On June 11, 2020, the Ministry of Transport and Telecommunications, the Ministry of Economy and the National Consumer Service ("Sernac") announced the implementation of the "I want to exit" platform, in order to enable telecommunications users to terminate contracts with telecommunications service providers in an expeditious manner ...
Report of the Department of Banks and Financial Institutions Health Emergency - BCRA Communication “A” 7048: adjustments to the national payment system. Yesterday, the Central Bank of the Argentine Republic (BCRA) issued Communication "A" 7048 (the " Communication "), through which certain adjustments were established on the national payment system. The Communication was issued in accordance with the provisions of Decree No ...
Vietnam, a country of 97 million people, has been widely recognized for its successful handling of the novel coronavirus outbreak. On January 27, as the country celebrated the Lunar New Year holiday, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc declared war on the coronavirus, having said "fighting this epidemic is like fighting the enemy". The Prime Minister and his cabinet acted expediently in controlling the spread of the virus ...
MDR postponement On 17 April 2020 the European Parliament decided to postpone the transition timeline to implement the EU Medical Device Regulation (MDR), which was set to expire on 26 May 2020, until 26 May 2021. The EU MDR postponement was published in the Official Journal of the European Union and entered into force on 24 April 2020 ...
The controversial issue of whether employers can check their employees' temperatures has been much debated. Both the Employment Ministry and the Data Protection Authority (DPA) have recently changed their positions in this respect ...
Hand sanitiser production is just one aspect of business that's altered for £5bn industry, writes George Frier of Shepherd and Wedderburn The whisky industry continues to captivate consumers and entrepreneurs. Record exports continue and, within the sector, the emergence of new brands and the rejuvenation of existing brands demonstrate a vibrant sub-set of the Scottish food & drink economy ...
The Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) established the COVID-19 Telehealth Program (the “Telehealth Program”) on April 2, 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Telehealth Program provides $200 million in funding, appropriated by Congress as part of the CARES Act,[1] to assist certain non-profit and public healthcare providers in making telehealth services available to patients who cannot be seen in person ...
Last week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued guidance for the health care industry, titled “Temporary Policy on Prescription Drug Marketing Act Requirements for Distribution of Drug Samples During the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency ...
On May 27, 2020, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued a further extension of certain deadlines that were about to expire on May 31. The latest order provides until July 1, 2020 for certain actions delayed due to COVID-19. For small and micro entities only, filings that would have been accepted if filed by June 1, 2020, will now be deemed timely if filed by July 1, 2020 ...
Even though OSHA has advised that no specific standard covers the novel coronavirus, human resource and safety personnel must be mindful of the generally-applicable standards that might apply. OSHA has issued several guidelines that, while not the rule of law, do offer guidance on addressing COVID-19 issues, including recordkeeping and 300 log reporting obligations. On April 10, OSHA issued guidance that appeared to limit what cases would be required to be reported on OSHA 300 logs ...
On 28 May 2020 the Federal High Court (Bundesgerichtshof (“BGH”) handed down its judgment in the Planet49 case after a long legal dispute (we have already reported in detail on the previous instances including the judgment of the European Court of Justice). The Federal High Court’s judgement contains a large number of important statements which can only be fully assessed once the written grounds are published ...
As an update to our April 24 alert, the United States Health and Human Services Department (“HHS”) has continued to provide a string of updates over the past month regarding the funds allocated to provide financial relief for eligible health care providers by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act ...
On May 26, 2020, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced the formation of new Congregate Care Unified Response Teams to test residents and staff members in Ohio's nursing homes. Ohio Department of Health (“ODH”) Director Amy Acton, M.D., MPH, subsequently issued a Director’s Order on May 27, 2020 requiring all nursing homes to cooperate with this testing ...
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced on March 13, 2020 enhanced penalties for infection control survey non-compliance amid the COVID-19 pandemic.[1] On June 1, 2020, CMS announced significant changes related to nursing home surveys. The new changes require states to complete 100 percent of their Focused Infection Control nursing home surveys by July 31, 2020 ...
The Ohio House of Representatives has voted overwhelmingly in favor of House Bill 606, known as the “Good Samaritan Expansion Bill.” The bill grants temporary immunity from civil liability and professional disciplinary actions to a wide range of health care providers for injury, death, or damages arising from health care services rendered in response to the COVID-19 pandemic ...
Congress passed legislation amending the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) in hopes of making the program more useful to small businesses. Prior to the amendment, the PPP required loan proceeds to be spent during an eight-week covered period for a loan to be eligible for forgiveness. Additionally, 75 percent of the proceeds had to be used on payroll costs, so only 25 percent could be spent on certain eligible non-payroll expenses (e.g ...
On June 2, 2020, Ohio Department of Health (ODH) Director Amy Acton, M.D., MPH, issued a new comprehensive order permitting all surgeries to resume, effective immediately ( Surgery Resumption Order). The Surgery Resumption Order is available here. We have previously written about the March 17, 2020 ODH order that cancelled all non-essential or elective surgeries and procedures that use personal protective equipment (PPE) ...
The following are general considerations for health care employers who are strategizing their employees’ return to work. Note that each employer and health care environment is different and will need a specifically tailored plan. Further, there is a wealth of detailed guidance regarding various aspects of operating during the COVID-19 pandemic, including detailed guidance regarding proper PPE and patient treatment ...
The Substance Use Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment for Patients and Communities Act (“SUPPORT Act”)[1] was enacted on October 24, 2018. Among other things, the SUPPORT Act amended the Physician Payments Sunshine Act (“Sunshine Act”)[2] to expand the definition of “covered recipients”[3] for payment tracking and reporting purposes ...
Federal and state government enforcers have been turning their focus to nursing homes, skilled nursing facilities, and other long-term care facilities. While this enforcement priority is not tied specifically to the COVID-19 pandemic, facilities can expect additional scrutiny as they are considered “ground zero” for infections ...
As states are beginning to open back up amid the COVID-19 pandemic, nursing homes and other long-term care facilities are still at the highest risk of infection and should continue to be cautious. One-third of all COVID-19 deaths are attributed to long-term care residents and workers.[1] Facilities need to take steps to manage the spread of the disease and protect their residents and staff as states begin to allow more flexibility around long-term care quarantine practices ...
On 30 May 2020, the Abu Dhabi Media Office posted through Twitter that the Department of Government Support has eased restrictions on some activities and issued a set of guidelines for working from and visiting government entities in Abu Dhabi. The guidelines below come into effect from today, 1 June 2020, and are limited to individuals between the ages of 12 and 60 ...
On June 1, 2020, the Ministry of Popular Power for Health (MPPS) issued Resolution No 090, which establishes the health regulations for social responsibility in the face of the pandemic called Coronavirus (Covid-19) in order to mitigate and eradicate the virus infections within the national territory. Said Resolution was published in the Official Gazette No. 41,891 dated June 1, 2020 ...
As California continues to move through Stage 2 of its Resilience Roadmap, “Lower-risk workplaces,” where retail (curbside and delivery only), related logistics and manufacturing, office workplaces, limited personal services, outdoor museums, childcare, and essential businesses can now open with modifications, California employers should continue to be vigilant in assessing and complying with up to date health and safety guidance from the Occupational Safety and Health Admini
On 26 May 2020, Dubai Economy published the “Post Eid al Fitr” reopening Guidelines which took effect from Wednesday 27 May 2020 and include updates to the protocols for the wholesale and retail trade including salons and barbershops as well as valet parking. The Guidelines also provide tailored reopening protocols for cinemas, kids salons, auction houses, outsourced government service centres, and various entertainment sectors ...
