INFORMS Open Forum

  • 1.  8-3 Daily COVID-19 Update

    Posted 08-03-2020 21:39
    Edited by Ashley Smith 08-11-2020 10:19
      |   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: Sridhar Tayur

              Member: Laura Albert

              Member: Laura Albert

    U.S. Federal Policy Update 

    • President Trump issued an executive order aimed towards improving access to telehealth services and expanding rural healthcare capacities, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. The order directs the Health & Human Services Secretary to launch "an innovative payment model to enable rural healthcare transformation," mandates that the Agriculture Secretary work with the FCC to implement a strategy for greater investment in rural infrastructure, requires the HHS Secretary to submit a report on initiatives to expand rural healthcare access, and asks the HHS Secretary to also consider how to expand these measures beyond the pandemic through a regulation. The White House also published a fact sheet on the action.
    • White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) met again today to continue their ongoing negotiations for the next COVID-19 stimulus package. However, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was critical of the discussions, stating on the Senate floor that "the Democratic leaders insist publicly they want an outcome, but they work alone behind closed doors to ensure a bipartisan agreement is actually not reached."
    • President Trump announced in today's briefing that he's considering unilateral measures to provide coronavirus relief, if congressional negotiations remain stalled. He emphasized that he has "a lot of powers with respect to executive orders," adding that the administration is "looking at that very seriously right now."
    • House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Raúl Grijalva (D-NM) tested positive for coronavirus.
    • National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Anthony Fauci advised that "the default position should be to try as best as you possibly can to open up schools for in-person learning." However, he qualified his statement by advocating that state and local governments must also keep in mind that "the primary consideration should always be the safety, the health of the welfare of the children, as well as the teachers and the secondary effects for spreading [to] the parents and other family members."

    Global Response

    • The World Health Organization's Health Emergencies Programme Executive Director Mike Ryan stressed that coronavirus is "having a direct, negative impact on the capacity of health systems around the world to deliver."
    • The United Kingdom government announced that they are launching a half-price meal plan for restaurants and pubs – offering customers up to 50% off on their restaurant and pub bills from Monday through Wednesday.
    • Mexico's Education Minister Esteban Moctezuma announced that their 2020-2021 school year would begin with all remote learning on August 24th.
    • French Prime Minister Jean Castex encouraged the country's citizens that they "shouldn't let [their] guard down," emphasizing that "the virus is not on vacation and neither are we."

    State Update

    • The National Governors Association stated that governors across the country "strongly urge the President to authorize an extension of the use of Title 32 for National Guard operations in response to and recovery from the novel coronavirus."
    • Maryland Governor Larry Hogan issued an emergency order that "stresses local flexibility within the parameters set by state officials, in order to allow school boards and superintendents to make their own decisions about how and when to reopen public school."
    • New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy announced that due to the rise of indoor parties across the state, the number of people allowed at indoor gatherings will be reduced to a maximum of 25 people.
    • The Florida Division of Emergency Management announced that their state-supported coronavirus testing sites will resume operations tomorrow.

    Economic Update

    • U.S. stocks were on the rise today with all three indices reporting increases. The Nasdaq Composite closed up by 1.47%, the S&P 500 by 0.72% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average by 0.89%.

    Latest Impact Data

    • In the United States: Over 4,861,522 cases and 158,906 deaths in 50 states, 4 territories, and Washington, D.C.
    • Worldwide: Over 18,434,187 and 696,794 deaths in at least 204 countries and territories.

    In the News



    ------------------------------
    Ashley Smith
    Public Relations Specialist
    INFORMS
    Catonsville MD
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    Attachment(s)

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