7 Major Coronavirus Developments — 3.2 Million Jobs Lost Last Week — April 13, 2020

Raimondo Administration Closes URI Testing Facility

While talking about expanding testing in Rhode Island, the Raimondo administration has closed one of the three National Guard staffed testing facilities -- the testing facility at URI.

Worst Economy in 300 Years, Says Bank of England

The Bank of England has forecast the United Kingdom's economy will contract by a historic 30 percent in the first half of year and yet, has decided not to launch a new stimulus.  

"In its monetary policy report, the UK’s central bank presented an indicative forecast for the economy, predicting that output would dip 3 percent in the first quarter followed by a further 25 percent fall in the second, making a 30 percent drop overall in the first half," reports the FT.

Have Jobless Claims Peaked?

New U.S. jobs numbers are out on Thursday and the hope is that the number of filings will continue to fall.

The Wall Street Journal reports:

The number of U.S. workers filing for unemployment benefits weekly during the coronavirus pandemic has remained in record territory, but in recent weeks has dropped to about half the peak of 6.9 million touched in late March.

Weekly jobless claims—though still numbering in the millions, well above the prior weekly record of 695,000, set in 1982—suggest the wave of unemployment caused by the pandemic could crest as soon as this month. Still, the layoffs that already occurred are likely to cause the unemployment rate, at a 50-year low as recently as February, to jump to a record high with April’s number, due out Friday. The figures go back to 1948.

“The decline has been sharp, which raises the possibility that we reached the bottom quickly,” Michael Moran, an economist at Daiwa Capital Markets, said. He said he expects the peak of unemployment triggered by the pandemic to occur in April or May, noting that most nonessential businesses have already closed and there are signs the virus’s spread is easing in some areas. “Parts of the economy are already starting to reopen,” he said.

New Gin Launched in Pandemic

On Thursday, the Industrious Spirit Company (ISCO) announced that their Ornamental Gin is now available.  Dubbed Ornamental Gin in homage to the ornamental steel that was made on the site they now work on for over 100 years.

The Ornamental Gin, Structural Vodka and hand sanitizer are all available at the Wish We Could Window at 1 Sims Avenue, #103 from 1 – 4 p.m Mondays through Fridays. Small bottles of hand sanitizer continue to be available free of charge to those in need, with larger quantities for sale. Narragansett Beer has kindly been donating unused kegs for the base of our sanitizer.

Developed on-site and entirely from scratch, with a base of 100% non-GMO organic corn, just like their vodka. All gins must of course be flavored with juniper, and in addition to this they include a very special mix of 15 additional botanicals on top—elderflowers, passion flower, lots of citrus and hops to name a few! After a long, slow and careful distillation, the liquid is left to rest for a month to let the flavors meld. After being slowly proofed down to 40% ABV over a further period of weeks, their gin is finally gently filtered just before bottling.

“We are thrilled at the release of our second distilled product in a matter of short months, we are proud that this gin plays very well with others. It works well in all the classics, from a Martini to a Negroni, with your favorite tonic, or even chilled with a little citrus. It’s a truly modern gin, perfect for spring into summer,” said Dan Neff, Distiller of The Industrious Spirits Company.

Reopeningri.com Has Resources for Business

The newly revamped website for business has been upgraded with expanded tools.

Step-by-step materials are available for businesses on how to safely open and what precautions need to be taken.

VISIT HERE

Numbers

10,205 Cases in Rhode Island

72,025 Cases in Massachusetts

370 Deaths in RI

4,420 Deaths in Massachusetts

1,263,243 Cases in the United States

74,809 Deaths in the United States

3,836,817 Global Cases

265,366 Global Deaths

1,308,201 Global Recoveries

GoLocal LIVE, Thursday, May 7, 2020

1:00 PM - Governor Gina Raimondo Briefing

EDITOR'S NOTE: Raimondo does not allow Rhode Islanders to hear reporters' questions. Nearly all governors across the country and the White House allow reporters to ask questions directly and for the public to hear the questions and the responses.