INFORMS Open Forum

10-19 Daily COVID-19 Update

  • 1.  10-19 Daily COVID-19 Update

    Posted 10-19-2020 21:55
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    Good evening,

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

    Thank you,

    Jeff Cohen



    INFORMS Members In The News

    Members: Anna Nagurney

    Members: Julie Swann

    Members: Julie Swann

    Members: Sheldon Jacobson

    Member: Tinglong Dai & Anna Nagurney

    Federal Policy Update 

    • House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) published a Dear Colleague letter on the ongoing coronavirus relief negotiations, stating that she is "optimistic that [they] can reach an agreement before the election." Speaker Pelosi's Spokesperson Drew Hammill stated that the Speaker spoke for an hour with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, during which "they continued to narrow their differences." In the immediate term, Speaker Pelosi has tasked the committee chairs of jurisdiction with reconciling differences on key issues with their Republican counterparts. 
    • Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) announced that the Senate will vote on a narrower $500 billion relief package on Wednesday, which will include: another round of funding for the Paycheck Protection program, additional funding for testing and tracing, enhanced unemployment benefits, and support for efforts to produce and distribute a coronavirus vaccine.
    • The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published new interim guidance strongly urging that passengers be required to wear masks on modes of transportation, including airplanes, ships, trains, and more.
    • The Departments of Defense and Health and Human Services awarded a $6.98 million contract to Teel Plastics, LLC, to expand production capacity of swab sticks necessary for producing COVID-19 testing kits.
    • The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released survey results which revealed that 21% of Medicare beneficiaries have forgone treatment for non-COVID health concerns during the COVID-19 pandemic.
    • The National Institutes of Health launched a Phase 3 clinical trial of three immune modulator drugs, to be tested on hospitalized adults with COVID-19. The study's aim is to test whether the immune modulator drugs can balance the overactive immune system response COVID-19 can cause.
    • The Transportation Security Administration announced that they had screened over 1 million people as of this weekend.
    • Health & Human Services Secretary Alex Azar encouraged that "by the end of March or early April, [federal officials] believe [they] will have enough vaccine produced to vaccinate anybody in the United States who wants to get vaccinated."

      

    Global Response 

    • The Mexican and Canadian governments announced that they will extend their restrictions on land travel to the United States by an additional month, which will now be in effect through November 21st. 
    • The Chinese government released new data, showing that their economy grew by 4.9% in the second quarter of 2020.
    • The Irish government announced that the government would be transitioning Ireland to a "Level 5" alert for the next six weeks, due to the increase in COVID-19 cases. 
    • The Swiss government announced that they would implement a nationwide mask mandate, and also ban all large public gatherings – effective today. These new rules are in tandem with a surge in coronavirus cases.
    • Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz announced that indoor gatherings in the country will be limited to a maximum of six people, as of this Friday.
    • Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced that the government would mandate that restaurants only serve six people at a time, that all gambling venues must close, and that local festivals must be banned as well.
    • The British government is currently in negotiations with the Manchester local government to enhance their coronavirus protocols, beginning with a lockdown of the city.
    • Belgian Minister Frank Vandenbroucke cautioned that "the health situation in Brussels is the worst and the most dangerous in the whole of Europe."
    • The country of Slovenia announced that they would enter a state of emergency for the next 30 days, beginning today.
    • South African Health Minister Dr. Zweli Mkhize and his wife announced that they have tested positive for coronavirus.

    State Response 

    • California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) announced that the state would convene a panel of health experts to conduct an independent review of any FDA-approved coronavirus vaccine, before it is allowed to be disseminated in the state. He added that they don't "anticipate mass availability until mid-2021."
    • New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy (D) warned residents of the state against traveling, stating that his "advice is to not leave the state frankly."

    Economic Update

    • U.S. stocks were on the decline today, with the three indices closing with losses. The Nasdaq Composite fell by 1.65%, the S&P 500 by 1.63%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average by 1.44%. 

      

    Latest Impact Data  

    • In the United States: Over 8,448,781 cases and 225,181 deaths in 50 states, 4 territories, and Washington, D.C.
    • Worldwide: Over 40,627,426 cases  and 1,122,717 deaths in at least 204 countries and territories.

     

    In the News                 



    ------------------------------
    Jeffrey M. Cohen, MBA
    Director, Public Affairs & Marketing
    INFORMS
    jeff.cohen@informs.org
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