Good evening,
Please find today's Daily COVID-19 Update for July 15 below and attached. Please let me know if you have any comments or questions.
Thank you,
Jeff Cohen
INFORMS Members in the News
Member: Anne Robinson
Member: Sheldon Jacobson
Member: Tinglong Dai
Member: Sheldon Jacobson
U.S. Federal Policy Update
- Democrats from the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis announced that they would be launching an investigation into the Trump administration's contracts to provide personal protective equipment, testing supplies, and other medical supplies during the coronavirus pandemic.
- Assistant Public Affairs Secretary at the Department of Health and Human Services Michael Caputo confirmed earlier reports that hospital data on coronavirus patients must now be sent to a database operated by the Trump administration. Caputo stated that this "new, faster, and complete data system is what our nation needs to defeat the coronavirus, and the CDC will certainly participate in this streamlined all-of-government response – they will simply no longer control it."
- The Federal Reserve announced that they would extend the temporary rule change that "allows banks to continue to make PPP loans to a broad range of small businesses within their communities," and "prohibits banks from favoring in processing time or prioritization a PPP loan application from a director or equity holder."
Global Response
- The Russian government announced that they would be lifting the mandatory two-week quarantine for visitors arriving to the country – effective today. However, travelers – both foreign visitors and Russian citizens – will be required to show a negative coronavirus test result within three days prior to entering Russia.
- British Prime Minister Boris Johnson conveyed to the House of Commons that he would "seek an independent inquiry to learn the lessons of this pandemic in the future," adding that "no one should underestimate the scale of the challenge this country faces."
- Three states in India announced that they would re-implement lockdown measures, as they continue to struggle with an uptick in coronavirus cases. As a reminder, the national lockdown was lifted a few weeks ago.
- Eleven high-ranking cabinet officials in Bolivia have tested positive for COVID-19, including interim President Jeanine Añez.
- Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro tested positive again for COVID-19.
State Update
- The state of California released new COVID-19 testing guidance, which offers a priority-based system to designate which tiers of residents will receive testing first. California HHS Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly stated that they "must do this o that testing is readily available and affordable to those who need it, especially those communities experiencing the worst impacts of Covid-19 and those who are at the highest risk."
- Virginia Governor Ralph Northam announced that the state would mandate workplace standards to be adopted across the state in response to COVID-19, including social distancing and face covering requirements for customer-facing enterprises and increased amounts of hand sanitizer on-hand for staff and customers.
- Ohio Governor Mike DeWine called on residents of the state to wear masks, emphasizing that the state's "number of positive cases has skyrocketed by almost 200%."
- Alabama Governor Kay Ivey announced that face coverings will be required in public – effective through July 31st.
- Washington, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser announced that the district's state of emergency order will most likely be extended through October.
- Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt announced that he has tested positive for coronavirus.
- Montana Governor Steve Bullock issued a directive requiring facial coverings for all counties with more than four active COVID-19 cases – effective immediately.
- Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont requested that their National Guard deployment stay in the state for the rest of the year, to help with COVID-19 cases.
- San Francisco Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Vincent Matthews announced that their public school classes will be online-only in the fall.
- Philadelphia Independent School District Superintendent William R. Hite Jr. announced that they plan to reopen schools with a hybrid system of in-person and online instruction in the fall.
- Houston Independent School District Superintendent Grenita Lathan announced that their school system would kick off with six weeks of online instruction, with in-person instruction schedule to begin on October 19th.
Economic Update
- U.S. stocks were volatile today, but all three indices closed with positive gains. The Nasdaq Composite rose by 0.6%, the S&P 500 by 0.9%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average by 0.85%.
Latest Impact Data
- In the United States: Over 3,611,370 cases and 140,003 deaths in 50 states, 4 territories, and Washington, D.C.
- Worldwide: Over 13,662,838 and 585,619 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------------------------------