US: 43.2M Cases - 696.8K Dead - 32.8M Recovered
Worldwide: 230.3M Cases - 4.7M Dead - 207.1M Recovered

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

Private Industry Security Guard Deaths: 315  
Law Enforcement Officer Deaths: 414
*Red indicates change in total deaths

'Nowhere Near the End of the Pandemic'
COVID-19 Is Here for the Long Haul Despite the Slide
Despite the continued decline of COVID-19 cases, we’re nowhere near the end of a pandemic that has upended our lives for a year and a half, experts say. Peaks and valleys like the one we’re seeing now are to be expected, and the holidays — when the virus tends to spike — are not far off.

Without more people vaccinated, the coronavirus will remain a part of life for the long haul, doctors say. On Monday, Florida reported 9,022 new cases from the weekend, bringing the daily average below 10,000 for the first time since July 21. COVID-related hospitalizations have dropped by more than 60% since Nov. 2, according to data from the Florida Hospital Association.

But while the numbers are trending in the right direction, it’s too early to declare victory, public health experts say.

“What we now know is we should anticipate waxing and waning with peaks lower over time assuming we don’t have variants that become even more transmissible than the delta variant,” said Dr. Bernard Ashby, an internist/cardiologist with offices in Miami and Port St. Lucie. “Coronavirus is here to stay. It’s not going to go anywhere.” govtech.com

NRF & RILA Respond to Biden's Vaccine Mandate
U.S. retail industry seeks 90-day lead time on COVID-19 rules
Two major U.S. retail industry groups on Tuesday asked the Biden administration for at least 90 days before imposing new rules that will require employees at larger firms to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or submit to regular testing.

On Sept. 9, the White House said the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is developing an emergency temporary standard that will require all employers with 100 or more employees to ensure their workforce is fully vaccinated, or require any workers who remain unvaccinated to produce a negative COVID-19 test once a week.

The White House has said those rules will apply to more than 80 million private sector employees.

The Retail Industry Leaders Association and the National Retail Federation strongly encouraged OSHA "to provide a 90-day implementation timeline to allow retailers and other employers to create the systems necessary."

The retail groups, which represent companies including Walmart, CVS, Best Buy, Target, Kroger and Home Depot, asked how the administration will ensure adequate COVID-19 testing capacity to satisfy the "significant increase in demand."

The groups said "there could be as many as 4 million retail workers who may need to be tested on a weekly basis." They also asked other detailed questions like "what remedial actions can be taken in situations in which employees refuse vaccinations and testing?"

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told travel executives last week that the OSHA order is expected in "a matter of weeks. ... We have been told in October." reuters.com

Security Industry Boosted by the Pandemic
Pandemic leads to increase in home surveillance, security systems
Experts say the COVID-19 pandemic and a perceived increase in crime since the coronavirus spread around the country has affected the security industry. In the home security sector, the pandemic accelerated a shift toward surveillance that was already underway, said Bruce Marcus, owner of Marcus Communications in Manchester.

Home surveillance used to be a niche business. Camera systems had to be professionally installed and wired, and they weren’t cheap, Marcus said. Now, anyone can order cameras online at a reasonable price with options for high definition and night vision that put the cameras of yesterday to shame, he said.

When the pandemic kept most people stuck at home in the spring and summer of 2020, bored homeowners saw an opportunity to take on long-delayed renovation projects. While restaurants sat empty, customers lined up at hardware paint counters.

It’s not hard to imagine those same people, with extra money to spend, installing a few cameras at their house, Marcus said. These days, homeowners install cameras for numerous reasons. Some want to see what’s going on outside their front door, or who’s walking up their driveway, and others want to see what their dog is doing while they’re at work, said Marcus.

“Surveillance is the biggest thing,” Sean Henry, a project manager at Associated Security in East Hartford, said. For Associated, though, the past year and a half has exerted conflicting pressures, Henry said. Business slumped for a while because homeowners didn’t want workers coming into their house.

At the same time, there seemed to be more incidents of car thefts and burglaries that customers heard about on the news or from neighbors. “People don’t want security when they feel safe,” Henry said.

At Rob Lewis’s store, Extreme Audio in Manchester, employees have gone from installing one car alarm a week to two or three. journalinquirer.com

Stress - Kids - Lonely - Isolated - Anxiety - Job Security?
So, You Think You’ve Tried Remote Work? You Probably Haven’t.

If it was during the pandemic, you don’t really know what it’s like. You might want to try again.

As offices reopen and companies move toward a hybrid workplace, about half of today’s remote workers (and most of their bosses) are eager to return to the office, at least most of the time. I’ve done the remote thing, they say, and it doesn’t work for me.

To those workers I say: You only think you know what it’s like to work remotely. But remote work in normal times (remember those?) is completely different than working at home under pandemic conditions.

How different will it be once the pandemic is behind us? As somebody who has worked remotely for 18 years—and found the past 18 months more than challenging—let me count the many ways.

Less stress - You love your kids, but… - People need people - People also need structure - A balanced life - Fewer meetings - The best of both worlds | Continue Reading

Loophole for Vaccine Mandates?
Religious exemptions may circumvent vaccine requirements
Religious objections to vaccines, once used sparingly around the country to be exempted from various required immunizations, are becoming a more widely used loophole against the COVID-19 shot.

And its use is likely to grow with President Joe Biden’s sweeping new vaccine strategy aimed at more than 100 million Americans, including executive branch employees and workers at businesses with more than 100 people on the payroll.

In the St. Louis region, an increasing number of municipalities, schools, hospitals and businesses are requiring workers to get the shot. But many also allow employees to abstain for religious reasons and get tested regularly instead.

Across the country, workers have pushed back against vaccine requirements. About 3,000 Los Angeles Police Department employees are citing religious objections to try to get out of the required COVID-19 vaccination. In Washington state, hundreds of state workers are seeking similar exemptions. And an Arkansas hospital has been swamped with so many such requests from employees that it is apparently calling their bluff. stltoday.com

Lockdown Violence Across the Globe
Australia: Melbourne erupts in violent anti-lockdown protests for second day
Violent scenes are unfolding in Melbourne for the second consecutive day as thousands of enraged protesters march through the city's CBD. They were met by a heavy police presence.

The crowd swelled to be thousands strong as it proceeded to march through the CBD, passing the state Parliament and Flinders St Station before turning back towards the CFMEU building. Some members of the crowd could be heard shouting "freedom" and "f*** the jab".

As the situation grew more chaotic around 1pm, footage emerged of protesters pelting police with projectiles, including glass bottles and flares. Some members of the crowd approached with their hands up, chanting: "You serve us." Riot police responded by deploying tear gas and firing rubber bullets. nzherald.co.nz

Apple Will Soon Let You Store Your Covid-19 Vaccine Card in Your iPhone Wallet

EU Illegal Factories of Organized Crime Groups Producing UK's Supply

Phillip Morris Offers Bounties in the EU - PMI Impact Fund
PMI IMPACT's 3rd Funding Round Now Open

KPMG Report Commissioned by Phillip Morris on Illegal Cigarettes

It rose 17.1% to 5.2bn ($7.09B U.S.) with £2.2bn ($3B U.S.) lost tax revenue in 2020

Europol working with various law enforcement groups around the EU are consistently busting these factories. And as soon as one is identified another pops up to fill the increasing demand. With the Convenience store operators being the primary sellers and have regularly been prosecuted, with some going to jail.

EN: The Daily post at least three a year of Europol's press releases covering the apprehensions from across the EU. Huge business! Much more so than in the states, big time!

As lockdown restrictions have eased over the past few months, Philip Morris has resumed sending teams across the UK to gather intelligence that assist local authorities and law enforcement with their efforts to clamp down on illegal trade.

Philip Morris is offering millions of pounds to back schemes which fight this illegal trade, including illicit tobacco products. Since its launch in 2016, PMI Impact has given £34m to 60 projects worldwide.

The fund asks for applications for funding from both public and private or non-profit organizations, including government bodies, international groups and academic institutions. talkingretail.com

Keeping Clothing Concept Secret - Giving it a Code Name - Good Luck With That
First stores opening in San Francisco and Columbus

Inside Amazon’s Department Store Plans: High-Tech Dressing Rooms, Its Own Apparel Brands

Company’s outlets could feature QR codes, touch screens and a nontraditional shopping experience

Offering shoppers a chance to try on clothes from its own private-label brands in technology-fueled dressing rooms.

Will primarily function as a place for Amazon to sell T-shirts, jeans and other items from its own labels, as well as a mix of outside brands that sell clothing on its website, the people said. Amazon wants to see if the potential department stores can improve the brand recognition of its apparel while addressing some of the irritants of both online and bricks-and-mortar clothes shopping, they said.

One idea that has been tested is for customers to scan QR codes of items they want to try on by using a smartphone app and for associates in the store to gather the items and place them in fitting rooms, the people said. Once there, customers could ask for more items using a touch screen, which might be capable of recommending additional clothing based on the pieces shoppers liked. The rooms could use sliding doors for associates to bring more clothes without seeing shoppers, the people said. Robots or other forms of automation could eventually be deployed in the stores, one of the people said.

The use of new tech by Amazon in physical outlets largely came with the opening of its Amazon Go cashierless convenience stores, which arrived in 2018. The plans aren’t completed and could change, they said.

Amazon has for years focused on building its apparel sales. This year it surpassed Walmart Inc. as the country’s largest seller of clothing, according to a report from Wells Fargo, which predicted earlier this year that Amazon’s total sales of clothing and shoes, including those made by others, will surpass $45 billion in 2021. Amazon doesn’t disclose the financial figures of its apparel sales wsj.com

Record-Breaking Bottleneck of Cargo Ships Continues
Why Container Ships Can't Sail Around the California Ports Bottleneck

The armada of vessels waiting offshore keeps growing, and experts say there are few viable alternatives to the country's main gateway for Asian imports

Newly arriving vessels are adding to a record-breaking flotilla waiting to unload cargo that on Sunday reached 73 ships, according to the Marine Exchange of Southern California, nearly double the number a month ago and expanding a fleet that has become a stark sign of the disruptions and delays roiling global supply chains.

Before the pandemic, it was unusual for more than one ship to wait for a berth.

Big vessels are continuing to join the bottleneck, experts say, because shipping lines and their cargo customers have few options for resetting countless supply chains moving goods into the U.S. that have been constructed over decades around the critical San Pedro Bay gateway now staggered by the overflowing demand for imports.

Although some ships have headed to other import gateways, and a handful of shippers have chartered smaller vessels to move goods through other ports, the diversion is minor compared with the hundreds of thousands of containers idled in the waters off Southern California. wsj.com

Wage Theft, Harassment & Hostility
Restaurant workers seeing uptick in wage theft, harassment & hostility in 2021
For restaurant workers, 2021 has been even worse than 2020, according to a new report released Monday from labor advocacy group One Fair Wage.

More than 34% of workers responding to a survey in early September reported more violations of their rights in 2021 compared with last year, the report said. Nearly 35% said their tips and additional wages did not bring them up to their state's minimum wage; and nearly half (47%) said they were not compensated for overtime.

Overall, workers said tips have declined and sexual harassment and customer hostility has gotten worse in 2021, according to the survey.

Three quarters (75%) of tipped workers said gratuities have decreased and more than half (54%) reported an increase in hostility and harassment related to enforcing COVID protocols. And more than half of respondents (54%) say they have considered leaving the industry, and most (76%) blamed low wages and tips. But concern about COVID safety was also a factor (58%) as was customer hostility (41%). restaurant-hospitality.com

Mental Health Epidemic
New Hires Can Spread Mental-Health Problems to Their Co-Workers

A study found that when troubled workers go to new firms, they often raise the company's level of anxiety, depression and stress

Can people spread mental-health problems from one company to another like an infectious disease? Recent research suggests it is possible. New hires diagnosed with anxiety, depression or high levels of stress are likely to transmit these feelings to their new co-workers, according to a study published online in May in the Administrative Science Quarterly.

Specifically, the paper finds that hiring a professional who was previously diagnosed with at least one of these ailments increases the incidence rate-the number of co-workers at the new organization who develop similar diagnoses-by about 6.32%.

A new hire's mental health was the most significant variable when it came to transmitting mental-health maladies between firms. But the authors identified other salient factors-notably, the situation at a new hire's previous workplace. wsj.com

Macy's to hire 76,000 for Holiday's - 21,200 for fulfillment centers

FedEx to hire 90,000 for holidays