Latest COVID-19 Headlines

All the headlines from our COVID-19 Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Risk Managers Expect Prolonged Recession From COVID-19: World Economic Forum

May 19 2020 // Risk managers expect a prolonged global recession as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, a report by the World Economic Forum showed on Tuesday. Two-thirds of the 347 respondents to the survey – carried out in...

North Carolina Tyson Foods Plant Closes for COVID-19 Deep Clean After Worker Illnesses

May 19 2020 // A poultry producer is temporarily closing a North Carolina plant for cleaning amid the COVID-19 outbreak. Tyson Foods spokesman Derek Burleson said in an email one of two fresh meat plants at its Wilkesboro complex was...

U.S. Employers Shying Away From Using Coronavirus ‘Immunity’ Tests in Reopening

May 19 2020 // U.S. employers have cooled to the idea of testing workers for possible immunity to the coronavirus as they prepare to reopen factories and other workplaces. Blood tests that check for antibodies to the new coronavirus have...

OSHA Releases First Coronavirus Guidance for Nursing Homes

May 19 2020 // The U.S. Department of Labor last Thursday issued its first workplace guidance to nursing homes since the COVID-19 pandemic swept the country and ravaged care facilities, saying residents, staff and visitors should keep 6...

Amazon’s French Warehouses to Reopen After Ending Virus Safety Dispute with Workers

May 18 2020 // Amazon’s French warehouses are set to reopen on Tuesday with about 30% of employees, three union officials said, ending a month-long dispute over whether the e-commerce giant was doing enough to protect workers from...

North Dakota Insurance Commissioner Addresses COVID-19 Testing Coverage

May 18 2020 // North Dakota Insurance Commissioner Jon Godfread has issued a bulletin addressing coverage for COVID-19 testing in response to an executive order from Gov. Doug Burgum. The new bulletin builds an a previous bulletin in...

AM Best’s Stress Testing Indicates Most Insurers Can Withstand Pandemic Hit

May 18 2020 // Analysts at the AM Best ratings firm say their initial stress tests of insurance companies globally to gauge the preliminary impact from the COVID-19 pandemic on their financial strength found good news: “most...

Coronavirus Blocks Farm Laborers from Working in UK – in Possible Foretaste of Brexit

May 18 2020 // Britain’s fruit and vegetable farmers have long dreaded their country’s exit from the European Union, worrying that it would keep out the tens of thousands of Eastern European workers who come every year to...

Italy to Protect Businesses from Liability if Workers Catch Coronavirus: News Report

May 18 2020 // Italian businesses that follow the health and safety rules are protected from liability in case returning workers catch coronavirus, the head of the country’s insurance association said in an interview with La...

Louisiana Senate Backs Bills to Shield Businesses from Virus Lawsuits

May 18 2020 // Restaurants serving takeout and delivery orders in Louisiana during the coronavirus outbreak and businesses providing protective gear should be largely shielded from lawsuits for injuries, the state Senate decided on May...

Workers at Kansas FedEx Facility Infected with Coronavirus

May 18 2020 // FedEx has confirmed that workers from its facility in the Kansas City suburb of Olathe have tested positive for COVID-19. A spokesperson from FedEx Ground said in a statement that it was working cooperatively with county...

Nephew: Dead Worker Had Warned Virus Was ‘Everywhere’ at Iowa Plant

May 18 2020 // In the days before his death, an Iowa meatpacking worker twice warned that the coronavirus was spreading through his plant because of its crowded spaces and lack of personal protective equipment, his nephew said. Husen...

Citing 9/11 Victims Fund, Lawmakers Eye U.S. Compensation Pool For COVID-19 Workers

May 18 2020 // A bipartisan group of federal lawmakers last week unveiled a plan to compensate essential workers who fall sick or die from COVID-19. The lawmakers are modeling their Pandemic Heroes Compensation Act after the September...

Buckle Adds Delivery Coverage During Pandemic for Georgia Rideshare Drivers

May 18 2020 // Buckle, a technology-driven financial services company, has been granted temporary approval to add insurance coverage to its rideshare driver members’ policies for the delivery of food, household supplies, and other...

How Do Cyber Policies Stand-Up in a Pandemic?

May 18 2020 // We are in unprecedented times. If you’re like us, you suddenly found yourself and your company operating entirely remotely and have remained working this way for quite some time. Such an abrupt change can be a...

Buffett Says Berkshire Would Write Pandemic Insurance. That Is, If the Price Is Right.

May 18 2020 // The chairman of Berkshire Hathaway said that while his insurance units aren’t heavily exposed to underwriting losses from the COVID-19 pandemic, the insurer would be willing to cover pandemics in the...

Goodbye Open Plan Office? Hello 6-Feet Social Distancing Workspace?

May 18 2020 // One-way corridors, buffer zones around desks, and clear plastic screens to guard against colleagues’ coughs and sneezes may become office standards after coronavirus stay-at-home orders are lifted, say occupational...

What to Expect in Workers’ Compensation Costs From COVID-19: NCCI

May 18 2020 // If only 10% of health care workers contract COVID-19 and all of their claims are deemed compensable, workers’ compensation loss costs for that sector could double or even triple in some states, according to an...

Transparency Is Key for Insurance Agents Handling Coronavirus Claims

May 18 2020 // Business interruption insurance has been a much-debated topic during the coronavirus crisis, with some businesses already pushing back against virus-related claim denials. In several cities, groups of businesses have filed...

States Will Not Win in Mandating Coronavirus Business Interruption Coverage: S&P

May 18 2020 // Standard & Poor’s said it does not expect state legislators to succeed in their efforts to retroactively expand business interruption insurance coverage for COVID-19-related losses. The reason: An expectations of...