GovWin SLED Coronavirus Recon

Word on the Street

(What our Analysts are hearing from government)

• An official from Anne Arundel County, Maryland reported they are still working, but their procurement resources have been largely diverted to obtaining medical supplies and equipment.
• The Connecticut Department of Administrative Services is reporting that some incumbent contracts may be extended so they may address COVID-19 priorities.
• Mississippi’s Department of Education’s staff has been instructed to work from home and the Office of Procurement will not receive deliveries for advertised Requests for Proposals, Applications, or Qualifications. Responses should be submitted by email. Notices of solicitation cancellations due to COVID will be posted online.  

General 

• (New Mexico) Albuquerque to Ramp Up Road, Building Construction During COVID-19 Outbreak
• Alaska Unified Command prepares for rural Alaska COVID-19 response
  • Alaska state emergency leaders are implementing a plan to ensure health care services in rural Alaska are able to respond to the pandemic.
• (Ohio) New COVID-19 orders announced
  • Governor Mike DeWine announced the establishment of the Ohio Manufacturing Alliance Fight COVID-19 to coordinate efforts to provide healthcare workers and first responders with personal protective equipment
• RI response to COVID-19 will sharpen as data grows, Raimondo says
  • Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo said that the state will continue with testing and use the data to create a digital database to allow for a more informed response to the virus.
• KS Department of Commerce launches website in response to COVID-19
  • The Kansas Department of Commerce Wednesday launched a website dedicated to helping job seekers find employment during the COVID-19 pandemic by showing essential positions that need to be filled.
• Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer declares state of disaster due to coronavirus (COVID-19)
  • Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has formally declared a state of disaster due to the economic, educational and civic issues caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) in the state.
  • The number of cases in Michigan creeps towards 10,000
• Nearly Half of Americans Say They've Already Lost Income as a Result of COVID-19; One-Third Anticipate Needing Additional Education or Training
  • Strada Education Network is hearing that 1 in 3 survey respondents say if they lost their job due to COVID-19, they would need additional education or training to obtain a comparable job.

Funding & Economic Impact 

• (Utah) Gov. Herbert Vetoes Proposed Tax Changes in Time of Economic Uncertainty
• (California) Gov. Newsom Signs Executive Order Providing Expedited Funds For COVID-19 Response
  • California Governor Gavin Newsome signed an executive order allowing for the immediate use of funds supporting the state’s COVID-19 response.
• (Wisconsin) Gov. Evers announces second package of COVID-19 relief and support
  • Just days after Gov. Tony Evers announced his first package COVID-19 relief and support, the Governor announced his second package of relief and support. The comprehensive legislative proposal would provide critical investments in health services, support for essential workers, and assistance for Wisconsin families and businesses in response to the COVID-19 pandemic
• Missouri governor announces expenditure restrictions, funds to combat COVID-19
  • Missouri Governor Mike Parson announced $180 million in expenditure restrictions on Wednesday in order to ensure a balanced state budget and the necessary funds to combat COVID-19 going forward, the governor said.
  • COVID-19 has made impacts on anticipated economic growth, and state officials are now expecting significant revenue declines.
  • State officials say that these restrictions include reduced funding for several state departments including the Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development, Department of Transportation, Office of Administration, Department of Natural Resources, and the Department of Economic Development, among others.
• Colorado Governments Look At Cuts As COVID-19 Burns Budgets
  • The state has already slashed back its tax revenue expectations by $1 billion over the next 15 months
  • Lawmakers are editing down their wish lists for new programs
• (Pennsylvania) Delaware County getting $3,285,596 in coronavirus funding
• Senators: ‘Shameful’ DC did not get all coronavirus pandemic funding
• Tracking COVID-19 hospital expenses important for federal funding
• Lawmakers plead for more cash for local governments
  • More than 100 Democrats are urging Speaker Nancy Pelosi to provide desperately needed cash for local governments in the next emergency coronavirus package, warning that smaller cities and towns could soon run out of money to halt the virus' spread

Technology

• Why Zoom Really Needs Better Privacy: $1.3 Million Orders Show The US Government’s COVID-19 Response Is Now Relying On It
  • Government Agencies have made large investments in Zoom to support remote workers and communications, but vulnerabilities must be addressed, especially with huge volumes of users.
• Estimote launches wearables for workplace-level contact tracing for COVID-19
  • Startup Estimote has adapted its Bluetooth location technological expertise to develop a variety of new wearable devices that provide contact tracing, or monitoring the potential spread by person to person contact.
• Covid-19 spreads too fast for traditional contact tracing. New digital tools could help
  • Other digital tools are being developed to allow for contact tracing, such as digital tracing methods and voluntary registration databases to monitor infection cases.
• US hospitals join online platform to procure coronavirus equipment
  • Medical equipment shortages in the US have become so acute during the coronavirus outbreak that hundreds of hospitals have joined an online bartering platform to swap supplies directly with each other rather than buy them on the open market.
  • A collaboration between Stanford Medicine, healthcare procurement group Premier and supply chain intelligence start-up Resilinc is aiming to solve this problem by launching The Exchange, an online platform where hospitals can interact with peers to locate and trade critical medical items.
• Mozilla will fund open source COVID-19-related technology projects
  • Up to $50,000 each will be awarded to mature projects that can immediately deploy the funding, an applications will be accepted from anywhere in the world and from any type of legal entity
• Mobile app spending to double by 2024, despite economic impacts of COVID-19

Higher Education

• (Alaska) UA rolls out student support funding amid COVID-19 uncertainty
  • The University of Alaska is offering funding to some of its less-fortunate students so that these students can continue their studies without worrying as much about their fiscal situation.
• Coronavirus: Amherst College seeks contributions to cover remote learning costs
  • Amherst College is seeking roughly $10 million in funds for increased costs, reduced endowment, and having reserved funds to cover the switch to remote learning
• Statement from UM System President Mun Choi regarding budget withholdings
  • Withholdings to the University of Missouri will total approximately $36.5 million
  • The UM system has some of the largest withholdings among higher education institutions
• Coronavirus Information for Higher Ed
  • The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) issued resources for professors of higher education which highlights the importance of faculty participation in the development of institutional responses to the coronavirus

K-12 Education

• OPI Releases CARES Act Funding Estimates For Montana Schools
• Congress Needs To Ensure Educational Equity in the Wake of the Coronavirus Pandemic
  • Immediately, schools will need to invest time and resources to close gaps in access to devices and broadband connectivity, provide professional development to teachers on how to plan for and support students learning remotely, provide services and supports to English learners and students with disabilities, and address the social and emotional needs of children directly affected by COVID-19.
• Colorado governor extends order suspending in-person learning until April 30 amid COVID-19 outbreak
  • Gov. Jared Polis said Monday that people should prepare not to return to in-person classes for the rest of the year and said Wednesday that he expected many districts already have, or will be, making decisions to stay closed for the rest of the year and have remote learning in place.

Health Care

• Colorado Places Orders for PPE from Across Globe, Plans Tiered Care System for COVID-19 Patients
• Labs are testing 100,000 people each day for the coronavirus. That's still not enough.
  • Patchwork testing system remains uneven, many are denied tests or must wait several days for results as labs struggle to process a growing backlog of tests
• Colorado Prepares For Coronavirus Surge, Adding Thousands Of Hospital Beds, Stocking Up On Medical Equipment
  • Gov. Polis said that the state will close schools through April 30
  • The state is working to have at least 15,000 beds ready by May 15, and 5,000 ICU beds in hospitals by April 18
• The United States leads in coronavirus cases, but not pandemic response
• How Will Coronavirus Change the Health-Care Industry?

Social Services 

• Utah’s Unemployment Sets a New Record as the Coronavirus Crisis Impacts Workers Nationwide
• During COVID-19, disabled adults lack services and supports
• A record 10 million sought US jobless aid in past 2 weeks
  • More than 6.6 million Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week — doubling a record high set just one week earlier — a sign that layoffs are accelerating in the midst of the coronavirus outbreak.
• States' unemployment systems are failing their stress test
  • The U.S. Labor Department last week reported a record 3.28 million new unemployment claims in the week ending March 21, as businesses nationwide shuttered their operations. The result is an unprecedented stress test of states’ unemployment eligibility systems, many of which are built on decades-old technology that’s now buckling under the increased traffic.

Justice/Public Safety

• Defense department mounts multifaceted response to COVID-19
  • Measures that the Department of Defense have already taken in some states
• Sisolak activates Nevada National Guard for COVID-19 response; follows stay-at-home order
  • Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak has activated the state’s National Guard to help combat the spread of the virus, assisting with transportation and logistics, among other ways.
• Ohio National Guard members assist medical capacity assessment during COVID-19 response
  • The Ohio National Guard has begun efforts to assist with finding sites for alternative medical facilities.
• Lawmaker to propose federal tax holiday for first responders
  • Michigan lawmaker Bill Huizenga will propose a 3 month tax holiday for first responders, including medical staff. The holiday would be modeled after how the federal government excludes income taxes from members of the military serving on the front lines in combat zones.
• California County’s Legal System Converts Functions Online
  • Kern County is converting select tasks normally conducted in person into online functionality. Many in person legal meetings are not conducted virtually. However, the county is now beginning to explore their options as they infer the courtroom is not a proactive place to be and practice social distancing given all the people that move in and out of the courtroom on a daily basiss
• Residents worldwide call police on businesses, neighbors amid COVID-19 shutdowns
  • Police departments across the United States and the world continuously receive phone calls from citizens reporting large gatherings while stay-in-place orders are active.

Transportation

• (Colorado) Q&A: The Impact of Coronavirus on Public and Mass Transportation
  • Professor Andy Goetz at the University of Denver answers questions on how the coronavirus is impacting transportation around Denver.
• (California) Coronavirus stay-at-home orders have reduced traffic accidents by half
  • Since stay-at-home orders have gone into effect on March 20 in California, vehicle collisions on roadways in the state has decreased by about half.
• Why are airlines still flying in and out of US coronavirus hot spots and will they continue?
  • While demand for flying has drastically decreased within the United States, there are still people whom have essential duties and need to fly to get from place to place. For now air traffic is open and flights are ongoing, although at a decreased rate. This article looks at what impact coronavirus may continue to have on domestic flights.

Public Utilities

• (California) Coronavirus: Is the drinking water supply safe?
  • Water is a critical resource for everyone on the planet, and even more so now during the time of a pandemic. The main goal for drinking water treatment plants is to make sure the workers who run them do not get sick. This article looks at the precautions taken to protect the health of the workers.

Community Development/Housing

• Nearly $3 Billion in Coronavirus Aid to Be Used to Shelter, Provide Testing to the Homeless
  • The initial installment of money represents about one-quarter of the total that Congress allocated to the Department of Housing and Urban Development as part of a $2.2 trillion aid package. The agency said it will distribute the remaining $9.1 billion once new grant formulas are set.
  • The department said the biggest chunk of money for local governments and nonprofits will pay for new medical facilities for testing and treatment and other activities. Grant recipients can also use the money to acquire hotel buildings to accommodate the isolation of patients, or to support businesses that make medical supplies.
  • About $1 billion will go for emergency shelters and providing vouchers so the homeless can stay at motels. This money can be used to provide child care, mental health treatment and employment assistance.
• Maine awarded $16M for housing efforts amid coronavirus, COVID-19 pandemic