GovWin SLED Coronavirus Recon

Word on the Street

(What our Analysts are hearing from government)

• Bid results for Iowa’s Department of Transportation will be available online once the responses have been opened and tabulated. There will be no public bid openings at the DOT’s Administration Building until further notice.

General 

• New York IT 'SWAT teams' deploy coronavirus screening tools
  • The “SWAT teams” that the New York State Office of Information Technology Services formed last month, recruiting tech-industry professionals to aid the state government’s response to the COVID-19 health crisis, launched their first products this week with tools designed to help New Yorkers screen themselves for symptoms and determine if they need to be tested for the deadly respiratory illness.
• Kansas City, Kansas, adds digital services as health crisis closes offices
  • Residents of Kansas City, Kansas, and surrounding Wyandotte County obtained access to a web app that replicates digitally many of the services normally offered at physical government offices that have been closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• New Mexico to participate in federal COVID-19 response research: What we know
  • Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham announced that she had accepted an invitation from the White House to participate in a pilot program with the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention focusing on contact tracing and research into the spread of the COVID-1.
• How will Louisiana prepare for COVID-19 hurricane season?
  • Governor John Bell Edwards said the state will have to take a different response to potential hurricane disasters due to the pandemic, such as needing additional shelters to allow for social distancing as much as possible.
• (Texas) Gov. Abbott's plan to reopen Texas begins with state parks as COVID-19 pandemic continues
• This is where all 50 states stand on reopening
  • A state-by-state breakdown of where each stands in terms of reopening their economies
• Facebook launches COVID-19 data maps for the US, will take its symptom tracking efforts global
• Kentucky Reports Highest Coronavirus Infection Increase After a Week of Protests to Reopen State
  • Democratic Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear announced that the state had set a grim record with 273 new confirmed cases of the coronavirus, the highest single-day rise to date. Kentucky's increase in infected individuals comes after protesters took to the streets throughout the week to call for the state to be reopened.
• Army Corps Set to Deliver 28 More COVID-19 Alternate Care Facilities
  • Contractors working for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are now building 28 alternate care facilities for COVID-19 and other patients in convention centers, hotels and arenas. That's 11 more than were under construction just 10 days ago. Facilities under way and completed are in 41 states by either the USACE or local authorities.
• Louisiana Moving into Phase 1 of Reopening Economy, Governor Says
  • According to Gov. Edwards, Louisiana is on track to enter the first phase of reopening the economy although the state is still waiting to meet all the federal criteria. The anticipated date for reopening is May 1.
• Oregon Governor Issues Order to Prevent Debt Collectors from Seizing Stimulus Checks
  • Gov. Brown has signed an executive order barring debt collectors and creditors from seizing stimulus checks which are meant to provide relief.

Funding & Economic Impact 

• (California) The Coronavirus Pandemic Will Test the State’s Budget Reserves
  • Governor Newsom has requested additional federal assistance, including flexible aid to state and local governments, a further extension of unemployment insurance benefits, and expanded support for safety net programs, small businesses, K–12 and higher education systems, childcare, and broadband.
  • The state is also making significant changes to the 2020 budget process. The Department of Finance is drafting a “workload” budget for the May Revision that will set the baseline for the final budget to be enacted in June
• Atlanta City Council meets to hash out pandemic spending
  • There are also proposals on the agenda to fund $2 million in food programs for children and seniors, $1.5 million for "small business continuity," $1 million to purchase "emergency technology" for use by city employees who are teleworking, and $1.5 million "to provide emergency assistance to employees and hourly wage earners of businesses engaged with the City whose incomes are adversely impacted."
• (Wyoming) STATE EYES UNCERTAIN FEDERAL AID AND CUTS AS REVENUES PLUNGE
  • Fallout from the revenue hit has already begun. Gordon ordered state agencies to freeze hiring, halt some large contracts and begin identifying parts of their budget that could be cut.
• (Los Angeles) LA Mayor Garcetti to Release Budget Proposal Likely to Include Service Cuts, Furloughs

Higher Education

• U. of Michigan Prepares for Mammoth Revenue Losses
  • University of Michigan could face revenue losses as large as $1 billion.
• Colleges and Universities Recommend Congress Wait to Consider Student Loan Cancellation
  • Education leaders agree that debt relief is a priority but want to hold-off final decisions to get a better understanding of the economic impact of coronavirus
• New Chat Bot for FAFSA Assistance
  • The College Board and Benefits Data Trust have created a chat bot to help students complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA
  • This comes after a significant decline in FAFSA enrollment
• (Vermont) UVM asks state for millions in relief due to Covid-19 stresses
  • The University of Vermont has called on the state to provide the school with $25 million in additional funds to confront “serious challenges” facing the university due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

K-12 Education

• (New York) Cuomo: School aid may be cut without federal COVID-19 funding
  • Funding for schools in the state could be slashed by 50%
• (Indiana) Hoosier K-12 public education in Indiana rocked by COVID-19
  • The governor’s office has indicated the state’s intent to maintain tuition support through the end of the current biennium, or June 30, 2021 and K-12 funding represents 50% of the general fund budget therefore making it a high priority for the state

Health Care

• (Illinois) Millions of PPE arriving in Ill.; 30,357 COVID-19 cases, 1,290 deaths
  • An airlift of personal protection equipment (PPE) is scheduled to arrive in Illinois Monday morning, April 20. The arrival of millions of masks and gloves follows a previous delivery earlier this week.
• (Virginia) Northam eases restrictions on nurse practitioners, other providers in response to COVID-19 pandemic
  • Governor Ralph Northam is temporarily easing regulations requiring nurse practitioners to work under the supervision of a physician, among other restrictions on medical providers being lifted in response to the pandemic.
• Austin, Texas, launches coronavirus testing enrollment service
  • Through a new digital service developed with help from the software company NTT Data, residents of Austin, Texas, can now schedule COVID-19 tests, receive health advice and help the city determine which neighborhoods are being hit the hardest by the coronavirus.
• 6 Health Systems Receive Funding From FCC’s COVID-19 Telehealth Program
  • UPMC, Ochsner Health and Mount Sinai Health are among the first six recipients of money from the FCC's $200 million telehealth program created by the CARES Act. More awards are expected soon.
• (Wisconsin) COVID-19 testing capacity continues to ramp up, Gov. Tony Evers says
  • The state plans to continue adding more labs and testing capacity in the weeks ahead
• Doctors and nurses account for up to 20% of US coronavirus cases, CDC says
  • Health care professionals make up about 20% of confirmed coronavirus cases, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC researched 49,000 coronavirus cases between Feb. 12 and April 9 and found that 9,300 of them, 19%, involved health care workers, according to the Associated Press.

Social Services 

• NYS Department of Labor Launches New Streamlined Application for New Yorkers to Apply for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Without Having to First Apply for Unemployment Insurance
• (Oklahoma) Scammers hit Oklahoma unemployment agency, families with fraudulent COVID-19 compensation claims
  • So far, the agency has identified 1,217 fictitious claims that have been filed since late March
• The Latest: Thousands of LA city workers must take furlough
  • Thousands of Los Angeles city workers must take 26 furlough days — the equivalent of a 10% pay cut — over the course of the next fiscal year as the nation’s second-largest city deals with the economic fallout from the COVID-19 crisis.

Justice/Public Safety

• Interest in Thermal Imaging Is Growing as COVID-19 Rages On
  • Thermal cameras are seeing an increase in interest and sales as the technology is increasingly becoming popular as tools to be used to screen people for COVID-19. These thermal imaging cameras can be used to slow and/or prevent the spread of the virus in areas where they may be used.
• Lawmaker calls for matching fund waiver for first responders during and after COVID-19
  • Congresswoman Robin Kelly has asked for House Leadership to waive local matching fund requirements for first responder grants used to respond to COVID-19. The specifics of Kelly’s requests are detailed in the article.
• The impact of COVID-19 on reported crime
  • In this podcast, Jim Dudley interviews professor and author Jeffrey Snipes, a police organizational practices consultant. The two discuss the impact of COVID-19 on reported crime and its potential lasting effects.

Transportation

• Montana awarded nearly $74M in COVID-19 funds for airport aid
  • Montana received $73,821,822 in aid from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to help respond to the COVID-19 public health emergency. This money will go toward supporting the state’s 71 airports.
• (Hawaii) With fewer cars on the roads, officials are pushing projects forward faster
  • Ed Sniffen, Hawaii Department of Transportation Deputy Director of Highways, tells us they are seeing about 48-percent less traffic on the freeways on Oahu. So they’re asking contractors to extend their lane closure times and allow them to work during peak traffic times.
• (California) Bay Area transit agencies poised to receive first wave of federal support
  • The funds will help save jobs within the transit agencies and help operations continue for essential personnel to get to and from work. The article has a further breakdown of the funding amongst the Bay Area transit agencies.
• (California) San Diego MTS facing $133.5 million anticipated loss from pandemic, pulls November ballot measure
  • The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) anticipates a loss of $133.5 million as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. MTS is eligible to receive funding relief from the CARES act to help with the financial burden.
• Pilots union demands FAA get tough with airlines on COVID-19 precautions
• New York MTA receives more than one million new masks and gloves to distribute to frontline workers

Natural Resources/Environment

• Iowans warn of devastating impacts to rural economy
  • Although there are fewer cases of COVID-19 in rural parts of Iowa, the impacts of this global pandemic are certainly being felt. "This is not sustainable, and it will kill our small towns." Says Patty Judge, former Iowa Ag Secretary and Lieutenant Governor. A recent study from Iowa State forecasted more than $6 billion in losses to the greater agriculture economy in Iowa, because of the coronavirus epidemic.