Assistance for American Workers and Families

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

Donate COVID-19 Plasma

• If you have fully recovered from COVID-19, you may be able to help patients currently fighting the infection by donating your plasma. Because you fought the infection, your plasma now contains COVID-19 antibodies. These antibodies provided one way for your immune system to fight the virus when you were sick, so your plasma may be able to be used to help others fight off the disease. Learn more here.
• To find where you can donate source plasma, visit donatingplasma.org.

Donate Blood

• The COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented challenges to the U.S. blood supply. Donor centers have experienced a dramatic reduction in donations due to the implementation of social distancing and the cancellation of blood drives. Blood is needed every day to provide lifesaving treatments to a variety of patients. You can help ensure that blood continues to be available for patients by finding a blood donor center near you to schedule your donation. Learn more here.
• To find where you can donate blood, visit aabb.org. 

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: www.fema.gov/coronavirus/how-to-help.

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.

• 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

o   Wear a Mask to Protect You and Your Friends

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

• Remarks by President Trump in a Roundtable on Donating Plasma (REMARKS, VIDEO)
• President Donald J. Trump is Promoting Safe Plasma Donations to Protect Americans and Defeat COVID-19 (HERE)
• Remarks by President Trump in Press Briefing | July 30, 2020 (REMARKS, VIDEO)
• Remarks by President Trump in a Meeting with the Family of Vanessa Guillén (HERE)
• ICYMI: President Trump Tours Fujifilm Facility in Morrisville, North Carolina (HERE)
• Remarks by Vice President Pence on the Trump Administration’s Pro-Growth Economic Policies | Somerset, PA (HERE)
• U.S. Economy Remains Resilient Despite Historic Contraction in Second Quarter (HERE)
• ‘Be Best’ is Advocating that Every Child Find a Loving, Safe and Forever Family (HERE)
• 1600 Daily: President Trump to Recovered Coronavirus patients: Your Plasma Could Save Lives (HERE)
• West Wing Reads: First Lady: ‘Be Best’ is Advocating that Every Child Find a Loving, Safe and Forever Family (HERE)

The Nation’s Public Health Experts to America: Donate Plasma (HERE)

• Under the leadership of President Trump, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, through its top public health officials, today released a series of public service announcements (PSAs) and announced over $8 million in digital, radio, and out-of-home advertisements to support a broader Trump Administration effort imploring Americans to donate their plasma and help save lives. The PSA campaign seeks to dramatically increase donations of convalescent plasma by the end of August in the whole-of-America fight against the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

CMS Announces New Hospital Procedure Codes for Therapeutics in Response to the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (HERE)

• With the emergence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and the new treatments that have followed, it is critical to be able to track the use of these treatments and their effectiveness in real-time. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) responded to this need, and in record time is implementing new procedure codes to allow Medicare and other insurers to identify the use of the therapeutics remdesivir and convalescent plasma for treating hospital in-patients with COVID-19.

EPA Approves 13 Products from List N as Effective Against SARS-CoV-2 (HERE)

• Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that 13 products on List N, EPA’s list of products expected to kill SARS-CoV-2, have completed laboratory testing for use specifically against SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

EPA Region 8 Actions Protect Public from Coronavirus and Other Pathogens (HERE)

• Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 8 announced it has issued 17 Advisory Letters and 14 Notice of Refusal of Admission Orders since April 1, 2020.  These actions protect public health by ensuring pesticides advertised for use on the coronavirus and other pathogens are safe, effective, and used properly in accordance with the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). 

Defense Leader Discusses DOD’s COVID-19 Telework Posture (HERE)

• Dana Deasy, the Defense Department’s chief information officer, hosted a media roundtable on the DOD’s COVID-19 telework posture in support of the National Defense Strategy.

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

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