Coronavirus In Colorado; The Numbers

According to today's data release, in Colorado there have been 160,796 people tested, 24,767 positive cases, 4,196 hospitalized, 1,392 deaths among cases (1,135 deaths due to COVID), 271 outbreaks at residential and non-hospital health care facilities, 60 of 64 counties with positive cases. In Adams County we have 3,006 cases and 118 deaths.  Read More from CDPHE HERE

Governor Polis Discusses New State Guidelines

Yesterday, Gov. Polis discussed the new state guidelines around in-person dining at restaurants, day camps, and private campgrounds, as well as the decision-making process around implementing or loosening restrictions. The Governor has previously outlined several criteria when making decisions about what can be reopened safely.  Read More from Governor Jared Polis HERE

CDE Offers Initial Guidance On School Reopenings

The Colorado Department of Education has begun the process of creating timelines and checklists for school districts planning to reopen for in-person instruction in the fall, while warning that a statewide or local public health order could change plans just as quickly in the spring semester. Due to the uncertain trajectory of the COVID-19 spread, CDE recommends districts create contingency plans that include remote learning and small-group instruction. If students are able to return to school, there will be an array of potential safety protocols such as health screenings or staggered schedules. There could also be abrupt starts and stops to in-person learning. Read More from Colorado Politics HERE

Owners of Castle Rock Restaurant In Mother's Day Viral Video Sue Polis, Health Officials For Suspending License

The owners of a Castle Rock restaurant that was shut down for defying a state public health orders are suing Gov. Jared Polis and health officials. C&C Breakfast & Korean Kitchen's license was suspended after it opened for dine-in service Mothers Day and let dozens of diners in.The lawsuit was filed Friday in Douglas County court on behalf of owners Jesse and April Arellano. It names Polis, the State of Colorado, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, the Tri-County Health Department, and the executive director of the CDPHE, Jill Hunsaker Ryan. More from CPR HERE

On Tuesday Colorado Confirms 1,114 Deaths Due To COVID-19 As Hospitalizations Continue To Fall

Colorado health officials on Tuesday reported 1,352 people who had contracted COVID-19 have died since the new coronavirus was first confirmed in the state, and that death-certificate data shows 1,114 fatalities were directly due to the virus. That’s an increase of 19 deaths of people who had the virus and 16 additional fatalities tied directly to COVID-19 over Monday’s tallies, though there’s a lag in reporting deaths to the state health department — particularly death-certificate data. Read More from The Denver Post HERE

Colorado Cities, Counties Brace For Fiscal Wreckage From Coronavirus, Even With Federal Help

According to the National League of Cities, municipalities in Colorado stand to lose $4.5 billion in tax revenues over the next three years due to government-ordered closures and reduced business activity — with a nearly $1.7 billion projected loss in 2020 alone — as communities slowly crawl out of the ruins of the COVID-19 pandemic. Add at least $200 million more in estimated lost tax revenues for Colorado counties in 2021 and 2022, and House Speaker KC Becker sees the fiscal picture becoming increasingly bleak absent another gush of dollars from Washington. Read More from the Boulder Daily Camera HERE

Suncor Reports Chemical Sheen On Sand Creek, Break of Containment Area At Refinery North of Denver

Contaminated water has been flowing into Sand Creek and the South Platte River from the Suncor Energy oil refinery north of Denver, and company officials on Wednesday said they were monitoring conditions and “will make any necessary repairs” to a containment area that has been failing. A sheen of benzene and other chemicals first surfaced on Sand Creek on May 7, prompting work to bolster the containment area. Sunday’s heavy rains raised the level of the creek, breaching the containment area. Read More from The Denver Post HERE

A-Basin Reopens With Random Drawing System

Arapahoe Basin Ski Area reopened on Wednesday, May 27, with only 600 skiers and riders allowed on the slopes each day. This was initially going to be enforced via an online reservation system that was supposed to open two nights before the specific day a person wanted to come skiing. However, Monday night, shortly after May 27 reservations opened, the ski area tweeted asking people for patience because of the high demand for reservations. On Tuesday, A-Basin announced the would be switched to a random drawing. Read More from 9News HERE  

Colorado Legislature Makes An Awkward Return To The Capitol

The hallways were mostly empty. The lawmakers were mostly masked. The interactions were mostly awkward. The General Assembly’s return to the state Capitol after a two-month coronavirus pause looked anything but normal. Members of the House sat at desks divided by plexiglass or in the gallery above the chamber shouting down their votes on legislation. In the Senate, some legislators were forced to balance computers on their laps as they worked in areas of the chamber’s floor typically designated for seating visitors. Read More from The Colorado Sun HERE 

Colorado Legislature Reconvenes, Announces Plans To Require Workers Earn Paid Sick Leave

Colorado lawmakers reconvened their coronavirus-interrupted legislative session Tuesday by promising or introducing a slew of bills aimed at getting the state back on track — including one that would require every business to offer workers paid sick leave — and by starting the arduous process of killing some two-thirds of the bills that were under consideration before the virus arrived. Speaking at an afternoon media briefing, Gov. Jared Polis asked specifically for elected officials to make some of his recent executive orders permanent, including those that ease regulations on the provision of telehealth and that allow restaurants to offer to-go alcohol sales. Read More from Denver Business Journal HERE

Polis Relaxes More Rules, Lays Out Goals For Legislative Session

Things are looking up for downhill skiing in Colorado, as Gov. Jared Polis relaxed more of the two-month-old restrictions to stem the spread of the COVID-19 virus. The prohibition on downhill skiing is lifted, the governor's office said Tuesday night. The governor's office also released its priorities Tuesday night. Polis cited his priorities as "lowering health care costs, supporting impacted businesses and workers, and investing in public health infrastructure and first responders." Read More from Colorado Politics HERE  

Colorado Schools May Open For 2020-2021 With These "Hybrid" Models, Limiting Number Of Students On Campus

State officials gave an early look Tuesday at how Colorado’s 900,000 students can return to school in the fall. When they open for the 2020-2021 school year, Colorado schools will likely run in a “hybrid” fashion that limits the number of students at school at any one time and eliminates large social gatherings. The "toolkit," developed with school leaders and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, includes recommendations for symptom screening, isolation of those with symptoms, and those who test positive as well as quarantine for those who may have been exposed. There are steps as well for cleaning and disinfecting surfaces, supporting and encouraging hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette. Read More from CPR HERE

Distance Drives In Colorado Increased 185% Over Memorial Day

“Memorial Day kicked travel up into a higher gear,” said Matt Clement, vice president of marketing at Arrivalist, which produces a Daily Travel Index. The index uses GPS data from personal mobile devices to anonymously track how much people are moving around. Within the continental U.S., Colorado drivers recorded the largest percentage increase at 185% in trips of 250 miles or more this past weekend versus the prior ones. Read More from The Denver Post HERE

As Colorado Businesses Reopen, Coronavirus-Related Workers' Compensation Claims Are Piling Up

As restaurants reopen and people return to their offices, more than 1,400 Colorado workers have already filed compensation claims for being infected by or exposed to the novel coronavirus while on the job. But, in a system that generally places the burden on workers to prove their illness is job-related and was not contracted elsewhere, the majority of claims filed have so far not been successful. And experts say the easing of social-distancing orders will make it more difficult for workers to win new compensation cases for COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. Read More from The Colorado Sun HERE

1 Of 6 RTD Mask Batches Passed Test, While Failed Equipment Sent Back to Vendor

Only one batch of KN95 masks destined for the Regional Transportation District’s employees has passed its testing, out of six total batches. RTD in April had an order pending for 21,000 N95 respirators and surgical masks, which the agency augmented with an order of KN95s. The shipment began arriving after April 20, destined for Colorado State University’s laboratory for testing. Two batches have yet to be tested. Read More from Colorado Politics HERE

Where, When And If; Riders' Decisions Are The Key To RTD's Post-Coronavirus Future

Ridership on RTD’s buses and trains has fallen 70 percent since March, as much of Colorado shut down. RTD responded to the initial crisis by slashing service by 40 percent and instituting a variety of measures meant to promote social distancing. A $232 million shot of federal money helped stave off an immediate fiscal crisis. Now, as the Denver area continues to slowly reopen, the agency will have to chart a sustainable path, with questions about its finances and how many riders it will have still unanswered. Read More from CPR HERE

Children To Receive Up To $279 In Lieu of Free, Reduced-Price Lunches During Pandemic

The Colorado Department of Human Services has announced that students who are eligible for free and reduced-price lunch will receive up to $279 for food thanks to federal coronavirus relief legislation. The Families First Coronavirus Response Act of 2020 authorized the creation of Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer to families of children who otherwise would have received meals if not for their schools’ closure due to COVID-19. Approximately 363,000 children will benefit from the additional money. Read More from Colorado Politics HERE and 9News HERE

Colorado Auto Registrations Take A Dive Following Coronavirus Outbreak

Colorado car and truck buyers registered nearly 30% fewer new vehicles in March and April than they did during the same two months in 2019. Sedans suffered the biggest drop, a 45.2% decline, while light trucks, which include SUVs, vans and pickups, dropped 25.6%. Total new vehicle registrations fell to 25,628 in March and April compared to 36,491 during the same period in 2019. Read More from The Denver Post HERE

Colorado Lawmakers Lay Out Plan For Pandemic Paid Leave

Citing the ongoing health crisis, Democrats are proposing a bill to provide every worker at least 48 hours of leave to ensure they can stay home if they're sick, at the expense of the employer. They're keeping no secrets, however, that it's a gateway to providing paid leave as an earned benefit for all workers, since only about half of Colorado's workforce gets paid time off from their job. Read More from Colorado Politics HERE

Democrats Are Pushing To Allow Lawmakers To Cast Votes Remotely, Avoid Colorado Capitol Completely During Coronavirus

Democratic leaders in the Colorado House and Senate are pushing to allow lawmakers to cast votes remotely during the coronavirus pandemic, suspending the long tradition of requiring senators and representatives to be present in person to have their voices heard. A resolution introduced in each chamber and set for debate as early as Wednesday could allow remote voting and participation in the lawmaking process before the end of the week. Read More from The Colorado Sun HERE

Colorado Evictions Could Resume In June As Part Of "Slow Return To Normalcy," Polis Says

Gov. Jared Polis expects that eviction cases will resume in Colorado's courts in June, allowing for the removal of people and businesses from rental properties. Meanwhile, state lawmakers are working on a law to extend protections for renters and homeowners. Last month, Polis ordered courts and law enforcement to freeze evictions throughout the state. That order is set to expire this week. Polis did not directly answer a question about whether he would renew the order, but he expects a “slow return to normalcy," he said at a press conference on Tuesday. Read More from CPR HERE

Hospitals Could Be Overwhelmed If Older Coloradans Don't Reduce Their Social Interactions By More Than Half

The coronavirus could peak beyond hospital capacity in Colorado in September unless older adults reduce social interactions by far more than normal for months to come. Colorado will need more intensive-care beds than exist in this state around Aug. 15 — right as school starts — unless people who are age 60 and older maintain strict social distancing and all Coloradans continue reduced social interactions, said public health officials during a remote news conference. Read More from The Colorado Sun HERE 

With Two Day's Notice, Colorado Restaurants Take Varying Approaches To Reopening

Over the holiday weekend, Polis set a restaurant reopening date of May 27 and released guidelines for restaurants to allow them to operate at a maximum 50% capacity — but with no more than 50 patrons inside — with tables spaced six feet apart and only parties of eight or fewer allowed. With two days notice, restaurant owners scrambled to decide when and how to reopen, with some opting out altogether for another week or more. Read More from The Denver Post HERE

Restaurants Across Colorado Have Closed Permanently, And Others Can't Justify Reopening Under New Coronavirus Rules

While Gov. Jared Polis is allowing Colorado restaurants to reopen in the final week of May, it’s too late for many restaurants that the Colorado Restaurant Association said have already closed permanently. More are likely to follow, the organization said, citing new requirements that restaurants operate at 50 percent capacity and to not exceed 50 customers. The new safety guidelines require workers to wear masks and customers and staff to social distance. Tables must be spaced at least six feet apart and sanitized between parties. Read More from CPR HERE

Denver Clearing Homeless Encampments In Five Points Today

Today, May 27, city staffers were set to clear out dozens of tents that have sprung up in encampments in the Five Points neighborhood during the COVID-19 pandemic. The sweep was set to begin at 8 a.m. and cover California Street from 20th to 22nd streets and 21st Street from Stout to Welton streets. The city will require people in the targeted areas to leave and not return for an as-yet undetermined number of days. This marks a new strategy for Denver officials who, throughout the pandemic, have allowed homeless individuals camping out in Five Points to return to the same spot after it's been cleaned up. Read More from Westword HERE

Hazard Pay Is Ending For Many Essential Workers Despite Ongoing Hazard They Face

Because of the great risk millions of workers in grocery stores and essential businesses were forced into by going to work each day, many of these workers received hazard pay or bonuses for several weeks. Now, many of the big retailers are stopping the pay hikes as states reopen, leaving workers asking: Why did the hazard pay end when the hazard is far from over? Read More from Denver7 HERE

States Give Few Details On Billions Spent on Virus Supplies

States are spending billions of dollars stocking up on medical supplies such as masks and breathing machines during the coronavirus pandemic. But more than two months into the buying binge, many aren't sharing details about how much they’re spending, what they’re getting for their money or which companies they’re paying. An Associated Press survey of all 50 states found a hodgepodge of public information about the purchase of masks, gloves, gowns and other hard-to-get equipment for medical and emergency workers. Read More Colorado Politics HERE

U.S. Death Toll From Coronavirus Surpasses 100,000

More than 100,000 Americans have now died from the virus in less than four months, according to tracking by Johns Hopkins University. The U.S. surpassed the somber milestone, which far exceeds reported deaths in any other country, as more Americans emerge from lockdowns and President Donald Trump pushes for a faster reopening. Read More from Politico HERE

Crewed SpaceX Launch Postponed Due To Weather

SpaceX's attempt to launch NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken has been postponed due to weather. If all goes well, the launch — now expected to happen at 3:22 p.m. ET on Saturday — will mark the first time a private company has successfully launched people to orbit and the first crewed, orbital rocket launch from the U.S. in 9 years. SpaceX was proceeding toward launch until about 17 minutes before liftoff when the attempt was called off due to bad weather in the area. Read More from Axios HERE 

On Eve of Historic Remote Votes In The House, Republicans Sue To Block The Move

OMore than 20 Republican members of Congress and constituents are suing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other officials in federal court to block proxy voting, arguing the practice is unconstitutional, according to House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy. On Wednesday, the House Rules Committee is slated to hold the chamber's first remote hearing under the new rules. Each panel must hold a practice hearing, followed by two virtual sessions. Once those steps are completed, a panel can hold a markup by video conference as well. Read More from NPR HERE

Restaurants And Retail Owners Struggled With PPP Loans. But A Fix May Be On The Way

Legislation to overhaul the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program — and make its numerous provisions friendlier to restaurants and retail shops in particular — may come before the House of Representatives as soon as Wednesday afternoon. The bipartisan Paycheck Protection Flexibility Act, introduced last week by Reps. Chip Roy, R-Texas, and Dean Phillips, D-Minn., would extend the eight-week period under which loan recipients could spend the PPP money while helping fix other details that continue to bedevil small businesses in the hospitality realm. Read More from Denver Business Journal HERE

A Back-To-Work Bonus?

National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow said Tuesday the Trump administration “may well” support including an incentive to get workers back on the job in the next coronavirus aid package. Such a bonus would be an alternative to Democrats’ push to continue the additional $600 weekly federal jobless benefit workers have been receiving on top of their state unemployment benefits. The $600 unemployment add-on was created under the CARES Act and is set to end on July 31. Read More from Politico HERE

America's Mental Health Is Suffering

A third of Americans are showing signs of clinical anxiety or depression, Census Bureau data shows, the most definitive and alarming sign yet of the psychological toll exacted by the coronavirus pandemic. When asked questions normally used to screen patients for mental health problems, 24 percent showed clinically significant symptoms of major depressive disorder and 30 percent showed symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder. The findings suggest a huge jump from before the pandemic. Read More from The Washington Post HERE

Speculation Swirls About Next Supreme Court Vacancy

Just months before Election Day, the question of whether President Trump will get to select a third Supreme Court justice hangs over the final weeks of the court’s term. Speculation over a possible vacancy has focused in recent years on the prospect of Justice Clarence Thomas exiting while Republicans control the White House and Senate, and alternatively on the health of the court’s aging liberal bloc. Read More from The Hill HERE

Federal Agencies Start Reopening Offices, Though Approaches Vary

Veterans Affairs, like agencies across government, has sought to keep those who are not needed at their normal workstations home in the wake of the novel coronavirus pandemic, seeking to limit employee exposure and spread of COVID-19. Now, however, agencies are looking to reopen offices and bring workers back, in most cases slowly and in phases. Read More from Government Executive HERE

Fauci: Data Is "Really Quite Evident" Against Hydroxychoroquine For Coronavirus

Anthony Fauci told CNN Wednesday that the scientific data "is really quite evident now about the lack of efficacy" of hydroxychloroquine as a coronavirus treatment. The comments came in response to news that France on Wednesday banned the use of hydroxychloroquine to treat the virus, after a large retrospective study in The Lancet found an increased risk of heart problems and death among coronavirus patients who took the anti-malarial drug. The World Health Organization also announced on Monday it had temporarily stopped running tests on the drug to review safety concerns. Read More from Axios HERE

Distress In Seniors Surges Amid Coronavirus Pandemic

As states relax coronavirus restrictions, older adults are advised, in most cases, to keep sheltering in place. But for some, the burden of isolation and uncertainty is becoming hard to bear. This "stay at home awhile longer" advice recognizes that older adults are more likely to become critically ill and die if infected with the virus. At highest risk are seniors with underlying medical conditions such as heart, lung or autoimmune diseases. Read More from CNN HERE

Nearly Half Of Adults Say They Or A Family Member Have Deferred Medical Care Due To The Coronavirus

The recent stay-at-home orders instituted by most states to help curb the spread of coronavirus impacted most industries, including the health care sector. Many hospitals and medical care providers closed for non-emergency services and many patients with non-emergency conditions postponed or cancelled appointments. The latest KFF Health Tracking Poll finds that nearly half of adults (48%) say they or someone in their household have postponed or skipped medical care due to the coronavirus outbreak, including a higher share of women than men (54% vs. 42%). Notably, 11% of adults overall say they or their family member’s condition got worse as a result of postponing or skipping medical care due to coronavirus. Read More from Kaiser Family Foundation HERE

Coronavirus "Silent Spreaders" Become A Bigger Risk

The role of “silent spreaders” in transmitting the coronavirus is becoming an even greater issue for health officials as they ease stay-at-home rules and slowly reopen the economy. Health officials have stressed the importance of creating an army of disease detectives — investigators who can interview newly infected people and find their close contacts, telling them to quarantine themselves for 14 days in hopes of keeping other people from getting infected. But if many people who get the virus don’t show symptoms and yet are infectious, the disease could spread invisibly, beyond the reach of county health officials. Read More from the Los Angeles Times HERE

How The Pandemic Disproportionately Affects Communities of Color

The 11 a.m. House Ways and Means Committee hearing is intended to explore how the outbreak is disproportionately affecting minority communities. Early evidence suggests that black populations and other communities of color are seeing elevated rates of coronavirus infections and deaths. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has faced persistent scrutiny over ongoing data gaps about how the virus is hitting minorities. Read More from Politico HERE

We Don't Know What's Behind The COVID-19 Racial Disparity. And That's a Problem

COVID-19 is killing black Americans with horrifying precision. Black Americans get the disease at a higher rate than white people do. Retirement homes with black residents become outbreak clusters. Black people die of COVID-19 at a higher rate than white people do—and that rate is even higher than it may seem, according to a study released last week by Yale University’s Cary P. Gross and co-authors. Read More from The Atlantic HERE

An "Avalanche of Evictions" Could Be Bearing Down on America's Renters

The United States, already wrestling with an economic collapse not seen in a generation, is facing a wave of evictions as government relief payments and legal protections run out for millions of out-of-work Americans who have little financial cushion and few choices when looking for new housing. Temporary government assistance has helped, as have government orders that put evictions on hold in many cities. But evictions will soon be allowed in about half of the states. Read More from The New York Times HERE

Among Essential Workers, Big Partisan Divides In Attitudes On Social Distancing

Attitudes towards the value of social distancing among the people where it arguably matters most – essential workers – vary widely by party affiliation. Gallup collected data from its COVID-19 tracking panel. The main conclusion is that among essential workers, there is a big political divide, but almost no gender divide. Republican essential workers are much more skeptical that social distancing saves lives, with only 20% of Republican men and 40% of Republican women saying they are “very confident” it is effective, compared to 76% of Democrat men and 72% of Democrat women. Read More from Brookings HERE

Wall Street Extends Rally, With Dow Surging More Than 300 Points

Stocks rallied Wednesday as the economy continued its slow return to life amid hopes for more federal stimulus and scientific advances against the coronavirus. The Dow Jones industrial average jumped more than 335 points, or 1.4 percent, at the open as financial stocks and beaten-up industrials picked up momentum — a comeback that signals confidence in the recovery. The broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index advanced 1 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq inched up 0.2 percent. Read More from The Washington Post HERE 

Dismal Earnings, Bullish Stock Investors And The Fed's Invisible Hand

Wall Street analysts have grown increasingly pessimistic in recent weeks about the outlook for corporate profits, even as investors have pushed markets steadily higher, breaking the link between analyst forecasts and the direction of stock prices. At the end of March, the consensus among analysts was that profits at companies that make up the index would sink a modest 1.8 percent in 2020. But after digesting the financial reports of companies from Agilent Technologies to Zions Bancorp, they now think 2020 profits will tumble more than 20 percent. Read More from The New York Times HERE

McConnell Says Another Relief Package Is Coming

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who has lived up to his self-description as “the grim reaper” by discouraging hopes for a quick new economic rescue package, may be coming around.The door had always stayed open to more action, but his timeline is a sign that things are starting to move. Read More from Politico HERE

Democratic Unity Starts To Crack In Coronavirus Liability Reform Fight

A group of moderate Senate Democrats say they are open to considering liability protection for businesses in the next round of coronavirus relief legislation, a crack in Democratic unity that gives Republicans and the White House some leverage. Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer (N.Y.) and Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) have rejected Republican demands for liability protection, but some rank-and-file Democrats say it could be appropriate in certain circumstances. Read More from The Hill HERE

Hoyer Says House And Senate Close on PPP Loan Extension

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said the House and Senate should be able to quickly agree on changes to the Small Business Administration’s popular Paycheck Protection Program to give loan recipients more flexibility in using funds. The House is poised to pass a bill on Thursday that would extend the current eight-week period during which businesses must use funds to have loans forgiven to 24 weeks or Dec. 31, whichever comes sooner. It would let businesses repay loans over five years instead of two, and scrap a rule that no more than 25% of proceeds can be spent on expenses. Read More from Bloomberg HERE

Survey Shows Big Remote Learning Gaps For Low-Income And Special Needs Children

Four out of 10 of the poorest U.S. students are accessing remote learning as little as once a week or less, according to a new survey from ParentsTogether, an advocacy group. By contrast, for families making more than $100,000 a year, 83% of kids are doing distance learning every day, with the majority engaged over 2 hours a day, the survey found. From the beginning, experts in distance learning warned that it can magnify inequities, with the most able and highly advantaged learners humming along, while learners who need more support fall far behind. Read More from NPR HERE

Social Media Usage Is At An All-Time High. That Could Mean A Nightmare For Democracy

Four years after Russia's expansive influence operation, which touched the feeds of more than 100 million users on Facebook alone, Americans' usage of social media has only increased — and drastically so, as a result of the pandemic. More people are more online right now than at any point in human history, and experts say the Internet has gotten only more flooded since 2016 with bad information. Read More from NPR HERE

Don't Expect A Quick Recovery. FiveThirtyEight Survey of Economists Says It Will Likely Take Years

The reopening of the economy might seem like a promising sign. After all, as shuttered stores and restaurants reopen, workers can return to their jobs or look for new positions, and industries that have seen slowdowns can resume operations. Some politicians — including President Trump — have promised a fast recovery. But how quickly will the economy really be able to bounce back? How long will we be stuck with a double-digit unemployment rate and a host of other historically bad economic indicators? Read More from FiveThirtyEight HERE

"I Cannot Breathe"

Four Minneapolis police officers were fired Tuesday, authorities said, amid protests and outrage after a viral video showed one of them kneeling on the neck of a handcuffed black man who cried that he could not breathe and later died. A bystander’s video of the incident on the city’s south side captured George Floyd telling the officers “I cannot breathe” as he is pinned to the ground, and as an increasingly distraught crowd of onlookers pleads with the officer to move his knee. Read More from The Washington Post HERE

Some Countries Have Brought New Cases Down To Nearly Zero. How'd They Do It?

Over the past month, Hong Kong has averaged one new confirmed coronavirus case a day. Taiwan has reported only one case in the past three weeks. The situation is similar in Vietnam. As the number of coronavirus cases continues to grow globally, there are places that have managed to successfully control COVID-19. Perhaps the greatest success story is New Zealand, which has stopped local transmission and has a plan to completely eliminate the virus from its territory. Read More from NPR HERE 

European Union Plans $2 Trillion Coronavirus Response Effort

The European Union set out a $2 trillion coronavirus response plan, including a massive pooling of national financial resources that, if approved, would deepen the bloc’s economic union in a way that even the eurozone debt crisis failed to achieve. Wednesday’s proposal, composed of a €750 billion ($824 billion) recovery plan and €1.1 trillion budget over the next seven years, aims to lift the region from its economic slump, but must overcome infighting dividing the bloc. If backed by all 27 member states, the plan would represent a historic step in knitting together national finances across the bloc. Read More from The Wall Street Journal HERE

265 Million People Could Face Hunger In 'Unprecedented' Crisis, World Food Program Expert Warns

The world faces an “unprecedented” food crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has caused both severe job losses and major disruptions in food supply chains. An estimated 265 million people could go hungry in 2020, nearly double the 2019 figures, according to WFP’s projection in April. As millions around the world are losing their jobs or seeing their incomes cut, it’s increasingly difficult for them to afford food. At the same time, lockdown measures and trade restrictions are making it harder to transport food from where it’s produced to where it’s needed, resulting in food going to waste in the field. Read More from Time HERE

Will Wet Markets Be Hung Out To Dry After The Pandemic??

When Anthony Fauci, a well-respected immunologist on President Donald Trump’s coronavirus task-force, called for the worldwide banning of wet markets last month, he may have had in mind somewhere like Tomohon in Indonesia. The highland town is surrounded by lush countryside in northern Sulawesi, home to the Minahasa people and an amazing diversity of wildlife. Dr Fauci is not alone in wanting wet markets banned. Scott Morrison, Australia’s prime minister, has called for their closure, as have American senators from both sides of the chamber. Read More from The Economist HERE

WHO Warns Of Second Peak And Cautions Against Scaling Back Restrictions Too Soon

The World Health Organization on Tuesday warned nations against scaling back coronavirus restrictions too quickly, saying a premature push to return to normalcy could fuel a rapid acceleration of new cases. Countries could face another peak of coronavirus cases even ahead of a presumed second wave of infections months from now. That warning echoed concerns from public health experts and others who have urged local, state and federal leaders to move slowly as they seek to reopen their economies. Read More from The Washington Post HERE