Headline News
COVID-19 News Updates for August 19, 2020
White House Updates
- Press Briefing by Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany | 8/19/2020 (HERE)
- The Trump Administration Strongly Supports Telehealth Innovation (HERE)
- Remarks by President Trump During Border Wall Construction and Operational Update | Yuma, AZ (HERE)
HHS Expands Access to Childhood Vaccines during COVID-19 Pandemic (HERE)
· The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a third amendment – PDF* to the Declaration under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act (PREP Act) to increase access to lifesaving childhood vaccines and decrease the risk of vaccine-preventable disease outbreaks as children across the United States return to daycare, preschool and school.
Assistant Secretary for Health Admiral Brett P. Giroir, M.D., Statement on FDA EUA for LumiraDx UK Ltd.’s – LumiraDx SARS-CoV-2 Antigen Test (HERE)
· This week the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for LumiraDx UK Ltd.’s LumiraDx SARS-CoV-2 Ag Test. LumiraDx is a rapid point-of-care antigen test at is used with the LumiraDx Platform for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 directly from nasal swab specimens. In response, Assistant Secretary for Health and COVID-19 Testing Coordinator Admiral Brett P. Giroir, M.D., issued the following statement:
CDC Data Show Disproportionate COVID-19 Impact in American Indian/Alaska Native Populations (HERE)
· The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a new study that specifically examines how COVID-19 is affecting American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN) – one of the racial and ethnic minority groups at highest risk from the disease. CDC found that in 23 selected states, the cumulative incidence of laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases among AI/AN was 3.5 times that of non-Hispanic whites.
Spending Time with Friends and Family Who Need to Take Extra Precautions (HERE)
· When you spend time with friends and family who need to take extra precautions to protect against COVID-19, take these important steps. Wear masks. Stay at least 6 feet apart. Meet outside if possible. Wash your hands often. Sanitize all touched surfaces.
Visiting Friends and Family with Certain Medical Conditions(HERE)
· When you visit friends & family who are at higher risk for severe illness from COVID-19, take these important steps. Wear masks. Stay 6 at least feet apart. Meet outside if possible. Wash your hands often. Sanitize all touched surfaces.
Stop the Spread of Germs (HERE)
· If you are traveling, help stop the spread of COVID-19 and other respiratory illnesses by following these steps.
Supporting Tribal Long-Term Care Facility Heroes During COVID-19 Pandemic (HERE)
· Members of UNITE (Uniting Nursing Homes in Tribal Excellence) and nursing home administrators discuss how they support and honor their staff during the COVID-19 pandemic. Panelists also examine the impacts of COVID-19 among facility staff and the community and describe tools and resources staff use to protect residents and themselves.
FDA Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update Daily Roundup – August 17, 2020 (HERE)
- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration continues to announce actions taken in its ongoing response effort to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Trump Administration Invests Nearly $3 Million in High-Speed Broadband in Rural Missouri (HERE)
- The Trump Administration today announced that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing nearly $3 million to provide broadband service in unserved and underserved rural areas in Missouri. This investment is part of the $100 million in grant funding made available for the ReConnect Pilot Program through the CARES Act.
HUD Issues Guidance for Coronavirus Relief Funds (HERE)
- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson today provided guidance and additional flexibility to states and units of local government who are utilizing their existing federal disaster recovery funds to support low- and moderate-income persons and vulnerable populations for disasters occurring in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019 during the coronavirus outbreak. The Federal Register notice published on August 17, 2020 grants extensions and clarifies submission deadlines for Community Development Block Grant disaster recovery (CDBG-DR) grantees.
Hialeah, Florida, Trucking Company Pays Back Wages to Two Employees After Denying Paid Sick Leave Under Families First Coronavirus Response Act (HERE)
- After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), Milum Trucking – a freight shipping and trucking company based in Hialeah, Florida – has paid $3,110 in back wages to two employees for wrongly denying them emergency paid sick leave while they sought medical diagnosis for suspected coronavirus infection. Once their tests returned positive, the employer again denied the two employees’ requests for emergency paid sick leave.
U.S. Department of Labor and FDA Develop Checklist to Protect Food Industry Employees Amid the Coronavirus Pandemic (HERE)
- The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have developed a checklist for human and animal food manufacturers to consider when continuing, resuming or reevaluating operations due to the coronavirus pandemic.
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.
VA to Award More than 425 Grants, $279 Million to Help Prevent and End Veteran Homelessness (HERE)
· The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced today it will award more than 425 grants to community organizations totaling approximately $279 million under the Grant Per Diem (GPD) program. The GPD program provides funding to community organizations that provide transitional housing and supportive services for homeless Veterans, with the goal of helping homeless Veterans achieve residential stability, increase their skill levels and income and obtain greater self-determination.
DOD Continues Sexual Assault Support Services Amid COVID-19 Pandemic (HERE)
· The Department of Defense (DOD) announced that help for sexual assault survivors has not diminished during the National Emergency declared due to the COVID-19 pandemic.