Latest COVID-19 Headlines

All the headlines from our COVID-19 Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Health Officials Hope New Coronavirus Contact Tracing Apps Attract More Users

Nov 20 2020 // A new wave of mobile apps that help track exposure to the coronavirus is coming to U.S. states ahead of the holidays as public health officials bet that recently introduced features from Apple Inc. and Alphabet...

South African Insurer Santam to Appeal COVID-19 Business Interruption Ruling

Nov 20 2020 // Santam said on Friday it would appeal against a court ruling that found South Africa’s largest non-life insurer liable to pay a client’s claim relating to a coronavirus lockdown.Like insurers in other...

Swiss Re Confirms Financial Targets Despite Pandemic

Nov 20 2020 // Reinsurance company Swiss Re said it was committed to a stable or increasing dividend as it confirmed its financial targets on Friday despite the coronavirus pandemic that has pressured the industry.The reinsurer has swung...

Kentucky Aims to Slow Virus Spread with New Restrictions on Restaurants, Events

Nov 20 2020 // Bidding to slow surging coronavirus cases and deaths in Kentucky, Gov. Andy Beshear announced new restrictions Tuesday on in-person gatherings at restaurants, schools and event venues.“I don’t take this lightly...

Tyson Suspends Meat Plant Managers Accused of COVID Betting Pool

Nov 20 2020 // Tyson Foods Inc. said it has suspended managers at an Iowa meatpacking plant accused in lawsuits of betting on how many workers would be infected in a Covid outbreak earlier this year.More than 1,000 of the 2,800 employees...

Workers at North Dakota Company Go on Strike over COVID-19 Safety Concerns

Nov 19 2020 // About 70 drivers and warehouse workers at a Fargo, N.D., food distributor have gone on strike because they don’t believe the company is doing enough to protect them from exposure to COVID-19.Members of Teamsters...

Study: St. Louis Mask Mandates Cut Virus’ Spread

Nov 19 2020 // Mask mandates in St. Louis and St. Louis County slowed the spread of the coronavirus this summer when compared to neighboring counties that didn’t require face masks, a Saint Louis University study found.The study...

Pace of Broker Acquisitions Picks Up in 2nd Half, After COVID-Linked Lull in Q2

Nov 19 2020 // Insurance brokers have stepped up their acquisition pace in the second half of 2020 after a pause in the second quarter related to the coronavirus and the steep economic decline, according to a report published by...

Global COVID-19 Insurance Losses to Be Higher than Early Estimates: Lloyd’s Chairman

Nov 19 2020 // Global insurance losses from the COVID-19 pandemic will be higher this year than the $107 billion Lloyd’s of London had previously estimated, its Chairman Bruce Carnegie-Brown said on Wednesday.Carnegie-Brown told...

Task of Tracking COVID-19 Vaccine Safety Falls to Multiple Federal Agencies

Nov 18 2020 // Monitoring Covid-19 vaccines for safety issues will fall to a group of U.S. health agencies that also will have a hand in their rollout, a potential hurdle in persuading skeptics to get the shots, say former government...

Pfizer Reports 95% Success Rate in COVID-19 Vaccine Final Trial

Nov 18 2020 // Final results from Pfizer Inc.’s COVID-19 vaccine trial showed its shot had a 95% success rate and two months of safety data, paving the way for the drugmaker to apply for an emergency U.S. authorization within days,...

Norwegian Cruise Ship Operator SeaDream Cancels All Sailings After Virus Outbreak

Nov 18 2020 // Norwegian-owned cruise ship operator SeaDream Yacht Club has canceled all sailing for the remainder of 2020 after positive COVID-19 test results onboard one of its cruises, it said on Tuesday, dealing a fresh blow to the...

South African Insurer Santam Loses COVID-19 Business Interruption Test Case

Nov 18 2020 // A Cape Town court ordered Santam Ltd. to pay out business-interruption claims to two South African hospitality companies, potentially opening up the industry to cover losses suffered because of the coronavirus pandemic.The...

Insurers Using Counter-Intuitive Arguments to Escape COVID Liabilities: UK Regulator

Nov 18 2020 // Insurers are trying to escape liability for pandemic-related business losses with counter-intuitive arguments that go against the essential purpose of insurance, Britain’s markets watchdog told the UK Supreme Court...

Oklahoma Places New Restrictions on Bars, Restaurants Amid Virus Surge

Nov 17 2020 // Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt has announced new restrictions on bars and restaurants and plans to require mask wearing inside state buildings, the first state restrictions imposed since the economy reopened in May, as...

Kentucky High Court Says Governor Can Restrict Businesses in Virus Fight

Nov 17 2020 // Kentucky’s Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the governor’s authority to issue coronavirus-related restrictions on businesses and individuals to try to contain the spread of COVID-19.The ruling delivered a...

Michigan Governor Says She Has Authority for Virus Stay-Home Order

Nov 17 2020 // Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said on Nov. 16 she has the authority to issue a second stay-at-home order to curb the spiking coronavirus if necessary and called a comment by an adviser to President Donald Trump urging...

20 Farms in Washington Fined for Not Protecting Workers From COVID-19

Nov 17 2020 // Three Mid-Columbia farms are among those receiving the biggest fines in the state from the Washington state Department of Labor and Industries for serious violations of agriculture regulations to prevent the spread of the...

Is the Aviation Insurance Market Ready for a COVID-19 Vaccine?

Nov 17 2020 // As the development, and possible mass production, of COVID-19 (C-19) vaccines gather speed, the transportation and logistics industry will need to turn its attention to how the product can be safely and efficiently...

Federal Reserve Raises Questions Over Life Insurers’ Risk of Coronavirus Claims

Nov 17 2020 // U.S. life insurers face questions about their ability to cover a sudden rush of claims after the Federal Reserve highlighted liquidity and leverage risks in a report this week.Issues the Fed focused on are not new: Life...