President Trump to name committees on reopening U.S.
President Donald Trump will specify Tuesday who will help him decide when, and how, portions of the country can reopen businesses. He also intends to appoint a number of committees to advise him, including “a transportation committee, a manufacturing committee” and a “religious leaders’ committee.” President Trump said the choices associated with the goal of reopening may be the most consequential he will make as president. Read more.
Northeast governors to coordinate reopening efforts; West Coast governors follow
Governors of northeastern U.S. states joined Monday to roll out a regional effort to reopen the economy in coordination. Governors from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Delaware will each name a public health official, an economic development official and the chief of staff for each governor to a working group that will share information and resources about an economic path forward. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said that easing stay-home restrictions, expanding the category of essential workers and testing capacities would be among the first priorities. Decisions will be made on the directions of public health experts. Governors from California, Oregon and Washington have made a similar pact. Read more.
Apple, Google to write contact-tracing app; governments cannot force citizens to use
Apple and Google have announced that they teamed up to build technology that enables public health agencies to write contact-tracing apps. Contact tracing is the practice of finding people who have been infected with a pathogen, like COVID-19, and contacting people who may have been in close contact to tell them to self-isolate or take other measures. Governments around the world are turning to contact-tracing apps as a tool to help businesses and schools reopen after lockdowns. Singapore, England and France are working on their own apps. Apple and Google plan to update their phone operating systems in May with apps that can track what other phones have been close by using Bluetooth signals. The two companies say governments will not be able to require its citizens to use contact-tracing software and users will have to opt-in to the system. Read more.
IMF: World economy to suffer worst year since 1930s, rebound in 2021
The IMF said Tuesday that it expects the global economy to shrink 3% this year before rebounding in 2021 with 5.8% growth. Though, it acknowledges that prospects for a rebound in 2021 are uncertain. In its previous forecast in January, the IMF had forecast moderate global growth of 3.3% this year. However, lockdowns, business shutdowns, social distancing and travel restrictions have brought economic activity to a near-standstill across the globe. In its latest outlook, the IMF expects economic contractions this year of 5.9% in the U.S., 7.5% in the 19 European countries that share the euro currency, 5.2% in Japan and 6.5% in the U.K. China is expected to grow 1.2% this year. Just three months ago, the IMF had forecast that more than 160 countries would register income growth on a per-capita basis. Now it expects negative per-capita income growth this year in 170 countries. Read more.
WHO: Unclear if recovered coronavirus patients are immune to second infection
WHO officials said Monday not all people who recover from the coronavirus have the antibodies to fight a second infection. “With regards to recovery and then reinfection, I believe we do not have the answers to that. This is an unknown,” said Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of WHO’s emergencies program, a press conference on Monday. A preliminary study of patients in Shanghai, China, found that some patients had no detectable antibody response while others had a very high response. Whether patients who had a strong antibody response were immune to a second infection is a separate question, according to WHO officials. Read more.
Head lice drug studied as possible coronavirus treatment
An antiparasitic drug sometimes used to treat head lice called Ivermectin has undergone preliminary studies for its use against coronavirus, showing promising results. Recent reports have focused on the anti-malarial drug Hydroxychloroquine as a possible coronavirus treatment, but experts have also expressed cautious optimism about Ivermectin. “Finding a safe, affordable, readily available therapy like Ivermectin if it proves effective with rigorous evaluation has the potential to save countless lives,” Dr. Nirav Shah, an infectious disease specialist at the NorthShore University HealthSystem, told ABC News. Ivermectin was developed in the 1970s and was first used to treat tiny eek-like roundworms called nematodes in cattle, then for river blindness in humans and most recently, head lice in humans. Read more.