Alston & Bird’s Coronavirus Flash provides updates on policy and regulatory actions under consideration across many important industries being monitored by our teams. Links to key government and legal resources are provided throughout the report.

UPDATED 9:00 AM ET ON MONDAY, AUGUST 3, 2020

The Latest News

• U.S. COVID-19 cases exceed 4,641,690 and 154,002 U.S. deaths. (Source: CDC) (Updated 8/3/20)
• U.S. stock market: On Friday the major benchmarks all posted gains for the day, with the Dow rising 114 points, the S&P 500 gaining 24 points, and the Nasdaq adding 157 points. (New)
• The Senate Republican leadership released the Health, Economic Assistance, Liability Protection, and Schools (HEALS) Act on July 27, a $1 trillion emergency relief proposal and a counter to the House passed (May 15) HEROES Act. The initial negotiations centered on the expiring $600 supplemental unemployment benefit in an unsuccessful effort to reach a consensus before it expired on July 31. Discussions continue on the unemployment benefit as well as other areas of significant differences, including liability protection. Little progress appears to have been made over the weekend in the stimulus package discussions even as the leadership of both bodies agree that something must be enacted before they depart for the Presidential party conventions during the last two weeks of the month. (New)
• The HEALS Act was released as a compilation of separate bills sponsored by various GOP Senators: (New)
  • Liability protections, 4317, “SAFE to WORK Act”
  • Finance Committee bill, 4318, “American Workers, Families and Employers Assistance Act”
  • Business meals deduction, 4319 ,“Supporting America's Restaurant Workers Act”
  • Appropriations, 4320, “Coronavirus Response Additional Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2020”
  • Small business provisions, 4321, “Continuing Small Business Recovery and Paycheck Protection Program Act”
  • HELP Committee bill, 4322, “Safely Back to School and Back to Work Act”
  • Trust fund solvency, 4323, “TRUST Act of 2020”
  • 4324, “Restoring Critical Supply Chains and Intellectual Property Act” (including the “US Made Act”)

COVID-19 Federal Legislation

• Bill 4.0:
• The HEALS Act was released in sections by the authorizing committees: (New)
  • Senate Finance, S. 4318: Text, Section-by-Section
  • Senate Liability Protections, S. 4317: Text
  • Senate Small Business, S. 4321: Text, Section-by-Section
  • Senate Appropriations Health, Education, and Labor : Section-by-Section
  • Senate Appropriations Supplemental, S. 4320: Text, Section-by-Section
  • Senate Trust Funds, S. 4323: Text, Section-by-Section
  • Senate HELP – Education: Section-by-Section
  • Senate HELP – Education School Choice, S. 4322: Text, Summary
  • Senate Supply Chain, S. 4324: Text
  • Senate Restaurant Workers, S. 4319: Text
• The HEROES Act was the first formal offer on a new emergency stimulus bill, 4.0: For the full details on the HEROES Act, H.R. 6800, which passed the House on May 15:
  • The HEROES Act text is available here.
  • A 1-pager and 71 page section-by-section summary are available here.
  • And an outline of the state and local funding provisions is here.
• The Paycheck Protection Flexibility Act, H.R. 7010, was enacted on June 5. To learn more, see this A&B Summary of the Paycheck Protection Flexibility Act. (6/5/20)
• Bill 3.5: Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act, (R. 266) was enacted on April 24. Also available are a section-by-section summary and an overview of the health care provisions.
• A&B detailed summaries are below:
  • A&B Summary – 5 Small Business Provisions
  • A&B Summary – 5 Health Care Enhancement Provisions
• Bill 3.0: Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, (R. 748) passed on March 27. A congressional section by section summary is available here.
• Congress has passed three coronavirus emergency response bills and the first two are below:
• Bill 1.0: Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental (CPPRS) (R. 6074) passed on March 5
• Bill 2.0: Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) (R. 6201) passed on March 18

Transition to “Reopening”

• Administration Actions
• The Administration released a set of guidance targeting the reopening of schools and a resource website. (Updated 7/24/20)
  • The Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration announced $7.8 million in aid to universities to assist in their recovery and reopening. (7/31/20) (New)
  • The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved 13 products on List N to be used as effective disinfectants against COVID-19. (7/30/20) (New)
  • The CDC updated or released guidance for reopening:
  • Hiring In-Home Services or Repairs (7/30/20) (New)
  • How To Clean and Disinfect a Facility (7/29/20) (New)
  • Businesses and Workplaces (Updated 7/28/20)
  • Worker Safety and Support (Updated 7/28/20)
• State/Other Actions
  • For the latest information on state reopening decisions, see A&B 50-State Reopening - updated in each A&B Coronavirus Flash. (Updated 7/30/20)

Department of Health and Human Services

• HHS has a tracking feature that allows public viewing of all COVID-19 HHS grants and cooperative agreement awards on its website. The grants were distributed through programs in the ACF, ACL, ASPR, CDC, DHHS/OS, HRSA, IHS, NIH, and SAMHSA. (Updated 7/30/20)
• The National Institutes of Health announced an investment in 7 companies for new testing technologies. (7/31/20) (New)
• The HHS Office of Assistant Secretary of Preparedness and Response (ASPR) released a Lessons Learned document for Urgent Care Centers and the treatment of COVID-19. (7/30/20) (New)
• ASPR released a report on staffing considerations for crisis standards of care. (7/30/20) (New)
• ASPR releases a table on the allocation and distribution of remdesivir. (7/30/20) (New)
• HHS released a report showing the trends in Medicare beneficiary telehealth utilization during COVID-19. (7/29/20) (New)
• HHS has created a new public data website as a COVID-19 Resource. (7/26/20)
• HHS and the Department of Defense announced:
• Joint agreement with Sanofi and GSK on commercial-scale manufacturing project to produce COVID-19 investigational vaccine doses. (7/31/20) (New)
• Joint agreement with Becton, Dickinson and Company to establish and expand production of SARS-CoV-2 Assays for BD Veritor Devices. (7/31/20) (New)

HHS/CDC/CMS/HRSA CARES Act Provider Relief Funds

• HHS - the CARES Act Provider Relief Fund (PRF) webpage (Updated 7/17/20)
• And the PRF FAQs (Updated 7/30/20) have been updated and capture numerous modifications.
• The CDC has posted an updated dataset of provider recipient specific payment from the Provider Relief Fund general distribution high impact targeted allocation and/or rural targeted allocation. The dataset includes who has attested to receiving one or more payments and agreed to the terms and conditions as of July 30. (Updated 7/30/20)
• A&B Hospital Provisions in all 4 bills tracker (Updated 8/2/20)
• A&B Provider Relief Fund Disbursements tracker (Updated 8/2/20)

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) COVIDView Weekly Summary is available. (Updated 7/31/20)
• The CDC weekly COVID forecast. (Updated 7/29/20)
• The CDC S. testing data. (Updated 8/2/20)
• The CDC FAQs on testing for SARS-CoV-2. (Updated 7/31/20)
• CDC webpage for all COVID-19 toolkits, videos, print resources, PSAs, FAQs and web resources. (Updated 7/31/20)
• CDC updated its FAQs for laboratories. (Updated 8/2/20)
• CDC electronic laboratory reporting map. (Updated 7/30/20)
• CDC information for laboratories required to report to state and local public health authorities. (Updated 7/31/20)
• The CDC released a series of public service announcements to increase donation of convalescent plasma in the treatment of COVID-19. (7/30/20) (New)
• The CDC has released new guidance for:
• COVID-19 Antibody Testing (Updated 7/30/20)
• Transferring Patients to Balance Care at Healthcare Facilities (7/30/20) (New)
• Preparedness Tools for Healthcare Professionals and Facilities (7/30/20) (New)
• Contact Tracing Documents (Updated 7/30/20)
• Rural Communities (Updated 7/30/20)
• Data on COVID-19 During Pregnancy (Updated 7/30/20)
• HIV and COVID-19 (Updated 7/29/20)

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

• The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) latest news alerts. (Updated 7/31/20)
• For the latest COVID-19 related CMS guidance and FAQs visit the CMS Current Emergencies webpage. (Updated 7/30/20)
• CMS jointly with the CDC announced that payment is available to physicians and health care providers to counsel patients related to self-isolation and other steps related to COVID-19 self-care. A Provider Q&A is also available. (7/30/20) (New)
• CMS announced new therapeutic procedure codes to allow Medicare and other insurers to identify the use of the therapeutics remdesivir and convalescent plasma for treating hospital in-patients with COVID-19. (7/30/20) (New)
• CMS released its first monthly update of data COVID-19 and the Medicare population. (7/29/20) (New)

Food and Drug Administration

• FDA provides a daily roundup on COVID-19 related actions. (Updated 7/31/20)
  • FDA updated its FAQs on Testing for SARS-CoV-2 relating to the development and performance of tests for SARS-CoV-2. (Updated 7/24/20)
  • FDA maintains its COVID-19 FAQs for the general public. (Updated 7/24/20)
  • FDA webpage for health professionals. (Updated 7/16/20)
  • The agency also maintains a public database of drug shortages. (Updated 7/24/20)
  • FDA webpage on Coronavirus Treatment Acceleration Program (CTAP) (Updated 7/14/20)
• The FDA issued a warning letter for fraudulent COVID-19 products to:
• Vapore LLC dba Mypurmist (7/31/20) (New)
• The FDA authorizes the first tests that estimate a patient’s antibodies from past SARS-CoV-2 infection. (7/31/20) (New)
• The FDA FAQs on Antibody (Serology) testing: Information for Patients and Consumers. (Updated 7/29/20)
• The FDA posts a new template for At-Home and Over-the-Counter diagnostic tests for use in non-lab settings such as homes, schools, and businesses. (7/29/20) (New)
• The FDA reiterates its warnings about certain alcohol-based hand sanitizers. (7/27/20) (New)
• The FDA issued emergency use authorization (EUAs) for: (New)
• Eli Lilly and Company for its Lilly SARS-CoV-2 Assay
• Sandia National Laboratories for its SNL-NM 2019 nCoV Real-Time RT-PCR Diagnostic Assay
• Xiamen Biotime Biotechnology Co., Ltd., for its BIOTIME SARS-CoV-2 IgG/IgM Rapid Qualitative Test
• Access Bio, Inc., for its CareStart COVID-19 IgM/IgG
• The FDA issued the first diagnostic test for screening of people without known or suspected COVID-19. (7/24/20) (New)

Small Business Administration

• The President signed into law 4116 which reauthorizes the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) through August 8. (7/4/20)

Other Federal Agencies

• The Department of Education announced $180 million in grants to 11 states for education response during the pandemic. (7/29/20) (New)
• The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation announced a $765 million loan to Kodak under the Defense Production Act to boost domestic manufacturing of drugs. (7/28/20) (New)
• The Department of Transportation announced $273 million in grants to 184 airports. (7/28/20) (New)
• The Department of Treasury announced it had reached an agreement with the United States Postal Service on terms for a CARES Act loan of up to $10 billion. (7/29/20) (New)

For background and the most up-to-date information, please visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Coronavirus Disease 2019 website: HERE. The additional federal agency links are provided by the White House Coronavirus Task Force: What You Should Know:

• How to Protect Yourself & Others
• What to Do If You Are Sick with COVID-19
• Symptoms
• Facts about COVID-19
• Guidance Documents

Information for Businesses:

• Information for Communities, Schools, and Businesses
• Workplaces during the COVID-19 Pandemic
• Cleaning and Disinfecting Your Facility
• Worker Safety and Support
• COVID-19 Critical Infrastructure Sector Response Planning
• General Business Frequently Asked Questions
• Information for Small Businesses
• SBA: COVID-19 Resources
• Treasury: Assistance for Small Businesses
• DOL: Guidance for Preparing Workplaces for Coronavirus
• DOL: COVID-19 and the American Workplace
• DOL: OHSA Resources for Workers and Employers on COVID-19
• WHO: Get Your Workplace Ready for COVID-19
• CISA: Risk Management for COVID-19
• CISA: Telework Guidance and Resources
• CISA: Guidance on the Essential Critical Infrastructure Workforce

Information for Travel and Transportation:

• Information for Travel
• Travel in the United States
• Public Health Considerations for Reopening Mass Transit During the Covid-19 Pandemic
• COVID-19 Travel Recommendations by Country
• Travel Restrictions to Prevent the Spread of Disease
• Airline Guidance
• Cargo Ship Guidance
• Maritime Resources
• Returning from International Travel
• Travelers Returning from Cruise Ship and River Cruise Voyages
• Travel: Frequently Asked Questions and Answers
• Travelers Prohibited from Entry to the United States
• Communication Resources for Travelers
• State: Travel Advisories
• State: Traveler’s Checklist
• State: Smart Traveler Enrollment Program
• DOT: FAQs from FTA Grantees Regarding COVID-19
• DOT: Expanded Emergency Declaration
• FAA: Guidance for Air Carriers and Crews

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