General Security and Resilience

There will likely be a new rash of COVID-19 cases following the widespread demonstrations, U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams said in an interview. He acknowledged the importance of the protesters’ message but voiced his fears that the conditions of the protests will lead to more cases. “Based on the way the disease spreads, there is every reason to expect that we will see new clusters and potentially new outbreaks moving forward,” he stated.

FEMA has released the Guide to Continuity Program Management, which provides guidance and templates to assist continuity program managers and planners in developing multi-year strategic plans, project plans, and multi-year test, training, and exercise calendars. FEMA notes that the guide does not address the development of continuity of operations plan. For information and guidance on how to develop a continuity of operations plan, FEMA refers its partners to its Continuity Resource Toolkit.

FEMA has released the fourth version of its Public Assistance Programs and Policy Guide, which will go into effect on June 1, 2020 and be applicable to incidents declared on or after this date. This document is intended to serve as a comprehensive program resource that describes FEMA Public Assistance policy in a single volume and provides an overview of the program implementation process with links to other publications and documents that provide additional process details.

According to research conducted by design and architecture firm Gensler, the vast majority of employees who are now working from home want to return to work after the COVID-19 pandemic subsides, with only 12 percent saying they want to continue working from home. Employees who want to return offered a variety of reasons for their preference, with some of the top reasons being to have scheduled meetings with colleagues, to socialize with colleagues, and to be part of the community.