The Trump administration is calling on agencies to leverage their authorities and technologies "to the greatest extent practicable” in an effort to continue operations amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Margaret Weichert, deputy director of management at the Office of Management and Budget, said in a memo issued Sunday that agencies must update their “.gov” websites and user accessibility features in citizen-facing interfaces to streamline the delivery of digital and telephonic services to users.

Other suggestions include updating technologies to support virtual private networks, preparing help desk support for information technology assistance and providing employee guidance on information security and privacy controls.

In a separate memo, Weichert called on agencies to consider telework flexibilities for contractors and reassess current contract requirements which may be "retooled for pandemic response consistent with the scope of the contract".

The memo also urges agencies to use special emergency procurement authorities such as increasing the micro-purchase threshold to “reduce friction for contractors” and drive rapid response.

Agencies are additionally recommended to extend performance periods if contractors are "unable to perform in a timely manner due to quarantining, social distancing, or other COVID-19 related interruptions."

Battelle is donating $250 thousand to food banks and food rescues in several communities where it has a significant presence in lieu of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), the company announced on Monday.

“As we rapidly research and develop tools and diagnostics to fight this virus, we’re going to financially support those among us who are at greatest risk. When the country has most needed us during our 90-year history, Battelle always has risen to the challenge, and this time will be no different,” said Battelle President and CEO and five-time Wash100 Award recipient, Lou Von Thaer. 

Battelle’s donations will be made in $50,000 allotments to five different agencies: the Mid-Ohio Food Bank in Central Ohio; the Capital Area Food Bank in Washington D.C.; the Community Food Bank of New Jersey’s Egg Harbor Township location; the Boulder Food Rescue in Colorado; and the Maryland Food Bank in Aberdeen.

The Mid-Ohio Food Bank serves Central Ohio, location of Battelle’s headquarters as well as research facilities in West Jefferson and Hilliard. “We are incredibly grateful to Battelle, an extraordinary organization that has been on the journey of connecting food to our hungry neighbors with Mid-Ohio Foodbank for decades,” said Matt Habash, President & CEO, Mid-Ohio Food Collective. 

In the Washington D.C. metro area, Battelle has four offices where employees conduct research and develop technology for a variety of federal agencies including those in the areas of defense, health, cyber and transportation. “This generous contribution simply could not have come at a better time,” said Capital Area Food Bank President and CEO Radha Muthiah.

Boulder is home to the National Ecological Observatory Network, which Battelle manages and operates for the National Science Foundation. The Battelle Eastern Science and Technology Center (BEST) is located in Aberdeen and performs research and provides support to a variety of federal agencies including the Department of Defense. 

In Egg Harbor, Battelle’s employees work on aviation security including screening technology used by the TSA to keep airports safe throughout the country. Community Food Bank of New Jersey President and CEO Carlos Rodriguez said the COVID-19 pandemic presents a new confluence of challenges.

About Battelle

Every day, the people of Battelle apply science and technology to solving what matters most. At major technology centers and national laboratories around the world, Battelle conducts research and development, designs and manufactures products, and delivers critical services for government and commercial customers. Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio since its founding in 1929, Battelle serves the national security, health and life sciences, and energy and environmental industries.

Honeywell has announced that it will immediately expand its manufacturing operations in Smithfield, Rhode Island, to produce N95 face masks in support of the U.S. government's response to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), the company announced on Monday. 

"Our Rhode Island facility already produces industry-leading safety gear and soon will play a critical role in supplying the Strategic National Stockpile with N95 masks," said Darius Adamczyk, Honeywell chairman and chief executive officer.

Honeywell has projected that the addition of the new mask production line in Smithfield will create at least 500 new jobs. The company will begin recruiting, hiring and training manufacturing workers immediately.

The N95 face masks will be delivered to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to contribute to the American stockpile for use to support health, safety and emergency response workers. Honeywell's production expansion will support additional American businesses that are part of the supply chain, including industrial equipment providers and raw materials suppliers. 

The company has also collaborated with state and local officials to ramp up production efforts and support recruiting and training for workers. Honeywell's Smithfield factory was established in 1980 to produce UVEX-branded eye protection products, which include safety glasses, safety goggles and protective face shields. 

Honeywell will utilize its intelligent safety solutions and personal protective equipment to help organizations keep their workers safe and healthy on the job. The company's offerings additionally include hazardous gas detectors, safety software solutions and personal protective equipment such as gloves, protective eyewear, respiratory protection, safety suits, hard hats and boots.

"We are honored to support the U.S. government's efforts to protect Americans with personal protective equipment made right here in the United States," added Adamczyk.

About Honeywell

Honeywell is a Fortune 100 technology company that delivers industry-specific solutions that include aerospace products and services; control technologies for buildings and industry; and performance materials globally. Our technologies help aircraft, buildings, manufacturing plants, supply chains, and workers become more connected to make our world smarter, safer, and more sustainable.

The coronavirus pandemic has stalled the global economy, impaired businesses and continues to impact the world and global economy; as a result, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics has requested that policymakers protect the defense industry supply chain, the organization announced on Monday. 

The aerospace and defense industry currently supports over 2.5 million jobs and 17,000 suppliers from large manufacturers to small businesses that form the backbone of the supply chain. It represents more than $928 billion in economic output for the United States and more than $237 billion in wages. 

As a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, the aerospace and defense sector has filled an essential need to protect national security and provide logistics capability to bring critical supplies to areas. The sector has provided a skilled workforce and has made significant advances in areas such as autonomy, cybersecurity, air mobility, and space exploration. 

The aerospace and defense workforce is an essential driver of innovation for the U.S. economy, national security, and has expanded the utilization of space for future generations. The industry has been an integral part of the United States in global competitiveness, innovation and technical leadership. 

The aerospace and defense contribution to the economy after recovery from the COVID-19 crisis will be crucial for restarting and building the economic engine. The industry has experienced an economic downturn that's worse than 9/11. 

Airlines have laid off thousands of workers and cut flights. Maintenance, repair and overhaul workers have also experienced major impacts. AIAA has requested federal government officials and lawmakers to be mindful of and support the aerospace and defense industry throughout the pandemic. 

About AIAA

The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is the world's largest aerospace technical society. With nearly 30,000 individual members from 91 countries, and 100 corporate members, AIAA brings together industry, academia, and government to advance engineering and science in aviation, space, and defense.

Everbridge has launched COVID-19 Shield, a new set of Coronavirus Protection Solutions designed to protect the safety of employees and customers, maintain business operations, safeguard supply chains and reduce costs and liabilities stemming from the impact of the global coronavirus pandemic, the company announced on Monday. 

“Everbridge works with thousands of organizations to help them protect their people and their operations. In one week alone, our customers sent more than 30 million coronavirus communications using our platform, a testament to the need for accurate and real-time information in a quickly evolving situation,” said Claudia Dent, SVP of Product Marketing at Everbridge.

Everbridge’s COVID-19 packages will mitigate the impact of coronavirus by leveraging the company’s industry-leading CEM platform to help organizations identify their risks, safeguard their workforce and manage disruptions to their operations and supply chain. 

COVID-19 Shield will offer three new out-of-the-box solutions to help organizations. The individual offerings include Know Your Risks through COVID-19 alerts correlated to an organization’s locations. 

The solution will provide pandemic Situation Reports developed from the world’s largest vetted database of risk data, derived from machine learning analysis of over 22,000 data sources from 175+ countries and validated by a 24/7 team of analysts monitoring local verified sources. 

In addition, COVID-19 Shield will offer “Protect Your People” to manage critical response plans and automate communications with impacted people, responders, leadership and other stakeholders. Protect Your People correlates a specialized Everbridge-developed threat feed on incidences of the coronavirus with the previously visited, last known and expected location of people to help businesses understand the risks and take appropriate actions. 

The solution will provide “Protect Your Operations and Supply Chains” by correlating alerts to physical assets including offices and facilities, production plants, suppliers and supply chain routes, in addition to people. The section will pinpoint potential impacts to your assets and production resources, initiating standard operating procedures to quickly resolve issues.

The COVID-19 Shield packages will also provide access to the Everbridge Data Sharing Private Network, which enables customers to share information publicly or privately. A business, for example, can share information with local government agencies and healthcare facilities to gain more local situation intelligence and to better coordinate response activities.

“As the CEM leader for almost 20 years, Everbridge is uniquely positioned to meet this need and to provide highly relevant information to help understand and mitigate the impacts of this global outbreak,” said Rebecca Scorzato, Partner at leading specialist risk consultancy, Control Risks.

About Everbridge

Everbridge, Inc. (NASDAQ: EVBG) is a global software company that provides enterprise software applications that automate and accelerate organizations’ operational response to critical events in order to keep people safe and businesses running. 

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced new efforts to increase the availability of ventilators and accessories and other respiratory devices during the COVID-19 pandemic to support patients with respiratory failure or difficulty breathing, the administration announced on Monday.

“With this boost from the FDA, medical device makers can more easily make changes to existing products, such as changes to suppliers or materials, to help address current manufacturing limitations or supply shortages. Other manufacturers, such as automakers, can more easily repurpose production lines to help increase supply,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar.

First, the guidance has outlined the agency’s intention to exercise enforcement discretion for certain modifications to these FDA-cleared devices. The guidance will expedite manufacturing by adding production lines or alternative sites, for instance, using non-medical device manufacturers such as automobile manufacturers, to start manufacturing ventilator parts.

Second, the FDA will support hospitals and health care professionals by providing ventilators intended for other environments, including repurposing ventilators normally used for transporting patients in an ambulance into the hospital setting for long-term use. The FDA has also provided recommendations for other alternatives that should be considered such as devices for treating sleep apnea, continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) devices.

Finally, the agency has encouraged manufacturers to communicate with the FDA about pursuing an emergency use authorization (EUA), which would allow them to distribute their ventilators in the United States. This includes U.S.-based manufacturers that were previously engaged in making medical devices, but have capabilities to increase the supply of these devices.

“The FDA is doing everything we can to support patients, health care professionals, hospitals, medical product manufacturers and the public during this pandemic. One of the most impactful steps we can take is to help with access and availability to life-saving medical treatments,” said FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn, M.D.

About FDA

The FDA, an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, protects the public health by assuring the safety, effectiveness, and security of human and veterinary drugs, vaccines and other biological products for human use, and medical devices. The agency also is responsible for the safety and security of our nation’s food supply, cosmetics, dietary supplements, products that give off electronic radiation, and for regulating tobacco products.

Quantum has published a letter to employees, customers, suppliers, partners and shareholders on the actions the company will take in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Quantum announced on Monday.

“As part of our commitment to flatten the curve of COVID-19 and keep communities safe, Quantum employees around the world are working from home and in almost all cases, they have the requisite IT infrastructure to remain productive using our collaboration tools, cloud-based software, and global networking infrastructure,” said Jamie Lerner, president and CEO of Quantum. 

Quantum’s core data center will continue to operate with a select group of essential personnel to keep our sites sterile while maintaining 24/7 global customer support. The company’s engineers are productive and inventing new software-defined storage features and other innovations. 

The company’s manufacturing partners in the U.S. and Mexico are currently staffed and running, and its supply chain is generally healthy. While Quantum has not experienced any major supply chain issues to date, the company will prepare for disruptions and anticipate some customers may pause purchases as we navigate this crisis.

Quantum has over $130 million of annual recurring high gross margin revenue from our service business and installed base and approximately $20 million annually from LTO royalties. Quantum's data protection solutions are core to many of its customers' business continuity foundation. The company will continue its contracts with the world's top television networks, national governments around the world, the US Navy, US Air Force, NASA, National Institutes of Health and more. 

“We continue to maintain a productive and positive dialogue with our lenders. We have worked with them to reach accommodations in the past, when we were in a far weaker position. Now that we have achieved profitability and built a positive track record with our lenders, we believe we are in a far better position today to work with them as necessary to navigate the current environment,” added Lerner. 

About Quantum

Quantum technology and services help customers capture, create and share digital content – and preserve and protect it for decades.  With solutions built for every stage of the data lifecycle, Quantum's platforms provide the fastest performance for high-resolution video, images, and industrial IoT.  That's why the world's leading entertainment companies, sports franchises, researchers, government agencies, enterprises, and cloud providers are making the world happier, safer, and smarter on Quantum.