Bernardsville Republican Municipal Committee

Hello – we received this recent update from the NJGOP on COVID-19 and so wanted to pass it onto you.

Please see below for a NJGOP update on COVID-19.

A Message From NJGOP Chairman Doug Steinhardt

Good afternoon everyone,

I hope everyone had a healthy and safe holiday weekend. Today, the NJGOP published a press release calling for Congress to take actions that would allow New Jersey to file a lawsuit against the Chinese Government and hold them accountable for their negligence in the spread of COVID-19. Read more here…

Here’s what you need to know today

NJ, NY, CT, PA, DE, and RI have formed a regional advisory council to help guide our re-opening once the COVID19 emergency has passed.

The NJ Senate passed a series of COVI-19 related measures today. Read more below:

• Senate Passes Corrado, Stack, Sweeney Bill to Establish the Temporary Emergency Rental Assistance Program
• Senate Clears Bipartisan Bill Supporting Health Care Professionals Fighting to Save Coronavirus Patients
• Bateman-Cryan Bill Would Require Refunds for Cancelled Rentals Due To Covid-19
• Senate Advances Cardinale/Beach/Kean Bill Clarifying Remote Education Policies During Emergency School Closures
• Sweeney-Kean Bills Would Provide Help for Small Businesses Contending with Economic Turmoil
• Sarlo-Oroho-Bucco Bill Would Extend Tax Deadline, Lengthen Fiscal Year
• Bucco/Greenstein Bill Helping Non-Profits During States of Emergency Passes Senate

The New Jersey Economic Development Authority’s Small Business Emergency Assistance Loan application is open.

The application is posted here: https://faq.business.nj.gov/en/articles/3835238-how-do-i-apply-to-the-njeda-small-business-emergency-assistance-loan-application-open-april-13-2020-at-9-00-a-m

For more information on the loans, click here: https://www.njeda.com/Press-Room/News-Articles/Press-Releases/NJEDA-Announces-Application-Launch

GET THE FACTS!

THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION HAS MADE THE DEVELOPMENT OF VACCINES, TESTS, AND THERAPEUTIC TREATMENTS FOR THE CORONAVIRUS A NUMBER ONE PRIORITY

• On March 2, 2020, the President announced a new partnership with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies in order to accelerate the development of vaccines and therapeutic treatments to combat the coronavirus.
  • The agreement will ensure the development of vaccines and therapies moves forward ” with maximum speeds .”
• Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar has worked with pharmaceutical companies and the coronavirus task force to remove obstacles, address supply chain challenges, and speed up the research and development process.
• The Trump administration has ” slashed red tape ” in order to speed up the development of vaccines and therapies.
• The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a new program, called the Coronavirus Treatment Acceleration Program (CTAP), which is allowing the FDA to use every tool to bring new therapies to sick patients ” as quickly as possible .”
  • The FDA has the ability to respond to requests from companies developing coronavirus treatments within 24 hours ; the agency explained that it’s goal is “to get the right FDA staff in touch with them and work to get studies going fast.”
  • Additionally, the FDA is “reviewing expanded access request within three hours .”

THE FDA’S NEW PROGRAM IS BEING PUT INTO ACTION AND TESTING AND TREATMENTS ARE BECOMING AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC

• Due to the FDA’s new program, there are 10 therapeutic agents in active trials and 15 more in planning stages.
  • Dr. Stephen Hahn, the head of the FDA, said the agency is moving aggressively with testing therapies and treatments for the coronavirus.
• Hahn explained that the FDA is streamlining all processes to ensure that the FDA can get applications into the “treatment arena” and to the “hospitals as quickly as possible.”
  • On March 24, 2020, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that New York will start using potential treatments , thanks to accelerated approval from President Trump and the FDA.
• U.S. health officials have been working with the biotech company Moderna to develop a vaccine, which began human trials on March 16 .
  • In response to the first human trial, Dr. Fauci praised the process as a ” record pace.“
• Due to the FDA’s emergency use authorization, rapid five minute point of care coronavirus testing will be coming to urgent care clinics .
• The new testing will be run on an ID NOW platform, which is the ” most widely available molecular point of care testing platform in the nation.”
  • On April 6, 2020, the Department of Health and Human Services announced that ID Now COVID-19 tests and devices will become available for public health labs in every state and territory .
• Dr. Deborah Birx, the Coronavirus Task Force Coordinator, said that the administration is also working with universities and private companies to develop rapid coronavirus antibodies testing.
• The testing will help health care workers ” peace of mind ” by determining if they have the antibody; with the antibody, there is 99.9% chance of not being reinjected.
• On April 2, 2020, the FDA approved the first coronavirus antibody testing in the United States.
  • CNN’s Dr. Gupta: FDA approval of COVID antibodies test is ” a big deal.”

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