Latest COVID-19 Headlines
All the headlines from our COVID-19 Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Insurers, Regulators Warn About Safety of Jets Reactivated After Pandemic Storage
Dec 15 2020 // SYDNEY – Regulators, insurers and experts are warning airlines to take extra care when reactivating planes left in extended storage during the COVID-19 pandemic, citing potential pilot rustiness, maintenance errors and...
Bipartisan COVID-19 Plan Helps Businesses, Unemployed; Splits State Aid, Liability Shield
Dec 15 2020 // A bipartisan group of lawmakers released proposed Covid-19 relief legislation that may provide momentum for breaking a months-long impasse, by separating out coronavirus liability protections and state aid — the two...
California Seeks Court Help With Investigation of Amazon Coronavirus Policies
Dec 15 2020 // California Attorney General Xavier Becerra on Monday petitioned a court to force Amazon.com Inc. to comply with outstanding subpoenas over a state investigation into its handling of the coronavirus pandemic. The petition,...
Kansas Fitness Studio Sues State Over COVID-19 Restrictions, Losses
Dec 14 2020 // A Wichita fitness studio’s owner and his business are suing Kansas for compensation for being forced to shut down and reopen with restrictions this year because of the coronavirus pandemic, arguing that the state...
Impact of Coronavirus on U.S. Economy Could Be $3-$5 Trillion Over 2 Years: USC Study
Dec 14 2020 // The COVID-19 pandemic could result in net losses from $3.2 trillion and up to $4.8 trillion in U.S. real gross domestic product (GDP) over the course of two years, a new University of Southern California (USC) study...
Bipartisan COVID Relief Plan Expected to Put State Aid, Liability Shield in Separate Bill
Dec 13 2020 // Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi discussed developments on federal funding, including pandemic relief, during a roughly half-hour phone call on Sunday and agreed to speak again on Monday,...
Students Seek Refund of Tuition, Fees from Georgia’s University System Amid Pandemic
Dec 11 2020 // Students who took online classes at the University of Georgia and the Georgia Institute of Technology due to the pandemic are now seeking a return of some tuition and fees. The students filed two class-action lawsuits this...
Global Banks Battle COVID-19 Crime Wave
Dec 11 2020 // LONDON — Fraud risk analyst Rajendran Raj was used to the odd out-of-hours alert from authorities, but a call one Saturday in March heralded a new era, of tackling criminals seeking to cash in on coronavirus. A...
FDA Expected to Quickly Approve Pfizer’s COVID Vaccine
Dec 11 2020 // The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Friday it was working rapidly to issue an emergency use authorization for Pfizer Inc’s COVID-19 vaccine, with the first Americans set to be immunized as early as Monday...
Cyber Attack on EU Drug Regulator Has Not Disrupted Work on COVID-19 Vaccines
Dec 11 2020 // BRUSSELS – The head of the European Union drug regulator said on Thursday the agency’s work assessing COVID-19 vaccines had not been disrupted by a cyber attack that took place in the past two weeks. U.S. drugmaker...
COVID, Economy, Social Inflation Warrant Negative Commercial Lines Outlook: A.M. Best
Dec 11 2020 // U.S. commercial lines insurers will continue to be tarnished by an A.M. Best negative outlook, thanks to COVID-19 economic uncertainty, social inflation and other challenges. A.M. Best first revised its outlook for the...
Uber Asks States to Prioritize Delivery, Rideshare Drivers for COVID Vaccine
Dec 10 2020 // Uber Technologies Inc. on Thursday sent letters to the governors of all U.S. states, asking for its ride-hail and food delivery drivers to get early access to COVID-19 vaccines as essential workers. The company also said...
Insurers Ink $90 Billion in Merger Deals as They Pursue Post-Coronavirus Clout
Dec 10 2020 // Insurers pummeled by the pandemic are looking to deals as they race to see who’ll emerge strongest when the outbreak subsides. The takeover of RSA Insurance Group Plc and Allstate Corp.’s largest acquisition...
U.S. Drug Advisory Panel Meets Today on Pfizer’s COVID Vaccine
Dec 10 2020 // A panel of outside advisers to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is meeting on Thursday to weigh whether to recommend that the agency authorize Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine for emergency use, one of the last...
Workers With Second Jobs May Be Factor in Nursing Home COVID Risk: Study
Dec 10 2020 // Nurses and other long-term care workers in nursing homes who hold multiple jobs may be one of the factors contributing to the spread of COVID-19 in these facilities. According to a new study published in Medical Care...
Royal Caribbean Cruise Cut Short When Passenger Tests Positive for COVID-19
Dec 10 2020 // SINGAPORE – An elderly passenger on board a Royal Caribbean “cruise to nowhere” has been diagnosed with the coronavirus, prompting the voyage to be cut short as the vessel returned to Singapore on...
Why World Bank’s Controversial Pandemic Bonds Didn’t Function as Hoped
Dec 10 2020 // In late January 2015, just after the deadliest outbreak of Ebola in history, then-World Bank President Jim Yong Kim stood in front of a group of Georgetown University students and professors to introduce a new approach to...
Wichita, Kansas, Bar Owners Sue for Return to Pre-Pandemic Rules
Dec 9 2020 // Bar owners in Kansas’ largest city are challenging rules designed to slow the spread of COVID-19, hoping to use the courts to overturn a mask mandate, limits on public gatherings and an 11 p.m. closing time for bars...
Pandemic-Stricken Uber Sells Its Robot-Vehicle Division
Dec 9 2020 // Uber is selling off its autonomous vehicles development arm as the ride-hailing company slims down after its revenues were pummeled by the coronavirus pandemic. Self-driving vehicle technology company Aurora will acquire...
How to Address the Next Uninsurable Pandemic — A Black Swan Event
Dec 9 2020 // There aren’t many contexts where $2 trillion seems like a paltry sum. Then a pandemic comes along. The economic fallout from COVID-19 has left insurers issuing existential warnings and businesses discovering they...
