fortune--2020-04-03--Big pharma’s big chance

Big pharma’s big chance

Good morning.
Last year, when Gallup pollsters asked Americans what industry they liked least, the pharmaceutical industry took top prize. The reason wasn’t hard to fathom. Persistent publicity over pricing scandals— Martin Shkreli and Valeant took top honors there—as well as the pill-pushing behind the opioid scandal, had poisoned the industry in the public mind.
The coronavirus pandemic now gives that industry a chance to redeem itself. There are fervent efforts underway at virtually every pharma company to address two key issues that will determine the course of the disease. The first is the need for drugs or therapies to help those being killed at an alarming rate. For all the focus on ventilators, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo revealed this week that they only prevent death for 20% of the people using them. We need better treatments in the field soon. The second is the race to develop a vaccine, which ultimately will be necessary to allow society to return to some sense of normalcy.
I’ve written in this space about the impressive work going on at Johnson & Johnson and Regeneron. (You can find podcast interviews with leaders of both, here.) My colleague Susie Gharib also recently interviewed Paul Hudson, who took over the top job at Sanofi last year. Hudson collaborates with Regeneron on a drug called Kevzara, originally used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, which is now in testing with more than 200 COVID-19 patients. Hudson said the effort to find therapies and vaccines has enlivened Sanofi. “I can feel the purpose-driven nature, the camaraderie and coming together of the company. It is really something like we have never seen before.” Susie also had an interview yesterday with the CEO of Bayer, Werner Baumann, who is ramping up production of its drug Resochin to treat the disease.
I also spoke yesterday with Bob Kramer, CEO of Emergent Bio Solutions Inc., which just announced a partnership with the U.S. government to expedite development of a therapy that involves taking plasma from people who have already been infected and developed antibodies to the disease. He hopes to bring it to trial for critically ill COVID-19 sufferers by early summer. I asked Kramer what the economic model for this therapy was. He said he hadn’t thought about it.
“This is in our sweet spot. This is what we do,” Kramer said. “Our company has a history of making short term investments when we think we can leverage our technology and knowhow to help public health. Most likely in the longer term there will be a payout, but right now we are not worried about it.”
It’s these efforts that ultimately will stem the tide of death brought on by COVID-19. And in doing so, they also may change our view of a besmirched industry.
More news below. And apologies for referring this week to the spotlight the pandemic is shining on the trials of “working mothers.” Numerous readers rightly corrected me. I should have referred to “working parents.”
More news below.
Alan Murray
@alansmurray
alan.murray@fortune.com
TOP NEWS
One Million
One million people have officially contracted COVID-19 across the world—just four months after the virus first appeared in Wuhan. But the real number is likely much higher: very few countries are able or willing to conduct widespread testing, and as a result, the true number of cases are likely to be many times higher. The U.S. now has the most official cases, followed by Italy, and Spain. Only 20 countries in the world officially have no cases. Bloomberg
Oil prices whipsaw
Oil slid back towards $25/barrel, then jumped past $30 on Friday. The bouncing prices come after oil surged almost 25% in New York yesterday on the back of a tweet by President Trump touting that a deal between Saudi Arabia and Russia was in the works. Russian officials denied such a deal, and Saudi Arabia called an OPEC meeting, but said it would only cut production if others do. Equity markets were also down this morning in Asia and Europe. Bloomberg
10 million jobs—and more
After a record number of job losses last week, which add up to 10 million people filing for unemployment in just two weeks, the worst part is that the real tally may be even higher. States are reportedly overwhelmed by the number of jobless claims flooding in, and unable to process them all. Some of the states that already have the highest jobless rates seem to simply be the ones with better functioning websites and systems for filing for unemployment. Fortune
The loan rush
It's just hours before small businesses can apply for relief loans as part of the U.S. government's $2 trillion relief package—but many banks say they're not ready. Those loans total $350 billion to help businesses cover eight weeks of expenses and payroll, but several banks are restricting offering the loans to existing customers, or saying the applications simply won't be ready for Friday. Meanwhile, banks say many details of the loan program still remain unclear. WSJ
AROUND THE WATER COOLER
Building a diagnostics industry
Faced with a spiraling scandal over low testing rates—particularly of frontline healthcare workers—the U.K.'s health secretary, who has just emerged from self-isolation after having coronavirus himself, said the country has struggled because of its small diagnostics industry, and would now build one—at scale. But research labs, and even other government agencies, say they'd already been offering their diagnostic help, and getting nowhere—sometimes for months. Fortune
Dividends are the new bonuses
In the U.K., four out of the five major banks resisted pressure by the Bank of England to voluntarily cut their dividends—until the Bank forced them too. In the case of HSBC, that reportedly renewed long-running discussions about moving the bank's headquarters from London to Asia, where the bank has most of its business. In the new crisis, the FT argues, dividends are sharping up to be the target that bankers' bonus pay was the last time around. FT
It's not just ventilators
While the lack of ventilators for the sheer scale of patients has garnered a lot of attention, it's far from the only problem: a lack of trained people to operate them, and a lack of oxygen, are just as serious—if not more. For oxygen, at least in theory, industrial supplies can be redirected away from the sectors that no longer need them, like oil and gas (read that story here). But in the case of ventilators, “You’re going to run out of personnel before you run out of ventilators." Fortune
Emissions fall
The coronavirus lockdown could produce the largest fall in worldwide carbon emissions since World War II, according to the chair of the Global Carbon Project, a tracking initiative. He forecasts emissions could fall by 5% year-on-year, a dip far surpassing the one during the financial crisis, as lockdowns halt regular flows of car, truck, and air traffic and suppress global economies. Reuters
This edition of CEO Daily was edited by Katherine Dunn


fortune--2020-04-03--Why the U.S. is changing its mind on coronavirus face masks

Coronavirus will pummel already weak retailers long after it ’ s been contained

In his daily COVID-19 press briefing on Wednesday, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti stood at the podium and looped the straps of a black cloth face mask around his ears, as he urged L.A. residents to wear face masks for the first time.
“This will be the look,” Garcetti said, his voice muffled by the mask. “[W]earing these on the streets is something that will help us all control that spread, and most importantly, when we go to the grocery store or something, keep those frontline workers from getting sick.”
His announcement served as a sort of precursor to what’s expected to be a massive shift in U.S. public health policy. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is considering changing its guidelines from advising that only sick people or those taking care of the ill wear masks, to recommending that everyone wear face coverings in public regardless of their health.
The shift aligns the U.S. with places like mainland China and Hong Kong, where people have worn face masks en masse during past outbreaks and this one. The U.S. has long eschewed the practice as unnecessary, but the nature of the coronavirus has forced it to suddenly change its tune.
Changing tack
New data appears to be behind the CDC’s reexamination of its existing policy. Director Robert Redfield said on Tuesday the agency was “aggressively” reviewing its face-mask guidance after reports that up to one in four people infected with the virus could be asymptomatic. That means many coronavirus carriers may not take measures to keep from spreading the virus—like wearing a mask—because they’re not aware they’re infected. A blanket policy of mask adoption guards against asymptomatic patients’ spreading the virus they don’t know they have.
Athena Hayley, founder and CEO of Love My Neighbor Foundation, tries on a homemade mask in L.A. The U.S. is inching toward mass adoption of masks, long a standard practice in other countries amid outbreaks. Genaro Molina—Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
Studies in Singapore and the state of Nebraska have also indicated that coronavirus particles may remain in the air and on surfaces longer than previously thought, meaning it’s important to keep particles from being breathed out and breathed in. Masks help in that regard.
“The idea of getting a much more broad community-wide use of masks outside of the health care setting is under very active discussion at the [White House Coronavirus] Task Force,” Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told CNN on Tuesday. “The CDC group is looking at that very carefully.”
Confirmed U.S. cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, topped 245,000 on Friday, more than double the next highest case count, Italy, which had 115,000.
“The big mistake in the U.S. and Europe, in my opinion, is that people aren’t wearing masks,” George Gao, director-general of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, told Science.
Wearing a face mask prevents virus-transmitting droplets from a person’s mouth or nose reaching someone else and infecting them. N95 respirators and surgical masks are designed to prevent the spew of tiny particles containing the virus; homemade cloth masks or bandannas are more permeable, but may still help to prevent community transmission if everyone wears them.
“Anything that can even be 1% effective, 10% effective, 50% effective, is something we should do. So I hope that the CDC will move forward with that,” Garcetti said on Wednesday.
Garcetti noted that face coverings don’t need to be hospital quality—given the dire shortage of personal protective equipment in U.S. hospitals—but should cover the nose and mouth and can include bandannas and fabric masks.
“My feeling is if people want to do it, there’s certainly no harm to it. I would say do it. But use a scarf if you want rather than going out and getting a mask,” President Donald Trump said on Tuesday, adding that officials didn’t want ordinary citizens “competing” against hospitals for masks.
The Internet is awash with tutorials on how to craft DIY face masks with cotton cloth and ribbons. One tutorial for sewing a homemade mask has amassed over 2.5 million views on YouTube since it was posted on Feb. 7.
Catching up with Asia
In starting to embrace face masks, the U.S. is playing catch-up with some of its peers, especially those in Asia. In Hong Kong, for instance, everyone is wearing face masks amid the outbreak. On streets, in office lobbies, and aboard public transportation, people sport pale-hued surgical masks. Some wear more heavy-duty N95 respirators; others double-layer masks or supplement them with goggles or plastic visors that shield the entire face.
Customers wear face masks at a McDonald’s in Hong Kong, with empty tables surrounding them. Miguel Candela—SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
Hong Kong’s face mask habit arose out of the SARS crisis 17 years ago. The city was badly hit by the disease, accounting for 40% of total SARS deaths. The U.S. has no comparable recent experience, something that Garcetti recognized in his press conference when he said he had been looking at “countries who have a tradition” of wearing masks.
In Japan, China, South Korea, and other parts of Asia, face masks are common—and not just during the current pandemic. People don masks if they are sick with the flu, when air pollution spikes, and even to accessorize an outfit.
“We associate [mask-wearing] with other parts of the world, but those parts of the world started to do that because of some of the health scares that they had been through in the past,” Garcetti said.
Though public opinion is starting to change, many in the U.S. are “reluctant” to wear a face mask because doing so is still “a symbol that you’re sick in some way,” said Priscilla Wald, a professor of English at Duke University and the author of Contagious: Cultures, Carriers, and the Outbreak Narrative.
But face masks may become more normalized, Wald said, and even when the pandemic abates, wearing masks in daily life may “become something that is customary everywhere,” for when people have the common cold, because of air pollution, or during allergy season.
“I like the idea of people understanding not just that they’re protecting themselves but more importantly that they’re protecting other people,” Wald said.
In his press briefing, L.A. Mayor Garcetti acknowledged that mass mask-wearing may seem “surreal” to Americans unfamiliar with the practice. Right before donning his mask, he added, “We’re going to have to get used to seeing each other like this.”
More coronavirus coverage from Fortune:
—Millions won’t be able to pay their bills this month. What financial experts advise
—“It’ll never be fast enough”: 5 questions for a ventilator manufacturer
—Everything you need to know about furloughs—and what they mean for workers
—SBA small-business loans: 8 things to know about the Paycheck Protection Program
—The stock market had its worst quarter since 1987—and its worst Q1 ever
—How to job hunt during the coronavirus pandemic
—PODCAST: Two health care CEOs on why coronavirus tests and vaccines are the ammunition needed to fight COVID-19
—VIDEO: World leaders and health experts on how to stop the spread of COVID-19
Subscribe to Outbreak, a daily roundup of stories on the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on global business, delivered free to your inbox.


fortune--2020-04-03--Senator sold online travel company stock in day before Trump Europe travel ban

Why the U.S. is changing its mind on coronavirus face masks

Senator Kelly Loeffler sold a total of $46,027 worth of stock in an online travel company in the day leading up to President Donald Trump’s announcement of a ban on most European travel to the U.S.
Though the transactions were relatively small for Loeffler and her husband — whose net worth is estimated at more than $500 million — the sales represented an about-face.
Loeffler, a Georgia Republican, had just days earlier purchased the shares, in Booking Holdings, jointly with her husband, Jeffrey Sprecher, the chief executive officer of Intercontinental Exchange, parent firm of the New York Stock Exchange
Booking Holdings provides online bookings for flights, hotels and other travel-related services, all of which have collapsed because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The stock was purchased on March 6, the day that Loeffler traveled with Trump, visiting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention headquarters in Atlanta for an update on the coronavirus response, and continuing on a later flight to Florida.
It was sold on March 10 and 11. After the markets closed on March 11, the president announced his European travel restrictions.
The details, provided by the senator’s office, go beyond the financial transaction reports she recently filed that merely require ranges for various holdings.
Last month, news reports about her sales and purchases of other stocks — after government briefings to Congress on the virus — caused a stir, with critics questioning whether she was sufficiently focused on her constituents. Some stock sales by another senator, Richard Burr, a North Carolina Republican, have prompted a government inquiry.
Loeffler has said that outside finance professionals manage her portfolio and do so at arm’s length. Her campaign has declined to identify those advisers.
She was appointed in December by Georgia’s governor, Brian Kemp, to fill out the term of Senator Johnny Isakson, who retired, and is running for the seat this fall.
Her messages on Facebook try to maintain a focus on her efforts to combat the coronavirus and keep Georgia strong. “So, all of these stories that you are seeing attacking me are nothing but fake news. These are politically motivated attacks that prey on the fears of Americans during a global pandemic,” she said in a video posted on Wednesday.
The disclosures present a fuller portrait of the couple’s trading activities this year. The activity shows their advisers taking a number of defensive steps as the markets began to slide.
The new, detailed financial disclosures from Loeffler show that she and her husband bought $590,557 in stocks between Feb. 24 and March 13, and sold stocks worth $845,557 from Feb. 20 to March 9th.
There was a different series of transactions that allowed them to take some money up front while betting that stock prices, even if crushed in the near term, would rebound later this year.
The strategy, involving the sale of put options, is commonly used by hedge funds to take advantage of fluctuating markets.
“Why sell put options? They’re a play on volatility,” said Jim Angel, a professor at Georgetown University.
On Feb. 20 and 21, Loeffler’s advisers sold put options on five companies, including DuPont de Nemours Inc., Kellogg Co. and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. The sale generated immediate premiums, but obligate them to buy the underlying shares if they fall below the strike price when the options expire later this year. So far, all but the Alibaba options are in the red.
Two weeks later, Loeffler’s advisers sold put options in another basket of companies, including BP Plc, Chevron Corp. and American International Group Inc. Most of those are also underwater.
Earlier in the year, Loeffler reported the sale of put options in Delta Airlines, Aflac and Caterpillar Inc., all of which are currently in the red.
Another professor suggested the strategy was unusual for a traditional portfolio and might suggest a need for cash. “It’s a risky play, with limited upside and unlimited downside,” said Craig Pirrong, a professor of finance at the University of Houston. “If my adviser were doing that,” he added, “I’d be kind of ticked.”
Before she became senator, Loeffler had served as chief communications and marketing officer for Intercontinental Exchange, and later was chief executive officer of Bakkt, an Intercontinental unit that trades Bitcoin futures. She is also a co-owner of the Atlanta Dream of the Women’s National Basketball Association.
She is self funding her campaign. Four-term Republican Representative Doug Collins is among those challenging her in what is a wide open “jungle primary” on Nov. 3.
More must-read finance coverage from Fortune:
—Everything you need to know about the coronavirus stimulus checks
—Social distancing creates $8 trillion in economic benefits, study says
—Everything you need to know about furloughs—and what they mean for workers
—Millions won’t be able to pay their bills this month. What financial experts advise
—Listen to Leadership Next, a Fortune podcast examining the evolving role of CEO
—WATCH: U.S. tax deadline moved from April 15 to July 15
Subscribe to Fortune’s Bull Sheet for no-nonsense finance news and analysis daily.


fortune--2020-04-03--Google will release maps data ‘mobility reports’ to show people’s movements in coronavirus pandemic

Google is releasing new data about how the coronavirus pandemic has cut down on foot traffic to transit centers, retail stores and public parks in more than 130 countries.
The “mobility reports” will be posted publicly online. They come in response to requests from public health officials who want more data on how people are moving around cities to better combat the spread of Covid-19, the Alphabet Inc. unit said in a blog post. Each report will show how traffic to certain categories of places, such as parks and transportation hubs, has declined in the last month. The information won’t show individual places or people.
Google arguably has the most accurate and granular data about people’s location of any organization, public or private. More than a billion people worldwide use the company’s Maps app to navigate places they live and travel to, giving Google real-time insight into how people move around their environments. With Covid-19 infecting more than a million people and killing tens of thousands, governments are looking for location information to help them curb the disease and enforce lockdown orders.
At the same time, privacy advocates argue the crisis will give authorities unprecedented access to personal information that could be used to surveil and oppress populations long after the virus is stopped. Google said the mobility reports don’t impinge on privacy because they only use data from people who have agreed to share their location with the company, and the information can’t be tied to individual accounts.
“Knowing the general pattern of how a community moves can play a critical role in responding to the novel coronavirus and preventing future pandemics,” said Sara Cody, health officer and director for Santa Clara County’s public health department. “This information can help us understand how seriously people are taking the shelter at home order and what additional steps might be needed to slow the spread.”
More must-read tech coverage from Fortune:
—How the coronavirus stimulus package would change gig worker benefits
—Inside the global push to 3D-print masks and ventilator parts
—Apple focuses on what’s next amid coronavirus outbreak
—A startup is building computer chips using human neurons
—Listen to Leadership Next, a Fortune podcast examining the evolving role of CEO
—WATCH: Best earbuds in 2020: Apple AirPods Pro Vs. Sony WF-1000XM3
Catch up with Data Sheet, Fortune’s daily digest on the business of tech.


fortune--2020-04-03--Oil up, markets down as the coronavirus impact continues to roil the global economy

This is the web version of the Bull Sheet, Fortune’s no-BS daily newsletter on the markets. Sign up to receive it in your inbox here.
Happy Friday, everyone… Down, up, down, up. The markets are stuck in another “W” cycle. How will we close out the week?
Let’s spin the globe and see.
Markets update
We begin in Asia, where the Nikkei is the only major index in the green. The Asian Development Bank has put a price tag on the coronavirus pandemic, which has now claimed 53,000 lives; more than 1 million have tested positive. The outbreak could cost the global economy as much as $4.1 trillion, ADB says.
Oil fell swiftly during Asian trade today, before recovering. Crude had shot up by more than 40% at one point yesterday following a tweet from President Trump suggesting the Saudis and Russians had buried the hatchet and would cut output.
To skeptics, the tweet read like an April Fool’s gag. But the prices are holding steady as OPEC+ has scheduled a virtual meeting on Monday.
***
Europe opened Friday in the red with the benchmark Euro STOXX 600 trading down 0.4% in the first half-hour of trade. Germany’s Dax is down nearly 1% as Berlin is forecasting a 5% coronavirus hit to the economy.
With each passing day, we get more detail on how the most battered companies are recalibrating their businesses. British Airways reports it will furlough more than 30,000 employees, while Adidas will reportedly seek more than €1 billion ($1.1 billion) in aid from the German government.
***
The Dow and S&P futures are both pointing downward around 1% at the moment, but it’s been creeping up all morning. The U.S. markets yesterday shrugged off a truly historic unemployment claims report. (More on that below).
***
Elsewhere, the dollar is up. Gold is flat.
***
We have more numbers for you, as we do every Friday.
***
By the numbers
10 million. In the past two weeks some 10 million Americans have filed for unemployment benefits. Yesterday’s 6.6 million number was more than 3 million above consensus estimates. The worst part, as my colleague Lance Lambert points out, is this figure almost certainly undercounts the numbers of those out of work. The jobs market has never seen a hit like this, as Lambert’s chart points out.
In a two-week period the country has lost 10 million jobs—wiping out the past four years’ worth of U.S. job gains in a period as long as one paycheck.
It’s the first Friday of the month. That means the U.S. jobs report is due in a few hours. But that’s a lagging indicator that almost certainly won’t reflect the full fireworks of the past two weeks.
41. Exuberant oil traders sent crude futures prices soaring 41% at one point yesterday. It’s been a choppy ride today as cooler heads point out the shock to the market is demand-driven. Grounded flights, shuttered factories, shelter-in-place orders have created an historic backlog of crude stocks. Even with the price of Brent crude again hovering above $30-per-barrel this morning, it’s down 54% year-to-date.
17.1. This data point should make you a feel bit better about your portfolio. The S&P 500 is flat this week (down 0.5%, actually). Looked at another way— it’s managed to hold just about all of last week’s gains. Since the March 23 close, the index is up 17.1%.
Postscript
Judging by the reader mail I’m getting, these little snapshots of life under lockdown are becoming a popular feature on The Bull Sheet.
I’ll be back here next week with more observations, no doubt. But I want to flip the script and ask you: as we’re all in this together, how are you getting through this ordeal? I’m very curious. I want to hear your stories. Drop me a line.
Stay safe and sane. Have a good weekend!
Bernhard Warner
@BernhardWarner
Bernhard.Warner@Fortune.com
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Today's reads
Growth or value? In a market downturn, should you put your money into high-growth stocks or stable stalwarts? The conventional wisdom states, the stalwarts. Right? Well, Fortune's Rey Mashayekhi talked to a number of markets pros. Turns out you might want to rethink that strategy.
Checking on stimulus checks. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin declared last week that Americans would get their coronavirus stimulus checks "within a couple of days." Don't wait by your mailbox. Paper checks won't start mailing until next month, and it will take a full 20 weeks from there for the whole lot to be delivered. That means some of you won't see the checks until September.
Tesla take-off. (It's been a while since I've written something like that.) The automaker closed up more than 20% yesterday after it announced it had delivered 88,400 cars last quarter, soundly beating analysts' expectations. Despite the stronger-than-expected number, Tesla is well off-pace for meeting its prediction in January that it would deliver 500,000 cars in 2020, Fortune's David Z. Morris notes.
Market candy
Shorting unicorns
From yesterday's spectacular collapse of Luckin Coffee shares, there emerges one big winner: Muddy Waters Capital’s CEO Carson Block. In January, Block tweeted he was shorting the coffee chain, saying he was in possession of a "credible" report that the fast-growing Chinese unicorn was engaged in fishy accounting. The board acknowledged it was looking into just that yesterday, sending the stock plunging 81% yesterday, making it a great day for Luckin shorts.


fortune--2020-04-03--Oil prices slide amid doubts that Trump’s touted Saudi-Russia deal will happen

Oil slid back below $25 a barrel after a record surge as doubts crept in about a deal touted on Twitter by U.S. President Donald Trump that would see deep supply cuts from producers including Saudi Arabia and Russia.
Futures dropped as much as 7.1% after surging almost 25% in New York on Thursday following Trump’s tweet that he expected global producers to slash output by 10 million barrels or more. However, the Kremlin later said that President Vladimir Putin had not spoken to his Saudi counterpart and hasn’t agreed to reduce production. Citigroup Inc. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said any supply deal would be too little, too late as demand craters.
While futures spiked, the outlook for the physical market remains bleak as discounts for some grades of physically delivered oil across the U.S. and Canada widened. Heavy Louisiana Sweet crude lost $1.75 a barrel relative to West Texas Intermediate to a record $10.50 discount.
Oil has whipsawed this week after plunging to an 18-year low on Monday. While Trump tweeted that he had spoken to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who had in turn spoken with Russian president, a person familiar with the situation said the U.S. president’s goal is purely aspirational and will ultimately hinge on whether Riyadh and Moscow can reach a deal.
After Trump’s request, Saudi Arabia said it had called a meeting of the OPEC+ alliance that includes Russia to discuss a “fair agreement,” signaling it would only cut output if others do so. Producers are facing an unprecedented collapse in demand as nations try to stem the spreading coronavirus.
“Even if there is an agreement to curtail 10 million barrels a day of output, the fundamentals show demand destruction and inventory builds,” said John Driscoll, chief strategist for JTD Energy Services Pte in Singapore. The “anxiety and mayhem out there is reminiscent of the financial crisis,” he added.
West Texas Intermediate for May delivery fell $1.09, or 4.3%, to $24.23 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange as of 11:40 a.m. Singapore time. The contract is still up about 13% this week, set for the first weekly gain since February. Brent for June settlement lost 3.3% to $28.96 on London’s ICE Futures Europe exchange. Prices are up 16% this week.
Texas Railroad Commission Ryan Sitton, in a rare move for the state’s oil regulator, tweeted on Thursday that he spoke with Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak and discussed a 10-million barrel a day global output cut and would talk to the Saudi oil minister soon. Trump is scheduled to meet with U.S. oil company executives Friday as the administration seeks ways to help the beleaguered industry.
More coronavirus coverage from Fortune:
—Millions won’t be able to pay their bills this month. What financial experts advise
—”It’ll never be fast enough”: 5 questions for a ventilator manufacturer
—Everything you need to know about furloughs—and what they mean for workers
—SBA small-business loans: 8 things to know about the Paycheck Protection Program
—The stock market had its worst quarter since 1987—and its worst Q1 ever
—How to job hunt during the coronavirus pandemic
—PODCAST: Two health care CEOs on why coronavirus tests and vaccines are the ammunition needed to fight COVID-19
—VIDEO: World leaders and health experts on how to stop the spread of COVID-19
Subscribe to Outbreak, a daily newsletter roundup of stories on the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on global business. It’s free to get it in your inbox.


fortune--2020-04-03--‘It’s going to be a mess’: What small businesses applying to the SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program n

‘It’s going to be a mess’: What small businesses applying to the SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program need to know

Subscribe to Outbreak, a daily roundup of stories on the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on global business, delivered free to your inbox.
As small businesses prepare to apply for the new Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program loans (as part of a $2.2 trillion stimulus package), banks are calling it: They’re not ready for the rollout of the program.
Banks like JPMorgan Chase emailed customers on Thursday evening stating that the bank “will most likely not be able to start accepting applications on Friday, April 3, as we had hoped.”
According to numerous reports, banks are concerned that the $350 billion lending program for small businesses impacted by the coronavirus won’t be ready when it launches Friday due to a lack of time, necessary guidelines, and set requirements from the administration, Small Business Administration (SBA), and the Treasury.
“They’re not ready at all. They’re desperately awaiting guidance on how to do this,” Ami Kassar, CEO of small-business loan advisory firm MultiFunding, told CNBC Thursday. “I think it’s going to be a mess for weeks.”
Some new guidance was released late on Thursday evening from the SBA and Treasury in the form of a 31-page document, “literally hours before it starts,” and banks are moving “heaven and earth to get a system in place and running to help America’s small businesses and the millions of men and women who work at them,” Richard Hunt, head of the Consumer Bankers Association, told CNBC.
Ken Logsdon, a partner at international law firm Dorsey & Whitney, tells Fortune, “I would be absolutely shocked if it gets rolled out [Friday].”
The effective lack of regulations and detailed guidelines (including to the extent lenders might be held liable for loans) has those in the legal field scratching their heads.
“It’s remarkable to me in my 15 years swimming around the legal world…to see an implementing program that [is] regulatory driven without any regulations. It’s been really a bizarre experience,” Carrie Cherveny, SVP of strategic client solutions for global insurance brokerage Hub International’s risk services division, tells Fortune.
Given the hazy regulatory and guideline backdrop, if banks are able to extend loans right away, it’s likely they’ll take care of their own first.
“What we are hearing from a lot of our bank clients is that they are being inundated with applications, but they are going to be taking care of their current, good customers first,” notes Dorsey & Whitney’s Joseph Lynyak, who specializes in the banking and financial services industry.
In the midst of all the confusion, here’s what we do know now:
Can I go to any bank to apply to the Paycheck Protection Program?
Businesses can apply through any existing SBA 7(a) lender at more than 1,800 banks that already offer Small Business Administration loans, but the program is also expanding to other traditional banks, credit unions, and Farm Credit system institutions.
You will need to check with your local community or commercial bank, credit union, or ask your bank for the loan officer who deals with SBA 7(a) loans and the PPP program.
According to the administration, businesses can go to any existing SBA lenders, as well as any FDIC-insured institutions, credit unions, or financial-technology lenders that have signed up for the program, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said.
However, Dorsey & Whitney’s Logsdon recommends that businesses work with banks that they already have a relationship with—”Ideally it’s a bank that already has this SBA program in place,” he notes. That may help speed up the process, as banks are likely to start the loan process first with customers they already know.
When can I apply for a PPP loan?
Small businesses and sole proprietorships can apply for loans starting on Friday, April 3. Starting April 10, independent contractors and self-employed individuals can apply, according to the Treasury guidelines. Loans will be given on a first-come, first-served basis.
Will they check my credit?
Based on the available guidelines so far, there is currently no prescriptive guidance on credit requirements. However, Logsdon points out that “the [CARES] Act was designed so those types of considerations weren’t going to be necessary.”
What documents will I need when applying for a PPP loan?
Small businesses will need to provide documentation (including payroll documentation) “verifying the number of full-time equivalent employees on payroll as well as the dollar amounts of payroll costs, covered mortgage interest payments, covered rent payments, and covered utilities for the eight-week period following this loan will be provided to the lender,” per the SBA.
When applying for loan forgiveness, borrowers will need to provide documentation of expenses like payroll, mortgage interest, rent, or utilities in their application.
What if I have other loans outstanding?
There is currently no guidance on whether or not outstanding loans will affect the PPP loan, but Logsdon suggests “it has no bearing.”
“This really is about trying to get paychecks covered for average Americans—you could have a massive loan facility that you have access to, but that’s not a showstopper,” he suggests. “If you are impacted by COVID-19, you can take advantage of this program. The intended recipients are the employees.”
The only note is that borrowers will have to certify that they have not and will not receive another loan under the PPP program.
How much can I borrow through a PPP loan?
Small businesses can borrow up to 2.5 times their average monthly payroll from the previous year through the Paycheck Protection Program, which provides forgivable loans to small businesses intended to help pay their employees during the coronavirus crisis, but payroll is capped at $100,000 per employee, and the loans are capped at $10 million per business.
What can I use a PPP loan for?
Small businesses can use the loan for payroll costs and benefits, including vacation, parental, family, medical and sick leave, health and retirement benefits, and state and local taxes.
The SBA’s guidelines state: payroll costs, including benefits; interest on mortgage obligations, incurred before Feb. 15, 2020; rent, under lease agreements in force before Feb. 15, 2020; and utilities, for which service began before Feb. 15, 2020.
Related: For many small-business owners, the PPP may not be enough to ensure they survive
How much will I have to pay back?
According to the SBA, the Paycheck Protection Program loan will be “fully forgiven” if the money is used as outlined.
For employers who keep or quickly rehire their employees and maintain salary levels, the loan will be forgiven. However, “forgiveness will be reduced if full-time headcount declines, or if salaries and wages decrease.”
Decisions on the forgiveness of the Paycheck Protection Program loan will be made within 60 days of forgiveness submission.
The SBA notes the loan has a maturity of two years and a fixed interest rate of 1% (changed from 0.5% on Thursday). Loan payments will be deferred for six months.
How long will it take to get the money?
Unfortunately, at this point, it’s unclear how long it will take for businesses to get the money. Lynyak points out that banks and lenders are likely to extend the loan to current customers first, so it may take even longer for those who are not part of the existing network.
A senior government official said the applications will not require SBA approval, and funds could be made available on the same day you apply. However, because of all the issues with figuring back-end repayments and loan forgiveness (and all the due diligence from lenders that may come as part of that process), Lynyak says, “I would personally be really surprised if money is going to be flowing before the end of May.”
What are the fees?
There aren’t any fees—the SBA has waived fees for the loan.
What if I’ve already laid off some of my staff? Will my loan be forgiven?
In order to get full loan forgiveness, companies need to maintain pre-crisis levels of full-time employees. Companies are able to lay off staff while they have the SBA loan, but forgiveness of the loan will be reduced (meaning they’ll have to repay a certain amount) in the event they have reduced full-time staff or salaries.
According to the SBA, small businesses have “until June 30, 2020, to restore your full-time employment and salary levels for any changes made between Feb. 15, 2020, and April 26, 2020” for forgiveness of the loan.
More must-read finance coverage from Fortune:
—Even with the PPP, small-business owners say it’s not enough to ensure they can survive
—When are stimulus checks coming? It could take a while
—What to do if you can’t pay your bills this month
—Social distancing creates $8 trillion in economic benefits, study says
—Everything you need to know about furloughs—and what they mean for workers
—Millions won’t be able to pay their bills this month. What financial experts advise
—Listen to Leadership Next, a Fortune podcast examining the evolving role of CEO
—WATCH: U.S. tax deadline moved from April 15 to July 15
Subscribe to Fortune’s Bull Sheet for no-nonsense finance news and analysis daily.


fortune--2020-04-03--When are stimulus checks coming? It could take a while for some Americans

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Some people counting on $1,200 stimulus checks from the government may not see the money until mid-September, according to a House Ways and Means Committee analysis.
The Internal Revenue Service will begin making about 60 million direct deposit payments in mid-April to the people who have bank account information on file with the agency, according to the analysis sent to lawmakers on Wednesday.
Those payments will take about three weeks to process. The IRS then will begin putting paper checks in the mail in early May.
The IRS will send approximately 100 million checks at a rate of 5 million per week, which could take 20 weeks, according to the committee’s document, meaning the final round of payments may not go out until September. The checks will be issued in reverse “adjusted gross income” order—starting with people with the lowest income first.
The IRS expects to create a portal later this month or in early May to let people update their direct deposit information and check on the status of their payment.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said at a White House briefing Thursday he hopes this will let more people get their money “within a couple of days” of submitting their information.
File your tax returns, says IRS
He’s also encouraging taxpayers to file their tax returns as soon as possible if they haven’t already, even though the deadline to submit tax returns has been delayed to July 15 from April 15, so the IRS has up-to-date direct deposit information on file.
“In this environment we don’t want people to get checks,” Mnuchin said. “We want to put money directly in their account.”
The document produced by the House committee indicates that the stimulus payments—included in the $2.2 trillion economic rescue bill passed last week to combat the fallout of the coronavirus—could take months to circulate into the economy, potentially blunting the effect of a quick infusion of cash. Lawmakers have urged the IRS to process the payments quickly so that unemployed workers can use them to pay bills.
The law included payments of $1,200 for each adult earning as much as $75,000, or couples collectively making $150,000, plus $500 for each child under 17. Those amounts are reduced for people with higher incomes, and individuals with $99,000 in earnings (or $198,000 for a couple) get nothing, even if they have children.
The Treasury Department has said that Social Security beneficiaries who aren’t required to file a tax return don’t need to do anything to receive their payment, but the House document indicates those who aren’t required to file taxes annually might want to submit a “simple tax return” and include direct deposit information if they want to receive their payments faster.
More must-read finance coverage from Fortune:
—‘It’s going to be a mess’: What small businesses applying to the SBA’s payroll loan program need to know
—You can now withdraw money from your 401(k) without penalties. Should you?
—Millions won’t be able to pay their bills this month. What financial experts advise
—What to know about the coronavirus stimulus checks
—5 things to know about unemployment benefits in the COVID-19 stimulus package
—Everything you need to know about furloughs—and what they mean for workers
—How to defer your student loan payment due to coronavirus
—What to do if you’re worried about getting laid off
—Listen to Leadership Next, a Fortune podcast examining the evolving role of CEO
—WATCH: U.S. tax deadline moved from April 15 to July 15
Subscribe to Fortune’s Bull Sheet for no-nonsense finance news and analysis daily.


fortune--2020-04-02--Why China’s tech-based fight against the coronavirus may be unpalatable in the U.S.

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Collecting and analyzing data from devices like smartphones could be crucial for governments in managing the coronavirus outbreak. But these same techniques could also pose serious threats to civil liberties, data privacy advocates say.
Consider countries like China, Taiwan, and Singapore, which have mostly contained the spread of COVID-19 by collecting vast amounts of data to help officials track confirmed cases. These countries along with Hong Kong are examples of governments that have managed to “flatten the curve,” Michele Barry, a Stanford University professor and senior associate dean of global health, said during an online conference about A.I. and the coronavirus hosted by her university on Wednesday.
Singapore was the first country to have the highest confirmed cases out of China, said Barry, but a policy of “strict containment” has led to the city-state avoiding a major increase in new coronavirus cases. To aid this policy, government officials tracked people’s smartphones using GPS technologies to check whether people stayed at home, she said.
Some Singapore residents were required to take photos “showing they were at home” in order to prove to the government that they were complying with the containment policies, Barry said.
Meanwhile, China’s coronavirus containment policies involve “unprecedented surveillance,” going so far as using drones outfitted with temperature-tracking sensors to fly over crowds so police could identify people who may have had fevers, she said. In Hong Kong, residents returning from high-risk areas were given tracing bracelets to help officials keep tabs on them to ensure they were being quarantined.
Taiwan has successfully navigated the epidemic largely due to what the country learned from dealing with the SARS epidemic in 2003, explained Jason Wang, director of Stanford University’s Center for Policy, Outcomes, and Prevention. During the SARS crisis, Taiwan created its Central Epidemic Command Center, an emergency control center that lets government agencies better coordinate with each other.
Through that command center, officials were able to link a national health insurance database and an immigration database so that when doctors or nurses saw patients, they were notified whether those patients recently visited high-risk areas like Wuhan, the Chinese city at the center of the COVID-19 outbreak. With that information, health care staff could know whether they had to take any other precautionary measures like wearing protective gear that could limit their chances of contracting the virus, Wang said.
Despite the success these Asian governments have had managing the pandemic, Barry acknowledged that the data-tracking methods could prove hard to swallow for Western countries like the U.S., which tend to value individual privacy.
Authoritarian governments, Barry said, rarely “unroll strict laws” after they’ve debuted.
Human rights organization Amnesty International is concerned about that problem. Michael Kleinman, the group’s Silicon Valley Initiative director, cited a policy in China that requires citizens who want to participate in the broader economy to download an app, referred to in Chinese media as Alipay Health Code, that assigns people certain colors like green, yellow, and red that determine whether they must be quarantined. The problem is that the “Chinese government has not shown how it works,” he said, adding that the information the app collects is shared with the police.
Amnesty International worries that monitoring programs will be left in place long after the coronavirus pandemic subsides.
Wang noted that at least in Taiwan, the country’s various data-tracking and sharing policies are set to expire a year from March. Any personal data like travel history that its command center collects during the coronavirus pandemic will eventually get destroyed, Wang added.
Kleinman acknowledged that Amnesty International is still in its early stages of learning about each country’s specific data policies, so the group can’t comment about every government’s tactics. But generally, Amnesty International said, that if government officials say they will roll back certain policies after a specific amount of time, they need to be transparent so that third parties can verify their claims.
Adam Schwartz, a lawyer for the digital rights group Electronic Freedom Frontier (EFF), told Fortune that his organization is reviewing government data-tracking policies that are better for privacy, including Singapore’s use of Bluetooth technologies. Some researchers say that using Bluetooth, a wireless technology standard, instead of GPS to track the spread of coronavirus, would keep the government from collecting personal details about individuals.
“We are studying that closely,” Schwartz said, but added that the EFF is “not yet persuaded” by current evidence.
Asked whether there are any examples of governments rolling back surveillance policies after a crisis recedes, Schwartz couldn’t recall any.
“That is exactly the problem,” Schwartz said.
Story updated on April 3, 5:30 PM ET to clarify information about the app that concerned Amnesty International.
More must-read tech coverage from Fortune:
—How the coronavirus stimulus package would change gig worker benefits
—Inside the global push to 3D-print masks and ventilator parts
—Apple focuses on what’s next amid coronavirus outbreak
—A startup is building computer chips using human neurons
—Listen to Leadership Next, a Fortune podcast examining the evolving role of CEO
—WATCH: Best earbuds in 2020: Apple AirPods Pro Vs. Sony WF-1000XM3
Catch up with Data Sheet, Fortune’s daily digest on the business of tech.


fortune--2020-04-02--Even with the Paycheck Protection Program, small-business owners say it’s not enough to ensure they

Even with the Paycheck Protection Program, small-business owners say it’s not enough to ensure they can survive

This article is part of a Fortune Special Report: Business in the Coronavirus Economy—a look at the impact of the pandemic on more than 50 industries.
It’s rare for the federal government to include small businesses in stimulus packages designed to prop up the economy during a financial downturn. But the coronavirus pandemic is, clearly, no ordinary event. So small businesses across the country—defined as companies with less than 500 employees—were, at least momentarily, bolstered by the announcement of the $349 billion Paycheck Protection Program. Small businesses operate in every sector of American industry, from restaurants to web designers, art galleries to auto repair shops, bus companies to tour operators.
“We’ve never had to shut down the economy to stop a pandemic,” said John Lettieri, president and CEO of public policy organization Economic Innovation Group (EIG), based in Washington, D.C. “The level of concern and anxiety [at small businesses] can’t be overstated. There’s no analogue for it in other crises. Even during the Great Recession there was no off switch for the economy.”
The Paycheck Protection Program, announced on Tuesday by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), will provide loans up to 2.5 times the borrower’s average monthly payroll costs, with a cap of $10 million. The loans, which partially convert to grants as long as the majority of the loan is used for “payroll costs, interest on mortgages, rent, and utilities,” are supposed to help companies keep their staff employed (and, as Lettieri noted, have the added benefit of retaining institutional knowledge) when there might be little or no income coming in. Companies, including sole proprietors, the self-employed, independent contractors, nonprofits, and veterans’ organizations can apply through participating lenders starting Friday.
“On the one hand I understand why it’s very short-term, but what has happened is going to have repercussions for much longer than the next quarter,” said Jen Bekman, founder and CEO of N.Y.C.-based online art seller 20×200.
Jen Bekman is the founder and CEO of N.Y.C.-based online art seller 20×200. Courtesy of Jen Bekman
With an estimated 30 million small businesses in the U.S. and almost 60 million small-business employees, according to the SBA’s Office of Advocacy, the more companies that can survive, the faster the country will be able to move toward recovery. If the unemployment numbers keep sliding, recovery could take years. “We’re already seeing unemployment at historically unprecedented numbers—times five,” said Lettieri.
That has left small-business owners and entrepreneurs “desperate for information and desperate for clarity,” said Lettieri. “There’s a huge information gap.”
Because there’s no way to know when companies will be able to open their doors again, some employers are wondering if their staff members would be better off getting laid off and going for the bumped-up unemployment checks. And with several programs on offer, including traditional disaster assistance and the new Paycheck Protection Program, small-business owners are unsure which best applies to their companies and, at times, if taking assistance from one would make them ineligible for another. As of Tuesday, Bekman’s understanding was that employers couldn’t receive both Paycheck Protection Program benefits and tax credits for required paid leave.
“It is extremely confusing,” said Astrid Storey, the creative director and sole proprietor of Storey Creative, based in Aurora, Colo. Though she had originally started a disaster loan application, she didn’t finish it, because she thought the Paycheck Protection Program would be a better fit. Even with a CPA and a bookkeeper helping her figure things out, the confusion continued. She spent six hours waiting to speak to somebody at Chase to find out what she needed to do to apply for the program. “But if you don’t have a personal relationship with a banker, you’re not going to hear back,” she said.
Most of Storey’s clients for her creative and digital marketing services were in the conference and events industry. “I lost every single upcoming client engagement between the last week of February and the first week of March. By Friday, everything I had built was gone,” she said. “It was like a barreling train. You could hear it.”
Storey’s business is an LLC. The company’s biggest expense? Her paycheck. Though she has one client on retainer that will still give her some income, her take-home pay from her at-home business took a big hit. The “primary breadwinner” for her family, Storey “had to make my peace with the fact that my credit score was not going to escape unscathed. I kind of had to make it very clear that keeping the utilities paid and the mortgage paid and the car paid were going to be the top priorities, as well as food on the table. Every other creditor can figure out what they’re going to do because they’ll get paid if they get paid, and then they won’t.”
Though Storey has bumped up her networking significantly and has pivoted to focus on industries like supply chain management that might come out ahead because of the downturn, it’s clear that money is going to be far tighter. “I had to forget about my ideal client and my ideal project and my ideal budget. Before I could make $1,000 in six hours. Now maybe I’m making $300 in six hours,” she said.
But, with the help of the Paycheck Protection Program, she plans to push through the downturn. “I’m going after this loan because I intend to stick with this for the duration,” she said. And as a sole proprietor who works from home, she added that her biggest expense is her own salary, so she expects most of the loan to convert to a grant.
What happens after that money runs out isn’t clear. Lettieri said the first round of $349 billion will likely last just a week or two if all the businesses he expects to apply do so. Though Mnuchin talked about expanding the pool of money over time, Lettieri said Congress has to be ready to pass legislation on that now “before they even get back to Washington. [Small-business owners] need to have certainty now to weather a protracted crisis.”
In addition, EIG is advocating for loans with 20 years amortization at 0% financing. The federal government can secure those rates, and businesses, he said, need a “borrowing capacity that will allow them to be resilient coming out the other side.”
Because entrepreneurs tend to be personally invested in their businesses and the well-being of their employees, many will go deep into their own funds if the business can’t support itself. That’s the case for Jeff Lipton, owner and chief mastering engineer at Peerless Mastering, based in Newton, Mass. In business for 25 years, Peerless has worked on masters for artists including Wilco, Andrew Bird, and Throwing Muses. Lipton is hopeful that the stimulus plan will help him get through what is already a significant downturn in his business.
Fifteen years ago, Lipton bought the commercial building where his studio is housed. Buying the building seemed a good idea, he said, until this downturn when it became clear that his tenants are all in distress, and at least two of the three won’t be able to pay rent. And Lipton’s own business is down 50% from a year ago. Musicians pay for mastering and albums through touring, a business that took an immediate hit because of the coronavirus.
Laying off his sole full-time employee is not an option, he said: “She’s absolutely essential.” He can keep the business running for another three months without an influx of cash from other sources, but that would mean going all in with his personal finances too. So after three months, “I would lose my business, my house, everything.” In the meantime, Lipton said, he’s doing some work from his home studio, but that includes offering pay-what-you-can to support musicians who are struggling.
The uncertainty will surely change the small-business landscape for years to come. With so many businesses going dark for, at least, the short term—and the retail landscape already in distress—it’s nearly impossible to imagine a post-pandemic America with an immediately-booming small-business economy.
Some owners are starting to wonder if they should bail out now, no matter how much they would have pushed to stay all-in in the past. For a lot of small businesses, Lettieri said, “it’s now a question of, ‘Should I cut my losses and shut down?’”
For 20×200’s Bekman, the question of whether to pump more money into an uncertain future is definitely top of mind. Like most entrepreneurs, she thrives on risk, but has recently been considering whether there’s a point at which she should just…stop. “Creativity comes from constraint,” said Bekman. “In some ways it’s a puzzle: How do we reinvent ourselves? But I’ve been in this specific business for a long time. I can look back and see times when I should have said ‘uncle,’ and didn’t. There’s a part of me that doesn’t want to make that mistake again.”
Without a loan, grant, or use of her personal funds, Bekman would have to shutter the business just about immediately. But even if she gets one of the loans, if the pandemic and wait for a vaccine push the requirement for social distancing and shuttered businesses to six months, a year, or longer, “Then what?” she asks.
More coronavirus coverage from Fortune:
—“It’s going to be a mess”: What small businesses applying to the SBA’s payroll loan program need to know
—Financial advice for the millions of Americans won’t be able to pay all their bills this month
—5 questions for a ventilator manufacturer
—Everything you need to know about furloughs—and what they mean for workers
—Financial advice for the millions of Americans won’t be able to pay all their bills this month
—SBA small-business loans: 8 things to know about the Paycheck Protection Program
—The stock market had its worst quarter since 1987—and its worst Q1 ever
—How to job hunt during the coronavirus pandemic
—PODCAST: Two health care CEOs on why coronavirus tests and vaccines are the ammunition needed to fight COVID-19
—VIDEO: World leaders and health experts on how to stop the spread of COVID-19
Subscribe to Outbreak, a daily roundup of stories on the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on global business, delivered free to your inbox.


fortune--2020-04-02--Millions unemployed in the coronavirus pandemic could be retrained to fight it

As COVID-19 cases escalate across the U.S., so do the desperate calls for personal protective equipment for health workers, and the pleas for ventilators they could deploy to save lives. Companies and individual Americans have taken to sewing and 3D-printing face masks, and manufacturing floors are being repurposed to make ventilator parts. There appears to be, at long last, a slow churning of public and private sector activities to produce and distribute that essential gear. Whether health workers can access gear in time before the entire health system gets overwhelmed, we don’t yet know.
But as we cling to a faint hope that masks, ventilators, and other necessary equipment might be coming in relief—who will support and relieve the caregivers who will wear and use that gear? With a growing health worker shortage nationwide, doctors, nurses, and physician’s assistants are already being reallocated from other departments, drafted out of retirement, and allowed to graduate early from medical schools. But who will support them?
Help could come from a neighbor. In many countries, including the U.S., community health workers—local residents without professional medical degrees, hired and trained to support patients—have been a first and last line of defense for epidemics. As a community health worker, a neighbor could help stem the tide of the pandemic by offering prevention tactics, aiding in the detection of new cases, and supporting patients in accessing the care they need.
Other countries have shown how vital community-based strategies are to achieve viral suppression. For instance, South Korea, which reduced COVID-19 transmission from its peak of nearly 1,000 cases per day to less than 100 per day, has shown that getting closer to zero cases requires widespread community-based testing, rapid isolation, care for the sick, and rigorous tracing of contacts. Community health workers were also an essential part of the Ebola response in Liberia, where they teamed up with doctors and nurses to find the sick and get them into care.
And now, with more than 3 million Americans having lost their jobs last week, those unemployed as a result of the virus can help fight it as community health workers. The U.S. had about 56,000 community health workers in 2018, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. But, based on a task force report that showed that countries should have at least one community health worker per 650 people, the U.S. needs at least 500,000 more. They should be hired, trained, and equipped to prevent, detect, and respond to COVID-19, and support patients with health and social care needs. Some could do this work from the relative safety of their own homes, and others, with the right protective gear and training, can go door-to-door in their neighborhoods to identify the sick and help them get medical care.
And by hiring unemployed people already feeling the dire economic impact of this pandemic—from restaurant servers and bartenders to people who staffed hotel check-ins and airline gates—the U.S. could bolster the ranks of local health departments, nonprofit organizations, and national initiatives like the Medical Reserve Corps involved in fighting COVID-19.
While the idea of viewing neighbors as caregivers and health care support might stretch the imagination, there is much that Americans without prior medical expertise could be quickly hired and trained to do in the fight against COVID-19.
First, they could help with prevention by organizing and carrying out social media campaigns that promote social distancing. The implementation of social distancing remains uneven across the country, especially in communities that are most marginalized. Training the people from those communities as community health workers would result in an uptake of following the recommended practices. They could also encourage and outline strategies that promote mental and physical health and resilience.
Second, community health workers could aid in detection. They can be trained to learn the signs and symptoms of COVID-19 to help staff the hotlines run by hospitals and public health departments and refer possible COVID-19 patients to testing centers.
Third, community health workers can support the response by calling people with COVID-19 who are in self-isolation with mild symptoms and, with supervision, monitor them for worsening symptoms and support rapid referral of people who require hospitalization. In addition, in concert with public health officials, they could support rapid home-based testing (once available) while wearing personal protective gear, following up with those who’ve been exposed to a COVID-19 patient to monitor their symptoms and ensure they get tested.
Others have shown what’s possible. The University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Community Health Workers IMPaCT program hires and trains residents to act as first responders to the social needs of those in low-income neighborhoods. These community health workers are now being mobilized to help patients and affected communities deal with the economic fallout from the virus by providing telesupport and helping to arrange food delivery, while reinforcing public health messaging that’s critical for prevention. And in other COVID-19-affected countries, health care leaders have a vision of how this could be implemented at a national scale. Last week, in an opinion piece for The Lancet, health care leaders in the U.K. proposed a national program to train a community health workforce to deal with testing, surveillance, and active case finding. This community health workforce would also provide social care for the 1.5 million elderly and vulnerable populations.
Funds from the government’s coronavirus relief bill could be channeled to health departments, nonprofits, and health care systems to start training and hiring unemployed Americans as community health workers immediately. The philanthropic sector could also support training programs. And corporations, such as those in the hospitality and airline industries, with furloughed workers who want to volunteer their time, can adapt existing training content and deliver it online through their corporate training platforms. Workers could complete the onboarding programs in days.
Hiring unemployed Americans as COVID-19 community health workers today would have lasting effects. A U.S. community health corps could provide economic salvation and form the backbone of a future health system that is always ready to fight the next epidemic. And we wouldn’t have to look far for help—we’d only have to look next door.
Dr. Raj Panjabi is CEO of Last Mile Health and an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School.
Mitchell Weiss is a professor of management practice at Harvard Business School and author of We the Possibility: Harnessing Public Entrepreneurship to Solve Our Most Urgent Problems.
More opinion in Fortune:
—The coronavirus has shattered the drug development status quo
—2 things every business must consider before laying off employees in a recession
—There will be another pandemic after the coronavirus. It’s time to start preparing
—Why the coronavirus won’t cause widespread chaos in the U.S.
—Listen to Leadership Next, a Fortune podcast examining the evolving role of CEOs
—WATCH: The CEO of Canada’s biggest bank on the keys to leading through the coronavirus
Listen to our audio briefing, Fortune 500 Daily


fortune--2020-04-03--There are likely more unemployed Americans right now than at any time in history

What to watch on Hulu while social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic

We may be staring down the highest levels of joblessness, ever.
A total of 7.1 million Americans were unemployed in March, up 1.4 million from last month, according to data published Friday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
But the actual number of Americans out of work is far greater, given that report is through March 13—before the unprecedented wave of layoffs. In the two weeks ended March 21 and March 28, the country saw a combined 10 million initial unemployment claims.
If you combine the number of Americans unemployed in the March jobs report and the following two weeks of unemployment claims, then the unemployed total sits above 17 million—a number more massive than the Great Recession’s peak of 14.7 million in June 2009. In fact, 17 million unemployed Americans would be the highest level in the country’s history.
“The March unemployment numbers are old and do not reflect what is happening now in the labor market,” says Ryan Sweet, an economist at Moody’s Analytics. “There are a lot more unemployed than it is showing…If you tack on [unemployment] claims the past two weeks, the number is above 17 million unemployed.”
The March jobs report numbers were tallied before a wave of states started closing down nonessential businesses, including New York’s order to shutter them on March 20. Following those shutdowns, 3.3 million initial unemployed claims rolled in the week ended March 21—topping the weekly claims record of 695,000 in October 1982. That record was eclipsed again the week ended March 28, with its 6.6 million initial unemployment claims. But that 10 million figure is likely an understatement—given that states are struggling to process the rush of claims.
This record-level number of out-of-work Americans should appear in April’s job numbers. And the current unemployment rate of 4.4%—up from 3.5% in February—will likely reach double digits in April, experts say. However, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics categorizes Americans as unemployed only if they’re out of a job and also seeking work. Some recently laid-off Americans, Sweet says, may wait to look for a new job given current stay-at-home orders. If so, those unemployed workers would be excluded from the unemployed totals.
The bottom line? “The economy ran into a brick wall in March…in a way we’ve never seen before,” Sweet says.
More must-read personal finance coverage from Fortune:
—What to do if you can’t pay your bills this month
—Everything you need to know about the coronavirus stimulus checks
—5 things to know about unemployment benefits in the COVID-19 stimulus package
—Everything you need to know about furloughs—and what they mean for workers
—Everything you need to know about the new 401(k) no-penalty withdrawals
—Listen to Leadership Next, a Fortune podcast examining the evolving role of CEOs
—VIDEO: 401(k) withdrawal penalties waived for anyone hurt by COVID-19
Subscribe to Fortune’s Bull Sheet for no-nonsense finance news and analysis daily.


fortune--2020-04-03--Retailers to shoppers: We want you—but in smaller numbers

There are likely more unemployed Americans right now than at any time in history

Subscribe to Outbreak, a daily roundup of stories on the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on global business, delivered free to your inbox.
Normally, retailers are very eager to see throngs of people visit their stores. But as with everything else, the coronavirus outbreak has changed that.
Earlier this week, a top executive at Walmart, urged shoppers to be more surgical in their shopping trips, and take whatever steps they need to in order to visit stores less often and with fewer people in tow. Basically: Get in and get out, please.
On Friday afternoon, Walmart announced new measures to limit crowds at its stores. Starting this weekend, it will allow people to enter from only one entrance, lining up outside as needed, and have them exit through another. Walmart stores will also limit the number of shoppers to five for every 1,000 square feet. (A Walmart Supercenter is about 180,000 square feet in size.) That means about 20% of a store’s usual capacity.
The chains lucky enough to still be operating stores during the broad lockdown are grappling with keeping the coronavirus from spreading at their stores and sickening employees and shoppers. Some have taken steps such as installing plexiglass separators at cash registers, implementing one-way aisles in stores, and making masks and gloves available to employees. Now, more and more, they worry about crowd sizes, too.
“This is not the time to have a social gathering and load up the family to go shopping,” Walmart executive vice president of corporate affairs Dan Bartlett told reporters at a briefing this week. “The more efficient customers can be, and limited in the amount of people they bring, and the time they spend in the stores to just get their shopping done, the better.”
In normal times, retailers like Walmart want shoppers to linger: It increases the odds they’ll make an impulse purchase. But the need to keep store workers—and customers—healthy during this pandemic means less is more when it comes to shopper traffic.
Home Depot, about to head into the busiest time of year by far for home-improvement retailers, just eliminated its major spring promotions “to avoid driving high levels of traffic to stores.” That would be like Best Buy, Walmart, or Target saying, “No in-store deals on Black Friday.”
On Thursday, Target announced a whole slew of measures to lessen the risk of transmission, including metering the number of guests allowed inside stores at any one time, if need be. A number of retailers are already doing so, including Walgreens and Amazon’s Whole Foods grocery chain.
It seems these actions are consistent with what U.S. shoppers have already decided to do anyway. Data released Friday by Catalina Marketing, a research firm that tracks consumer product sales at grocers and drugstores, found that in the week ended March 28, the number of shopping trips to such stores fell 13% compared with the same week in 2019.
At the same time, though, the amount spent per visit increased by 31% that week. And a lot of spending seems to going to baking products and other items related to staying at home: Catalina found flour sales rose 154%, while baking mix sales were up 99%.
This is consistent with the imperative to keep workers healthy. Workers out sick won’t be able to restock shelves and check customers out. Big retailers have been falling over themselves these days to offer employees temporary raises that amount to danger pay. But it’s clear that workers’ fears for their safety are growing, as evidenced by the controversy at Amazon this week, and employees walking off the job at places like Whole Foods, and that protecting them is good for business.
As Walmart’s Bartlett put it this week, “We have an obligation to listen to our associates, listen to our customers.”
More coronavirus coverage from Fortune:
—Millions won’t be able to pay their bills this month. What financial experts advise
—What small businesses applying to the SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program need to know
—The worst part of losing 10M jobs in 2 weeks? The real number may be much higher
—Why the U.S. is changing its mind on coronavirus face masks
—Americans face hunger crisis as SNAP benefits are harder for some to get
—Tax-exempt student loan assistance is now law. It’s time to make it permanent
—Hospitals are running low on the most critical supply of all: oxygen
—PODCAST: Two health care CEOs on why coronavirus tests and vaccines are the ammunition needed to fight COVID-19
—VIDEO: 401(k) withdrawal penalties waived for anyone hurt by COVID-19
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fortune--2020-04-03--What to watch on Hulu while social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic

With social distancing upon us, and Americans responsibly sheltering to flatten the curve and mitigate damage from the still-escalating coronavirus crisis, we are hopefully finding time amid the rampant anxiety and paranoia of the day to escape into any number of streaming services piled high with offerings to help ease the passage of the weeks.
With so many options to stream, families surfing Hulu might find themselves understandably overwhelmed. Fortune’s here to help, breaking down the major services’ offerings into a few distinct recommendations based on whatever mood our current global crisis might have you in (all of which are completely valid). And if nothing here strikes your fancy, check out our Netflix, Disney+, and Amazon Prime guides, for your continued perusing pleasure.
For a badly needed laugh:
Lakeith Stanfield in “Sorry to Bother You,” 2018. Annapurna Pictures/Everett Collection
Sorry to Bother You A gonzo-absurdist odyssey through the infernal machinery of American capitalism as experienced by one low-level participant—Cassius “Cash” Green (Lakeith Stanfield), a black telemarketer who ascends through the ranks after adopting a comical white voice (that of Arrested Development’s David Cross)—this feature debut by Oakland rapper-activist Boots Riley may be one of the most scathing takedowns ever of economic systems that honor profits over people. It’s also bracingly bananas and a comedy of unusual vision and vigor, letting none of its characters off the hook even as it turns them loose—particularly Tessa Thompson as a gloriously accessorized performance artist and organized-labor activist and Armie Hammer as the truly evil bro-CEO who forever redefines the term “workhorse.”
Anna and the Apocalypse Not since Edgar Wright’s Cornetto Trilogy has British cinema produced a genre mashup as gleefully, go-for-broke entertaining as this Christmas zombie musical. Improbably, all three of those tonal ingredients are balanced out by director John McPhail and his young, impressively game cast, led by future megastar Ella Hunt as a Scottish high-school senior with dreams of skipping town postgraduation. Unfortunately, that titular apocalypse has other plans, and her small town is soon overrun by the undead. What’s a girl to do but take up arms and break into song? Luckily, for us and her, the tunes—from communal toe-tapper “Hollywood Ending” to “Soldier at War,” a bad-boy solo from standout supporting player Ben Wiggins—are matched by marvelously elaborate dance routines and an extra helping of (still-beating) heart, enough to make this a cozy Friday-night watch any time of year.
Booksmart Depending on your vantage point, Olivia Wilde’s teenage comedy is either a cutting critique of lily-white liberal feminists or a slightly less-than-conscious (but still very funny) ride through their snugly ensconced environs. Either way, there’s no faulting the warm, bubbly chemistry between leads Kaitlyn Dever and Beanie Feldstein, two stars on the rise whose overachieving high-school seniors decide to break their good-girl images the night before graduation. Keep a particular eye out for Billie Lourd, ridiculously great as an out-there, drug-toting shaman of a wealthy classmate.
Additional picks
50/50
When Harry Met Sally
Support the Girls
Mean Girls
The Big Lebowski
For the best stuff you missed last year:
D’Arcy Carden in 2019’s “Greener Grass.” IFC Midnight/Courtesy Everett Collection
Greener Grass Suburbia has perhaps never seemed as psychotically, hypnotically surreal as it does in this unhinged romp of a satire from writer-directors Jocelyn DeBoer and Dawn Luebbe. The pair also star as two suburban moms whose ghastly, Stepford-ized existence in an unnamed vivarium of ticky-tacky houses and impeccably manicured lawns have left them trapped in a state of suspended absurdity, with braces pasted across their already-straight teeth and only golf carts to drive to and from band recitals and soccer matches. The depth of the madcap world-building in Greener Grass is truly something to behold, from bizarro in-universe TV ads to a fleetingly glimpsed sign at the supermarket that promises, “Not responsible for stolen lives.” And if the entire film feels like one long I Think You Should Leave sketch, it’s to its immense credit that Greener Grass pushes that one-joke premise in every possible direction, accruing such strange and sinister textures by film’s end as to leave you both amused and deeply, deeply afraid.
Hail, Satan? Might I be able to interest you in joining the Satanic Temple? Before you answer, fall into this sharp-witted and enlightening look, by indie filmmaker Penny Lane, at the group’s origins and unlikely progressive values. Cloaked in the widely misunderstood iconography of satanism, the Satanic Temple has emerged since 2013 as a band of outsiders whose outrageous, attention-getting stunts are designed less to worship the devil than to call attention to hypocrisy in American politics, particularly as it pertains to the Christian right’s efforts to undermine the separation of church and state. For example: If the Arkansas government can install a monument to the Ten Commandments outside its state capitol, isn’t it only just that the Satanic Temple be allowed to erect a bronze statue of goat-headed god Baphomet next to it?
The Beach Bum Spring Breakers director Harmony Korine’s candy-colored picaresque plays like the stoner comedy’s last stand, a gaudy, gonzo case for getting baked by the beach as the pursuit of the modern-day transcendentalist. Our ostensible hero, Moondog (a blissed-out, slack-jawed Matthew McConaughey), is a celebrated pothead-poet who stumbles through in a kind of a devil-may-care delirium. He’s an observer of life, a nonparticipant, mainlined hedonism in a Hawaiian shirt. If only the people—from his adoring lover (Isla Fisher) to a depraved junkie (Zac Efron, with panini-pressed sideburns)—would stop loving him. Korine’s underbelly odyssey is more hell-bent on savoring the character’s bohemian symphonies than his antiestablishment politics, even as shadows—of mortality, responsibility, ruin—creep beneath the sunshine. There’s something to be made, too, of how incessantly this white-guy burnout fails up, no matter the carnage he leaves in his wake, or how much he’d rather just stay where he is. Intoxicating on the surface, The Beach Bum may actually be Korine’s most politically charged film yet, if you can key into its deviant frequencies. As Moondog says near the end, after reading his own work, “That’s great poetry.” Infuriatingly, he’s right.
Additional picks
Portrait of a Lady on Fire
Wounds
Knives and Skin
The Art of Self-Defense
Monos
To find your next binge-watch:
The Twilight Zone What better time than our ongoing quarantine to delve into the realm of the uncanny and sinister with host Rod Serling? Widely regarded as one of the greatest TV shows of all time, The Twilight Zone set the standard for short-form storytelling with its genre-spanning collection of extraordinary tales, from the deliciously macabre (“The Masks,” “The Monsters Are Due at Maple Street”) to the eerily tragic (“Time Enough at Last”) and brilliantly consciousness-shifting (“Eye of the Beholder,” “To Serve Man”). Especially given the lackluster nature of Jordan Peele’s Twilight Zone revival last year, it’s high time to look back at the original series’ finest hours—many of which are concerned with all-too-timely matters of societies and individuals struggling to face existential terrors. All five seasons are streaming on Hulu (as opposed to Netflix, which is oddly missing the show’s fourth set of episodes, each an hour long).
Parks and Recreation The first episodes of Greg Daniels and Michael Schur’s now-seminal sitcom—about midlevel bureaucrats (led by the perky Leslie Knope, played by Amy Poehler) striving on behalf of the Parks Department in fictional Pawnee, Ind.—gave little indication of the buoyantly heartfelt, irrepressibly funny series that was to come. But to binge all seven seasons of Parks is to witness a comedy come into its own with remarkable wit, sensitivity, and grace; one turning point was “The Master Plan,” toward the end of season two, in which the arrival of state auditors (played by Rob Lowe and Adam Scott) added two invaluable, long-term members to the series’ unrivaled ensemble.
Hamilton’s Pharmacopeia The son of legendary documentarian Errol Morris is at the quirky core of this Viceland docuseries, giving audiences an engaging, unusual, third-eye-opening crash course in psychedelics. Self-described as a “psychonaut,” or an explorer on the lookout for little-known drugs, Hamilton Morris aims to shed light on what kinds of drugs—from PCP to ketamine to fish with hallucinogenic properties—might one day be available, post-prohibition, for mass consumption, looking at how they work, what their assorted effects tend to be, and how people might use them to alter states of consciousness and being. Two seasons are streaming on Hulu.
Additional picks
Into the Dark
The Handmaid’s Tale
Looking for Alaska
Wu-Tang: An American Saga
30 Rock
For the whole family:
Aardman Animations’ “Chicken Run.” DreamWorks/Courtesy of Everett Collection
Chicken Run In hindsight, this Aardman Animations stop-motion classic may be one of the most politically radical and directly feminist movies ever built for the children’s set. Beyond simply playing beak service to WWII picture The Great Escape, it follows a courageous hen named Ginger, whose repeated attempts to escape the Tweedy Chicken Farm end in failure—until a rooster named Rocky falls from the sky, at which point Ginger hatches a daring new scheme to save her coop. Just as striking as the inventive animation, colorful characters, and biting humor is the way Chicken Run bakes Marxist ideas of organized class struggle, ethical labor, and coalition building against exploitation into the crust of its story.
Bumblebee If any film franchise was going to pull off a daring tonal about-face more than 10 years in, it makes an entertaining kind of sense that it’d be Transformers, Paramount’s mega-millions series about warring aliens capable of transfiguring themselves into sports cars. Long tied to the explosive, intensely audiovisual aesthetics of popcorn auteur Michael Bay, the franchise broke away from its prototypical sound and fury for this surprisingly rich, nostalgic entry. Set along the California coast in 1987, it focused on the unlikely friendship forged between a grieving teeenager (Hailee Steinfeld) and the titular, yellow Autobot camped out in her garage. Led by a jukebox soundtrack of pop-rock hits, slick direction from Travis Knight (Kubo and the Two Strings), and Steinfeld’s stirring performance, the movie’s an unlikely refresh for Transformers—and the franchise’s most family-friendly outing to date.
Fast Color Superhero stories don’t get much more thoughtful or refreshingly humanistic than Julia Hart’s Fast Color, about three generations of strong black women grappling with the extraordinary abilities each possess. Unfairly ignored upon release (after being more-or-less buried by its distributor), it’s a visually vivid and conceptually daring work that deserved a bigger audience, powered by the sensational performances of its three leads (Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Lorraine Toussaint, and Saniyya Sidney) as well as a story that’s more concerned with the ties binding its characters together than city-decimating CGI spectacle.
Additional picks
Missing Link
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World
Free Solo
Super 8
Adventure Time
For thrills and chills:
Border Strange, sad, and wholly original, this Swedish fantasy noir didn’t quite make the cut for an Oscar nomination in the unusually competitive year of Roma and Cold War, but that’s (if anything) just a credit to how thrillingly hard to pin down the Ali Abbasi–directed film really is. Blending together elements of folktale, star-crossed romance, and social commentary that smarts like a wound, it’s broadly about culturally constructed conceptions of normalcy and aberration, how the process of othering can gradually become internalized by the person being othered, denying them knowledge of and compassion for the self—and the tragedy that can wreak. It’s also about trolls who sniff out contraband at border security, police investigating a ring of pedophiles, and the radical politics of sexual acceptance. Border’s about a whole lot—in other words, all of it fascinating to consider and brilliant to behold.
Pyewacket For fans of Hereditary and Goodnight Mommy, this little-seen horror gem follows a teenager (Nicole Muñoz) whose age-appropriate anger at her mother (Laurie Holden) for uprooting them to a woodland cabin couldn’t come at a worse time, given her recent discovery of a book of occult spells. Before you can say “necronomicon,” she’s unleashed a murderous demon on her unsuspecting mother, only to later regret this rather extreme instance of acting out and race to reverse the ritual. Creepy, atmospheric, and armed with a killer twist, it’s a terrific and unnerving watch.
Starfish This stirring, surreal debut from writer-director A.T. White, of the British band Ghostlight, follows a young woman (Virginia Gardner) feeling her way through an emotional apocalypse suddenly literalized in the world around her, as Lovecraftian monsters attack on the morning of her best friend’s funeral. Grief can settle into us as a kind of phantasmic haze, muffling and muting our surroundings even as it promises to transform them in frightening and unfamiliar ways. Starfish, which is deeply specific and at times endearingly scrappy, explores that trickiest of human emotions while satisfying on other fronts as a tale of science-fiction reckoning, otherworldly terror, and healing from a wound so impossible it threatens to end the world entirely.
Additional picks
Coherence
Mission: Impossible – Fallout
Pitch Black
Prospect
We Need to Talk About Kevin
More must-read stories from Fortune:
—What to watch on Disney+ while social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic
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fortune--2020-04-03--Farmworkers deemed ‘essential’ but are left unprotected during coronavirus pandemic

Right now, farmworkers are still toiling from sunup to sundown to plant, pick, and pack the produce we eat. As the U.S. scrambles to flatten the COVID-19 curve, grocery store shelves have been emptied, and the Trump administration has declared food and agricultural workers as one of the “essential” groups of workers who are advised to continue working, as states across the country have announced shelter-in-place orders.
The federal government, prior to this recent advisory, hasn’t actually treated farmworkers like the essential workers they are—deserving of the same rights and protections as others. In fact, farmworkers were excluded from the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 and the National Labor Relations Act of 1935, labor laws that provide most other workers with protections (like the right to overtime or to unionize). While the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act provided more protections for farmworkers by regulating housing standards, requiring paychecks, and establishing requirements for employer record-keeping, and while some states such as California have provided additional protections under state law like the right to overtime and the right to unionize, farmworkers are still not guaranteed those rights under federal law.
It took a global pandemic for the federal government to acknowledge that farmworkers are critical to the U.S. economy. And as Congress considers legislation to address this unprecedented crisis, farmworkers must not be left behind.
The threat posed by COVID-19 is exacerbated for farmworkers because they’re unable to take the basic steps necessary to protect themselves. As farmworkers continue to labor in fields all day long, many are shielded only by bandannas to protect their faces. And a 2010 study found that soap is often not available in hand-washing facilities in the fields.
Social distancing is also not a viable option for farmworkers. According to the 2018 National Agricultural Workers Survey (NAWS), which covers 2015 to 2016, 19% of U.S. farmworkers were migrants, meaning that they follow the crops from location to location for work. Nearly a quarter of those interviewed said they travel in large groups, in vans or buses, to get from job to job because they are dependent on contractors or crew leaders to transport them. The survey also found that 45% of migrant workers and 44% of undocumented workers lived in crowded housing.
Farmworkers are also among some of the most impoverished workers in the U.S., having earned an average of $10.60 an hour, according to the NAWS. Farmworkers are currently not eligible for paid sick leave or unemployment insurance in most states, which leaves most farmworkers without a financial safety net to support their families when they fall ill. While the Families First Coronavirus Response Act might grant the possibility of paid sick leave for some farmworkers, many would be excluded from that, particularly given that small employers (those who employ less than 50 people) may be exempted from these new provisions. And yet, farmworkers who are employed by larger farms with more than 500 workers would also be excluded from the paid-leave provisions—making this benefit accessible only to those who fall between the two brackets.
Meaningful measures to protect farmworkers must be taken now. At the very least, farmworkers need to be provided face masks and gloves as a precautionary measure. They also need soap and water in the fields, not to mention in their bathrooms and bathing facilities, to meet the hygiene recommendations outlined by the CDC to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Given that most people around the country are currently not able to access tests, even if they exhibit mild to moderate symptoms, a farmworker could be symptomatic and require isolation in order to avoid getting other workers sick. This would require employers to provide separate housing for these workers so that they can be isolated from others. Those who have been exposed to ill workers should also receive housing where they can self-quarantine—and employers should guarantee that their job is not at risk owing to illness or self-quarantine.
Many provisions of the recent federal coronavirus relief bill do not extend to certain immigrants. Paying for a COVID-19 test could be cost prohibitive, especially for low-paid undocumented farmworkers who already face difficulties in accessing health care. Therefore, the federal government must also ensure that all workers, regardless of their immigration status, are afforded free testing to determine whether they have COVID-19, as well as the medical care that they need. After all, COVID-19 doesn’t discriminate based on immigration status.
Farmworkers are at the heart of the U.S. food chain. Political leaders and employers must take the appropriate measures to protect farmworkers. Because if farmworkers fall sick, what happens to our food supply in the process?
Mónica Ramírez is founder and president of Justice for Migrant Women.
Meena Harris is founder and CEO of the Phenomenal Woman Action Campaign.
They are cofounders of the Phenomenal Farmworkers Initiative, which was launched to drive donors to the Farmworkers’ Pandemic Relief Fund.
More opinion in Fortune:
—Why we need a government supply-chain office now, more than ever
—Tax-exempt student loan assistance is now law. It’s time to make it permanent
—There will be another pandemic after the coronavirus. It’s time to start preparing
—Millions unemployed in the coronavirus pandemic could be retrained to fight it
—Listen to Leadership Next, a Fortune podcast examining the evolving role of CEOs
—WATCH: The CEO of Canada’s biggest bank on the keys to leading through the pandemic
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