Coronavirus News

California Governor Planning $4 B for Economic Recovery

After spending most of 2020 telling small businesses to close and limit their customers, California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday proposed $4 billion worth of state spending he says will help them survive in 2021. Newsom was the first U.S. …

Flooding Brings New Woes to New York City Church Hard-Hit by COVID-19

A Lutheran church in New York City already reeling from the COVID-19 deaths of more than 60 members of the congregation has suffered a new trauma: Severe flood damage from the rupture of a major municipal water main. The flooding …

Who’s On the Hook If COVID-19 Vaccines Go Wrong?: Viewpoint

The COVID-19 vaccines are here and distribution has begun. But what if something goes wrong? Whether it’s a loss of income, hefty medical bills or other serious adverse effects from getting a shot, someone has to pick up the tab, …

1 in 100,000 Had Severe Allergic Reaction to COVID Shot: CDC

Roughly 1 in 100,000 people have had a severe allergic reaction to the first Covid-19 vaccine, a rate that’s higher than the flu vaccine but still quite rare, U.S. health officials said. A study by the Centers for Disease Control …

COVID-19 Pressures Threaten About 4,000 Small UK Financial Firms

Britain’s market watchdog warned about 4,000 small financial firms are at greater risk of failure from the coronavirus as the country endures a third lockdown. The Financial Conduct Authority said Thursday that the pandemic is pushing the firms to the …

British Columbia’s New COVID-19 Restrictions Disrupt Construction Projects

CALGARY, Alberta – Restrictions imposed by British Columbia to fight the spread of COVID-19 infections after the holiday break have disrupted work at construction sites of a Rio Tinto hydropower project and BC Hydro’s Site C dam. A total of …

January Renewals Saw Some of Sharpest Price Hikes in Recent Years: Howden

Lower investment yields, adverse catastrophe loss development, higher loss cost trends, concerns over climate change, and, of course, the pandemic coalesced to bring some of the sharpest price increases in recent memory during the Jan. 1 reinsurance renewals, according to …

Peruvian Health Minister Points to ‘Controversy’ over Pfizer Vaccine Liability Waiver

LIMA – Peru’s health minister said on Tuesday that “controversy” had arisen over a liability waiver in the country’s negotiations to obtain COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer Inc. Pilar Mazzetti told Congress that Peruvian officials had been in “constant contact” with …

COVID-19 Business Interruption Rulings, Most Favoring Insurers, Moving to Appeals

A wave of litigation over business-interruption losses caused by COVID-19 shutdown orders has started splashing into the appellate courts. Appeals of trial court decisions in at least 11 lawsuits have been filed so far, all but one of them by …

S. Africa Medical Insurers, Business Groups, Government to Fund Vaccines for Uninsured

South African medical-insurance companies, business organizations and the government are developing a program in which the private sector will help fund COVID-19 vaccines for people not covered by insurance. Legislation has been amended to allow the companies to fund shots …