7 Things: Coronavirus’ effect on the Alabama economy, unemployment claims cost big money in Alabama, death projections get better and more …

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April 7, 2020

7. UK leader is in the ICU

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson previously tested positive for the coronavirus and has now been moved to an intensive-care unit due to his symptoms worsening, but his office said that he hasn’t needed ventilation.
Just one day before being moved to ICU, Johnson had been admitted to the hospital for tests that his office claimed were routine. His team maintains that Johnson has remained in charge of the government despite his hospital stay.

6. Governor Cuomo agrees with Trump on hydroxychloroquine

The American media has shifted to criticizing President Donald Trump for investing in a mutual fund that invests in a pharmaceutical company that manufactures a brand name version of hydroxychloroquine after one of the coronavirus pandemic’s media darlings, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (D), made it clear that the anti-malaria drug was working and was being recommended for treatment of this illness.
One day after Trump ally Rudy Giuliani urged him to lift restrictions on using the drug, Cuomo touted the results it is having and called for more usage, declaring, “There has been anecdotal evidence that it is promising; that’s why we’re going ahead.”

5. President Trump and 3M make nice

A week after President Donald Trump and the CEO of 3M manufacturing publicly sparred over the availability of N95 face masks, a deal was reached to produce 165.5 million of the masks with the president’s use of the Defense Production Act being a key to the negotiation.
The president noted that the company and the government “reached an agreement, very amicable, with 3M for the delivery of an additional 55.5 million high-quality face masks each month.” He added that “the 3M saga ends very happily.”

4. Coronavirus found in 31 Alabama nursing homes

The coronavirus has been found in 31 nursing homes across 17 Alabama counties, but the names of the facilities and how many residents or staff members infected have not been released by the Alabama Nursing Home Association.
The association had previously reported that there’s a backlog of over 1,000 tests of residents and staff that were awaiting results last week. President and CEP of the Alabama Nursing Home Association Brandon Farmer said that they’re expecting the number of cases to “grow as more tests are administered and the results are returned.”

3. A flattening curve in NY, lower death rate in Alabama

America’s hotspot is actually seeing fewer infections, which gives hope to a world that is shut down by showing that social distancing worked. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo notes the healthcare system hasn’t collapsed, stating, “Have we saved everyone? No. Have we lost anyone because we didn’t have a bed, didn’t have a ventilator, didn’t have healthcare staff? No. The people we lost were the people we couldn’t save. Not for lack of trying, as a society, as a healthcare system. For the extent we can find peace in that, that helps me.”
Things also look better in Alabama. University of Washington’s Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation previously had a model that projected Alabama will be 21st in deaths per capita and 16th in deaths overall with a projected 378-1,996 coronavirus deaths. The death rate has fallen to less than two people for every 10,000.

2. $6 million already paid in unemployment

Even with hopes to reopen the economy in early May, the cost of unemployment is just starting to be felt as the Alabama Labor Department paid over $6 million in unemployment benefits to 22,646 employees impacted by the coronavirus.
Alabama Labor Department Secretary Fitzgerald Washington said that they’ve seen an “overwhelming” amount of people filing for unemployment, adding they are working to fix the issues others have seen with trying to apply for benefits.

1. Alabama’s economy might not get hit too hard

Moody Analytics has released data on how much each state’s economy could be affected by the massive shutdowns seen due to the coronavirus, based on exposure, tourism, demographics, trade and travel distribution, commodities and finance.
States that will be hit the hardest economically will likely be places like Hawaii and Nevada because of the decrease in tourism and New York and Washington due to the volume of cases they’ve seen, but Alabama, Mississippi and West Virginia are in a better situation for economic recovery because those with fewer cases could recover faster.