American Workforce Policy Advisory Board – Call to Action: The American Workforce Policy Advisory Board has released a call-to-action to help the millions of workers who need assistance now, and build the resilient and agile workforce of the future powered by skilled American workers. Specific actions:

• Expedite American workers’ return to employment and upward mobility by investing in career pathways and implementing skills-based hiring practices.
• Remove obstacles to the modernization of American education and training to accelerate reskilling and facilitate innovation in workforce development.
• Build the technological infrastructure necessary for the future of work.

Find Something New: FindSomethingNew.orgcan help workers of all ages and backgrounds identify the right path for their career goals by recommending multiple educational pathways, providing aptitude testing, offering a directory of critical resources for child care, food assistance, internet access and more. Educational pathways featured include online learning, professional certification programs, associate’s degrees, and vocational, technical and trades education.

Economic Impact Payments: The CARES Act provides for Economic Impact Payments to American households of up to $1,200 per adult for individuals whose income was less than $99,000 ( or $198,000 for joint filers) and $500 per child under 17 years old – or up to $3,400 for a family of four. More information can be found here.

Preserving Jobs for American Industry: The CARES Act offers meaningful financial support to American businesses and job creators so they can better support employees and be prepared to get back to business as soon as possible. More information can be found here.

Supporting Child Care: The CARES Act provided an additional $3.5 billion to the Child Care and Development Block Grant to support families with child care options during this public health crisis. Additional information and State-level information can be found here.

Dislocated Worker Grants: The U.S. Department of Labor is providing Dislocated Worker Grants to prevent, prepare for and respond to COVID-19. State-by-State data and additional details can be found here.

Assistance for Communities

CARES Act Recovery Assistance Grants: The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA)is awarding CARES Act Recovery Assistance Grants to assist communities in responding to the coronavirus pandemic. These grants are being administered under the authority of the bureau’s flexible Economic Adjustment Assistance (EAA) program, which provides a wide-range of financial assistance to eligible communities and regions as they respond to and recover from the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. For complete information, please visit the recently updated EDA CARES Act Recovery Assistance page.

Opportunity Zones: Opportunity Zones were created under the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, signed into law by President Donald J. Trump on December 22, 2017, to stimulate economic development and job creation, by incentivizing long- term investments in low-income neighborhoods. During the COVID-19 pandemic, President Trump directed the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council to focus on underserved communities impacted by the virus. For more information, visit opportunityzones.gov.

• Opportunity Zones Best Practices
• Opportunity Zones Toolkit Volume 1
• Opportunity Zones Toolkit Volume 2

How to Help

If you or your organization are interested in helping the effort to combat the spread of COVID-19, FEMA has established a website (www.fema.gov/coronavirus/how-to-help) with more information. Examples for the private sector include:

Donate Supplies and Equipment

• If you represent a business that would like to donate medical supplies, equipment or pharmaceuticals, please provide details on what you would like to give. This form is for donations only.

Sell Supplies and Equipment

• If you are interested in doing business with FEMA with your company’s non-medical goods and/or services, submit your inquiry to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Procurement Action Innovative Response Team (PAIR) team at DHSIndustryLiaison@hq.dhs.gov.
• The federal government is purchasing medical supplies or equipment under the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Request for information (RFI). Visit the DLA website for more information.

Developing Medical Countermeasures

• If you would like to meet with a federal agency regarding a vaccine, diagnostic, therapeutic or other medical device that you are developing for SARS-CoV-2 or COVID-19, please go to medicalcountermeasures.gov.

Other Forms of Help

• If you or someone you know represent a hospital or healthcare provider in need of medical supplies, please contact your state, local, tribal or territory department of public health and/or emergency management agency.
• If you represent a private sector business and wish to learn more about getting involved in a way that is not listed here, please e-mail nbeoc@max.gov or visit our National Business Emergency Operations Center page.

For additional information, please visit FEMA’s website: https://www.fema.gov/coronavirus/.

Guidelines for Opening Up America Again

President Trump has unveiled Guidelines for Opening Up America Again, a three-phased approach based on the advice of public health experts. These steps will help state and local officials when reopening their economies, getting people back to work, and continuing to protect American lives. Please click here for more information: Guidelines for Opening Up America Again

·         Testing Overview (HERE)

·         Testing Blueprint (HERE)

·         Guidance for Cleaning and Disinfecting Public Spaces, Workplaces, Businesses, Schools and Homes (HERE)

·         CDC guidance for Camps, Child Care Programs, Schools, Mass Transit, Restaurants And Bars, and Workplaces

·         CDC resources and tools for school administrators, teachers, parents, guardians, and caregivers when schools open this fall:

o   The Importance of Reopening America’s Schools this Fall

o   School Decision-Making Tool for Parents, Caregivers, and Guardians

o   Guidance for K-12 School Administrators on the Use of Cloth Face Coverings in Schools

o   Screening K-12 Students for Symptoms of COVID-19: Limitations and Considerations

o   Back to School Planning: Checklists to Guide Parents, Guardians, and Caregivers

o   FAQ for School Administrators on Reopening Schools

·         CDC Activities and Initiatives Supporting the COVID-19 Response and the President’s Plan for Opening America Up Again (HERE)

·         CDC Videos:

o   Washing Hands

o   Wearing Gloves

o   Wearing a Cloth Face Cover

o   Practicing Social Distancing

o   Cleaning and Sanitizing Toys and Child Care Programs

o   Cleaning and Disinfecting Your Homes

o   Staying Safe at Summer Camp

o   Staying Safe at Aquatic Venues

o   Dinning with Friends and Family with Higher Risk for Severe Illness

o   Visiting Friends and Family with Higher Risk for Severe Illness

o   Stopping the Spread of Germs

o   Considerations for Bars and Restaurants

Operation Warp Speed

• The President is using all available means to ensure safe vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics are developed, manufactured, and distributed in unprecedented time and scale in response to COVID-19.
• Earlier this year, President Trump launched Operation Warp Speed, a groundbreaking partnership between the Federal Government, scientific community, and private sector to develop and deliver vaccines in record time.
  • Operation Warp Speed’s goal is to produce and deliver 300 million doses of safe and effective vaccines with the initial doses available by January 2021.
• The Administration has made large investments in multiple vaccine candidates to provide financial infrastructure for mass manufacturing, in parallel with late-stage clinical trials.
• Operation Warp Speed has invested in more than five vaccines and teamed up with multiple pharmaceutical companies to safely produce as many effective vaccines as possible.
• A number of vaccine candidates have shown promising early clinical results and are either in or starting Phase 3 clinical trials, including AstraZeneca, Moderna, and Pfizer.

White House Updates

·         President Trump Holds a News Conference (REMARKS, VIDEO)

·         President Donald J. Trump Is Committed to Ending America’s Reliance on Foreign Countries for Vital Supplies (HERE)

·         Update from Peter Navarro on Today’s Historic Kodak Announcement (VIDEO)

·         Daily 1600: President Trump is Taking Further Action Under the Defense Production Act to End America’s Overreliance on Foreign Supply Chains (HERE)

·         West Wing Reads: Moderna, Pfizer Coronavirus Vaccines Begin Final-Stage Testing (HERE)

DFC to Sign Letter of Interest for Investment in Kodak’s Expansion into Pharmaceuticals (HERE)

·         At the direction of President Donald J. Trump, U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) Chief Executive Officer Adam Boehler will today sign a letter of interest (LOI) to provide a $765 million loan to Eastman Kodak Company (Kodak) to support the launch of Kodak Pharmaceuticals, a new arm of the company that will produce critical pharmaceutical components. The project would mark the first use of new authority delegated by President Trump’s recent executive order that enables DFC and the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) to collaborate in support of the domestic response to COVID-19 under the Defense Production Act (DPA).

Experimental COVID-19 Vaccine Protects Upper and Lower Airways in Nonhuman Primates (HERE)

• Two doses of an experimental vaccine to prevent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)  induced robust immune responses and rapidly controlled the coronavirus in the upper and lower airways of rhesus macaques exposed to SARS-CoV-2, report scientists from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health.  SARS-CoV-2 is the virus that causes COVID-19.

HHS Issues New Report Highlighting Dramatic Trends in Medicare Beneficiary Telehealth Utilization amid COVID-19 (HERE)

• Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, through the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, is releasing a new report showing the dramatic utilization trends of telehealth services for primary care delivery in Fee-for-Service (FFS) Medicare in the early days of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

DOE, HHS, VA Announce COVID-19 Insights Partnership (HERE)

• Today, the Department of Energy (DOE), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced the formation of the COVID-19 Insights Partnership, an initiative to coordinate and share health data as well as research and expertise to aid in the fight against COVID-19.

On the Road | Reopening America: Green Bay, WI (HERE)

• HHS Secretary Alex Azar traveled to Bellin Health in Green Bay, Wisconsin to see how American health care systems are safely providing patients with treatments and preventative care once again.

On the Road | Reopening America: Grand Rapids, MI (HERE)

• HHS Secretary Alex Azar traveled to Skytron in Grand Rapids, MI to see incredible technology that uses UVC lighting to disinfect entire rooms.

CDC COVID-19 Partner Update: Tips for Safer Summer Travel (HERE)

• Dr. Brooks shared updates on CDC’s COVID-19 response, including the latest scientific information and what everyone should know about protecting themselves and others. In addition, Dr. Ali Walker reviewed CDC’s guidance related to domestic travel within the United States.

CDC COVID-19 Response Health Equity Strategy: Accelerating Progress towards Reducing COVID-19 Disparities and Achieving Health Equity (HERE)

• CDC Guiding Principles:
  • Reduce health disparities.
  • Use data-driven approaches.
  • Foster meaningful engagement with community institutions and diverse leaders.
  • Lead culturally responsive outreach.
  • Reduce stigma, including stigma associated with race and ethnicity.

CMS Updates Data on COVID-19 Impacts on Medicare Beneficiaries (HERE)

• The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services today released its first monthly update of data that provides a snapshot of the impact of COVID-19 on the Medicare population.

CMS Administrator Seema Verma Hosts COVID-19 Roundtables in Atlanta (HERE)

• On Monday, July 27, Seema Verma, Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and a member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, convened a roundtable discussion on the impact of COVID-19 at the Sam Nunn Federal Center in Atlanta alongside U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler.  Georgia health care leaders, providers, disease organizations, and advocacy groups met to discuss the impact COVID-19 has had on Georgia’s most vulnerable populations.

Trump Administration Invests More Than $3 Million in High-Speed Broadband in Rural North Carolina (HERE)

• The Trump Administration today announced that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing more than $3 million to provide broadband service in unserved and underserved rural areas in North Carolina. This investment is part of the $100 million in grant funding made available for the ReConnect Pilot Program through the CARES Act.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao Announces Over $273 Million in Grants to 184 Airports in 41 States, 6 Territories (HERE)

• U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine L. Chao announced today that the Trump Administration will award more than $273 million in airport safety and infrastructure grants through the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to 41 states and the District of Columbia, American Samoa, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, Palau, and Puerto Rico.

FDA Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update Daily Roundup – July 27, 2020 (HERE)

• The U.S. Food and Drug Administration continues to announce actions taken in its ongoing response effort to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Register for the DOT Opportunity Zones Program Update Webinar (HERE)

• The United States Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) invites you to participate at the Department’s “Opportunity Zones Program” Updates Webinar to be held on Wednesday, July 29th. The webinar will start promptly at 2:00 pm, EDT. This webinar will update the public on the recent pandemic of COVID-19, and its impact on the Opportunity Zones program within the U.S. Department of Transportation.

U.S. Department of Commerce Continues to Invest Cares Act Funding to Boost Economic Development Programs Critical to Helping Communities Respond to Coronavirus (HERE)

• EDA CARES Act Recovery Assistance, which is being administered under the authority of the bureau’s flexible Economic Adjustment Assistance (EAA) program, provides a wide-range of financial assistance to eligible communities and regions as they respond to and recover from the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. For complete information, please visit EDA CARES Act Recovery Assistance page.

For the most up-to-date information, please see the CDC’s website: www.coronavirus.gov.

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