Good evening,
Please find today's Daily COVID-19 Update for September 29th below and attached. Please let me know if you have any comments or questions.
Thank you,
Jeff Cohen
INFORMS Members In The News
Member: Sheldon Jacobson
Member: Tinglong Dai
Member: Soroush Saghafian
Member: Oguz Alagoz
Member: Julie Swann
Member: Tinglong Dai
Federal Policy Update
- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's spokesperson Drew Hammill confirmed that "Speaker Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Mnuchin spoke this morning by phone at 9:30 a.m. for approximately 50 minutes," during which they "went over the provisions of the updated Heroes Act and agreed to speak again tomorrow."
- The White House published President Trump's remarks regarding his update to the U.S.'s coronavirus testing strategy, which was announced yesterday and will provide 150 million rapid point-of-care tests to states around the country.
- Deputy Treasury Secretary Justin Muzinich spoke at the Treasury Market Conference, during which he discussed "the unprecedented demand for liquidity at the start of the COVID-19 crisis, broader policy responses undertaken by the Administration and the Federal Reserve, and then some important questions to inform future policy."
- The Food and Drug Administration released final guidance on "Assessing COVID-19-Related Symptoms in Outpatient Adult and Adolescent Subjects in Clinical Trials of Drugs and Biological Products for COVID-19 Prevention or Treatment." The guidance provides a measurement framework for assessing COVID-19 symptoms in patients for sponsors of clinical drug trials.
- Biotechnology company Moderna – who announced earlier this year that they have partnered with the National Institutes of Health to develop a coronavirus vaccine – released a statement that their preliminary data indicates that the vaccine has had positive impacts on older adults tested so far. The company stated that 'the testing of COVID-19 vaccine candidates in older populations is of paramount importance, since these persons account for the majority of serious Covid-19 cases and associated deaths."
State Update
- California Health Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly announced that several of the more densely populated counties in the state are being authorized to reopen more fully due to a decrease in COVID-19 cases – including Sacramento, Fresno, and Santa Barbara counties.
- Illinois Governor JB Pritzker (D) announced that he would self-isolate for 14 days due to one of his staffers having tested positive for coronavirus.
- New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) announced that the city will impose fines up to $1,000 on any person who refuses to wear a mask in public spaces, due to the city's coronavirus positivity rate increasing to higher than 3% for the first time in recent months.
- The Philadelphia Department of Public Health announced that they would be increasing the allowable indoor dining capacity from 25% to 50%.
Global Response
- The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control added the following four countries to their list of "red" countries – the Netherlands, Iceland, Denmark, and Hungary.
- Russia's Direct Investment Fund announced that they had entered a deal with Nepal to supply 25 million doses of their Sputnik-V vaccine.
- The Dutch government announced that they would implement more stringent measures due to a recent uptick in coronavirus cases in the Netherlands. These new measures include a mandate to work from home, a 10 PM curfew on all bars and restaurants, and enhanced social distancing limits.
- German Chancellor Angela Merkel cautioned that they "know that a more difficult time is coming in the fall and winter," which "underscores the urgency to act."
- Indian Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu announced that he has tested positive for COVID-19.
- The Finnish government announced that they would require a 1 AM curfew for all bars and restaurants – effective October 1st.
Economic Update
- U.S. stocks were on the decline today, with all three indices closing with losses. The Nasdaq Composite fell by 0.29%, the S&P 500 by 0.48%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average by 0.48%.
Latest Impact Data
- In the United States: Over 7,394,448 cases and 210,548 deaths in 50 states, 4 territories, and Washington, D.C.
- Worldwide: Over 33,765,526 and 1,010,246 deaths in at least 204 countries and territories.
In the News
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Jeffrey M. Cohen, MBA
Director, Public Affairs & Marketing
INFORMS
jeff.cohen@informs.org------------------------------