Good evening,
Please find today's Daily COVID-19 Update for October 15th below and attached. Please let me know if you have any comments or questions.
Thank you,
Jeff Cohen
INFORMS Members In The News
Member: Sean Willems
Member: Julie Swann
Federal Policy Update
- Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) told reporters this afternoon that the Republican-controlled Senate is not on board with the Trump administration's higher-value proposal for a coronavirus relief package. He stated that while this $1.8 trillion amount is "where the administration is willing to go," Republican members of Congress "think a highly targeted $500 billion package is the best way to go."
- The Department of Labor released weekly data finding that 898,000 Americans filed for their first-time unemployment insurance claims last week.
- The Food & Drug Administration reissued the Emergency Use Authorization for certain filtering face-piece respirators.
- The White House published a statement on the White House's mental health executive order, highlighting that the executive order "comes at a time when many Americans are facing increased mental health problems and suicidal thoughts due to the COVID-19 prolonged lockdowns."
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated their ensemble forecast, now projecting that there will be approximately 240,000 coronavirus deaths by November 7th.
State Response
- Georgia Governor Brian Kemp (R) signed an executive order extending the state's current coronavirus protocols through October 31st, with the public health emergency to continue until November 9th.
- New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) stated that he is planning to announce on Sunday whether or not the city will be continuing their restrictions.
- Philadelphia Public School Superintendent William Hite announced that students in pre-kindergarten through 2nd grade can resume classes in-person for two days per week – starting on November 30th.
Global Response
- The World Health Organization released a study which found that the pharmaceutical therapy remdesivir has had "little or no effect on mortality for hospitalized patients."
- French Prime Minister Jean Castex announced that a strict curfew will be implemented in several cities in France, starting on Saturday. The curfew will last from 9 PM to 6 AM, for the Paris region and the following nine cities: Lyon, Lille, Toulouse, Montpellier, Saint-Etienne, Aix-en-Provence, Marseille, Rouen, and Grenoble.
- The Czech Ministry of Health warned that the country's "prognosis is not good," and "the numbers are very catastrophic."
- United Kingdom Health Secretary Matt Hancock announced that the city of London would move from Tier 1 medium coronavirus alert to a Tier 2 high coronavirus alert.
- The Peruvian government announced that their World Heritage Site – Machu Picchu – will begin to gradually reopen starting this Saturday.
Economic Update
- U.S. stocks were on the decline today, with all three indices closing with losses. The Nasdaq Composite fell by 0.47%, the S&P 500 by 0.15%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average by 0.07%.
Latest Impact Data
- In the United States: Over 8,213,905 cases and 222,688 deaths in 50 states, 4 territories, and Washington, D.C.
- Worldwide: Over 39,145,377 cases and 1,102,299 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------------------------------