As the Surgeon General predicted Monday, this has probably been the hardest yet of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States. Total cases in the United States climbed towards 500,000 as New York City cases and deaths continued to mount. The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ unemployment insurance remained at more than 6 million claims: That body has now recorded at least 16.8 new unemployment insurance claims in three weeks’ time.
If predictions are true, however, this week also marks a turning point in the apparently interminable crisis. Models produced by Dr. Anthony Fauci and other top medical professionals show that “social distancing” and similar means of mitigating the virus’s spread are working, and that the flattened curve of infections may have approached its apex and begun to descend.
At present, though, manufacturers and the country at large likely have at least the rest of April to deal with the lingering effects of the virus, and perhaps longer to deal with the wider economic fallout.
600 Manufacturers Ally to Help Coronavirus Relief
This feature has repeatedly featured a handful of manufacturers doing their best to pivot their production lines to produce much-needed protective equipment or ventilators. Others doing their part offer services pro bono to anyone using them to help the COVID-19 relief effort, and others still have partnered with one or two other colleges or companies to help make an impact.
Now, the Coalition for a Prosperous America, or CPA, says it has identified more than 600 domestic manufacturers ready to work with other companies to produce pharmaceutical ingredients, printed circuit boards, precision metal and plastic parts, optics, textiles, and other parts that are necessary to create life-saving equipment and medical devices. Read the full story here.
3M Files Lawsuit Against Alleged Face Mask Price-Gouger
According to 3M, bad actors are using the shortage of personal protective equipment to exploit consumers desperate to protect themselves from the coronavirus. The Minnesota-based hygiene and office goods company filed a lawsuit today in federal court against Performance Supply LLC alleging that Performance Supply made false claims about a partnership with 3M and attempted to sell $45 million of masks to New York City officials for up to 600% their listed price.
According to 3M’s Senior VP of Corporate Affairs Denise Rutherford, lawsuits are only one way the manufacturing conglomerate is working to hamper would-be criminals and price-gougers. They’re also working with internet retailers and law enforcement to remove listings before anyone gets scammed. Read the full story here.
