MARCH 19 COVID-19 UPDATE

A COVID-19, aka Coronavirus, relief bill passed in the U.S. Senate.  This bill is the second relief bill passed by Congress and reported here earlier this week after passage by the U.S. House.  According to CNN the revised and somewhat scaled back legislation:

• ”...would still provide many workers with up to two weeks of paid sick leave if they are being tested or treated for coronavirus or have been diagnosed with it.  Also, eligible would be those who have been told by a doctor or government official to stay home because of exposure or symptoms.
• Under the revised bill, however, those payments would be capped at $511 a day, roughly what someone making $133,000 earns annually. The original measure called for workers to receive their full pay but limited federal reimbursement to employers to that amount.
• Workers with family members affected by coronavirus and those whose children's schools have closed would still receive up to two-thirds of their pay, though that benefit would now be limited to $200 a day.”
• The next relief package is being hammered out by Congress and the Administration and it is focused on additional financial assistance which may include $250 billion in direct payments to Americans starting April 6.

 
Major American automakers are halting production at their factories through the end of March. The United Auto Workers are working on plans that would provide social distancing protocols along with staggered shifts for when the facilities reopen.  GM, and possibly others, may switch some of their production lines to manufacture ventilators and medical equipment.  Tesla’s Fremont California plant will remain open but with limited production in spite of a county ruling that initially said that they are a non-essential business.  Negotiations are ongoing.

 The U.S.-Canada border is closed but the two countries are working out the details about what is considered “essential” for continued trade.  According to the Canadian Prime Minister that “deliveries of food, fuel and medicines would continue under the agreement."

For updates, visit ARA's website: www.a-r-a.org/covid-19         Click HERE to become an ARA Member!