Good evening,
Please find today's Daily COVID-19 Update for August 25 below and attached. Please let me know if you have any comments or questions.
Thank you,
Jeff Cohen
INFORMS Members in the News
Member: Sheldon Jacobson
Member: Pinar Keskinocak
Member: Pinar Keskinocak
U.S. Federal Policy Update
- The White House published a fact sheet on actions taken by President Trump to "further protect nursing homes from the coronavirus." In tandem, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services released new guidance with regulatory changes for nursing home reporting and testing requirements.
- Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Stephen Hahn announced that the agency is planning to release more information soon on the emergency use authorization they issued recently for convalescent plasma to be used in treating COVID-19.
Global Response
- The World Health Organization published a press release announcing that 172 countries are actively participating in their COVID-19 vaccine Global Access Facility.
- Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Belarus would be the first country to receive Russia's potential COVID-19 vaccine.
- Colombian Health Minister Fernando Ruiz announced that the country would be joining a clinical coronavirus vaccine study led by Johnson & Johnson, in partnership with Belgium and the United States.
- Hong Kong leaders announced that they would be relaxing some of their COVID-19 restrictions, with some entertainment venues able to reopen and face masks not required during exercise activities.
- The French Health Ministry published an announcement that there is a "strong rise" in coronavirus cases, adding that "all indicators continue to rise as the number of tests remains constant."
- The Scottish government announced that all students older than the age of 12 will be required to wear facial coverings in school.
- Leaders from Madrid, Spain announced that all students in the city will be required to wear masks in school.
State Update
- Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker (D) announced that they would implement an expanded prevention policy for restaurants and bars across the state. The policy requires all customers at these establishments to wear facial coverings when interacting with employees, as well as closing indoor services in certain counties.
- New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (D) announced that they would be removing the following five states from their travel advisory list: Alaska, Arizona, Delaware, Maryland, and Montana.
- Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) announced at his press conference that the state's hurricane shelters will be stocked with PPE, use social distancing measures, and offer coronavirus testing.
- Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine announced that the state is opening its first COVID-19 testing site in Littlestown, PA.
- Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Giménez (R) announced that restaurants in the county would be able to resume their indoor dining services at 50% capacity – effective this upcoming Monday.
Economic Update
- U.S. stocks were volatile today, with the three indices closing the day with varying results. The Nasdaq Composite climbed by 0.76% and the S&P 500 by 0.36%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 0.21%.
Latest Impact Data
- In the United States: Over 5,951,835 cases and 182,261 deaths in 50 states, 4 territories, and Washington, D.C.
- Worldwide: Over 24,024,431 and 822,111 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------------------------------