Friday, Mar 15th, 2020

New York City goes 58 consecutive days without a fatal pedestrian traffic collision, the most since tracking began in 1983. (ABC News)

CDC publishes pared-down COVID-19 reopening guidance  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published six one-page “decision tool” documents Thursday afternoon for schools, camps, restaurants, bars, workspaces, mass transit systems, and childcare facilities to use when deciding whether or how to reopen during the COVID-19 pandemic. These are the only publicly released remnants of what was originally about 57 pages of detailed guidance from CDC scientists, whittled down to 17 pages, then shelved by the White House on April 30. The published decision trees were edited by White House officials in the Office of Management and Budget, typically to add more wiggle room. The CDC originally also made a document for churches and other religious facilities, but they took it out after objections from White House officials. Source: The Associated Press

The New York Stock Exchange is expected to partially reopen following Memorial Day. (Forbes)

Governor Phil Murphy announces that their beaches will reopen for Memorial Day, but with restrictions. (Politico)

China marks a month without announcing new deaths. (ABC News)

Ex-vaccine chief says administration ignored warnings about coronavirus Dr. Rick Bright, the federal official who was allegedly ousted while leading coronavirus vaccine development, warned Congress on Thursday that the United States lacked an effective plan to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and that top officials have disregarded science-based concerns regarding medical material shortages and potentially harmful treatment options. Bright filed a whistleblower complaint regarding his removal. Bright said a 12-18 month timeline for a vaccine, as the federal government has been planning, may be too optimistic. He said the timeframe fit “if everything goes perfectly,” but “we’ve never seen everything go perfectly. … I think it’s going to take longer than that to do so.” Fox News host Bret Baier said Bright’s allegations that the Trump administration ignored warnings from experts was “politically damaging” for President Trump. Source: The New York Times

Burr steps down as Intel Committee chair after reported FBI search Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) has stepped down as the chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) announced Thursday. Burr has been under scrutiny since the early days of the coronavirus pandemic after it was revealed he sold a hefty percentage of his stock portfolio while receiving closed-door briefings on the impending health crisis. He’s now under an FBI investigation for possible insider trading. Burr privately warned donors about upcoming adverse economic effects of the epidemic back in February, even though he downplayed the virus’ severity publicly. He sold between $628,000 and $1.72 million in stocks on Feb. 13, while getting private briefings from health officials. The FBI reportedly served Burr a search warrant and seized his cell phone on Wednesday. Source: The Washington Post

Additional 3 million jobless claims bring 8-week total past 36 million The number of Americans who have filed initial unemployment claims during the coronavirus crisis has now reached more than 36 million. The Labor Department on Thursday said another 2.98 million Americans filed initial jobless claims last week, which brings the eight-week total to about 36.5 million. Thursday’s number was worse than the 2.7 million economists were expecting. The peak for weekly jobless claims during the Great Recession was 665,000. The April jobs report released last week showed the unemployment rate soared to 14.7 percent, the worst since the Great Depression, with 20.5 million jobs lost. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell also revealed Wednesday that among Americans who were working in February, almost 40 percent in households making less than $40,000 a year lost a job in March.  Source: CNBC

Equinor, a multinational oil company two-thirds owned by the government of Norway, rejected a group of environmental and climate change-related resolutions at its shareholders meeting. One of these called on Equinor to stop oil exploration in ecologically sensitive areas. (Reuters)

 

Thursday,  May 14th, 2020

Maryland Governor Larry Hogan announces that the stay-at-home order will be lifted on May 15, except for Prince George’s and Montgomery counties. Groups of over ten will remain forbidden. (The Hill)

Poland extends its ban on foreigners entering the country until June 12 due to COVID-19. (Reuters)

Due to a spike in cases, the government announces a total lockdown in Santiago. (The New York Times)

 

The End