The New Surge of the Virus in America

View in browser

Editor's note: The Brookings COVID-19 newsletter will be on hiatus until Tuesday, July 7. For those in the United States, we hope you have a safe and happy Fourth of July holiday!

Retail stores start to serve customers indoors as New York City enters phase 2 reopening

As COVID-19 continues to surge across America, states like Arizona, Florida, and Texas are rolling back their reopening plans. In the absence of a national roadmap for reopening, how should state and local policymakers move forward?

Below, we outline approaches for leaders to consider, as well as a computational model for measuring the effectiveness of containment policies. We also look at some of the impacts of the virus at the local level and see how communities are responding.

Lastly, the Brookings campus in Washington, D.C. may still be closed, but our experts are continuing to host online events on key COVID-19 issues facing the United States and the world. You can register to watch upcoming webinars at the bottom of the newsletter.

Strategies for reopening America

The playbook approach to safely reopening. Throughout the United States, governors, regional leaders, and business owners are scrambling with the reopening process. Mark Muro lays out some helpful guidelines and observations.

Metrics to help policymakers. What are the indicators that leaders should look to when determining the proper pace of reopening? Dany Bahar provides a helpful overview of metrics based on geography, population, and industry.

Testing the effectiveness of containment policies. TRACE—a collaborative effort from Brookings and Washington University in St. Louis—is a simulation model designed to inform policy responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in America. Read the initial results from the model or explore the interactive dashboard to test various scenarios.

COVID-19 at the local level

Local education politics. Although the pandemic has upended learning in schools across the United States, pre-COVID-19 politics have continued. Paul Hill and Ashley Jochim break down the new interests and conflicts that will become apparent when schools open in the fall.

Delaware's public spaces. As it begins to reopen, Wilmington, Delaware is working to revitalize its neglected public spaces and rebuild public trust with the local community. Laura Semmelroth explains how.

The view from Birmingham. "In Birmingham, Alabama, COVID-19 has not created a new economic or public health paradigm, but it has sharpened the consequences of the old one." Josh Carpenter discusses the city's vulnerabilities amid COVID-19 and how it is moving towards recovery.

The threat to local budgets. "The magnitude of COVID-19's fiscal shock on states and localities is more than even the best-run state or local government can handle without having to make deep spending cuts or tax increases." Mark Muro calls for sizable emergency aid for states and municipalities, along with supports for unemployed workers and struggling small businesses.

Upcoming Brookings webinars

How deep will the global recession be? On July 6, the Global Economy and Development program will host a webinar to examine the economic implications of the COVID-19 pandemic, including its impact on short- and long-term growth prospects.

Preserving manufacturing in the COVID-19 economy. On July 9, the Governance Studies program will bring an expert panel together to explain how COVID-19 has affected the manufacturing landscape and to outline ways to revitalize the sector.

How the coronavrius is changing U.S. politics. On July 15, a webinar featuring politics experts Elaine Kamarck, Molly Reynolds, Camille Busette, and John Hudak will break down new campaign strategies amid COVID-19, the RNC and DNC conventions, and what to expect in the lead-up to the fall 2020 election.

Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up to receive this twice-weekly newsletter. For all Brookings research and analysis on COVID-19, see our topic page.

If you no longer want to receive updates on coronavirus/COVID-19 from Brookings, please enter your email on this form. You will still receive any Brookings newsletters that you previously signed up for.