COVID-19 and the Workforce: November 6, 2020

TOP HEADLINES 

 
8 Questions and Answers About COVID-Related Compliance 
HR Dive – November 2, 2020 
In HR Dive’s Mailbag series, employment law experts address many concerns, weighing in on notice postings, leave exhaustion and COVID-19 test and vaccine mandates. 

Jobless Claims Edge Lower But are Still Well Above Pre-Pandemic Levels 
CNBC – November 5, 2020 
First-time claims for unemployment insurance continued a modest trend down last week, though the total remains well above what was considered normal prior to the coronavirus pandemic and was a touch higher than Wall Street estimates. 

Employers Find Ways to Celebrate Holidays, Employees During Pandemic 
SHRM – October 29, 2020 
Because holding a workplace holiday party doesn’t seem practical during a pandemic, managers are finding other ways to help their workers celebrate this year—including virtual gift exchanges, cooking classes and wine tastings. 

What’s New from the CDC 
Keep up with all the latest information on COVID-19 directly from the resources created by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  

GLOBAL NEWS 

AUSTRALIA 
Australia Reports No New COVID-19 Cases for First Time in Five Months 
The Hill – November 2, 2020  
Australia for the first time in almost five months recorded zero new coronavirus cases for a 24-hour span this past weekend. 

CANADA 
Canada’s Trudeau Says Window to Stop Second Surge of COVID-19 is Closing 
Reuters – November 3, 2020  
Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday warned that people needed to act now to tamp down the spread of a second wave of COVID-19 before it gets out of hand. 

INDIA 
India’s COVID-19 Cases Have Declined Rapidly—but Herd Immunity is Still Far Away, Scientists Say 
Science Magazine – October 29, 2020 
The world’s second largest COVID-19 epidemic has rounded a corner. India’s daily number of new cases has almost halved in the past six weeks. 

UNITED KINGDOM 
Britain’s Boris Johnson: ‘No Alternative’ to Strict New Coronavirus Lockdown 
NPR – November 2, 2020 
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday said there was “no alternative” to a new England-wide lockdown amid a spike in coronavirus cases that he warned could be “twice as bad” as anything seen in the spring. 

UNITED STATES 
Bouncing Back: A List of Statewide Return to Work Protocols 
Littler – November 2, 2020 
Government officials across the country are easing up on the stringent business closures and stay at home orders that helped the nation slow the spread of COVID-19 earlier in the year. The chart provides links to general reopening plans and orders that have been issued thus far, at the statewide level. 

POLAND 
Poland Reports Record Rise in Daily Coronavirus Cases and Deaths 
The First News – November 4, 2020 
The number of Poland’s confirmed coronavirus infections has grown since Tuesday by a record 24,692 new cases, and reached 439,536, the health ministry said on Wednesday morning. So far, 168,960 people have recovered.