US: 45.7M Cases - 744.5K Dead - 35.3M Recovered
Worldwide: 241.5M Cases - 4.9M Dead - 218.7M Recovered

Former Senior Loss Prevention Executive
Know of any fallen LP exec? Let's remember & recognize.

Private Industry Security Guard Deaths: 320   Law Enforcement Officer Deaths: 476
*Red indicates change in total deaths

Winter 'Twindemic' Coming?
COVID-19 and flu season could cause 'twindemic' this winter, doctors warn
Last year's flu season was practically non-existent, but now doctors are bracing for a potential "twindemic" of flu and COVID-19 spikes. Experts are saying we've built up less natural immunity against influenza because so few people were infected in 2020. Now health officials are urging everyone to get the flu shot if they can.

"If people get their shot, we hopefully will make it a good flu season," said Dr. Juanita Mora, an allergy and immunity specialist.

"A lot of people are not masking or being as rigorous about washing their hands. There's a lot more events going on like concerts and so forth and not enough people getting their flu shots, and this is why we're concerned that the flu season might be a bad one," said Mora. abc7chicago.com

COVID Law Enforcement & Security Deaths in 2021
231 Police, 119 Security Officers Dead From COVID-19 This Year
A staggering number of frontline first responders in America are dead from the Covid-19 virus. There's no disputing that our frontline workers continue to be exposed to this deadly virus and we only need to look to law enforcement and private security officers to see the toll that the virus continues to take.

As of October 16th, 2021, the Officer Down Memorial Page has recorded 231 law enforcement officer deaths deemed to be as a result of the Coronavirus. During this time, The Private Officer International Memorial Page lists 119 known security officers that have passed away this year from the virus.

Many other security officers may have also lost their lives from this virus during the past nine months but due to a poor reporting system and a lack of public access to death records, it's hard to pinpoint the exact total according to Rick McCann the Founder/CEO of the professional organization.

We all know that the virus is taking a terrible toll on Americans and that our first responders are especially being affected hard by this virus. With the flu season upon us and a forecast of yet another possible strain moving in, things may become much worse before they become better, said McCann who is also a fire-medic. privateofficerbreakingnews.blogspot.com

Inspectors In Stores & Verifying
L.A. County health inspectors enforce new vaccine mandates with training,
not tickets
During the first weekend that Los Angeles County required some indoor businesses to verify the COVID-19 vaccination status of their patrons, health inspectors didn't issue a single citation for noncompliance, but they did have to provide additional training to staff members at nearly one-fifth of the sites they visited.

Officials said the checks performed Oct. 8 to Oct. 10 were focused primarily on education rather than strict enforcement - a long-standing practice of the Public Health Department, particularly when rules have only recently gone into effect.

The county now requires proof of COVID-19 vaccination at indoor bars, wineries, breweries, distilleries, nightclubs and lounges. Patrons and employees need to show they have had at least one vaccine dose, and starting Nov. 4 they must be fully vaccinated.

Last weekend, county health inspectors visited 129 businesses that were subject to the new requirement. Of those, 24 needed training related to implementing the mandate, according to department officials.

At "all of the sites that got visited over the weekend, folks were eager to figure out how they could, in fact, go ahead and make sure that they were creating this extra layer of protection," county Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said.

However, with thousands of establishments throughout the county now under such mandates, inspectors have been able to get to only a handful so far. And throughout the pandemic, some businesses have fought fiercely against public health requirements or made a public show of flouting them. latimes.com

Unprepared for the Next Pandemic?
Threats, Resignations and 100 New Laws: Why Public Health Is in Crisis
State and local public health departments across the country have endured not only the public's fury, but widespread staff defections, burnout, firings, unpredictable funding and a significant erosion in their authority to impose the health orders that were critical to America's early response to the pandemic.

While the coronavirus has killed more than 700,000 in the United States in nearly two years, a more invisible casualty has been the nation's public health system. Already underfunded and neglected even before the pandemic, public health has been further undermined in ways that could resound for decades to come. A New York Times review of hundreds of health departments in all 50 states indicates that local public health across the country is less equipped to confront a pandemic now than it was at the beginning of 2020.

Public health agencies have seen a staggering exodus of personnel, many exhausted and demoralized, in part because of abuse and threats. Dozens of departments reported that they had not staffed up at all, but actually lost employees. About 130 said they did not have enough people to do contact tracing, one of the most important tools for limiting the spread of a virus. The Times identified more than 500 top health officials who left their jobs in the past 19 months.

Legislators have approved more than 100 new laws - with hundreds more under consideration - that limit state and local health powers. That overhaul of public health gives governors, lawmakers and county commissioners more power to undo health decisions and undermines everything from flu vaccination campaigns to quarantine protocols for measles.

Large segments of the public have also turned against agencies, voting in new local government leaders who ran on pledges to rein in public health departments. nytimes.com

Restarting Tourism Dollars?
U.S. Border to Open to International Travelers With Proof of Vaccination
The Biden administration plans to lift travel restrictions for international travelers to the U.S. on Nov. 8, the White House said Friday. The new policy will affect both air and land-border travelers, who will need to be fully vaccinated and show proof of vaccination.

The Biden administration announced the new date for the easing of the Covid-19 travel rules as it has sought to allay concerns from European allies who have been pressing the U.S. to lift the restrictions. The administration said in September it would require foreign nationals seeking to fly to the U.S. to show proof of vaccination.

Earlier this week, the administration said it would relax Covid-19 travel restrictions on land-border crossings from Canada and Mexico, requiring those travelers into the U.S. for nonessential reasons to show proof of vaccination beginning in early November. wsj.com

Proof of COVID-19 Vaccination to Be Required at Canada, Mexico Borders

'It's going to be within our capability' to prevent another coronavirus surge, Fauci says

Local grocer dies from COVID-19 complications

COVID's Cargo Clog

300,000 Seafarers Desperate & Trapped at Sea
They've been stuck for months on cargo ships now floating off Southern Calif.
Some 300,000 of these migrant merchant sailors have been stranded on vessels at sea or in ports around the world, according to the International Transport Workers' Federation, a London-based trade union that is among the maritime agencies lobbying governments to address what's been labeled the "crew-change crisis."

They endure unbroken monotony and growing desperation. Their unions and charity groups describe exhaustion, despair, suicide and violence at sea, including at least one alleged murder on a cargo ship headed to Los Angeles.

It strained all parts of the global supply chain, causing ruptures still being felt today as dozens of cargo ships anchored outside Southern California ports wait to unload parts for factories, merchandise for retailers' shelves and online orders destined for consumer doorsteps.

And the coronavirus has added a two-fold stress increase. The unvaccinated crews fear catching COVID-19, and no U.S. port will allow unvaccinated seafarers to leave their vessels.

The same is true of other seaports around the world, said Stefan Mueller-Dombois, a ship inspector with the International Transport Workers' Federation. All have barred them from the biggest respite they had, he said, which was getting off the ships while they are at port, as in the good old days of 2019.

"It's like the seafarers are stuck in a prison," Chauhan said. "All they see every day is steel and containers and other crew members. And what happens? Sometimes they collide with each other." latimes.com

Stuck at Sea & Demanding Action
Mounting crew change crisis demands faster action from governments
The International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) estimates that there are now approximately 300,000 seafarers trapped working aboard ships due to the crew change crisis caused by government Covid-19 border and travel restrictions, and an equal number of unemployed seafarers waiting to join them who are ashore. That makes 600,000 seafarers affected by this crisis.

Today marks one month since the ITF told the world's governments that 'Enough is Enough' and that the federation and its affiliates would be assisting the world's seafarers in enforcing their right to stop working, get off and be repatriated to their homes and families, following completion of their contracts. itfseafarers.org

Retail's Nightmare Before Christmas
Will supply chain delays impact holiday shopping? Port of LA director says start buying now
"I've spoken with the shipping line, with the trucking companies, with the freight, everybody. Nobody can explain it ... why there's this portion of the Port of LA, the yard, that's 'non-deliverable,'" he explained.

According to Freightos - an online freight marketplace - shipping a 40-foot container from China to the West Coast cost $1,318 in October 2019. Now, it costs more than $16,000. Plus, in Nov. 2019, a container from China to the U.S. would take 41 days, on average, to ship. Now, it takes 75 days.

Goods aren't just harder to find, they're also becoming more expensive.

Gene Seroka, the executive director of the Port of L.A., told Good Morning America on Thursday that shoppers will find the goods they're looking for this holiday season, but urges them to start looking now.

"Let's do it a little bit early," he said. "Look online. See how long it's going to take to deliver the goods, maybe this weekend. Let's go to the store and see what the products look like so we can get holiday gifts for friends and family." abc7.com

In Case You Missed It: U.S. ports face record backlog ahead of holiday shopping

Holiday shopping tips: "The best thing consumers can really do is shop right now"

Sitting on the Dock of the Bay Might Be Just the Thing for Holiday Shoppers
 

Levi's New Store Model
Why Levi's is opening 100 new stores even as pandemic online sales boom keeps growing

Levi's has introduced a new store model that allows customers to use its app to shop and have both curbside pick-ups and contactless returns.

Levi Strauss & Co., which operates approximately 3,000 stores and shop-in-shops in addition to selling its products online and in other department stores and retailers, has focused on scaling up its investments in its digital experience while also keeping a priority on what a customer experiences shopping in person.

In Levi's 2020 fiscal year, nearly a fourth of its sales came via online shopping, whether directly through Levi's platform or through the digital presence of its wholesalers. In 2015, online sales made up less than 10% of its business.

Last year, Levi's introduced a new experiential store in Palo Alto, California, as part of its push towards more direct-to-consumer sales and less wholesale. There are several digitally-focused features of the "NextGen" store, including integration with the company's app, curbside pick-ups and contactless returns, and an inventory assortment that is driven by local customer data.

Singh said that the company opened 100 new stores last year and has plans to open more than 100 this year. Some of those stores will be the new experiential ones, the company previously announced.

The balance between the in-store and online experience during the pandemic also has led to changes in the way Levi Strauss thinks about its distribution infrastructure, which has grown in importance amid supply chain challenges. cnbc.com

Retail Sales Data Shocks Experts
U.S. retail sales beat expectations for second month in a row
Although September spending was lower than the peaks reached in the post-vax, pre-Delta variant honeymoon economy of the spring, consumers still spent more defiantly than economists had expected.

Why it matters: Higher prices helped push up the absolute spending numbers. But inflation or not, consumers were willing to fork over cash, which bodes well for the Q4 economy and the coming holiday shopping season.

What they're saying: "Inflation is going to have an effect, but [the numbers] still point to healthy demand ... spending isn't falling off," Ma says. The positive spending data is probably not enough to move the needle back up on overall Q3 consumption and growth estimates, wrote LPL analysts.

What's next: The crucial holiday spending season. "I think a lot of the challenges with the holiday season are simply going to be more supply-related. [People] have money, and want to spend savings that's been built up," Ma says. axios.com

In Case You Missed It: The 'Great Resignation' of 4.3M
As retailers shaped holiday hiring plans, 721K retail workers quit in August
Retail workers in August walked out on their jobs at one of the highest rates in the nation, with a total 721,000 quitting that month, according to the latest numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Their quit rate - which the Labor Department in its release said "can serve as a measure of workers' willingness or ability to leave jobs" - was 4.7% in August, a high since April.

Quits hit a new series high going back to December 2000, as 4.3 million workers left their jobs. The quits rate rose to 2.9%, an increase of 242,000 from the previous month, which saw a rate of 2.7%, according to the department's Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. The rate, which is measured against total employment, is the highest in a data series that goes back to December 2000. retaildive.com cnbc.com


Last week's #1 article --

NYC's Shoplifting Tsunami
'Third World' NYC drug store shelves empty amid shoplifting surge
Thanks to a citywide shoplifting tsunami, bare necessities are now rare luxuries on drug-store shelves across New York City.

State bail reform laws make shoplifting a promising career option for some New York City crooks. One man, Isaac Rodriguez, 22, of Queens, was arrested for shoplifting 46 times this year alone, The Post exclusively reported last week.

The blame goes straight to the halls of power in Albany, said New York City top cop Dermot Shea. "Insanity," the police commissioner tweeted last week in response to The Post report. "No other way to describe the resulting crime that has flowed from disastrous bail reform law."

Serial shoplifters, even if arrested, typically walk free the same day. Cases against them are often not prosecuted. Drug stores, filled with aisles of small necessities, offer an easy-to-harvest goldmine for thieves.

There are 77 other thieves right now walking the streets of New York with rap sheets of 20 or more shoplifting charges, NYPD sources say. nypost.com