Covid-19 headlines for Wednesday, April 15, 2020:
• Easing the backlog: Pennsylvania's Department of Labor & Industry says it has added 200 employees to the 600-some already working in its service centers to handle the surge of unemployment claims due to coronavirus. There have been 15,600 filings from Lancaster County just in the past two weeks (equal to about 5.5% of the county's workforce). (Source: LNP)
• Furloughs at Tait: Tait, the Lititz-based live-entertainment staging company, has temporarily furloughed 255 employees, more than half its local workforce. The company, an industry leader, has been hit hard by the shutdown of live performances. It is shifting temporarily to Covid-19 related products and services, such as face shields, portable field structures and logistics. (Source: LNP)
• PA House passes bill to reopen businesses: The legislation would allow firms to reopen that meet guidelines from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. The bill goes next to the state Senate, which convenes today. (Source: PennLive)
• National/world roundup: President Trump's name will be printed on the government's coronavirus relief checks, the first time a president's name will ever appear on a payout by the IRS, a nonpartisan agency. The change could delay the checks a few days. (Source: Washington Post) Trump has moved to halt the U.S.'s funding of the World Health Organization, alleging mishandling of China's Covid-19 outbreak. Experts warned the cutoff could backfire. (Source: NBC) U.S. retail sales dropped 8.7% in March, and JP Morgan Chase predicts the economy could contract by a record-breaking 40% in the second quarter. (Source: AP) Federal agencies are drafting a strategy to reopen the country. (Source: Washington Post | MSN)
