Latest COVID-19 Headlines
All the headlines from our COVID-19 Topic Page, ordered by recency.
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...
Washington Mandates New Farmworker Housing Emergency Rules for Pandemic
May 13 2020 // New emergency rules adopted on Wednesday regarding temporary farmworker housing are designed to help increase worker safety and reduce the spread of COVID-19, those who created the rules say. The rules detail specific...
Texas to Test Everyone in Nursing Homes as COVID-19 Deaths Rise
May 13 2020 // Gov. Greg Abbott has ordered coronavirus testing for all Texas nursing home residents and staff after the White House urged the nation’s governors to do so as deaths mount nationwide. The directive by Abbott, a...
Workers Protest Virus Outbreak at Minnesota Poultry Plant
May 13 2020 // Workers have protested what they consider dangerous working conditions at the Pilgrim’s Pride chicken processing plant in the central Minnesota town of Cold Spring, site of one of the largest COVID-19 workplace...
Louisiana Opening Up with Fewer Virus-Related Restrictions
May 13 2020 // Saying Louisiana has made significant strides in combating the COVID-19 outbreak, Gov. John Bel Edwards announced that he will begin loosening restrictions on churches, restaurants, salons and gyms, moving the state away...
North Dakota State Fair Cancelled for 2020 Due to Coronavirus
May 13 2020 // The North Dakota State Fair is the latest casualty of the coronavirus outbreak, as the number of cases and deaths in the state continue to rise. Fair officials announced they’re calling off the event because of...
Coronavirus Health Effects Could Last for Years for Some Survivors
May 13 2020 // More than one million people around the world have been deemed recovered from the coronavirus, but beating the initial sickness may be just the first of many battles for those who have survived. Some recovered patients...
Debate Over Business Liability in Pandemic Turns to OSHA Regulation, CDC Guidelines
May 13 2020 // Congressional Republicans have made liability protection for employers a nonnegotiable demand in any new coronavirus stimulus, but Senator Lindsey Graham, an ally of President Donald Trump, says that regulators have a role...
California Retailer Sues Travelers for Denied COVID-19 Business Interruption Claims
May 12 2020 // San Francisco-based children’s clothing boutique Mudpie Inc. has filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of California-based retail stores against an insurance provider, saying the small businesses were wrongfully...
Study: Pandemic Leaves 1 in 4 Unemployed in New Orleans
May 12 2020 // One out of every four workers in New Orleans is without a job because of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a study by the University of Louisiana Lafayette. The study found unemployment in New Orleans is the highest...
Insurers Must Re-Think Pandemic Response or Risk Reputational Damage: UK’s Airmic
May 12 2020 // Airmic, the UK association for risk and insurance professionals, has urged the insurance market to adopt a more responsible and business sensitive position on the COVID-19 pandemic or risk long-term damage to trust and...
UK Financial Services Firms Weigh Options for Post-Coronavirus Work Arrangements
May 12 2020 // Many of the City of London’s bankers and traders will be working from their kitchens or bedrooms for at least a year under some scenarios being planned by finance companies in Britain. Banks, insurance companies and...
Commercial Insurance Rates in Q1 Rise 14%, Even Before Impact of COVID-19: Marsh
May 12 2020 // Global average commercial insurance prices increased 14% in the first quarter of 2020 – but the rate hikes were not due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to insurance broker Marsh in its quarterly Global Insurance...
Why We Can’t Wait Until It’s Safe to Lift Lockdowns: Opinion
May 12 2020 // Officials in the U.S. have undermined hopes of a successful economic reopening because they’ve garbled public messaging, never clearly explaining why strict lockdowns were imposed in the first place. They’ve...
Small Businesses See Coronavirus Effect Lasting 12-16 Months
May 12 2020 // Eighty-one percent of small U.S. companies surveyed by Veem, a global payments network, expect the new coronavirus pandemic to affect their business over the next 12-16 months, and nearly 90% are bracing for an economic...
Allianz Posts 29% Drop in Q1 Net Profit as COVID-19 Crisis Slows Business
May 12 2020 // German insurer Allianz said on Tuesday that a key measure of capital may fall below the company’s target floor level as it faces claims for disruption caused by the coronavirus crisis. Allianz, which earlier reported...
Auditor: Coronavirus, Oil Glut Could Cost Louisiana Local Governments $1B
May 11 2020 // The coronavirus battle and the world oil glut could cost cities, parishes and school boards in Louisiana anywhere from $404 million to $1.1 billion over two fiscal years, the state’s Legislative Auditor’s...
U.S. Businesses, Patients Sue China Seeking Damages From Coronavirus Outbreak
May 11 2020 // Before the coronavirus outbreak, Saundra Andringa-Meuer was a healthy 61-year-old mother of six who never smoked or drank alcohol. Then she became seriously ill with the disease after traveling from her Wisconsin home to...
For Global Insurers, Pandemic Likely to Erase Profits Until 2021 Second Half: Fitch
May 11 2020 // While insurance rates have risen for nine consecutive quarters due to large catastrophe losses and accelerating claims inflation, Fitch Ratings expects that technical profits won’t be seen until the second half of...
