Latest COVID-19 Headlines
All the headlines from our COVID-19 Topic Page, ordered by recency.
New Ransomware Strains Being Unleashed on Businesses During Pandemic
Sep 11 2020 // Ransomware attacks grew by nearly 50 percent in the 2020 second quarter compared to the first three months of the year, underscoring the risks created by pandemic-related work-from-home requirements, a new Coalition report...
Munich Re to Stop Selling Pandemic Business Coverage
Sep 11 2020 // Munich Re has stopped selling coverage to protect against business losses in future pandemics after the German reinsurer took a 1.5 billion-euro ($1.8 billion) virus-related hit in the first half. “We are currently...
OSHA Cites Smithfield Foods For Lax Coronavirus Safety for Meat Plant Workers
Sep 11 2020 // The U.S. Labor Department said on Thursday it cited Smithfield Foods for failing to protect employees from the coronavirus, making it the first major U.S. meatpacker to face a fine after outbreaks at slaughterhouses...
Cal/OSHA Cites Food Manufacturer, Staffing Firm for Not Protecting Workers from COVID
Sep 10 2020 // Cal/OSHA has issued citations to frozen food manufacturer Overhill Farms Inc. and its temporary employment agency Jobsource North America Inc. with over $200,000 in proposed penalties to each employer for failing to...
Alabama City to Reopen Bars After Virus-Related Shut Down
Sep 10 2020 // The city of Tuscaloosa eased pandemic restrictions and began allowing bars to reopen with limits Tuesday, days after the University of Alabama reported nearly 850 new cases of the coronavirus, which has affected more than...
Hospitals, Nursing Homes Fail to Separate COVID Patients, Putting Others at Risk
Sep 10 2020 // Nurses at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center were on edge as early as March when patients with COVID-19 began to show up in areas of the hospital that were not set aside to care for them. The Centers for Disease Control and...
New Mexico Officials Say Teachers Are Safe from Legal Liability Amid Virus
Sep 10 2020 // New Mexico officials clarified this week that teachers won’t be on the hook for lawsuits that might stem from COVID-19 outbreaks as in-person classes began for some students. “In no way will teachers or school...
Lloyd’s Reports First Half Loss of $520M on COVID-19 Insurance Claims
Sep 10 2020 // Lloyd’s of London recorded a pretax loss of 400 million pounds ($520.08 million) in the first half, battered by the coronavirus pandemic, the commercial insurance market said on Thursday. Insurers around the world...
COVID-19 Takes Toll on Canada’s Auto, Life Insurers
Sep 10 2020 // Canada’s property/casualty insurance industry thus far has fared better than its life counterpart amid the economic and market dynamics created by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to an AM Best report. In its...
Schools Find Lessons About Insurance Liability and COVID-19 Are Complicated
Sep 10 2020 // School officials and insurers across the country are facing questions about COVID-19-related insurance liability as they begin classes, but answers remain elusive, according to A.M. Best. “Uncertainty about the...
With COVID Infections Rising, England Limits Gatherings, Plans for Mass Testing
Sep 10 2020 // Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced new restrictions on social gatherings in England on Wednesday, saying there was a clear need to act after a spike in COVID-19 infections. Speaking at a televised news conference,...
Texas Governor Extends Coronavirus Disaster Declaration
Sep 9 2020 // Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has renewed the state’s disaster declaration in response to the coronavirus pandemic as the state approaches nearly 13,500 deaths. When Abbott first issued his emergency order on March 13,...
Plaintiffs Suffer Another Loss in Michigan COVID-19 Business Interruption Suit
Sep 9 2020 // Another federal court has dismissed a COVID-19 business interruption lawsuit, finding that a closure order does not constitute a covered “direct physical loss” and that the policy excluded damages caused by...
European Insurers Worried Regulators May Block COVID-19 Dividends
Sep 9 2020 // Global regulators should not ban insurers from paying dividends as a result of COVID-19 and should give firms more time to report their capital positions, European insurers said on Monday. The pandemic will likely lead to...
Reuters Report: How COVID-19 Swept Brazilian Slaughterhouses of Top Meatpacker
Sep 9 2020 // JBS SA, the world’s largest meatpacker, has vowed to keep the world fed during the coronavirus pandemic. Executives say the company has added more than 15,000 new workers in Brazil this year to crank out cuts of...
COVID-19 Cast as a Catalyst for Change. Now What?
Sep 9 2020 // Look around the corner, what do you see? Answering that question is the most important part of my job as an author, speaker, advisor and VC investor. It’s a role that requires a hint of arrogance, since peering...
S.D. Governor Disputes Report Tying COVID-19 Case Surge to Motorcycle Rally
Sep 8 2020 // South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem has dismissed as “fiction” a recent study published by San Diego State University that ties the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in August to a massive surge in COVID-19 cases and...
Alabama Warns of Increase in Cybercrime During Pandemic
Sep 8 2020 // State securities officials say cybercrime including email attacks are on the rise during the pandemic, and they’re warning people to be careful online. A statement from the Alabama Securities Commission says social...
Vermont Highway Fatalities Up; Officials Cite Coronavirus
Sep 8 2020 // Vermont law enforcement officials believe an increase in the number of traffic fatalities recorded so far this year could be linked to fewer police on the road because of the coronavirus pandemic. So far this year there...
Munich Re Expects Beirut Losses of €100 Million; Sees Slowdown in COVID-19 Losses
Sep 8 2020 // Munich Re said it faces claims of at least 100 million euros ($118 million) stemming from the deadly explosion that ravaged much of downtown Beirut last month. The German reinsurer said losses in the “low...
