June 15, 2020: Coronavirus Community Call

Ben gave the following updates concerning the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 from national, state, and local news sources:

Leading infectious disease experts in the United States are warning that the coronavirus will be making life difficult for the foreseeable future.
And as strict social distancing wanes, some leaders in New York and Texas are threatening renewed lockdowns in an effort to get people to take the persistent threat of the virus seriously.
Experts have estimated that without a vaccine, about 70% of the population will need to be infected and develop immunity in order to stop the virus’s spread, a concept called herd immunity. The current number of confirmed cases in the United States is over 2 million, less than 1% of the U.S. population, according to a New York Times database.

Rising numbers of infections in many states are prompting stern warnings from public health officials. South Carolina and Alabama both hit single-day records of new confirmed coronavirus cases on Sunday, while Texas and its largest city, Houston, are experiencing record numbers of hospitalizations.

U.S. stock futures fell Monday as investors questioned whether fresh outbreaks of the coronavirus could hold back the global economic recovery.
Stock futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 2.4%, suggesting U.S. markets could open lower. In Europe, the pan continental Stoxx Europe 600 dropped 1%. Stocks in Asia closed lower, with the Japanese Nikkei Stock Average down nearly 3.5%.

The Georgia Department of Community Health’s (DCH) June 11, 2020 Long-Term Care Facility COVID-19 report indicated that 97% of nursing home residents in facilities with 25 or more beds have now been tested for COVID-19. This marks a 12% improvement in one week. Additionally, staff testing in nursing homes is up 13% week-over-week.
Across all Long-Term Care Facilities with 25 beds or more, 74% of residents and 54% of staff members have now been tested, up 9% and 10%, respectively, in the last week.

In Alabama, bans on large entertainment venues, athletic activities, and school and childcare facilities ended at 5 p.m. Friday with continued distancing guidelines meant to stem the coronavirus outbreak.

Mayor Henderson gave the following updates:

Muscogee County has reached a milestone passing 1000 positive cases with 1006 cases and there have been 26 deaths
This was not unexpected as places begin to reopen and more testing is being made available
They continue to monitor the hospitalization rate; over the past few days they have reached a plateau, it is at a higher rate but manageable; looks like it is leveling off
The city has initiated the reopening of outdoor recreational facilities
Indoor facilities remain closed to include the recreation centers, the senior centers and the natatorium; they will reevaluate at the end of the month
The Mayor asked everyone to continue to urge others to practice social distancing

Pat gave the following updates:Received strategies and implementation tips from Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to help with planning and use of funding

Betsy gave the following updates:

Stay tuned for Wednesday’s grant awards; there continues to be lots of needs
Transitioning to a Wednesday only call beginning on Wednesday, June 17, 2020; the call time will remain at 10:00am
If anyone has any suggestions about the format of the call, please email Betsy bcovington@cfcv.com or Ben bmoser@unitedwayofthecv.org

Melody gave the following updates:

They continue to see COVID-19 hospitalizations grow a bit; not totally unexpected due to the fact that more places are reopen; will continue to monitor
Services fully opened except for visitors; still evaluating
Appreciates the support of the community