State reports another big rise in COVID-19 cases, 43 more deaths
The Indiana State Department of Health said Thursday that the cumulative death toll in the state rose to 1,007, up from 964 the previous day.
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U.S. consumer spending plunges record 7.5%, reflecting virus
The Commerce Department said the spending decline was the sharpest monthly drop on records that go back to 1959.
UPDATE: Marion County’s extended stay-at-home order could stop Simon’s plans to reopen Indy malls
Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett’s chief of staff, Thomas Cook, said Thursday morning that Castleton Square Mall, Circle Centre and the Fashion Mall at Keystone won’t likely be allowed to reopen Saturday under Marion County orders.
U.S. initial unemployment claims top 3.8M; Indiana sees more than 57K new claims
Roughly 30.3 million people have now filed for jobless aid in the six weeks since the coronavirus outbreak began forcing millions of employers to close their doors and slash their workforces.
One in six nursing homes across nation report COVID-19 outbreak
The tally paints a grim picture of the scale of the outbreak in homes tasked with caring for the elderly and infirm. More than 2,700 Medicare-certified nursing homes had publicly reported cases as of Tuesday.
Indiana schools pitch radical way to protect budgets in case students don’t return
There are growing worries among school officials that fewer students will return this fall. And in a state where funding is doled out per student, a drop in enrollment would mean an immediate financial hit to schools.
Economists: Quick rebound from recession is unlikely
Among the concerns is that people—employees and consumers alike—will remain too wary of contracting the coronavirus to return to anything resembling normal economic behavior.
Marion County to begin COVID-19 testing Thursday aimed at minority populations
Tests will be administered from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday and Friday at Eastern Star Church’s main campus at 5750 E. 30th St. to address the disparities in the impact of COVID-19 among African Americans and other high-risk populations.
U.S. stocks rally on hopes for coronavirus drug
The Nasdaq composite index rose to within 1% of erasing losses for the year, led by Alphabet after it reported an ad-sales slowdown that wasn’t as bad as expected.
Indiana hires Virginia company to handle ‘contact tracing’ of COVID-19 patients
By outsourcing the job to Virginia-based Maximus Inc., Indiana health officials hope to take the burden off of local health departments for the time-consuming job of contacting all COVID patients and learning who they might have exposed.
Study: Gilead drug proves effective in speeding coronavirus recovery
An experimental drug has proved effective against the new coronavirus in a major study, shortening the time it takes for patients to recover by almost a third on average, U.S. government and company officials announced Wednesday.
Fed signals it will likely hold rates near zero for months
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell suggested that given the depth of the U.S. economic catastrophe, with perhaps 30 million people having lost jobs in the past six weeks, it will “probably will take some time for us to get back to a more normal level of employment and ultimately maximum employment.”
Indiana deaths, testing reach highs in state’s daily COVID-19 report
The Indiana State Department of Health said Wednesday that the cumulative death toll in the state rose to 964, up from 901 the previous day—an increase of 63.
Delta suspends Indy-to-Paris flight until at least next year amid pandemic
During its recent first quarter financial results call, Delta Air Lines announced reductions of 80% in U.S. domestic capacity and 90% international capacity.
U.S. economy shrank at 4.8% rate last quarter as virus struck
It was the sharpest fall since the economy shrank at an 8.4% annual rate in the fourth quarter of 2008 in the depths of the Great Recession.
Quarantined actors, empty seats, fever checks might be part of return to live performances
Even as a few states began reopening some businesses this week, it remains unclear how long it will be before health experts declare it safe to cram ticket-buyers into sweaty arenas, concert halls or even performances of Shakespeare in the park.
As earnings season reaches full swing, uncertainty is certain
Companies are being affected in different ways during the pandemic, but if there’s a common theme, it’s that the situation was bad in the first quarter, and it’s going to get worse.
Easing lockdowns about to make day-to-day choices more complicated
With states lifting their coronavirus restrictions piecemeal and according to their own, often arbitrary, timetables, Americans are facing a bewildering multitude of decisions about what they should and should not do to protect their health, their livelihoods and their neighbors.
Pandemic hobbles drugmakers in recruiting for new studies
The Covid-19 pandemic is hampering research across the pharmaceutical industry, including at Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly and Co.
UPDATE: State enlists private contractor to boost COVID-19 testing dramatically
The Indiana State Department of Health on Tuesday announced it has reached an agreement with a subsidiary of United Health Group to open 20 testing sites around the state in the next week and 50 sites by mid-May.