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Climate Change Risk Mitigation by U.S. Foreign Assistance Agencies [October 29, 2020]
From the Introduction: "Congress has demonstrated continued interest in how U.S. foreign assistance agencies address climate-related issues. To mitigate the risk of climate change for both internal agency operations and foreign assistance programming, Members have provided related funding and directives in regular Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs (SFOPS) appropriations measures. [...] This report focuses on agencies' planning to reduce the risk of climate change for operations and programs; it does not include analysis of programming aimed at addressing developing countries' own climate risk. Specifically, this report discusses how the foreign assistance agencies--the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the Peace Corps, the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), and the Development Finance Corporation--are addressing climate change in their respective internal operations and overseas work planning. The report also discusses key issues that may be of interest to Congress as it considers future funding for and oversight of these activities. These issues include options for congressional input, the relationship of climate risk to other priorities such as environmental degradation, and responsibilities for climate risk management within and among U.S. foreign assistance agencies."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Brown, Nick M.; Morgenstern, Emily M.
2020-10-29
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Renewed Great Power Competition: Implications for Defense--issues for Congress [Updated October 29, 2020]
From the Introduction: "This report provides a brief overview of implications for U.S. defense of renewed great power competition with China and Russia. The issue for Congress is how U.S. defense planning should respond to renewed great power competition, and whether to approve, reject, or modify the Trump Administration's proposed defense funding levels, strategy, plans, and programs for addressing renewed great power competition. Congress's decisions on these issues could have significant implications for U.S. defense capabilities and funding requirements. This report focuses on defense-related issues and does not discuss potential implications of renewed great power competition for other policy areas, such as foreign policy and diplomacy, trade and finance, energy, and foreign assistance."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
O'Rourke, Ronald
2020-10-29
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Wildfire Management Funding: FY2021 Appropriations [October 29, 2020]
From the Document: "The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Forest Service (FS) and the Department of the Interior (DOI) are responsible for wildfire response and management across the federal lands within their respective jurisdictions. Both FS and DOI generally receive annual discretionary appropriations for wildfire management activities through the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies appropriations bills. Wildfire management funding for DOI is provided to the department-level Office of Wildland Fire. Wildfire management appropriations fluctuate annually but began to increase in the late 1990s and rose markedly after FY2000. A significant portion of the annual fluctuations and overall increase in funding is related to fire suppression costs, which vary considerably and may be high even during years of relatively mild wildfire activity."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Hoover, Katie
2020-10-29
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Public Health and Emergency Measures Working Group, Summary Discussion: Lessons from the First Wave of COVID-19
From the Introduction: "This Communiqué provides a summary of discussions, insights and observations from the Public Health and Emergency Measures Working Group. The group met frequently during the first wave of COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] to provide timely insights to policymakers and the public about the various challenges the healthcare system had to manage. As case numbers grow across Canada, insights from the first wave of COVID-19 can be applied to better manage infection risks while also minimizing social and economic disruption caused by public health and social distancing related restrictions on activity. Health policy issues highlighted by the COVID-19 crisis are both short and long term in nature. In the short term, maintaining the capacity of the healthcare system to manage surges of COVID-19, while also ensuring minimal negative health and economic outcomes, is the main priority. The pandemic has resulted in drastic changes to how Canadians access healthcare services, which present an opportunity to incorporate positive change into the 'new normal' of health system operations."
C.D. Howe Institute
Wyonch, Rosalie; Maqbool, Sana
2020-10-28
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Inspection of Small Business Administration's Initial Disaster Assistance Response to the Coronavirus Pandemic
From the Document: "This report presents the results of our inspection to assess the Small Business Administration's (SBA's) initial disaster assistance response to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. SBA's Disaster Assistance Program is the federal government's primary program for providing disaster assistance. SBA provides Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs) of up to $2 million to eligible entities such as small businesses, nonprofits, farms, etc."
United States. Small Business Administration. Office of the Inspector General
2020-10-28
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Joint Cybersecurity Advisory: Ransomware Activity Targeting the Healthcare and Public Health Sector
From the Summary: "This joint cybersecurity advisory was coauthored by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). This advisory describes the tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) used by cybercriminals against targets in the Healthcare and Public Health Sector (HPH) to infect systems with ransomware, notably Ryuk and Conti, for financial gain. CISA, FBI, and HHS have credible information of an increased and imminent cybercrime threat to U.S. hospitals and healthcare providers. CISA, FBI, and HHS are sharing this information to provide warning to healthcare providers to ensure that they take timely and reasonable precautions to protect their networks from these threats."
United States. Department of Homeland Security. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency; United States. Federal Bureau of Investigation; United States. Department of Health and Human Services
2020-10-28
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COVID-19: Considerations for First Responders [video]
This presentation explores violent extremist exploitation of COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019], considerations complicating first responders' response, and provides a research project overview and resources for first responders. The duration of the video is 49 minutes and 29 seconds.
National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (U.S.)
Braniff, Bill; Koven, Barnett S.
2020-10-28
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Veterans Crisis Line Challenges, Contingency Plans, and Successes During the COVID-19 Pandemic
From the Executive Summary: "The Office of Inspector General (OIG) is conducting a series of reviews focusing on the Veterans Health Administration's (VHA) management of key clinical areas during the COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic that are crucial to the well-being of veterans. This review focused on select Veterans Crisis Line (VCL) operations ranging from contingency planning to quality metrics and lessons learned. The VCL is organizationally aligned under the VHA Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention and operates 24 hours per day and 7 days per week, with call centers in Canandaigua, New York; Atlanta, Georgia; and Topeka, Kansas. [...] As COVID-19 evolved, many Americans, including veterans, experienced a range of negative effects from fear and social isolation to unemployment and financial insolvency. Because of these and other stressors associated with the pandemic, an increase in the volume of incoming VCL calls, chats, and texts was expected. [...] Overall, VCL leaders repeatedly expressed that although initially reluctant, the transition to telework had improved staff morale and decreased unplanned leave usage, as well as positioned the VCL to recruit additional staff and enhance future services operations. The OIG was impressed with VCL leaders' and employees' efforts to promote employee health safety and ensure that the VCL met its mission to provide immediate access to crisis intervention services during the COVID-19 pandemic."
United States. Department of Veterans Affairs. Office of Inspector General
2020-10-28
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Federal Wildfire Management: Ten-Year Funding Trends and Issues (FY2011-FY2020) [October 28, 2020]
From the Summary: "Wildfire management is a series of coordinated activities to prepare for, resolve, and recover from wildfire events. The federal agencies responsible for wildfire management include the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Forest Service (FS) and the Department of the Interior (DOI). FS carries out wildfire response and management across the 193 million acres of national forests and national grasslands; DOI carries out these activities on more than 400million acres of national parks, wildlife refuges and preserves, Indian reservations, and other public lands. The federal agencies also coordinate wildfire response activities with state and local governments as needed. Both FS and DOI generally receive annual discretionary appropriations for wildfire management activities through the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies appropriations bills. Wildfire management funding for DOI is provided to the Office of Wildland Fire (a department-level office). Both FS and DOI receive wildfire appropriations through similarly structured accounts, programs, and activities, though FS's account structure changed several times between FY2011 and FY2020. [...] Total combined FS and DOI wildfire appropriations fluctuated annually but increased from FY2011 to FY2020."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Hoover, Katie
2020-10-28
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Federal Law Enforcement Use of Facial Recognition Technology [October 27, 2020]
From the Document: "Law enforcement agencies' use of facial recognition technology (FRT), while not a new practice, has received increased attention from policymakers and the public. In the course of carrying out their duties, federal law enforcement agencies may use FRT for a variety of purposes. [...] This report provides an overview of federal law enforcement agencies' use of FRT, including the current status of scientific standards for its use. The report includes a discussion of how FRT may be used by law enforcement agencies with traditional policing missions as well as by those charged with securing the U.S. borders. It also discusses considerations for policymakers debating whether or how to influence federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies' use of FRT."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Finklea, Kristin; Harris, Laurie A.; Kolker, Abigail F. . . .
2020-10-27
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COVID-19 Healthcare Resource Roadmap
From the Document: "This 'COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] Healthcare Resource Roadmap' (Roadmap), as developed by FEMA, is to assist state, local, tribal, and territorial (SLTT) leaders and stakeholders with navigating some of the challenges, as well as the resources, associated with the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Specifically, the Roadmap describes how supplemental appropriated funds, in particular funding authorized under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, and certain ongoing annually funded federal programs, can be used to implement potential solutions. [...] The Roadmap is to assist in challenges that federal departments and agencies which work directly with SLTT partners have identified in healthcare and COVID-19 pandemic recovery. Although not an exhaustive list, the identified challenges that follow fall within five topic areas: [1] Patient Care Delivery; [2] Healthcare Workforce Protection and Expansion; [3] Hospital Operations and Financial Management; [4] Post-Acute and Long-Term Care and Other Implications of COVID-19; [5] Vaccine Administration. Each topic area consists of a flowchart of specific challenges, potential solutions, and federal department or agency resources, including federal funding and technical assistance which may be available."
United States. Federal Emergency Management Agency
2020-10-27
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Key Aspects Regarding the Introduction and Prioritisation of COVID-19 Vaccination in the EU/EEA and the UK
From the Summary: "This document provides an overview of the key aspects related to the initial phases following the introduction of one or more COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] vaccines in the European Union and European Economic Area (EU/EEA) and the United Kingdom (UK). The aim is to support but not define EU policy on COVID-19 vaccination. [...] COVID-19, caused by the virus SARS-CoV-2 [severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2], is a new disease, and no vaccine is yet available for it, posing great challenges to the early development of national vaccination strategies. Patterns of exposure to SARS-CoV-2, as well as the incidence, burden and geographical distribution of COVID-19, will influence choices about vaccine deployment. There is currently a lack of certainty and knowledge about the characteristics of COVID-19 vaccines that could become available in the EU/EEA and the UK, as well as remaining gaps in the scientific knowledge of the virus and the disease. Vaccination plans and strategies will therefore need to be adapted as more information becomes available. Once vaccines against COVID-19 are available, their supply is likely to be limited, at least initially. Supply capacity, both initially and over time, will thus determine vaccine usage and delivery prioritisation. Deployment will need to be adjusted accordingly to promptly optimise vaccine allocation and ensure vaccine availability to those most in need."
European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control
2020-10-26
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Ohio Interim COVID-19 Vaccination Plan
From the Introduction: "Since the beginning of the COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic, the State of Ohio has led an aggressive response to the virus focusing on education, prevention, testing, tracing, and treatment. Ohio's work early in the pandemic focused on: flattening the curve across the state, supporting the healthcare response, addressing the unique needs of congregate settings, establishing a comprehensive PPE [personal protective equipment] procurement plan, and creating a data infrastructure to help inform decisions and ensure public transparency. The state acted quickly and decisively to control the spread of the virus and responsibly reopen. The COVID-19 vaccine is the next step in our fight against COVID-19, and Ohio is preparing rapidly for deployment. As we prepare for the approval and delivery of a vaccine, the state's key priorities remain to limit the spread of COVID-19 and save lives. Ohio submitted our plan for vaccine distribution to the CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] on 10/16/2020. This plan is a framework of how decisions will be made when we know more about the vaccine and will provide us a way forward in the next chapter of the pandemic."
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.)
2020-10-26
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COVID-19 Economic Recovery Resource Roadmap
From the Document: "This 'COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] Economic Recovery Resource Roadmap' (Roadmap), as developed by FEMA, is to assist state, local, tribal, and territorial (SLTT) leaders and stakeholders with navigating some of the challenges, as well as the resources, associated with the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Specifically, the Roadmap describes how supplemental appropriated funds, in particular funding authorized under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, and certain ongoing annually funded federal programs, can be used to implement potential solutions."
United States. Federal Emergency Management Agency
2020-10-23
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Increased Transmission of COVID-19 in the EU/EEA and the UK - Thirteenth Update
From the Summary: "Across the European Union/European Economic Area (EU/EEA) and the United Kingdom (UK) there has been a considerable further increase in COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] infections and the current situation represents a major threat to public health. [...] In this update, we assess the risk for the general population and vulnerable individuals in relation to the increase in COVID-19 notification rates in the EU/EEA and the UK."
European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control
2020-10-23
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MMWR: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, October 23, 2020
The Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) Series is prepared by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). [It] is the agency's primary vehicle for scientific publication of timely, reliable, authoritative, accurate, objective, and useful public health information and recommendations. This issue of MMWR contains the following: "Vaccination Coverage by Age 24 Months Among Children Born in 2016 and 2017 -- National Immunization Survey-Child, United States, 2017-2019"; "Valley Fever (Coccidioidomycosis) Awareness -- California, 2016-2017"; ""Excess Deaths Associated with COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019], by Age and Race and Ethnicity -- United States, January 26-October 3, 2020";"Risk for In-Hospital Complications Associated with COVID-19 and Influenza -- Veterans Health Administration, United States, October 1, 2018-May 31, 2020"; "Association Between Social Vulnerability and a County's Risk for Becoming a COVID-19 Hotspot -- United States, June 1-July 25, 2020"; "Mitigating a COVID-19 Outbreak Among Major League Baseball Players -- United States, 2020"; "First 100 Persons with COVID-19 -- Zambia, March 18-April 28, 2020";"Rapid Adaptation of HIV Treatment Programs in Response to COVID-19 -- Namibia, 2020"; "'Notes from the Field' Characteristics of E-cigarette, or Vaping, Products Confiscated in Public High Schools in California and North Carolina -- March and May 2019"; and "'QuickStats:Percentage of Adults Aged ≥20 Years Who Used Antidepressant Medications in the Past 30 Days, by Sex and Marital Status -- National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, United States, 2015-2018." Notifiable Diseases and Mortality Tables from this issue can be accessed at the following link [http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/index2020.html]
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.)
2020-10-23
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DHS Has Secured the Nation's Election Systems, but Work Remains to Protect the Infrastructure
From the Document: "The election process is a cornerstone of American democracy. Prompted by suspicious cyber activities on election systems in 2016, the DHS Secretary designated the election infrastructure as a subsector to one of the Nation's 16 existing critical sectors. We conducted this audit to determine the effectiveness of DHS' coordination efforts to secure the election infrastructure since our last report in 2019."
United States. Department of Homeland Security. Office of Inspector General
2020-10-22
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Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Treatment Guidelines
From the Introduction: "The COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] Treatment Guidelines have been developed to inform clinicians how to care for patients with COVID-19. Because clinical information about the optimal management of COVID-19 is evolving quickly, these Guidelines will be updated frequently as published data and other authoritative information become available. The recommendations in these Guidelines are based on scientific evidence and expert opinion. Each recommendation includes two ratings: a letter (A, B, or C) that indicates the strength of the recommendation and a Roman numeral (I, II, or III) that indicates the quality of the evidence that supports the recommendation."
National Institutes of Health (U.S.)
2020-10-22
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EMR-ISAC: InfoGram, Volume 20 Issue 43, October 22, 2020
The Emergency Management and Response Information Sharing and Analysis Center's (EMR-ISAC) InfoGram is a weekly publication of information concerning the protection of critical infrastructures relevant to members of the Emergency Services Sector. This issue includes the following articles: "DHS Regional Resiliency Assessment Program"; "Converge training tackles a variety of topics"; "Role of ventilation, electrical wiring on arson investigation"; "Transportation Rail Incident Preparedness and Response training"; "When you can't have it all, build cyber resiliency instead"; "New NIST [National Institute of Standards and Technology] tool helps assess why employees click on phishing emails"; "Meet 'Egregor,' a New Ransomware Family to Watch"; and "Gangs are shifting targets and upping their ransom demands."
Emergency Management and Response-Information Sharing and Analysis Center (U.S.)
2020-10-22
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FDA Briefing Document: Development, Authorization and Licensure of Vaccines to Prevent COVID-19
From the Introduction: "The SARS-CoV-2 [severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2] pandemic presents an extraordinary challenge to global health and, as of September 22, 2020, has caused more than 30 million cases of COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] and claimed the lives of more than 900,000 people worldwide. On January 31, 2020, the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a declaration of a public health emergency related to COVID-19 and mobilized the Operating Divisions of HHS. On March 13, 2020, the President declared a national emergency in response to COVID-19. In addition, the WHO [World Health Organization] declared the novel coronavirus a pandemic on March 11, 2020. The rapid spread of SARS-CoV-2 requires expedited timelines to develop COVID-19 vaccine candidates and test them in clinical trials that can provide the data to meet the relevant legal standards for safety and effectiveness. Currently, numerous COVID-19 vaccine candidates intended to prevent COVID-19 are in development globally. These candidates are based on a variety of different vaccine technologies and platforms. Some of these vaccines have entered Phase 3 clinical trials intended to demonstrate their safety and effectiveness. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is committed to facilitating the scientific development and evaluation of safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines and to providing as much transparency as possible to the American public, while adhering to applicable confidentiality requirements."
United States. Food and Drug Administration
2020-10-22
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Considerations for Monitoring and Evaluation of Mitigation Strategies Implemented in K-12 Schools
From the Overview: "As K-12 [kindergarten to 12th grade] schools reopen for in-person instructions, it is important to have systems in place for the monitoring and evaluation of COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] mitigation strategies. This resource provides example evaluation questions, indicators, and data sources to help state and local public health and education agencies, school and district administrators, and evaluation professionals monitor and evaluate the implementation and impact of COVID-19 mitigation strategies implemented in K-12 schools on the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 [severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2], the virus that causes COVID-19."
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.)
2020-10-21
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Cost of Trump's Foreign Policy: Damage and Consequences for U.S. And Global Security
From the Executive Summary: "This report takes stock of the damage President Trump's foreign policy has inflicted on U.S. and global security, as well as the immediate and long-term consequences for the safety and security of the American people. It finds that the state of the United States in the world hangs in a tenuous balance. Our allies are weary and alienated; our own diplomats struggle to uphold the values we have promoted to the world for decades; and a U.S. president's eschewing of democracy has helped to fuel autocratic trends abroad. The report is based in large part on interviews and discussions with former U.S. and foreign government officials and foreign policy experts who shared their candid assessments about foreign policy under President Trump. For over a year, Committee Democratic staff conducted more than 80 interviews, including dozens of interviews with U.S. officials who served in the Trump administration. Committee staff sought a wide range of viewpoints and regional perspectives, speaking with officials and experts from nearly 20 countries."
United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Foreign Relations
Menendez, Robert, 1954-
2020-10-21
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'130,000 - 210,000 Avoidable COVID-19 Deaths - and Counting - in the U.S.'
From the Overview: "This report looks at the staggering and disproportionate nature of COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] fatalities in the United States, which now ranks first in the world in the total number of fatalities, to estimate how many deaths were 'avoidable.' With more than 217,000, lives lost, and a proportional mortality rate twice that of neighboring Canada and more than fifty times that of Japan -- a country with a much older population than the U.S. - the United States has turned a global crisis into a devastating tragedy. Through comparative analysis and applying proportional mortality rates, we estimate that at least 130,000 deaths and perhaps as many as 210,000 could have been avoided with earlier policy interventions and more robust federal coordination and leadership."
National Center for Disaster Preparedness
Redlener, Irwin; Hupert, Nathaniel; Sachs, Jeffrey . . .
2020-10-21
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COVID-19: The CIDRAP Viewpoint Part 6: Ensuring a Resilient US Prescription Drug Supply
From the Document: "An ongoing crisis plagues US healthcare, limits reliable access to critical drugs, and results in serious consequences for patients who need these drugs. Over the past few years, the United States has had more than 250 drug shortages at any point,1 many for critical medications, including both acute drugs for treating emergency situations and chronic drugs for managing serious long-term conditions. And shortages remain a perennial problem. Even though drug shortages have been recognized and tracked in the United States since 2001, the situation has not significantly improved in more than two decades.[...] Emergence of the COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic in early 2020 has severely stressed the US drug supply chain. COVID-19 has jolted the global pharmaceutical market at all levels and production points. The supply side has been disrupted by production factory closures, shipping delays or shutdowns, and trade limitations or export bans. The demand side has seen dramatically increased need for COVID-19 therapies worldwide."
Center for Infectious Disease Research & Policy
Schondelmeyer, Stephen W.; Seifert, James; Margraf, David J. . . .
2020-10-21
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Colorado Wildfire Resource Guide
From the Document: "As these wildfires continue to rage through our great state, I have been humbled by the immense strength Coloradans have shown over these past few weeks. I have seen the incredible resilience of the people of the 2nd congressional district of Colorado, and it is what inspires me. While Colorado is no stranger to wildfires, this wildfire season has hit our state especially hard, all while we are still in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. Due to these challenges, I want to ensure every one of my constituents have the resources they need, as well as any assistance you may require. My office is here to help. If you lose important federal documents, such as Social Security cards or passports, we can help you. If you need information about evacuations or resources, we can help. If you have questions about how to make a plan to evacuate, how to access your mail, or how to vote, please call us. If my office is not able to assist you directly, we will get you in contact with the people who can. Thank you once again to all the first responders and volunteers at the front lines of these fires for working day and night to keep everyone safe. And thank you to everyone who has taken in friends and family, as well as animals big and small in support of your community. We will get through this together."
United States. Congress. House
Neguse, Joe
2020-10-21?
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U.S. Withdrawal from the World Health Organization: Process and Implications [October 21, 2020]
From the Document: "The World Health Organization (WHO) is a U.N.-specialized agency that directs and coordinates health efforts within the United Nations (U.N.) system. In April 2020, President Trump announced that the United States would halt funding to WHO, and in May 2020 he declared that the United States would 'terminate' its relationship with the organization. The Administration maintained that WHO mismanaged its response to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and expressed strong concern regarding WHO's 'alarming lack of independence' from China. In July 2020, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo notified the U.N. Secretary-General of the U.S. decision to withdraw from the organization, which under the terms of a joint resolution adopted by Congress in 1948 (P.L. 80-643; 62 Stat. 441), would take effect on July 6, 2021."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Salaam-Blyther, Tiaji; Weed, Matthew C.; Blanchfield, Luisa . . .
2020-10-21
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Interim Guidance for Case Investigation and Contact Tracing in K-12 Schools
From the Overview: "To promote safe and healthy learning environments in K-12 [kindergarten to 12th grade] schools, school administrators can work together with health departments to reduce the risk of coronavirus 2019 (COVID-2019). K-12 school administrators can play an important role in taking steps to slow the spread of disease to prevent outbreaks, and protect students, staff and teachers. Regardless of the level of community transmission, K-12 schools should be prepared for COVID-19 outbreaks in their communities that may introduce infection to the school setting, identification of cases among students, staff and teachers, and potential exposure(s) to COVID-19 that may occur at school facilities or events."
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.)
2020-10-20
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Ensuring a Safe Environment for Patients and Staff in COVID-19 Health-Care Facilities
From the Introduction: "On 30 January 2020, the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), declared the COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] outbreak to be a global public health emergency of international concern under the International Health Regulations. Following the spread of COVID-19 cases in many countries across continents, COVID-19 was characterized as a pandemic on 11 March 2020 by the Director-General, upon the advice of the International Health Regulations Emergency Committee. The COVID-19 pandemic has continued to shine a light on the fragility of health services and public health systems globally. It has revealed that even robust health systems can be rapidly overwhelmed and compromised by an outbreak. Against this rapidly evolving situation, many countries are facing challenges in the availability of accurate and up-to-date data on capacities to respond to COVID-19 while maintaining the provision of essential health services. Few countries have reliable and timely data on existing and surge health workforce and service capacities. In response to this situation WHO has developed the 'Ensuring a safe environment for patients and staff in COVID-19 health-care facilities' monitoring tool. This tool has been designed to assess the structural capacities of hospitals to allow safe COVID-19 case management, maintain the delivery of essential services and enable surge capacity planning."
World Health Organization
2020-10-20
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Infection Prevention and Control Health- Care Facility Response for COVID-19
From the Introduction: "This self-assessment tool is designed for acute health-care facilities (i.e. tertiary and secondary) but can be modified for the use in long-term care facilities, to help identify, prioritize and address the gaps in infection prevention and control (IPC) capacity in managing their response to COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019]. The tool should be used by IPC professionals and/or those responsible for disaster planning or outbreak management in the facility (such as the response to the COVID-19 outbreak) at the start of the improvement process. A sample workplan template is provided to address gaps identified and record required actions. Repeat assessments are recommended (i.e. once a month), in order to correct actions and maintain an adequate response to the COVID-19 outbreak. In order to best evaluate the facility's improving opportunities, it is suggested to answer the questions carefully and critically. This tool focuses on the readiness, response and maintenance of the COVID-19 outbreak for IPC. It takes into account the most essential elements to prevent and control COVID-19 in acute health facilities as well as long-term care facilities."
World Health Organization
2020-10-20
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Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA): Emergency Temporary Standards (ETS) and COVID-19 [Updated October 20, 2020]
From the Document: "The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) does not currently have a specific standard that protects healthcare or other workers from airborne or aerosol transmission of disease or diseases transmitted by airborne droplets. Some in Congress, and some groups representing healthcare, meat and poultry processing, and other workers, are calling on OSHA to promulgate an emergency temporary standard (ETS) to protect workers from exposure to SARS-CoV-2 [severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2], the virus that causes Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSH Act) gives OSHA the ability to promulgate an ETS that would remain in effect for up to six months without going through the normal review and comment process of rulemaking. OSHA, however, has rarely used this authority in the past--not since the courts struck down its ETS on asbestos in 1983. [...] Through October 1, 2020, OSHA has issued COVID-19-related citations to employers at 62 work sites, with total proposed penalties of $913,133. These citations have been issued for violations of the OSH Act's General Duty Clause and other existing OSHA standards, such as those for respiratory protection, that may apply to COVID-19. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Cory A. Booker have raised concerns about the low amount of penalties being assessed for COVID-19-related violations."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Szymendera, Scott
2020-10-20