COVID 19 Update 51
Italy Cautiously Opens Up
More than 4 million Italians head back to work this morning for the first time in eight weeks, as one of Europe’s strictest covid-19 lockdowns eases. A broader range of industries may resume production. People can visit relatives—though not, in theory, most friends. Nor can they yet travel between regions without good reason. Complicating matters, regional governors have allowed different freedoms in some areas.
But even as some semblance of normal life resumes, epidemiologists will be watching for any rise in infection rates in a country that has recorded more than 28,000 deaths, the highest figure after America.
When Easing Lockdowns, Governments Should Open Schools First
During some epidemics keeping children at home is wise; they are efficient spreaders of diseases such as seasonal flu. However, they appear to be less prone to catching and passing on covid-19. Closing schools may bring some benefit in slowing the spread of the disease, but less than other measures. Against this are stacked the heavy costs to children’s development, to their parents and to the economy
Read the article in the Economist
Council of Industry Webinar: Return-to-Work Protocols and Best Practices
Wednesday, May 6, 2020 at 1 pm
Our knowledge of the COVID-19 outbreak is changing daily, and employers are having to respond dynamically. Join Council friend and Associate Member Emergency One Urgent Care and Occupational Health to review the Return-to-Work protocols and best practices for integrating employees back into the workforce following prolonged absence during the pandemic.
The healthcare experts will uncover the following:
- Preparing your business for Return-to-Work
- Medical Criteria & Process for Return-to-Work
- Emerging Technologies – COVID-19 and antibody testing
- PPE best practices
- Achieving Return-to-Work via technology – Telemedicine
Speakers: Alan Glickman, RN, MSN, CNS-FHN, FNP, Jim Devitt, MS
Council of Industry Webinar: Dealing with Supply Chain Disruption
Thursday, May 7, 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm.
Please contact abutler@councilofindustry.org for the information.
Dr. Dennis Yu, Associate Professor of Operations & Information Systems and Associate Dean of Graduate Programs & Research will discuss strategies to help your firm manage risk and maintain operational flexibility in you supply chain.
- Definition of supply chain risks
- How to assess supply chain vulnerability
- Key strategies such as mitigation strategies and contingency planning to build a resilient supply chain
Rolls-Royce is to cut up to 8,000 of its 52,000 jobs
The Financial Times reported. The British manufacturer of aircraft engines has been hit hard by the collapse of air travel. In April it suspended its dividend for the first time in 30 years.
AFL-CIO’s Trumka, Labor’s Scalia Clash over Workplace Safety
“Since this crisis began, the Department of Labor and federal government have failed to meet their obligation and duty to protect workers; the government’s response has been delinquent, delayed, disorganized, chaotic and totally inadequate,” Trumka said.
Scalia responded Thursday, thanking Trumka and saying that the department would consider his proposals, but then accusing him of mischaracterizing OSHA’s performance.
“I appreciate that you may want different actions from OSHA, but to obscure the guidance OSHA has given, and to suggest that OSHA is indifferent to worker safety and enforcement, is to mislead employers about their duties and workers about their rights,” Scalia said.
Fed Main Street Loan Program
The Federal Reserve announced April 30 new details on the Main Street Lending Program. The announcement included key reforms such as lowering the minimum loan size to $500,000 to enable more small businesses to benefit from the program. It also expanded program eligibility to include companies with up to 15,000 employees or $5 billion in annual revenues, limited the application of the facilities’ “specific support” provisions so that fewer companies are excluded and clarified that pass-through businesses’ distributions do not exclude them from the program.
Loans will be offered to small and medium-sized businesses via the Main Street New Loan Facility, the Main Street Expanded Loan Facility and the newly announced Main Street Priority Loan Facility. The maximum loan size will be $25 million for the new and priority facilities and $200 million for the expanded facility, all subject to the borrower’s existing outstanding and undrawn available debt and its 2019 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.
The Federal Reserve has provided updated term sheets for the New Loan, Expanded Loan and Priority Loan facilities, as well as a comprehensive FAQ document on the program. More information, including the official program launch date and application procedures, will be available on the Federal Reserve’s Main Street page as it becomes available. You can also learn more about the Main Street program via this NAM overview
Statement by Administrator Jovita Carranza and Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin on the Success of the Paycheck Protection Program
“The Paycheck Protection Program is providing critical support to millions of small businesses and tens of millions of hardworking Americans.
“Since Round 2 of PPP loan processing began on April 27, 2.2 million loans have been made to small businesses which surpasses the number of all loans made in PPP Round 1. The total value of these 2.2 million loans is over $175 billion. Notably, the average loan size in Round 2 is $79,000, yet another indicator that the program is broadly based and assisting the smallest of small businesses.
“Nearly 500,000 of the loans were made by lenders with less than $1 billion in assets and non-banks. These lenders include Community Development Financial Institutions, Certified Development Companies, Microlenders, Farm Credit lending institutions, and FinTechs. Over 850,000 loans—about one third of the 2.2 million loans—were made by lenders with $10 billion of assets or less.”
