Latest COVID-19 Headlines
All the headlines from our COVID-19 Topic Page, ordered by recency.
COVID-19 Clouding Cannabis Industry Pitfalls Amid Upbeat Outlook
May 18 2020 // The cannabis industry is being affected by COVID-19 much like other business sectors, but the complexities of this budding industry make its eventual recovery from the pandemic and ensuing economic fallout even harder to...
The Perilous Cannabis, Cyber, COVID-19 Connection
May 18 2020 // Cannabis, cyber and COVID-19 — the three Cs may have more in common than meets the eye. Cannabis dispensaries, now considered essential businesses in many states, have stepped up deliveries, curbside picksups and...
California Workers’ Comp Bureau Chief Addresses COVID’s Impact on System
May 15 2020 // Bill Mudge has been put in a unique position during the pandemic. He’s got a sizeable workforce he’s had to reconfigure and manage much differently, and he heads the bureau that regulators, employers and...
California Music Venues Sue Insurer over Business Interruption Related to COVID-19
May 15 2020 // San Francisco Bay Area-based music venue Ivy Room has filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of California-based music venues against a major insurance provider, saying the venues were wrongfully denied coverage for losses...
Study Finds State, Local Measures Have Reduced Coronavirus Cases by 34 Million
May 15 2020 // A new report titled, “Strong Social Distancing Measures in the United States Reduced the COVID-19 Growth Rate” finds that steps taken to reduce the spread of corononavirus by state and local governments have...
Walt Disney, Unions Agree on Coronavirus Worker Safeguards for Reopening Parks
May 15 2020 // Walt Disney Co. and unions representing workers at Florida’s Walt Disney World have reached an agreement on safeguards to protect employees from coronavirus, a union statement said on Thursday, removing one of the...
UK Regulator Announces Pandemic Relief Measures for Insurance Customers
May 15 2020 // The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced a set of measures to help insurance customers who may be suffering financial difficulties as a result of coronavirus pandemic. The measures include premium reductions,...
Few Coronavirus Liability Lawsuits Have Been Filed Thus Far
May 15 2020 // Businesses are urging U.S. lawmakers to shield companies from what they fear could be a flood of lawsuits by workers and consumers blaming employers for exposing them to the new coronavirus. But so far, court records show...
Typhoon Vongfong Tests Philippines’ Ability to Protect Evacuees from Coronavirus
May 15 2020 // Typhoon Vongfong forced more than 150,000 people in the Philippines to leave their homes, risking coronavirus infection as they move to usually packed shelters. Intense rains and strong winds damaged houses and crops as...
Kansas Sausage Making Plant with COVID-19 Cases Shuts Down
May 15 2020 // A Kansas plant that makes sausage shut down on May 13 after employees tested positive for the coronavirus, and an outbreak that has infected hundreds at the state’s largest prison claimed the life of another...
Workers Protesting the Virus May Be Just the Start: Opinion
May 15 2020 // In recent weeks, employees at sites as diverse as Amazon warehouses, meat-processing plants and emergency rooms have raised the alarm over unsafe conditions posed by the new coronavirus. Workplace infections have been...
Bid to Force Interruption Insurance to Cover Virus Pulled from Louisiana Bill
May 14 2020 // Louisiana lawmakers won’t try to force business interruption insurance policies to cover the widespread closures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Sen. Rick Ward, a Port Allen Republican, shelved the proposal amid...
Oklahoma Senate OKs Bill Limiting Coronavirus Liability for Businesses
May 14 2020 // The Oklahoma Senate has approved legislation giving liability relief to essential businesses and those working to safely reopen, as well as a measure protecting manufacturers and people who make or donate materials related...
Zurich Insurance Estimates Coronavirus Pandemic Claims to Hit $750 Million for 2020
May 14 2020 // Zurich Insurance estimates that the overall property and casualty (P&C) claims from the COVID-19 pandemic will be in the region of $750 million for 2020. To put that into context, Zurich’s CFO George Quinn said...
Missouri Family Files Workers’ Comp Claim in Nurse’s Death from Virus
May 14 2020 // Attorneys for the family of a Missouri nurse who died from COVID-19 filed a claim for death benefits under the state’s workers’ compensation laws. Celia Yap-Banago, 69, died April 21 after caring for a patient...
Kansas GOP Lawmakers Want to Limit Coronavirus Lawsuits
May 14 2020 // Republican legislators in Kansas are joining a broader effort to shield doctors, hospitals and businesses from lawsuits stemming from the coronavirus, with business and medical groups pushing them to act quickly. The...
SEC Accuses Two Companies of Making Misleading COVID-19 Claims
May 14 2020 // The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged two companies it says claimed to offer products to combat the COVID-19 virus. One complaint is against against Applied BioSciences Corp. and the other is against Turbo...
Lloyd’s Expects US$4.3B in COVID-19 Claims – On Par with Costs of 9/11 Terror Attacks
May 14 2020 // Lloyd’s of London revealed it will pay claims in the range of $3 billion to $4.3 billion as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. This payout is on a par with the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, which cost the Lloyd’s...
23 Killed of COVID-19 in Alabama Veterans Nursing Home
May 14 2020 // About two dozen people have died at an Alabama veterans nursing home because of COVID-19, the illness caused by the new coronavirus, the state said Tuesday. The Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs said in a statement...
Fitch Sees Little Stress on Insurer Ratings From Pandemic. Thus Far.
May 14 2020 // Having reviewed 70% of all of the North American insurers it rates for the effects of the coronavirus and economic downturn, Fitch Ratings has affirmed the ratings of 72% of the carriers with stable outlooks. Only 4% have...
