Corona Update: USA (12) – aktuelle Studien, Analysen und Kommentare

“Covid-19: Global Implications and Responses”

Quelle: Congressional Research Service (CRS, June 12, 2020)

Sara M. Tharakan, Coordinator, Analyst in Global Health and International Development, et.al.

This updated research paper gives an overview of global responses to COVID-19 and estimates that as of June 11, 2020, over 7.4 million people had contracted COVID-19 worldwide, and that over 400,000 people had died from it. The paper further states that globally, at least 200 experimental COVID-19 vaccine candidates were under development and that, as of June 10, 2020, the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) had pledged $1 billion for COVID-19-related health and humanitarian assistance. The research also discusses responses from China and the WHO and U.S. travel restrictions.

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“Beyond the COVID-19 Horizon”

Quelle: Wilson Center (June 2020)

Jane Harman, President & CEO, et al.

The Wilson Center published its second edition of the “On the Horizon” series with insights by the center’s experts taking a close look at “the world during a global pandemic”. “Things to watch for 2020” encompass analyses of events and trends in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas with special focus on China, Russia, Brazil, Mexico, Canada and the Korean peninsula. Furthermore, the publication includes an analysis of the coronavirus’ impact on environmental changes, global maternal health and science and technology.

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„A Seat at the Table: African Leadership in a Post-COVID-19 World“

Quelle: Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS, June 12, 2020)

Judd Devermont, Director Africa Program

The author emphasizes that, since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, “African leaders have given voice to long-standing grievances about the region’s status in global affairs and the treatment of its citizens in China—and, more recently, the treatment of Black people in the United States." In the coming months, African leaders will almost certainly demand a bigger say on global issues in multilateral forums and more equitable ties with existing partners as well as step up as standard-bearers for multilateralism in an increasingly fragmented world. “If the United States wants to repair and revive its links to the region in this new reality, it will need to rethink its approach to developing and sustaining its partnerships," says the author in his analysis.

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“Parking Lots, Coughing and the Pandemic”

Quelle: Carnegie Endowment (June 16, 2020)

Moises Naim, Distinguished Fellow

Researchers at Harvard Medical School have used satellite imagery to track the number of cars parked at six major hospitals in Wuhan, the city of 11 million inhabitants in central China where COVID-19 originated and then spread to the rest of the world. Moises Naim, distinguished fellow at Carnegie and currently the chief international columnist for El País, Spain’s largest newspaper, writes in his op-ed that "these data points tell us about the pandemic that is raging across the globe...a great deal."

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“COVID-19, Energy Transition and the Intersections of Industry, Technology and Resilience”

Quelle: The Baker Institute, Rice University
(June 12, 2020)

Kenneth Medlock, Senior Director, Center for Energy Studies

In this interview with Michael Graff, the chairman and CEO of American Air Liquide Holdings, Inc., a supplier of medical oxygen, Kenneth Madlock discusses the impact of COVID-19, the response to the global pandemic from a private sector's standpoint as well as the future of energy.

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“DHS S&T Launches Tool to Predict Decay of Airborne Coronavirus”

Quelle: Department of Homeland Security, Science and Technology Directorate (DHS S&T,
June 12, 2020)

This DHS online calculator tool estimates the airborne decay of the SARS-CoV-2 virus causing COVID-19 under a range of environmental parameters such as temperature, relative humidity levels, and UV index ranges. DHS states that “transmission is believed to occur through respiratory droplets produced by talking, coughing and sneezing. Contact with contaminated surfaces and objects may also contribute to spread.”

The tool’s underlying research in the Journal of Infectious Diseases shows that increased temperature and relative humidity cause a minimal increase in SARS-CoV-2 decay, but the addition of simulated sunlight causes “rapid decay” of the virus in aerosol. According to DHS, the virus was most stable indoors.

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“Tracking COVID-19’s spread into less urban, whiter, and more Trump-friendly places”

Quelle: Brookings Institution (June 12, 2020)

William H. Frey, Senior Fellow;
Fred Dews, Managing Editor

Brookings senior fellow William Frey has been tracking the spread of the coronavirus from metropolitan areas, many of them with a large African-American population, who voted heavily democratic, to more rural and “whiter” areas, with large support for President Trump. In this podcast, he talks about counties in the South and Midwest, which are seeing a significant rise in COVID-19 cases, many of them in “swing” states, which are of vital importance to both parties in the upcoming presidential election in November.

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“The COVID-19 Response in Indian Country”

Quelle:  Center for American Progress (CAP, June 18, 2020)

Kate Kelly, Dorector for Public Lands, et al.

This report by the Center for American Progress examines the effects of the COVID-19 epidemic on Native Americans, identifies problems and makes policy suggestions to be implemented on tribal lands. According to the authors, the coronavirus is affecting native Americans in large numbers. They cite the example of “the Navajo Nation (which) has the highest infection rate in the country”. The authors show the complex history and relationship between native American tribes and the US federal government and analyze the conditions that led to “limited health services” and “broken infrastructure” on many reservations, which made the tribal population especially "vulnerable" to the pandemic.

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“The State of U.S. Strategic Stockpiles”

Quelle: Council on Foreign Relations (CFR, June 15, 2020)

Anshu Siripurapu, Economics Writer

In this backgrounder from the Council on Foreign Relations, the author sheds light on the strategic stockpiles maintained by the U.S. federal government for emergencies and shortages. The coronavirus crisis brought the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) of medical supplies to the public’s attention. Siripurapu explains additional stockpiles like the petroleum reserves and other commodities.  She focuses on debates within the U.S. about the importance of stockpiles, especially in connection with the COVID-19 crisis.

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“Saving Lives and Livelihoods:
Recommendations for Recovery”

Quelle: Heritage Foundation (June 15, 2020)

Kay C. James, chairman, et al.

On June 15, 2020, the National Coronavirus Recovery Commission unveiled its final report, offering recommendations “for policymakers and the American people” towards the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The 122-page report comes as states and local communities are beginning a phased reopening across America and states that “it is not about choosing between protecting lives or the economy, but about achieving the prudent balance needed to protect both.”

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“Americans, Workplaces Not Ready for a Rush to Reopen”

Quelle: Public Citizen (June 16, 2020)

David Rosen, communications officer on regulatory affairs

Nearly three out of four Americans say that they would not feel safe if social distancing measures meant to curb the spread of the coronavirus were lifted nationwide, according to a survey published last week by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Public Citizen's David Rosen suggests in this article that a sustainable economic recovery would require public confidence that businesses are operating as safely as possible. "Giving legal immunity from accountability when they fail to do so would sabotage that effort," says the author.

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Weitere Kurzbeiträge:

“Limitations of the Program for Uninsured COVID-19 Patients Raise Concerns”

Quelle: Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF, June 16, 2020)

Karyn Schwartz, Senior Fellow, and Jennifer Tolbert, Director of State Health Reform

In this “Coronavirus Policy Watch” article the authors examine whether funds from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act Provider Relief Fund are used to reimburse healthcare providers for treating uninsured patients with COVID-19. KFF has estimated that hospital costs alone for these patients could be between $13.9 billion to $41.8 billion. According to the article, Congress had allocated a total of $175 billion for that fund, but it was “not clear how much is being reserved to reimburse providers who treat uninsured COVID-19 patients.”

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„How COVID-19 is worsening America’s racial economic divide“

Quelle: Atlantic Council (June 12, 2020)

Nicole Goldin, nonresident sr. fellow

While the job numbers in June showed a decrease in national unemployment, especially people of color, women, lower-skilled workers, young people, or rural residents remain out of work and left behind, according to the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics. "The United States is at an inflection point that will require a combination of policy, prioritized investing, and evidence-based practices by the public and private sectors to reduce the inequity and economic injustices that characterize communities across America and instead create intergenerational, interracial, and intergender opportunity and a more inclusive, progressive, and prosperous future", says the author in her blog about the worsening of the racial economic divide.

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„COVID-19 Spotlights the Inequities Facing English Learner Students, as Nonprofit Organizations Seek to Mitigate Challenges”

Quelle: Migration Policy Institute (June 2020)

Melissa Lazarin, senior advisor MPI

When many US school districts closed their buildings in March and transitioned to online learning due to the coronavirus, immigrant students and English learners were disproportionately hard hit, according to this commentary published by the Migration Policy Institute. The author states that many immigrant families don’t have access to computers or reliable WIFI and are suffering from economic and food insecurities that have a negative effect on students' ability to learn from home. Lazarin recommends that states use a large portion of the CARES act funds to help English learners who would otherwise be left behind. She also suggests that school districts partner with nonprofit organizations, experienced in working with immigrant communities.

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“UK readers find the government’s COVID-19 messages more misleading than actual fake news”

Quelle: Nieman Lab, Harvard University (June 15, 2020)

Stephen Cushion, Professor, Cardiff University, et al.

In this article, published by Harvard University’s Nieman Lab, the authors present the findings of a study conducted in the UK, in which news audiences were asked to identify “fake news” and misinformation. While many respondents reported relative ease in spotting outright lies, it was harder for them to identify misinformation, especially concerning complex issues surrounding government decisions about the coronavirus response. According to the authors, their research shows that the media should find “ways to raise their (the audience’s) level of understanding about complex and contentious issues”.

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„6 Million Foreign Visitors, Students, and Guest Workers Were Stranded in the US Beyond Air Departure Dates”

Quelle: Cato Institute (June 16, 2020)

David J. Bier, Immigration Policy Analyst

In this blog, the author looks at data of required departures versus actual departures from US airports since March by travelers who are in the country on a temporary basis. This includes tourists as well as students, guest workers and business travelers. According to the author, millions are stranded in the US because COVID-19 caused cancellations of thousands of flights and many countries closed their borders. Bier writes, many “are scrambling to try to extend their statuses, but many cannot”. The author recommends that the US government “should be doing more” to relieve this crisis caused by the pandemic closures.

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Für die aktuellen Zahlen zur Corona-Krise in den USA:

The Centers for Disease Control:

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

The Johns Hopkins University:

https://gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6

The New York Times:

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/us/coronavirus-us-cases.html