The coronavirus pandemic has begun to test the nations of the world in a way that no other virus has before; Countries are beginning to restart their economies at risk of setting off a second wave of the virus, making the choice between health of citizens or health of economy. As nations begin to peel back their restrictive measures, health officials warn that there is still too many unknowns about the virus. The unified nature of testing and contact tracing throughout the world will only in the end show what was the current mitigation method a country should have taken in hindsight. There are currently no known treatments, cures or vaccines for COVID-19.
Total Global Cases: Over 2.6 Million
Total Deaths: At Least 183,000
Total Recovered: At Least 742,000
More Stimulus
The United States Senate passed a $484 billion stimulus package aimed to replenish the small business loans from the CARES Act as well as given additional funding to hospitals impacted by the pandemic and the expansion of COVID-19 testings. The House of Representatives plans to have the bill passed by Thursday.
The current bill's breakdown: $310 billion for the Paycheck Protection Program, with $250 billion unrestricted funding and $60 billion divided for smaller institutions; $50 billion for the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program and $10 billion for EIDL grants; $75 billion for hospitals; $25 billion for testing expansion, with $11 billion to be distributed to states; and $2.1 billion for the Small Business Administration's administrative expenses during this crisis.
The first Paycheck Protection Program loans have come under controversy as hundreds of millions of dollars were claimed by large, publicly traded companies. According to research published by Morgan Stanley
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin stated during the White House's coronavirus press conference that, "The intent of this money was not for big public companies that had access to capital."
In effort to help small businesses navigate the current crisis, American Express
Testing, Treatments, and Tracing
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved its first at-home sample COVID-19 test on Tuesday. Developed by LabCorp
Quest Diagnostics
Across the Atlantic, Britain's Health Minister Matt Hancock stated that Oxford University will begin testing for a possible COVID-10 vaccine candidate in human trials this week. The minister stated during a Tuesday coronavirus news briefing that, "In normal times, reaching this stage would take years, and I'm very proud of the work taken so far. Nothing about this process is certain. Vaccine development is a process of trial and error and trial again."
Back in the states, Senator Josh Hawley wrote a letter to Apple and Google's CEOs, expressing that they should hold themselves responsible if their coronavirus tracking data is misused.
"If you seek to assure the public, make your stake in their project personal," Hawley wrote. "Make a commitment that you and other executives will be personally liable if you stop protecting privacy, such as by granting advertising companies access to the interface once the pandemic is over."
The two companies have recently teamed up to make coronavirus tracing software for public health authorities to create apps that will notify users is they have come in contact with some with has tested positive for the coronavirus. The system using Bluetooth connections between phones.
