Good evening,
Please find today's Daily COVID-19 Update for April 20th below and attached. Please let me know if you have any questions or comments.
Thank you,
Jeff Cohen
INFORMS Members In The News
Member: David Simchi-Levi
Member: Vicki Bier
Member: Ed Kaplan
Member: Sheldon Jacobson
Member: Sheldon Jacobson
Member: Julie Swann
Member: Pinar Keskinocak
Webinar Alert: On April 29th Dimitris Bertsimas (MIT, Cambridge) will present the ongoing work of his group of 20+ PhD and Master students and colleagues at MIT on a variety of aspects of COVID-19 as part of a new webinar series "Analytics for a Better World Webinars (ABW-W)". Visit https://bit.ly/3bnEBug for more information.
U.S. Federal Policy Update
- Discussions for another round of emergency coronavirus relief are ongoing, as congressional leaders and Trump administration officials were unable to reach a consensus prior to the Senate's scheduled session today. However, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced that the Senate would meet tomorrow in a pro forma session scheduled for 4 PM, and voiced his optimism that they'll "hopefully have an agreement by sometime later today."
- The White House Office of Management and Budget released a memorandum entitled "Aligning Federal Agency Operations with the National Guidelines for Opening Up America Again." The memo seeks to align federal agency functions with the reopening America guidelines released by the White House last week. The memo outlines "the transition of federal government operations back to a normal state while maintaining practices which have proven successful in fighting the virus."
- The Problem Solvers' Caucus released a bipartisan "Back to Work Checklist," urging a "regional, industry-by-industry, incremental, multi-faceted, and data-driven approach" to reopening the country. The guide offers public health, economic recovery, and longer-term economic stimulus checklists, agreed upon by members as "the benchmarks that must [be met] to reopen America." The caucus is co-chaired by Representatives Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) and Tom Reed (R-NY).
- Yesterday evening, the Treasury Department and Customs & Border Protection announced that they were issuing a temporary interim final rule giving importers the ability to receive a 90-day deferral on paying duties and other fees. However, this does not apply to deadlines "for goods subject to antidumping and countervailing duties, and Section 201, 232, and 301 Trade Remedies."
- Defense Secretary Mark Esper authorized the Department of Defense to offer humanitarian assistance to Italy as part of its global relief efforts to combat the virus. This humanitarian support will be authorized through June 5th, or until Italy doesn't require the support anymore (whichever date is first).
Global Response
- Several European countries are reopening some of their businesses and public spaces today. Germany is opening nonessential businesses, Denmark and the Czech Republic are reopening small to mid-size stores, and Poland is allowing access to forests and national parks.
- New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced that the country would be extending its lockdown until next Monday, after which the country will still be implementing less strict social measures for the following two weeks.
- The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) requested $100 million in emergency funding for relief efforts in North Africa and the Middle East – especially in Yemen.
- World Health Organization Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus emphasized this morning that "easing restrictions is not the end of the epidemic in any country," and urged countries to "ensure they can detect, test, isolate, and care for every case and trace every contact."
- Iraqi officials announced that all factories and businesses except restaurants would be allowed to reopen as long as they implement "prevention and no-gathering measures."
- The Iranian Health Ministry has allowed certain "low-risk businesses" to open.
- South Korean Prime Minister Chung Sye-Kyun announced that while the country's social distancing measures would be extended for an additional 16 days, the government would be easing the protocol.
State Update
- Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf announced that the state's social distancing measures would be rolled back by May 8th.
- Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards stated that he wants to "reopen the economy as quickly as [they] can," while also "protecting public safety." He noted in a press briefing today that the state is moving towards meeting the first phase of the three-phase reopening plan released by the White House.
- South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster announced that retail, sporting goods, and department stores in the state would be allowed to open starting at 5 PM today – with the caveat that they are only allowed to fill up 20% of their capacity, or 5 people for each 1,000 feet.
- Tennessee Governor Bill Lee announced that the state's stay-at-home order would end on April 30th, and that certain businesses could reopen as soon as next Monday.
- Georgia Governor Brian Kemp announced that the state would take a "small step forward" to allow several businesses to open this week. He detailed that fitness centers, hair salons, and certain others would likely be allowed to open as early as this Friday, while theaters and restaurants will be allowed to open next Monday. However, bars and restaurants will remain closed for business.
- New York Governor Andrew Cuomo unveiled a pilot program that would offer healthcare assistance to public housing locations in New York City.
Economic Update (as of close of the markets)
- U.S. oil futures fell below zero for the first time in history, with the price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil closing at negative $37.63 per barrel.
- U.S. stocks also dropped today, with all three indices reporting losses. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 2.4%, the S&P 500 by 1.8%, and the Nasdaq Composite by 1.0%.
Latest Impact Data
- In the United States: Over 789,745 cases and 42,186 deaths in 50 states, 4 territories, and Washington, D.C.
- Worldwide: Over 2,458,150 cases and 168,906 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------------------------------