INFORMS Open Forum

  • 1.  7-9 Daily COVID-19 Update

    Posted 07-09-2020 21:13
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    Good evening,

    Please find today's Daily COVID-19 Update for July 9 below and attached. Please let me know if you have any comments or questions. 

    Thank you,

    Jeff Cohen


    INFORMS Members in the News

    Member: David Simchi-Levi

    Member: Sheldon Jacobson

    Member: Sheldon Jacobson

    Member: Julie Swann

     

    U.S. Federal Policy Update 

    • House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced that she is "very confident" that Democrats and Republicans will reach a deal on the next coronavirus relief package by the end of July. However, while Republicans have emphasized the need to keep the package below $1 trillion, Speaker Pelosi added that "$1 trillion doesn't do it for [Democrats] – but they can negotiate from there."
    • The House passed the Protecting Nonprofits from Catastrophic Cash Flow Strain Act (S.4209) this afternoon, which passed the Senate last week. The bill aims to help nonprofits/state & local governments to have added flexibility in dealing with unemployment costs in the wake of COVID-19.
    • National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci urged in an interview today that "any state that is having a serious problem, that state should seriously look at shutting down."
    • The Department of Labor announced that 1.3 additional people filed for first-time unemployment claims in the past week. That's approximately 99,000 less than the number of claims that were filed over the prior week.
    • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redfield cautioned that the coronavirus has been "a marker of the health disparities that have existed in this nation for far too long," and this is a "great opportunity to make meaningful progress in our efforts to impact the social healthcare disparity in this nation."
    • Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) announced this afternoon that it remains to be seen whether they can hold the Republican National Convention next month, due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus pandemic. He stated that he "thinks the convention is a challenging situation, and a number of [his] colleagues have announced they're not going to attend," but they'll "wait and see how things look in late August to determine whether or not you can safely convene that many people."

     

    Global Response 

    • The World Health Organization issued a new scientific report today regarding airborne transmission of the coronavirus. The report states that "some outbreak reports related to indoor crowded spaces have suggested the possibility of aerosol transmission, combined with droplet transmission, for example, during choir practice, in restaurants or in fitness classes."
    • The Bulgarian government announced that they are closing all indoor nightclubs, and will ban spectators from sporting events.
    • The city of Dubai announced that as they reopen their borders to tourists today, passengers would be provided with coronavirus tests free of charge upon their arrival. Tourists will then proceed to their hotels, and they must wait for their test results before they can go out. 

     

    State Update 

    • At least five states hit record single-day highs for new coronavirus cases today – Alabama, Iowa, Missouri, Montana, and Wisconsin. 
    • Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear issued an executive order requiring that all of the state's residents must wear facial coverings in public if they're indoors at retail facilities, grocery stores, or forward-facing businesses and if they're outside and unable to maintain six feet social distance.
    • Arizona Governor Doug Ducey announced that instead of reopening their school system in early August as usual, they would be opened on August 17th at the earliest. 
    • Colorado Governor Jared Polis encouraged the state's residents that the "bottom line to greater economic and social activity is wearing a mask."
    • Georgia Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan announced that he and Governor Brian Kemp support their residents wearing masks, but are not going to issue a mandate. He stated that they "are encouraging every single person in our state, all 11 million Georgians in every community, to wear a mask when at all possible," but the "notion of trying to mandate somewhat becomes a distraction."
    • Utah Governor Gary Herbert stated that he is "mandating that all students, faculty, staff, and visitors in all K-12 schools must wear a mask in buildings and on buses."
    • New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio announced that he is cancelling all large events across the city through September 30th. 
    • New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell announced that the city would be placing increased limitations on crowds in bars and indoor dining – reducing the number of people allowed in any indoor spaces to no more than 25 people at a time.
    • San Francisco Mayor London Breed confirmed in a news conference that she tested negative for COVID-19 after having been exposed to the virus.

    Economic Update

    • U.S. stocks were mixed today, with the three indices reporting varying results when the market closed. The Nasdaq Composite rose by 0.53%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 1.4%, and the S&P 500 by 0.56%.

      

    Latest Impact Data 

    • In the United States: Over 3,213,247 cases and 135,674 deaths in 50 states, 4 territories, and Washington, D.C.
    • Worldwide: Over 12,362,254 and 556,329 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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