How COVID-19 is affecting the globe

2. New WHO foundation a ‘historic step’ to broaden the agency’s donor base

World Health Organization (WHO) officials announced the launch of the WHO Foundation on Wednesday. The legally separate body will help expand the agency’s donor base and allow it to take donations from the general public, a source it hasn’t typically tapped.

“This is a historic step,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.

3. A second wave could lead to a ‘public outcry’ for digital tracing

While some leaders have been hesitant to move forward with contact tracing apps, a second wave could force their hand, said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a virtual meeting of the Forum’s COVID Action Platform on 27 May.

“I’ve stringently avoided this tech because I think there is more harm to our civil liberties than benefit. But what do you do if you’re going to be faced with a second wave that can claim untold numbers of deaths? My guess is that we’ll have no choice but to find a way to introduce it,” Netanyahu said.

4. How Facebook’s remote working plan could transform Silicon Valley
Facebook’s workforce can choose to make remote work permanent. However, as CEO Mark Zuckerberg explained last week, their pay would be adjusted to reflect the local cost of living at the home base they choose.

Silicon Valley is notoriously expensive and, as Reuters reported, some tech workers dreamed of logging on to work from tropical locations, or even more affordable Midwestern locales. Facebook said it will check where employees access its VPN in an effort to ensure they abide by local tax laws.