September 30, 2020

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• Happy Last Day of September!

• In today’s Recommendations for Industry, we discuss The Weekly Risk Matrix. While some states have eased their re-opening guidance, an increasing number of states have TPRs greater than 10%. Additionally, case rates/100K population are also increasing. Read more here.

• An early-release CDC MMWR report finds recent increases in COVID-19 cases among adults aged 18-22 years old. “During August 2–September 5, 2020, weekly COVID-19 cases among persons aged 18–22 years increased 55% nationally. Increases were greatest in the Northeast (144%) and Midwest (123%). Increases in cases were not solely attributable to increased testing.” For those that are back in school, the MMWR recommends, “[i]nstitutions of higher education should take action to promote healthy environments” which includes wearing masks, social distancing, hand hygiene, and incorporating local, state, and federal guidance for minimizing COVID-19 spread.

• On Monday, the National Restaurant Association “called on the U.S. Conference of Mayors to continue to encourage expanded outdoor dining areas by streamlining permit processes and to incentivize efforts to prolong outdoor dining with tax credits or funding for purchases of equipment.” 

• In case you missed it …

  • Global cases of coronavirus have exceeded 33 million. The global death toll has exceeded 1 million.

  • A recent health policy paper explores the lessons learned and outcomes from an analysis of nine (9) countries in Asia Pacific and Europe that enacted COVID-19 restrictions, “Lessons learnt from easing COVID-19 restrictions: an analysis of countries and regions in Asia Pacific and Europe.” The paper addresses the various restrictions and their public-health, health-system, and community impacts.

  • Another recent study finds that children may be less affected by the coronavirus due to the immune response that is generated. This immune response is “more muted” in adults.  Read the NYT article here; link to research study in article.