INFORMS Open Forum

Good evening, 

Please find today's Daily COVID-19 Update for March 31st below and attached. Please feel free to let me know if you have questions.

Thank you,

Jeff Cohen


INFORMS Members In The News

• What supply chain players are learning from the pandemic (SME) 

Member: Sridhar Tayur, Carnegie Mellon University

• Smart(Ops) Manufacturing! (Ample) 

Member: Sridhar Tayur, Carnegie Mellon University

• Why people are panic buying during the COVID-19 outbreak (Ladders) 

Journal Cited: Manufacturing & Service Operations Management

• New York hospital treating two patients on a device intended for one (Washington Post) 

Member: Julie Swann, North Carolina State University

• COVID-19 ICU Preparation Simulation (Simul8 Blog) 

Member: Tom Stephenson, Simul8 Corporation

• Logistics during COVID-19: Researcher creates an operations model cheat sheet (Michigan Engineer News Center) 

Member: Siqian Shen, University of Michigan

U.S. Federal Policy Update 

• President Trump tweeted this morning that "this is the time to do our decades long awaited infrastructure bill," which should be valued at "two trillion dollars."
• The Treasury Department posted a press release today, giving guidance on how to access the new $349 billion Paycheck Protection Program established by the CARES Act. Both the Treasury Department's webpage and Small Business Administration's webpage were updated with information for the loans, and an application and fact sheet were also released.
• Dr. Robert Redfield, the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, stated that the agency is reconsidering its guidance that people not wear masks in public. Dr. Redfield said that since "individuals that may not have any symptoms can contribute to transmission," these guidelines are "being aggressively reviewed as we speak."
• In a "Dear Colleague" letter sent today, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) told members of the House that the legislative schedule remains up in the air due to the coronavirus pandemic. Majority Leader Hoyer wrote that members should "keep [their] schedules very flexible," as the changing calendar has "not reduced the amount of work" there is to be done.

 

Global Response 

• Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin, announced today that Russia is sending protective medical equipment to the United States, after Presidents Trump and Putin discussed the pandemic by phone yesterday. Peskov stated that "the Russian side offered aid in the form of medical equipment and protective gear," and "[President] Trump accepted this aid of a humanitarian nature with gratitude."
• The Vietnamese government imposed a strict stay-at-home measure today, along with a ban on gatherings with more than two people. This will go into effect tomorrow, and last for a minimum of two weeks.
• Ethiopia has postponed their elections indefinitely, stating that the new election schedule would be announced when the pandemic is "over." The elections – which were set to occur in August – would've marked the country's first democratic and multiparty elections.

 

State Update 

• Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced today that residents of the state must practice social distancing through April 30^th, and only essential businesses can be open until then. The order also mandates that schools remain closed through May 4^th. The order will go into effect on Thursday at 12:01 AM.
• Arizona Governor Doug Ducey announced a stay-at-home order as well, which will go into effect at 5 PM today.
• South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster announced this evening that all nonessential businesses must close for 15 days, starting tomorrow.
• Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers sent a letter to FEMA today requesting a disaster declaration for the state.

  

Economic Update (as of the close of markets)

• Markets closed today with all three indices reporting losses, with the S&P 500 down by 1.6%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average by 1.8%, and the Nasdaq Composite by 1.0%. 
• As today was the close of the first quarter of 2020, all three indices reported large quarterly declines due to volatility caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The S&P 500 reported its largest quarterly decline since 2008, which was a 20% loss for the quarter. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 23% and the Nasdaq Composite fell by 14% this quarter.

Latest Numbers 

• In the United States: Over 183,532 cases and 3,727 deaths in 50 states, 4 territories, and Washington, D.C.
• Worldwide: Over 839,200 cases and 41,343 deaths in at least 171 countries.

 

In the News (3/31/20) 

• Coronavirus disrupts appropriations schedule (Roll Call)
• McConnell and Pelosi draw coronavirus battle lines (Politico)
• Governors plead for medical equipment from U.S. stockpile plagued by shortages, confusion (Washington Post)
• Infrastructure bill gains new steam as coronavirus worsens (The Hill)

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