about or accelerate, he opined, is a step-change in the industry’s adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies and buisness models.
08:50 – Tracking the acceleration of coronavirus
An alarming statistc emerged overnight which demonstrates the accelerating spread of coronavirus around the world.
The BBC reported that it took 67 days from the first reported case of Covid-19 to reach 100,000 cases. It took just 11 days for the second 100,000 to be reached, however, and only four more days for the third 100,000 to be recorded.
08:45 – ICYMI: Airgas ’ramping up’ production
In case you missed it yesterday, here’s the news that Airgas’ CEO said company is ramping up the production of critical medical gases in preparation for anticipated demand related to COVID-19.
The company also announced that is has been listed as an essential supplier by the FDA Drug Shortage Unit, the National Emergency Management Association (NEMA), and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency within the Department of Homeland Security.
Read the full story here.
08:30 – Welcome back to gasworld’s live updates from the impact of coronavirus globally
Here’s a recap on the top stories you’re not walking into the office to:
- Global fatalities from Covid-19 now approaching 15,000; there are 350,000 confirmed cases worldwide with the latest figures expected to emerge throughout the day
- In Italy, now the epicentre of the epidemic, there has been a reduction in fatalities day-on-day but still with 602 deaths yesterday. There have now been over 6,000 fatalities in the country.
- The spread of coronavirus is fast-spreading in Spain, where the death toll rose by 462 yesterday to 2,182
- London and the rest of the UK is now in enforced lockdown following an address by Prime Minister Boris Johnson last night
- Hong Kong’s ban all visitors coming into the country for the next 14 days commences tomorrow (Wednesday 25th)
- Myanmar has now reported its first two virus cases, both patients that had recently travelled overseas (to the UK and US, respectively)
- In Wuhan, China, where the virus emerged, the first new case in five days has been recorded.