INFORMS Open Forum

  • 1.  8-6 Daily COVID-19 Update

    Posted 08-06-2020 20:55
    Edited by Ashley Smith 08-11-2020 10:16
      |   view attached

    Good evening,

    Please find today's Daily COVID-19 Update below and attached. Please let me know if you have any comments or questions.

    Thank you,

    Ashley Smith

    INFORMS Members in the News

              Member: Laura Albert

              Member: Sridhar Tayur

              Member: Sheldon Jacobson

    U.S. Federal Policy Update  

    • House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin met again this evening at 5 PM to continue working towards a consensus for another coronavirus relief package. Republicans and Democrats are continuing to work through several sticking points, including unemployment insurance benefits, Postal Service funding, housing aid, and state and local government funding.
    • Meanwhile, President Trump tweeted this afternoon that he is planning to sign unilateral executive orders either tomorrow or over the weekend – aiming to implement measures for unemployment benefit extensions, a payroll tax cut, eviction protections, and student loan repayment capabilities.
    • President Trump signed an executive order this afternoon directing federal agencies to prioritize procuring medicines and medical materials from manufacturers located in the U.S. The White House also published a fact sheet on the order, which is entitled an "Executive Order on Ensuring Essential Medicines, Medical Countermeasures, and Critical Inputs Are Made in the United States."
    • The Department of State lifted its level 4 health advisory, which suggested that all U.S. citizens avoid international travel during the coronavirus pandemic. The department announced that they are resuming implementation of country-specific advisories, writing that the situation is "improving in some countries and potentially deteriorating in others."
    • Weekly Labor Department data showed that another 1.2 million Americans filed for first-time unemployment benefits last week.
    • National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins encouraged that development and dissemination of a potential coronavirus vaccine will not "have any political spin attached to it," as they "want to be sure that this is something that everybody can trust to be exactly what's needed."

    State Update

    • Ohio Governor Mike DeWine tested positive for coronavirus this afternoon, ahead of his scheduled meeting with President Trump. His office published a statement that Governor DeWine "took a test for Covid-19 as part of the standard protocol to greet President Donald Trump on the tarmac in Cleveland."
    • Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear announced that they would be extending the state's facial covering mandate for an additional 30 days, which means the mandate will now expire in September.
    • Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont announced that the state government is allocating $266 million in relief funding towards efforts to reopen their school system.
    • Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed an executive order that officially requires facial coverings to be worn in all camps and childcare centers in the state.
    • Pennsylvania's departments of health and education issued a joint recommendation that all recreational youth sports be postponed at least until January 2021.

    Global Update

    • At the Aspen Security Forum, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated that he "hope[s] the U.S. will reconsider its decision" to leave the WHO, emphasizing that we "cannot defeat this dangerous enemy in a divided world."
    • The United Kingdom announced that they have added Belgium, the Bahamas, and Andorra to the list of countries from which travelers will have to quarantine for 14 days upon arriving into the U.K.  
    • Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe affirmed that he does not plan to "issue a state of emergency immediately," but also stated that the government "is keeping a high sense of alert[ness]."
    • The Australian city of Melbourne issued a shutdown of all non-essential businesses for the next six weeks, due to the city's recent uptick in coronavirus cases.

    Economic Update

    • U.S. stocks were on the rise today with all three indices reporting minor increases. The Nasdaq Composite closed up by 1.00%, the S&P 500 by 0.64% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average by 0.68%.

    Latest Impact Data

    • In the United States: Over 5,028,025 cases and 162,708 deaths in 50 states, 4 territories, and Washington, D.C.
    • Worldwide: Over 19,224,372 and 716,302 deaths in at least 204 countries and territories.

    In the News



    ------------------------------
    Ashley Smith
    Public Relations Specialist
    INFORMS
    Catonsville MD
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