An April poll from the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) found that 98 percent of its member companies had canceled international business trips, and 92 percent axed all or most domestic travel. But in a May follow-up poll, more than half the respondents said they plan to resume travel in the near future.

New unemployment claims in the U.S. passed the 40 million mark since the pandemic took hold. Approximately 1 in 4 U.S. workers have filed for unemployment since mid-March. 

New Security Law Threatens Hong Kong's Autonomy

Last week  at China’s National People’s Congress (NPC), spokesman Zhang Yesui confirmed that the NPC will propose a national security law for Hong Kong. China’s parliament will draft the legislation directly into Hong Kong’s mini-constitution (Basic Law) bypassing the territory’s Legislative Council (LegCo).

• More than 100,000 people have died from COVID-19 in the United States. New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Illinois top the list of total deaths. 
   
  

• According to the Department of Labor, 2.4 million people filed for new unemployment claims last week, bringing the pandemic-driven total to nearly 39 million over the last several months. Economists warn that the recovery may not be as quick as hoped.
   

Over the course of a week, the Global Guardian Asset Security team performed five apprehensions for one client at various construction and facility sites.

• As of today, all 50 states have begun to reopen on some level. Health officials are closely monitoring for spikes in new cases, but these may not be seen for 10-15 days after reopening.
   

The drugmaker Moderna out of Cambridge, Massachusetts announced that their coronavirus vaccine appears to be safe and able to stimulate an immune response against the COVID-19 virus. The initial results are from testing performed on eight volunteers. The second phase involving 600 people will begin soon and is on an accelerated timeline. 

New York governor Andrew Cuomo announced a two-week extension of stay-at-home orders for parts of the state, including NYC, that do not meet certain criteria laid out by the state. Five regions of New York were cleared to reopen some non-essential businesses; the Finger Lakes, including Rochester; Central New York, a five-county area including Syracuse; the Southern Tier, which borders Pennsylvania; the Mohawk Valley, west of Albany; and the rural North County, which includes the Adirondack Mountains.

Featured in Washington Post's article "What to do when disaster strikes on vacation", Global Guardian's Mike McGarrity provides insight into how to be prepared when it comes to traveling during a pandemic. To read the full article, click here.