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June 18, 2020 - Brief Issue 63

The Coronavirus Daily Brief is a daily news and analysis roundup edited by New America’s International Security Program and Arizona State University.

Top Headlines

Lack of Funding and Materials For Researching COVID-19 Antibody Tests (Health & Science)

“Operation Warp Speed” Will Focus on Seven COVID-19 Vaccine Candidates While President Trump Asks for an Even More Condensed Vaccine Timeline (Health & Science)

21 U.S. States Trending up in Coronavirus Cases, 8 States are Steady, 21 States See Downward Trend (Health & Science)

World Health Organization Removes Hydroxychloroquine From COVID-19 Clinical Trial (Health & Science)

Researchers Getting Closer to Figuring Out True COVID-19 Fatality Rate (Health & Science)

“Nanosponges” Lower Coronavirus Infectivity by 90 Percent in the Lab, Scientists Report (Health & Science)

South Africa Fighting Two Pandemics: COVID-19 and Violence Against Women, Children (Around the World)

West African Ministers Want to Reopen Borders in July (Around the World)

U.K. Contact Tracing System Falls Short (Around the World)

Germany Bans Large Gatherings Through October (Around the World)

English Soccer League Returns After Longest Pause Since World War II (Around the World)

President of Honduras Tests Positive, Hospitalized (Around the World)

Brazil Reports Big Surge as Cases Near 1 Million (Around the World)

Kazakhstan Tightens Restrictions, Former President Tests Positive (Around the World)

Washington D.C. Expects to Enter Phase 2 on Monday (U.S. Politics & Government)

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to Give Last Daily Briefing Friday (U.S. Politics & Government)

Judge Rejects Request for Coronavirus Measures at Trump's Tulsa Rally (U.S. Politics & Government)

As U.S. Reopens, Restaurants Close Due to Positive Tests (U.S. Economy)

Target Raises Minimum Wage to $15 an Hour (U.S. Economy)

Wealthy Americans Cut Spending Amid Pandemic, Harming Service Workers (U.S. Economy)

Disney Launches Plans for NBA Season (U.S. Society)

Coronavirus Delays Citizenship for Thousands of Potential New Voters (U.S. Society)

Health & Science

There have now been 2,163,290 coronavirus cases in the United States, and 117,717 people have died (Johns Hopkins). Around 592,191 people have recovered, and the United States has conducted 24,937,877 tests. Worldwide, there have now been 8,351,428 confirmed cases of coronavirus, with 449,047 deaths. At least 4,076,245 people have recovered from the virus.

Lack of Funding and Materials For Researching COVID-19 Antibody Tests 

According to a new report by Reuters, “Of the more than $35 billion allocated by the federal government for COVID-19 testing, relatively little has been earmarked for antibody testing and research.” As early as April, White House coronavirus task force member Dr. Deborah Birx advocated for serology (antibody) tests with 90 percent sensitivity or higher, meaning antibodies are found 90 percent of the time. Some companies have identified their test’s ability to avoid false positives (known as specificity) with rates as high as 95 to 100 percent in their early studies, but the false positives depend on population size and its rates of exposure (NPR). In May, the Wall Street Journal reported that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires antibody tests to “demonstrate at least 90% sensitivity and 95% specificity.” Roche Holding AG, a diagnostics company, received FDA emergency use authorization for a test that claims 100 percent sensitivity and 99.8 percent specificity (WSJ, Guardian). Currently, there are 18 antibody tests approved by the FDA’s emergency authorization process (FDA). However, despite all of these new tests available, the most confusing part for consumers is that receiving positive test results from accurate and effective tests does not confirm immunity, at least for any extended period of time (WSJ). That may be why the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is “focused much more on diagnostic testing, which reveals active infections,” compared to serology tests that show a person had an immune system response to the coronavirus. The FDA notes that “Serology tests could play a role in the fight against COVID-19 by helping healthcare professionals identify individuals who may have developed an immune response to SARS-CoV-2. In addition, these test results can aid in determining who may donate a part of their blood called convalescent plasma, which may serve as a possible treatment for those who are seriously ill from COVID-19.” Independent researchers and academics are trying to help find effective antibody tests to push out to communities across the country (Reuters). 

Northwestern University Professor Thomas McDade says of the lack of funding and research, “Why are academics like me trying to find little pots of money to do what we think is a basic public health surveillance effort?” adding, “It’s ludicrous.” Reuters notes that in May, the National Cancer Institute announced that $306 million of federal funding was earmarked for the Institute to widen its antibody testing abilities and fund research. The plan for the Institute is to allocate money to researchers and research institutions, “creating a coordinating center for sharing resources and data.” Also, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will test for antibodies from 325,000 blood donors in 25 metropolitan areas across the U.S. starting this summer. The Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Resources (BEI), which receives funding from the National Institute of Allergy and infectious Disease (NIAID), offers free materials, when available, to COVID-19 antibody test researchers, and 1,300 have tried to register with the BEI since February, notes Reuters. Ninety percent of those requesting registration are for COVID-19 research. Even with available materials, researchers note the difficulty in comparing tests. For example, University of Washington researcher Eleanor Brindle says of the complexities in testing, “If I measure antibodies in my lab, using a method I cobbled together from available sources, and someone else cobbles theirs together with a different suite of sources, we’re going to get different results.” This may be why some states, such as New York, have decided to invest in their own antibody tests, aiming to increase this form of testing across communities heavily infected by the coronavirus, particularly because as the FDA notes, “We do not currently know the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibody positive individuals in the U.S. population, and prevalence may change based on the duration the virus is in the country and the effectiveness of mitigations.” Bonus Reads: “Coronavirus misinformation, and how scientists can help to fight it” (Nature) and “Coronavirus Antibody Tests Have a Mathematical Pitfall” (Scientific American).

“Operation Warp Speed” Will Focus on Seven COVID-19 Vaccine Candidates While President Trump Asks for an Even More Condensed Vaccine Timeline

On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that it will focus its funding on seven of 14 available coronavirus vaccine candidates (Reuters). The Trump administration promises to speed up the pace at which “Operation Warp Speed” will deliver a vaccine candidate (WaPo). According to the Washington Post, “Trump wants some people to be able to get the vaccine sooner than the end of the year to demonstrate an end to the pandemic is within reach, according to those officials and two others,” which is alarming scientists as this will put undue pressure to “approve some sort of limited use of a vaccine before it has been adequately vetted for safety and effectiveness.” As we’ve noted in several previous briefs, Operation Warp Speed has brought together a number of U.S. government agencies and is based on speeding up vaccine development by taking substantial financial risks. In particular, “the operation is turning to the military to help solve manufacturing problems, aid with logistics, and supplement private sector vaccine developers and NIH with Department of Defense capabilities for testing and developing countermeasures,” writes BioCentury. As we noted in a recent brief, the New York Times reported that Operation Warp Speed had selected vaccines from Moderna; Pfizer and BioNTech; AstraZeneca and University of Oxford; Johnson & Johnson; and Merck, although that the program did not plan to announce their decision for a few weeks. According to Reuters, the Trump administration “announced it has put more than $2 billion behind three vaccines in development, one being tested by AstraZeneca Plc along with the University of Oxford, a Moderna Inc candidate and one from Johnson & Johnson. It has also given more than $30 million each to Merck & Co and Sanofi SA for their separate vaccine efforts” (Reuters). 

The Trump administration is still deciding which vaccine candidates it will support in the end, which will be “based on the success of closely watched trials and manufacturing capability,” but as the Washington Post notes, pushing a fall timeline for a COVID-19 vaccine would require the vaccine candidate to “come in the form of a so-called emergency-use authorization issued by the FDA. Such authorizations require a lower level of evidence of effectiveness than formal approvals. They may be issued if the agency believes a product ‘may be effective’ to prevent or treat a serious or threatening disease, and that its ‘known and potential benefits’ outweigh the risks.” As we noted in Wednesday’s brief, an anonymous Trump administration official told reporters that vaccine access will be made available even for the uninsured, stating, “For any American who is vulnerable, who cannot afford the vaccines, and desires the vaccine, we will provide it for free.” The framework for a zero-cost vaccine would be similarly structured to how health insurance companies have permitted “no out-of-pocket costs… put in place for COVID-19 related medical services.”

21 U.S. States Trending up in Coronavirus Cases, 8 States are Steady, 21 States See Downward Trend

In yesterday’s brief, we noted that nine U.S. states have either “reported either new single-day highs or set a record for seven-day new coronavirus averages” (WaPo). These states include Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Nevada, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, and Texas. The New York Times reported on Monday that since the weekend counts of coronavirus were announced, “most of the 10 hardest-hit states that have seen rising case levels started reopening on or before May 8,” and “many states that were slowest to reopen have seen a different trajectory, at least so far. Most of the 10 states hit hard over all in the pandemic—but currently seeing decreasing daily cases of the virus—began reopening in mid-May or later.” As of Wednesday, California was added to the list of highest new cases, according to data from Johns Hopkins University, reports CNN. Also, the Navajo Nation has the highest per-capita infection rate, replacing New York and New Jersey (CNN), and Arizona’s coronavirus cases have “nearly doubled since the start of June” (NYT). A church in Union County, Oregon created a huge outbreak of coronavirus after 236 people tested positive, according to ABC. This spike in new cases created the state’s second “record-setting daily” count. The Tuesday count of 278 new cases was a 51 percent increase from Monday.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said that his state’s spike was due to increased testing across the state and that the state would not shut down. This statement came right after the Florida Department of Health announced 2,783 new coronavirus cases were recorded, which is “the largest single-day spike the state has seen since the beginning of the pandemic,” reports WFLA, a local Florida NBC News affiliate. However, University of Pennsylvania Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy chair Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel said that “you can have a small percentage increase because of testing in terms of number of cases” adding, "but when you see 50% or 150% increase in the number of cases you are seeing -- which is what we are seeing across the South -- that's not testing. That's new cases. That's community spread” (CNN).

According to a count by CNN, 21 states across the U.S. are trending up in new coronavirus cases, eight states have a consistent rate of infection, and the other 21 states are seeing a downward trend. University of Massachusetts Dartmouth associate professor biology Erin Bromage says that states don’t necessarily need to close again, but the virus must be contained. “Get masks on the population. We know that helps," Bromage said, adding, "Reinforce the social distancing between people. And slow down this race to (fully) reopen. Because if you don't, we know that these spikes in cases -- if they keep increasing the way they are -- always precede really large cases in hospitals.” Bonus Read: “The outbreak that didn’t happen: Masks credited with preventing coronavirus spread inside Missouri hair salon” (WaPo). 

World Health Organization Removes Hydroxychloroquine From COVID-19 Clinical Trial

On Wednesday, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that it is removing hydroxychloroquine from the list of drugs in its COVID-19 clinical trial (STAT). This decision comes shortly after researchers leading a study in the United Kingdom announced that hydroxychloroquine did not help hospitalized COVID-19 patients (BBC, Politico, STAT, WSJ). As we noted in a previous brief, the study’s deputy chief investigator, Dr. Martin Landray, Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology at the Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford, said, “There has been huge speculation and uncertainty about the role of hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for COVID-19, but an absence of reliable information from large randomised trials. Today’s preliminary results from the RECOVERY Trial are quite clear – hydroxychloroquine does not reduce the risk of death among hospitalised patients with this new disease” (RECOVERY). This announcement arrived two days after the WHO re-started the hydroxychloroquine part of its large SOLIDARITY clinical trial (BioCentury). And, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced on Monday that it will be “revoking emergency authorization of two malaria drugs to treat Covid-19, saying that they are ‘unlikely to be effective,’” reported the New York Times. A number of additional studies have shown the ineffectiveness of the malaria drug at successfully and safely treating COVID-19 symptoms (STAT, New England Journal of Medicine). The SOLIDARITY trial will continue to review other potential treatments for COVID-19, and over 400 hospitals across 35 countries are part of the study, reports STAT. Hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine are still treatments for malaria, rheumatoid arthritis, and lupus.

Researchers Getting Closer to Figuring Out True COVID-19 Fatality Rate 

After several months of the pandemic, researchers are getting closer to knowing how deadly the novel coronavirus is, reports Nature. Researchers are looking at the infection fatality rate, or IFR, which is based on ”the proportion of infected people who will die as a result, including those who don’t get tested or show symptoms.” The reason why it is taking a while to calculate is because there’s a high percentage of asymptomatic or mild-symptom individuals. That leads to undercounting the real rate of infection, as we’ve discussed in several briefs. According to Imperial College London epidemiologist Robert Verity, “The IFR is one of the important numbers alongside the herd immunity threshold, and has implications for the scale of an epidemic and how seriously we should take a new disease.” New studies suggest that “in many countries some 5 to 10 people will die for every 1,000 people with COVID-19,” reports Nature. Yet, other researchers argue that may just be a coincidence because a true lethality analysis will require a survey of many demographic groups across countries. Another factor in understanding a true IFR is knowing how well patients are treated with drugs and other therapies. Bond University PhD candidate in the Gold Coast, Australia, Hilda Bastian, says of appropriately estimating IFR, “Calculate too low an IFR, and a community could underreact, and be underprepared. Too high, and the overreaction could be at best expensive, and at worst [could] also add harms from the overuse of interventions like lockdowns.” 

A lot of weight was put on widespread antibody testing surveys, known as seroprevalence surveys, to narrow down a closer IFR (Nature notes that around 120 such surveys are currently in production around the world). However, that made the IFR even more complicated because COVD-19 appeared less deadly. One factor was that “Other early seroprevalence studies did not properly account for the lack of sensitivity and specificity in the antibody test kits that were used, or for discrepancies between the sampled and underlying populations.” Another factor is those who died early in the pandemic were not tested for COVID-19, making the true mortality count unknown. Researchers are waiting for more studies that show fatality counts in a range of age groups. One of the first studies to highlight age as a factor of death was from Switzerland, and was published on preprint website OSF so it has not yet been peer reviewed. This study found that for people 65-years and older, the IFR was 5.6 percent, and for the general population was 0.6 percent. University of California, Santa Cruz infectious disease researcher Marm Kilpatrick says of the newly released study, “This study is fantastic. It’s precisely what should be done with all of the serological data.”

RECOVERY Results on Dexamethasone “Significant” But Preliminary, Says World Health Organization; Scientists Call for RECOVERY to Release Full Data

The World Health Organization (WHO) is urging caution in interpreting the results on the steroid drug dexamethasone from the RECOVERY trial at the University of Oxford (CNBC). The trial showed that dexamethasone reduced death rates among severely ill COVID-19 patients by about one-third, as we covered in Wednesday’s brief (STAT, Nature). The study, while “very significant,” has not yet released the full data, said the WHO, and dexamethasone is not a panacea but one of “the many breakthroughs we need” (CNBC). Scientists and health experts echo hope at the positive findings as well as calling for full data. “It will be great news if dexamethasone, a cheap steroid, really does cut deaths by ⅓ in ventilated patients with COVID19, but after all the retractions and walk backs, it is unacceptable to tout study results by press release without releasing the paper,” said Atul Gawande, an author, surgeon, and New America board member (Twitter). Science journalist Kai Kupferschmidt tweeted that the study’s deputy chief investigator, Martin Landray, a professor of medicine and epidemiology at the University of Oxford told him, “There is this tension between having the final details and the final decimal points nailed down, and having what is actually a clear-cut and practical message in the public domain” (Twitter). As Kupferschmidt pointed out, part of the concern is that a steroid like dexamethasone, which dampens the immune response, can help calm the cytokine storms of severe COVID-19, but may be counterproductive in earlier stages of the disease when a strong immune response is helpful, and fuller data is essential. “What we have is basically a press release, with the most impressive top-line numbers in it, and that makes interpretation and context a lot harder. We saw this with the initial remdesivir numbers, with Moderna’s human data on their vaccine, and all over the place during the hydroxychloroquine story. Under normal conditions this wouldn’t be acceptable – and this “new normal” shouldn’t be different,” writes Derek Lowe in his blog at Science (In the Pipeline).

“Nanosponges” Lower Coronavirus Infectivity by 90 Percent in the Lab, Scientists Report

“Nanosponges” – microscopic sponges “a thousand times smaller than the width of a human hair” – may be able to soak up the coronavirus and prevent it from reaching human cells (Forbes, Reuters). Scientists from the University of California at San Diego developed nanosponges that are covered in cell membranes—from human lung and immune cells—that contain the receptors that the coronavirus binds to in order to enter human cells. When the virus binds to a nanosponge, “it loses its viability and is not infective anymore, and will be taken up by our own immune cells and digested,” said Dr. Liangfang Zhang, a study author and nanoengineering professor at the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering (UC San Diego). In lab experiments at Boston University, nanosponges caused the coronavirus to lose about 90 percent of its “viral infectivity,” or the ability of the virus to enter host cells and replicate, scientists reported Wednesday in the journal Nano Letters. 

Because the nanosponges act as decoys, attracting the virus to bind to them instead of the body’s cells, they would remain effective against new variants or strains of the coronavirus, as long as the virus continues to bind to the same cell receptors. The nanosponges may also be effective against other viruses that bind to receptors on these membranes. “From the perspective of an immunologist and virologist, the nanosponge platform was immediately appealing as a potential antiviral because of its ability to work against viruses of any kind,” said Dr. Anna Honko, a study author and a research associate professor of microbiology at Boston University’s National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories (UC San Diego).

Nanosponges that are covered with immune cell membranes may also be able to help calm the cytokine storms that are a hallmark of severe COVID-19. “We will see if the macrophage nanosponges can neutralize the excessive amount of these cytokines as well as neutralize the virus,” said Zhang. As a therapy, nanosponges still need “significant testing” to see if they would be safe and effective in people, Zhang says. If nanosponges reach the clinical trial stage, there would be several ways to deliver them, including intravenously, directly to the lung for intubated patients, or through an inhaler.

Around the World

Africa

South Africa Fighting Two Pandemics: COVID-19 and Violence Against Women, Children

South Africa is now facing two pandemics: COVID-19 and violence against women and children, President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Wednesday in a national address (AP). South Africa has between one-third and one-quarter of all coronavirus cases in Africa—more than 80,000—and half of those have been confirmed in just the past two weeks. Even so, the president is easing restrictions after facing pressure from business leaders and workers, many of them women, who have said the lockdown has caused great financial loss. Restaurants will be allowed to offer sit-down service, cinemas, casinos, theatres, hair salons, and spas will be permitted to reopen under strict social distancing rules (Reuters). Ramaphosa also said that the jump in violent crimes and cases of abuse of women and children have “increased dramatically” since June 1, when alcohol sales resumed, though he did not give specific numbers. “It is with the heaviest of hearts that I stand before the women and the girls of South Africa this evening to talk about another pandemic that is raging in our country: the killing of women and children by the men of our country,” he said, calling it a “brutality that defies any form of comprehension.” 

West African Ministers Want to Reopen Borders in July

West African government ministers have proposed reopening borders between their countries in the first half of July. The 15-country Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) trade bloc has seen its members impose varying levels of restrictions in response to the coronavirus pandemic, many of them closing borders completely. Now, the new proposal calls for a coordinated approach to restart trade across borders, with the first phase being domestic air and land transport starting later this month (Reuters). The proposal will be presented to ECOWAS heads of state in an upcoming summit. 

Europe

U.K. Contact Tracing System Falls Short

The United Kingdom’s contact tracing system was supposed to help the government pinpoint clusters and hot spots in real time as they emerged, and Prime Minister Boris Johnson described it as a “world beating” operation. But so far it has fallen short of expectations after it was rushed to be released before it was ready at the end of May (NYT). The system is staffed by thousands of people the New York Times describes as “poorly trained, low-paid” workers. In the three weeks since it became available for the public, some contact tracers have failed to reach a single person and some have mistakenly tried to send patients in England to testing sites in Northern Ireland. 

European Households Shielded by Wage Schemes, Says European Central Bank 

Government wage subsidies protected many eurozone households from suffering income losses during the pandemic-induced recession so far, according to a European Central Bank (ECB) study published on Wednesday (Reuters). Under the various schemes, companies can temporarily cut working hours and governments step in to pay the lost wages in exchange for the companies agreeing to guarantee jobs once the time of economic stress has passed. Without these types of schemes, households would have lost 22 percent of their labor income but the actual loss was around seven percent. According to the ECB, over 35 million workers in the five biggest eurozone countries may have been on a short-time work scheme during the crisis. The unemployment rate across countries in the euro currency bloc rose to 7.3 percent in April, but that is still only half the rate in the United States.  

Germany Bans Large Gatherings Through October

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Wednesday that Germany would be banning large gatherings and events through at least the end of October in an effort to avoid a second wave of infections (Reuters). While protests and demonstrations will continue to be allowed, other large events where contact tracing and social distancing were not possible will not be permitted. Germany has kept its COVID-19 death toll relatively low and conducted widespread testing. Merkel said that the number of new infections had stabilized. 

English Soccer League Returns After Longest Pause Since World War II

After the longest pause since World War II, English soccer resumed on Wednesday with the first game between Birmingham Club Aston Villa and Sheffield United in a virtually empty stadium (AP). There was a minute of silence to honor those who have died during the coronavirus pandemic before the game. All the players had the names on the back of their jerseys replaced with “Black LIves Matter” and every player took a knee at the start of the game. Only players, referees, and coaches are allowed in the stadiums and all must have a negative COVID-19 test in the previous five days. England is the fourth European country to restart its soccer league; Germany was the first country to resume matches, with Spain and Italy following close behind. 

Americas

President of Honduras Tests Positive, Hospitalized

Juan Orlando Hernández, the president of Honduras, announced earlier this week that he, the first lady, and two aides had tested positive for coronavirus (NYT). He said in a televised address that he had felt unwell over the weekend and tested positive on Tuesday but he is well enough to continue working remotely (CNN). Since then, he has been hospitalized with both COVID-19 and pneumonia (Guardian).  He urged his citizens to obey social distancing guidelines and stay home. The country has had more than 9,000 confirmed cases and 322 deaths and began reopening its economy last week after almost three months of lockdown. 

Brazil Reports Big Surge as Cases Near 1 Million

Brazil reported 1,269 new deaths on Wednesday, bringing its total death toll from coronavirus to 46,510 (Guardian). The Health Ministry also registered 32,188 new cases since its Tuesday update, when it announced 35,000 new cases in a 24-hour period (NPR). That brings the total number of confirmed cases to 955,377. Brazil now ranks second in the world for both the number of deaths and number of cases; only the United States has recorded more. The Brazilian government has continued to downplay the seriousness of the pandemic, with Walter Braga Netto, a top Brazilian government official dealing with the response to the outbreak, saying on Tuesday: "There is a crisis, we sympathize with bereaved families, but it is managed." 

Asia 

Thailand’s Success in Fighting the Coronavirus Has Led to a Mental Health Crisis

The number of cases and the death toll from COVID-19 in Thailand are among the world’s lowest, with about 3,100 confirmed cases and 58 deaths as of Thursday. The country’s healthcare system and a strict lockdown contributed to the success. But the lockdown had other serious mental health repercussions, as many people lost their jobs and are now unable to pay for daily living expenses (NPR). Before the pandemic, Thailand had the highest suicide rate in Southeast Asia, according to the World Health Organization’s 2016 global report on mental health, with 14.4 suicides for every 100,000 people. The government disputes the WHO numbers, but acknowledges that the soaring unemployment rate will likely contribute to a rise in suicides.The government launched a financial aid program in March that gives 5,000 baht, or $150, a month for three months to people whose incomes have been affected, but delays in receiving the funds and rejections have left many desperate. After nearly 29 million workers applied for the program, only about 16 million have received payments so far, and the Thai government expanded the program to include more people at the end of May. Somchai Preechasilpakul, an associate professor of law at Chiang Mai University who researches the impact of government policies on the urban poor, has criticized the government’s response and the slow disbursement of aid to those in need, saying that the coronavirus response has not succeeded if people are dying by suicide: “It’s a failure of the system.”

Kazakhstan Tightens Restrictions, Former President Tests Positive

Kazakhstan said on Thursday that it would tighten coronavirus-related restrictions over the coming weekend and that former president Nursultan Nazarbayev had tested positive for COVID-19 (Reuters, Guardian). Nazarbayev, 79, retains power as the national leader, chair of the security council, and head of the ruling party. The government said that shopping malls, markets, and parks in larger cities will be closed and additional hospital beds will be made available for COVID-19 patients. Officials also ordered all provinces to increase testing for COVID-19. So far, the country has about 23,000 cases and 100 deaths, an increase from the 5,000 confirmed cases it had when it ended its first lockdown last month.

U.S. Government & Politics

Washington D.C. Expects to Enter Phase 2 on Monday

Washington, D.C. expects to enter Phase 2 of its reopening on Monday if coronavirus trends do not worsen in the coming days (NBC, WaPo). Phase 2 would allow gatherings of up to 50 people, restaurant seating at 50 percent capacity, and loosened restrictions on non-league sports, religious services, and certain businesses. Masking requirements will continue in areas that prevent social distancing including grocery stores.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to Give Last Daily Briefing Friday

On Wednesday, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that he would give his last daily coronavirus briefing on Friday (Fox, WBNG). Cuomo said the number of cases continues to decline and stated, “I’m gonna finish the daily briefings on Friday … Then we’ll do briefings as necessary. I’m sure they will often be necessary.” He added, “But we’re going to turn the page on the immediacy of this crisis.”

Judge Rejects Request for Coronavirus Measures at Trump's Tulsa Rally

On Tuesday, an Oklahoma judge ruled against a lawsuit requesting a halt to President Trump’s upcoming rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma unless social distance precautions and face mask usage were required. The lawsuit was launched when the Greenwood Cultural Center and the John Hope Franklin Center for Reconciliation sued the BOK Center, the location where the rally is set to take place. The plaintiffs complained that the event would be a catalyst for coronavirus spread, stating: "If ASM Global moves forward with the event without adequate review, planning, training, protective equipment, and safeguards, cases of COVID-19 — and the unavoidable attendant deaths — will rise." ASM Global is the management company of the BOK Center (Politico). On Wednesday, Tulsa reported 96 new cases, a new daily record, and the city’s seven day count spiked 400 percent this month as it prepares to hold Trump’s rally (Forbes).

Colorado's Reopening Approach Works While Surrounding States Experience Spikes in Covid-19 Cases

Colorado, the first state with a Democrat governor to reopen, has avoided increases in coronavirus cases, while other states in the West are experiencing a surge of new cases. Colorado Governor Jared Polis launched a careful approach to reopening even before the White House's stay-at-home guidelines were set to expire. As part of Colorado's approach, only certain businesses could reopen, curbside pickup was initially the only allowable option, and strict social distancing was a requirement at barbershops and salons. Colorado also followed a phased approach to opening, only allowing dine-in restaurant operations to begin on May 27. In contrast, Utah and Arizona have experienced a surge of new infections and allowed openings of businesses earlier than Colorado. Polis discussed the coronavirus cases in his state and the surrounding states: "We're only a few steps ahead of this virus. We can't let good news give us a false sense of security. We see some of our neighboring states, Arizona and Utah, moving the wrong way" (Politico). 

Top Government Contractor for Biowarfare Preparedness Could Cause Issues in Future Pandemic Response

Emergent BioSolutions, a biodefense company, is the sole manufacturer of multiple drugs that the federal government has declared critical as part of the Strategic National Stockpile, including a vaccine for anthrax exposure. This month, the Trump administration awarded the company a $628 million contract to assist in manufacturing a coronavirus vaccine. Further, over the last few years, Emergent has acquired smaller firms and has been awarded numerous government contracts. However, Emergent's hegemony in the biodefense sector raises concerns that there is more room for failure in the future without competition. A report from 2018 by the Mitre Corporation discussed the pitfalls of Emergent's prominence: "Consolidation of many important assets into a single or small handful of companies creates substantial risk since it creates the potential for a single point of failure. From a pricing perspective, the lack of competition creates a system in which companies have no incentive to keep prices low (WaPo).

U.S. Economy

As U.S. Reopens, Restaurants Close Due to Positive Tests

As the United States reopens its economy, restaurants across the country are shutting back down as their employees test positive for coronavirus (WaPo). Generally the decision to shut down has been made voluntarily by the restaurants themselves. The Washington Post reports, “Many states and localities do not require restaurants where employees have tested positive to shutter. What steps owners take when faced with a sick employee — whether it’s deep cleaning the entire space, informing customers or testing other staffers — are largely up to them.” Restaurants fear that if they don’t announce the cases themselves or take action, the news will still spread and impact their businesses. Even so, the costs of shutting down as well as testing employees and cleaning pose a substantial burden on restaurants already hit by long periods of lockdown. Bonus Read: “Some Texas Bars Closing Their Doors Again as Coronavirus Cases Rise” (KWTX).

Target Raises Minimum Wage to $15 an Hour

Next month, Target plans to raise the starting minimum wage for employees to $15 an hour. The move permanently extends the temporary pay increase that was instituted amid the pandemic and is part of plans that were in the making for years. Before the pandemic, Target offered a starting pay of $13 an hour, but during the crisis, the wage was raised as stores stayed open to incentivize employees to work (WSJ).

Wealthy Americans Cut Spending Amid Pandemic, Harming Service Workers 

According to research by economists at Opportunity Insights, a research group based at Harvard University, the upper echelon, the top 25 percent of highest-earning Americans, have been responsible for about half of the decline in consumption during the coronavirus crisis (NYT). The decline in spending by America's wealthiest has caused problems for low-wage workers that depend on them for their income. Service jobs that rely on spending by the wealthy have been particularly devastated during the pandemic. Michael Stepner, an economist at the University of Toronto, discussed the pandemic's economic effects: "One of the things this crisis has made salient is how interdependent our health was. We're seeing the mirror of that on the economic side."

Emergency Loan Program Failed America's Neediest Businesses

The United States’ emergency loan program, the Paycheck Protection Program, failed some of the nation's neediest small businesses by not offering enough or sufficiently tailored assistance, according to a Wall Street Journal report on Wednesday. Firms that did not have pre-existing relationships with banks, had difficulty reopening quickly, or those that lacked good records found it difficult to benefit from the PPP. Josh Gotbaum, a former senior official at Treasury and the Office of Management, discussed the program's failures, stating, "They made a number of weak choices in designing the program as a loan program when they wanted it to be a grant program" (WSJ).

U.S.Federal Reserve Chair Urges Congress for More Support; Notes Stalled Change Circulation

Jerome Powell, Federal Reserve Chair, urged Congress not to stop federal relief provisions, stating the recent economic improvements could be at risk. On Wednesday, Powell told the House Financial Services Committee, "I would think that it would be a concern if Congress were to pull back from the support that it's providing too quickly… The economy is just now beginning to recover. It's a critical phase, and I think that support would be well-placed at this time" (Bloomberg, WSJ).

On Wednesday, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell also told Congress that the circulation of change has come to a standstill as a result of the coronavirus (NBC). Powell made the comment in response to a question from Congressman John Rose (R-TN), who noted that banks in his state had commented on their lower than usual receipt of coins. Powell stated, “What’s happened is, with the partial closure of the economy, the flow of coins through the economy has ... kind of stopped. The places where you’d go to give your coins and get credit ... those have not been working.” Powell noted that he expects circulation to pick up as lockdowns end.

U.S Companies Hurry to Go Public as Markets Weather Pandemic

Numerous tech start-ups have rushed to launch initial public offerings (IPOs), as the stock market has rallied in recent weeks. Various tech start-ups, including SelectQuote, an insurance provider, ZoomInfo, a software data company, Warner Music Group, a record label, and Vroom, a website that sells used cars online have rushed to go public in recent weeks. Moves to go public were intended to capitalize on the market and not slow business plans. Paul Hennessy, the CEO of Vroom, discussed the logic behind taking the company public, stating, "We saw the whole world stabilizing. At the end of April, we said, 'OK, maybe we should actually go on the offensive here'" (NYT).

U.S. Society

Disney Launches Plans for NBA Season

On Tuesday, NBA players scheduled to play a season at Disney World in Orlando, Florida received a 113-page manual preparing them for the season amid the pandemic. The manual requires health provisions, including the mandatory usage of masks, self-isolation upon arrival, and frequent virus testing. The NBA is also utilizing wearable technology to keep players safe, which will provide notifications when they are within six feet of others and offer other relevant health information. The owner of the Dallas Mavericks, Mark Cuban, discussed the NBA's plan to resume the season, stating, "I think we are going to be able to pull this off. We are doing everything possible to keep people safe, and I think it will work" (CNBC, WSJ). Bonus Read: “What happens if Tom Brady gets coronavirus? Buccaneers coach reveals contingency plan he's considering,” (CBS Sports).

Coronavirus Delays U.S. Citizenship for Thousands of Potential New Voters

Most naturalization services for potential new U.S. citizens were placed on hold on March 18 as a result of the pandemic, and even as services begin to resume, delays continue (NYT). According to a New York Times report, these delays could mean thousands of potential citizens will not receive their citizenship in time to vote in the 2020 election. According to the report, there were 650,000 pending citizenship requests at the end of the first quarter of fiscal year 2020. Lawmakers have made bipartisan calls for naturalization ceremonies to be held virtually to help with the delays.

Bonus Read: “Many Workers Will Never Go Back to the Office Post-Coronavirus” (Boston Globe).

Analysis & Arguments

Khushbu Shah writes on the dynamics at play when family members spread misinformation about the pandemic (Atlantic).

Rich Lowry argues the media’s focus on rising coronavirus cases in Arizona overstates the crisis there (National Review) while Tim Steller argues that the crisis is, in fact, the rising number of cases, not a false media narrative (Arizona Daily Star). 

Jeet Heer argues the United States hasn’t even exited the first wave let alone avoided a second wave of the coronavirus (Nation).

Andrew Joseph outlines how the continuing spike in cases across many U.S. states indicates the pandemic is not going away anytime soon (STAT).

Maryn McKenna explores the idea of a 9/11 Commission-style report on pandemic response, first anticipated by epidemiologist Michael Osterholm in 2005 (Wired).

Marco Lambertini, Elizabeth Maruma Mrema, and Maria Neira discuss that as we move out of the coronavirus and reopen our economies, we must focus on a “green recovery” because not doing so creates “severe environmental pressures” that yield increased animal to human coronavirus infection (Guardian).

 Readers can send in tips, critiques, questions, and suggestions to coronavirusbrief@newamerica.org.

The Brief is edited by Peter Bergen and co-edited by Melissa Salyk-Virk, Emily Schneider, David Sterman, and Narisara Murray, with Brenden McMullen.

Read previous briefs here: https://www.newamerica.org/international-security/blog/new-america-coronavirus-daily-brief/

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