US: 32.8M Cases - 586.1K Dead - 25.3M Recovered
Worldwide: 147.8M Cases - 3.1M Dead - 125.4M Recovered

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Private Industry Security Guard Deaths: 279  
Law Enforcement Officer Deaths: 287
*Red indicates change in total deaths

Biden expected to announce updated mask guidance on Tuesday
President Biden is expected to announce on Tuesday updated guidance on masking from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), two sources confirmed to The Hill.

The guidance is still being finalized, according to multiple sources, but is likely to ease recommendations that Americans wear masks even while outdoors. Biden is expected to outline the changes in a speech on Tuesday more broadly addressing where the country stands in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

CNN reported the announcement will focus on whether vaccinated people need to wear masks when outdoors. thehill.com

26 state govt's - D.C. & Puerto Rico still have mask mandates in place
Oregon OSHA considering ‘permanent’ COVID-19 rule
Additions to rule include employer cooperation with vaccinations

The head of Oregon Occupational Safety and Health has proposed making permanent the agency’s temporary rule regarding COVID-19 measures, potentially keeping most mandatory public face mask, physical distancing and other infection control precautions in place independent of the state of emergency declared by Gov. Kate Brown.

In November 2020, Oregon OSHA’s temporary rule addressing COVID-19 workplace risks took effect, requiring employers to enforce universal face coverings, prepare workplace risk assessments, train employees on infection prevention and create outbreak response plans, along with other measures. A permanent rule proposed in February by Oregon OSHA Administrator Michael Wood would keep those requirements in place after the temporary rule’s May 4 expiration date and “until revised or repealed.” newportnewstimes.com

EEOC to publish vaccine incentive guidance, but will it be 'too late'?
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission will update its coronavirus guidance to include information on vaccine incentives, the agency’s acting legal counsel told stakeholders in an April 15 letter shared with HR Dive.

● That promise came after employers and business groups — including the Society for Human Resource Management, the HR Policy Association and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce — requested such information from the commission Feb. 1. hrdive.com

Employers React to Workers Who Refuse a COVID-19 Vaccination
Some employers are firing workers who won't take the vaccine.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has weighed in with guidance that answers some workplace vaccination questions. Employers may encourage or possibly require COVID-19 vaccinations, but policies must comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII) and other workplace laws, according to the EEOC.

"An employee with a religious objection or a disability may need to be excused from the mandate or otherwise accommodated," noted John Lomax, an attorney with Snell & Wilmer in Phoenix. "Additionally, if an objecting employee is a union-represented employee, the employer may need to bargain and reach an agreement with the union before mandating vaccines." shrm.org

Vaccine Certificates in Order to Travel?
Europe Set to Let Vaccinated U.S. Tourists Visit This Summer

The head of the European Commission said the bloc would switch policy, under certain conditions, after more than a year of mostly banning nonessential travel.

American tourists who have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19 will be able to visit the European Union over the summer, the head of the bloc’s executive body said in an interview with The New York Times on Sunday, more than a year after shutting down nonessential travel from most countries to limit the spread of the coronavirus.

The fast pace of vaccination in the United States, and advanced talks between authorities there and the European Union over how to make vaccine certificates acceptable as proof of immunity for visitors, will enable the European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union, to recommend a switch in policy that could see trans-Atlantic leisure travel restored.

Ms. von der Leyen did not offer a timeline on when exactly tourist travel might open up or details on how it would occur. But her comments are a top-level statement that the current travel restrictions are set to change on the basis of vaccination certificates. nytimes.com

5M+ Americans Skipping 2nd Shot
Millions Are Skipping Their Second Doses of Covid Vaccines
More than five million people, or nearly 8 percent of those who got a first shot of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, have missed their second doses, according to the most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That is more than double the rate among people who got inoculated in the first several weeks of the nationwide vaccine campaign.

Even as the country wrestles with the problem of millions of people who are wary about getting vaccinated at all, local health authorities are confronting an emerging challenge of ensuring that those who do get inoculated are doing so fully.

The reasons vary for why people are missing their second shots. In interviews, some said they feared the side effects, which can include flulike symptoms. Others said they felt that they were sufficiently protected with a single shot. nytimes.com

'Hunger Games' for Retailers?
Retailers & restaurants worry about finding summer workers as staffing shortages are worsened by pandemic
As vaccinated Americans start to get comfortable traveling again, popular summer destinations are anticipating a busy season. But hotel, restaurant and retail store owners warn that staffing shortages exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic could force them to limit occupancy, curtail hours and services or shut down facilities entirely just as they’re starting to bounce back from a grim year.

The problem, they say, is twofold: The annual influx of seasonal foreign workers has stalled in places because of the pandemic. Businesses have also struggled to attract U.S. workers, even as many have redoubled their efforts to hire locally amid high unemployment.

"It’s the ‘Hunger Games’ for these employers, fighting for getting these guest workers into the country while also trying everything they can to recruit domestically," said Brian Crawford, an executive vice president for the American Hotel and Lodging Association, a Washington, D.C.-based industry group. "It’s really frustrating. They’re trying to regain their footing after this disastrous pandemic but they just can’t catch a break." foxnews.com

LA County Has Avoided Variant Surge
Los Angeles County continues to report progress in coronavirus fight
Weekend numbers of decreasing new cases and deaths continue to indicate that the region has so far avoided the variant-driven surge that has troubled some other states, such as Michigan.

The signs of progress have buoyed hopes that authorities can vaccinate enough people at a sufficient speed to head off a potential new wave of infection.

There were 407 COVID-19 patients in county hospitals as of Saturday, a decline of nearly 14% from two weeks before. During the peak of viral transmission in January, more than 8,000 people were hospitalized in L.A. County. And the share of coronavirus tests coming back positive continues to dip lower than at any point since the start of the pandemic. latimes.com

U.S. to send vaccine materials and other supplies to hard-hit India

6 things you must do if you’re planning to work remotely permanently

NYPD's New Specially Trained Unit to Assist Businesses
Getting Workers, Shoppers & Tourists Back To NYC

Manhattan Business Districts to Get More Police in Reopening Push
New NYPD division will work with firms as mayor tries to encourage return of office workers and help tourism rebound from pandemic

The New York Police Department will deploy dozens of officers to commercial districts in Manhattan as part of New York City’s push to encourage the return of workers to offices and help tourism rebound from the Covid-19 pandemic, police and city officials said.

The department’s business district recovery initiative detail will provide an additional police presence in any business community south of 59th Street, where business leaders said the quality of life in some corridors has deteriorated during the pandemic. The additional officers will help to change the perception that the areas are unsafe and combat a rise in public drug use, vandalism and aggressive panhandling, the business leaders said.

In the coming weeks, the new NYPD detail will work with businesses to identify areas in need of added patrols, police officials said. The detail will also provide community outreach, assist in responding to people in emotional distress and work with the city’s Department of Homeless Services to aid homeless people, police and city officials said.

Dan Biederman, president of the 34th Street Partnership, a business-improvement district covering parts of Midtown Manhattan, said in an interview that increased numbers of aggressive panhandlers and people experiencing mental-health crises have made some office workers and shoppers cautious about returning to the area.

NYPD statistics show that assaults, robberies, auto thefts and burglaries have risen this year in the Midtown South police precinct, where the 34th Street Partnership is located.  Continue Reading

Biggest Effort to Address Biggest Safety Loss - 'MSDs'
Solving the MSD problem

'Jeff Bezos is obsessed with a common Amazon warehouse injury'
In his final letter to shareholders, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos urged a deep dive into musculoskeletal disorders, which account for about 40% of work-related injuries across the company and affect millions of workers globally across sectors. It is often synonymous with jobs in manufacturing and places like warehouses.

"Bezos wrote in his letter, released earlier this month stated the employees suffer from MSDs that occur on jobs that include what can be described as robot-like repetition. The extended remarks by Bezos about this workplace injury amounted to one of the first announcements by a large corporation to draw broader attention to the issue, according to several experts consulted by CNBC. Estimates suggest that MSDs cost U.S. companies over $50 billion each year and resulted in between 21 and 32 days away from work on average between 1997 to 2010, and in addition to Amazon warehouse work, MSD issues in meat processing and poultry plants have drawn recent attention.

MSDs, often called “ergonomics injuries,” are typically strains and sprains caused by repetitive motions, overexertion, or task performance in awkward positions and include issues like carpal tunnel syndrome and tendonitis. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, retail trade, manufacturing, and social assistance jobs accounted for 50% of all MSD cases in the private sector.

Bezos wrote, adding that the company launched a program to coach small groups of employees on body mechanics and safety which contributed to a 32% decrease in injuries between 2019 and 2020, while the time away as a result of the injuries “decreased by more than half,” Bezos said in the recent letter. “We need to invent solutions to reduce MSDs for new employees, many of whom might be working in a physical role for the first time.” cnbc.com

Pharmacy Tech Stole, Resold Millions in Meds
New Jersey VA pharmacy tech charged with stealing $8.2M in HIV meds
A former pharmacy technician at a New Jersey VA medical heart is charged with stealing over $8 million value of HIV treatment from the office, federal prosecutors mentioned.

Lisa Hoffman, 48, is accused of swiping the dear meds from the federal medical heart in East Orange for over two years ending in November 2019, the US Legal professional’s Workplace for New Jersey introduced Wednesday.

Prosecutors allege Hoffman, who was tasked with ordering medicine for the ability’s outpatient pharmacy, was caught on surveillance footage quite a few occasions taking dozens of bottles of the treatment, in response to prosecutors.

Hoffman would then allegedly promote the prescribed drugs to 33-year-old Wagner Checonolasco, generally known as “Wanny,” authorities mentioned.

Checonolasco, who was already charged in the case, resold the meds to others, prosecutors mentioned. Hoffman is charged with theft of medical merchandise. gruntstuff.com

Supreme Court to Hear Case on Right to Carry Concealed Guns for Self-Defense
Justices to consider New York restrictions on carry rights in the first major Second Amendment case before the court since 2010

The Supreme Court agreed Monday to review a New York state law that limits carrying concealed firearms outside the home, the first major Second Amendment case it has heard since 2010 and one that could lead to a loosening of gun laws nationwide.

The court first recognized a right to keep handguns in the home in a 2008 case and extended that ruling nationwide in 2010. Since then the court has declined to consider how far Second Amendment rights extend outside the home, even as most state and local gun regulations were upheld by lower courts.

New York law provides for different categories of gun licenses, including premises licenses that allow weapons to be held at a specific location. To carry a concealed weapon elsewhere, an applicant must demonstrate “proper cause,” which gun advocates say the state defines too restrictively. New York doesn’t allow open carrying of weapons.

The plaintiffs, which include gun owners who were denied carry permits. The court slightly narrowed the question presented in the lawsuit, saying it would address whether the state’s denial of the plaintiffs’ “applications for concealed-carry licenses for self-defense violated the Second Amendment.” wsj.com

How Southeastern Grocers Plans to Fight Food Waste
Southeastern Grocers is looking to save millions of pounds of food waste from ending up in landfills by rolling out a new initiative with Date Check Pro to all stores. Date Check Pro is a software solution that arms retailers with control over expiring products, driving efficiency and ensuring the freshest shopping experience possible. Southeastern Grocers originally piloted Date Check Pro in three of their locations in 2019 and expanded to an additional nine stores in 2020. Rollout to the remaining stores was completed in April. progressivegrocer.com

Disney closing all Canadian stores amid retail strategy shift


Quarterly Results
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