Few conferences, agencies and work routines in various business and public sectors were spared disruption Friday, the second full day since the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus outbreak a global pandemic. Nearly 2,000 U.S. cases of COVID-19 were confirmed through Friday afternoon, including 41 deaths.
Congress isn't yet shortening its schedule in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, but members of both chambers’ Commerce and Judiciary committees told us last week not to expect their policymaking activities to be business as usual. Lawmakers barred public access to the Capitol and all House and Senate office buildings. Facilities remain open for members of Congress, Capitol Hill staff, credentialed journalists and business visitors.
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai got pledges from top ISPs, including all major carriers and cable operators plus telcos, to keep everyone online for the next 60 days amid the coronavirus. Pai spoke with the companies Thursday, he said Friday; see our report here. Companies and trade associations endorsed the pledge. Commissioners Jessica Rosenworcel and Geoffrey Starks said that's a good start, but the agency needs to do more.
A day after NAB canceled its April show at the Las Vegas Convention Center (see 2003110036), the coronavirus continued turning life upside down Thursday for many in various business and public sectors. In excess of 1,500 U.S. cases of COVID-19 were confirmed through Thursday afternoon, including 39 deaths. The spread was on pace to surpass 2,000 confirmed U.S. cases by the start of the weekend.
As fears about the spreading coronavirus increase, stakeholders are upping requests (see 2003060036) for additional government actions on telehealth and remote patient monitoring. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) said Thursday Michigan plans to give Medicaid patients easier access to telehealth services during the pandemic. That will expand "opportunities for safe, quality care through telemedicine," she said.
FCC staffers are being encouraged to work from home starting Friday and have been told to remove perishables from agency refrigerators and take their plants home, Chief of Staff Matthew Berry emailed staff Thursday in a memo obtained by Communications Daily. The agency also released a public notice Thursday banning all visitors from its facilities unless they receive special permission from the Office of Managing Director. It declined to detail what that permission may entail.
Dozens of ISPs of all sizes agreed to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai's suggestion the industry not take adverse action against customers for the next two months amid the coronavirus pandemic, he announced Friday morning. Those companies won't terminate service to any residential or small-business customers because of inability to pay due to such disruptions; will waive any related late fees; and will open their Wi-Fi hot spots to anyone. Pai is also seeking that the providers make other changes, including related to bandwidth caps.
Due to the coronavirus, the FCC closed its building to visitors, Chairman Ajit Pai announced Thursday afternoon. He also noted in a series of tweets that the agency is encouraging its employees to work remotely, as we had just reported. See here. The commission cited the need for social distancing, which some experts say can help limit the spread of COVID-19.
NAB will not "move forward" with the April 18-22 NAB Show at the Las Vegas Convention Center "in the interest of addressing the health and safety concerns of our stakeholders," said CEO Gordon Smith Wednesday afternoon. The decision to cancel came (see 2003110042) after the NAB executive committee voted unanimously by phone earlier Wednesday to scrub the event.
Coronavirus concerns are forcing the cancellation of more industry summits and prompting the FCC to ban nonessential travel and participation in large gatherings (see 2003040061). America's Communications Association Thursday also announced the cancellation of its March summit.