COVID-19 Update | Tuesday, March 24 (PM)
March 24, 2020
Congress
- Negotiations continued throughout the day today and there is belief that a deal will be announced in the near term, and a vote will be held in the next 24 hours. A small number of outstanding items remain and once a deal is announced, the final agreement will be drafted and released.
- We still believe there will be a deal but our last report from the negotiators indicated that they were “getting closer but still hours away.”
- Markets were up today, signaling that they believe a deal is close as well.
- Transportation and infrastructure Committee Chairman Peter DeFazio (D-OR) issued a release today on various items in the House package within his Committee’s jurisdiction. A list of those provisions is attached.
- It is important to note that we do not anticipate any action on this as the Senate package is likely to be passed.
Administration
- The President during the evening press conference reiterated his desire to loosen restrictions in place due to the COVID-19 outbreak by Easter.
- Dr. Birx clarified that the self-swabbing that will be available will allow individuals to gather their own sample, not test themselves. The sample would still need to be sent to a lab for testing, though the self-swab would allow for personal protective equipment to be conserved.
- Businesses who are interested in accessing SBA funds either that are already available or might become available as a result of COVID-19 relief packages can review the industry-specific criteria for eligibility here.
- Though policies have been in place already,
agencies officially posted a number of COVID-19 policies in the Federal
Register today including:
- Official notices for the travel restrictions between US and Canada and US and Mexico:
- No Sail Order and Suspension on Further Embarkation for Cruise Ships, that went into effect on March 14:
Other News
- Ford, GM, and GE Healthcare are producing ventilators to meet the need for these medical devices to help those infected with COVID-19.
- The American Hotel and Lodging Association reports that as of mid-March 2020, the hotel industry supported nearly 2.3 million jobs directly and over 8.3 million jobs total nationwide. According to research conducted by Oxford Economics, 44 percent of hotel employees in every state are projected to have lost or will lose their jobs in coming weeks because of the coronavirus outbreak. A statewide breakdown of these job losses can be found in the attached chart.
- The World Health Organization warned that the U.S. could become the new epicenter of the pandemic as more than 50,000 cases were reported. More than 600 people have died from the virus in the U.S., according to Johns Hopkins University.
- Reports are indicating the first known death of a juvenile from COVID-19 in the United States.
- The Navy today reported three coronavirus cases aboard the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt, which is deployed in the Pacific.