• Mayor Sharon Weston Broome announced today the expansion of COVID-19 community testing sites throughout East Baton Rouge Parish. The expansion will offer mobile testing at various sites, Monday through Friday, during June. These testing sites do not require a doctor’s order and are offered at no out-of-pocket cost to the patient. The mobile testing sites are in addition to about two dozen fixed testing sites in East Baton Rouge Parish. See a list of mobile testing sites and fixed testing sites here.
• An estimated 2.1 million Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week despite the gradual reopening of businesses around the country, bringing the running total since the coronavirus shutdowns took hold in mid-March to about 41 million, the government said today.
• The Commerce Department reported today that the gross domestic product, the broadest measure of economic health, fell at an annual rate of 5% in the first quarter, a bigger decline than the 4.8% drop first estimated a month ago.
• There is growing concern about the accuracy of coronavirus antibody tests, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently updated its guidance for antibody testing, saying the tests are not accurate enough to help make important policy decisions and should not determine who is able to return to shared spaces, WAFB-TV reports.
• Amazon plans to keep most of the U.S. jobs it added to meet demand in March and April as housebound Americans turned to online deliveries, according to The Wall Street Journal. Amazon said today it will give 125,000 of those 175,000 temporary workers the option to stay on full time, signaling it expects the recent growth to continue.
• More than 400 Baton Rouge Community College graduates will be picking up their diplomas during a drive-thru graduation ceremony beginning at 10 a.m. today on the Mid City Campus. BRCC Chancellor Willie Smith will distribute diplomas to all graduates, along with any stoles and honor cords earned.
Read more stories on how the coronavirus is impacting the Baton Rouge business community. See a roundup of resources available to those impacted by the pandemic. Click here to see a 225 magazine list of local restaurants offering patio seating or indoor dining during phase one of reopening.
