Local leaders are delivering America's communities through this crisis. That's why Bloomberg Philanthropies created the City Hall COVID-19 Update, to elevate the critical information city leaders need to respond to and recover from the challenges at hand.

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Mask usage is up, and cities are looking to keep it that way

It’s been a month since President Trump first wore a mask in public and the governors of Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas, and other states moved to mandate mask use for their residents. Mayors—who have been leading on promoting mask use all along—say the new tone from the top is helping. And now they're experimenting with ways to nudge residents toward further compliance, track the usage in their cities, and show how it’s all making a dent in the fight against COVID-19.

DATA TRACKER

Johns Hopkins' confirmed U.S. COVID-19 cases as of 8 a.m. EDT on August 14.

TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES

5,254,878

TOTAL DEATHS

167,253

Find more up-to-date case counts and other critical information from the Johns Hopkins University's situation report and interactive map.

CITY ACTIONS

A roundup of responses to the coronavirus crisis. See the
COVID-19: Local Action Tracker for more.

EXPANDING HOMELESSNESS SUPPORTS
In the early days of the pandemic, city leaders moved quickly to stand up programs and initiatives to keep residents experiencing homelessness safe. Months later, city leaders are working to turn short-term solutions into long-term fixes.

Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan announces construction of 600 new units of permanent housing for residents experiencing homelessness in response to the pandemic.
After the city increased outreach and support to residents experiencing homelessness during COVID, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti appoints a new deputy mayor for homelessness to continue the city’s work.
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan launches the Detroit Community Health Corps, a team of social workers, nurses, and community health workers that will connect families with resources to keep them housed, working, and current on utility and water bills.

TOUGH CHOICES ON REOPENING
Cities continue to fine tune their restrictions on key parts of their economies, tightening in some places and loosening in others.

St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson issues a curfew and occupancy limits for bars, restaurants, and nightclubs.
Nashville Mayor John Cooper is rolling back restrictions that have shuttered bars and will allow them to open next week, with limits in place.
Boston Mayor Marty Walsh says deciding when to reopen schools is “one of the hardest decisions we have to make, moving forward” and that a growing achievement gap among Black and Latino students is a top concern.

GLOBAL OUTLOOK

Helsinki Mayor Jan Vapaavuori is working with mayors in Vantaa and Espoo to urge Finland’s national government to issue a clear policy on wearing face masks.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan writes to Prime Minister Boris Johnson urging him to adopt a mandatory mask policy for busy public spaces, similar to one that Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo rolled out recently.
After more than 100 days without any community transmission of COVID-19 in New Zealand, four new cases put the city of Auckland into lockdown.

In his own words: Mayor Daniel Quintero

Medellín, Colombia, knows the power of good data. Mayor Daniel Quintero says it was data that empowered the city to, before the pandemic, bolster a health-care system that was already overwhelmed. And today, it's data from the 3.5 million users of an app called Medellín Me Cuida (Medellín Takes Care of Me) that is helping the city identify new COVID cases and provide care during quarantine. Part of that care includes connecting residents to the city’s Mayors Challenge-winning Bancuadra program, which provides access to low-interest microloans. “I believe that one of the most important learnings [is] that information equals better decision-making,” reflects Mayor Quintero in this video.

How has your city pivoted in response to the COVID-19 crisis? We’d love to know. Post a selfie video like Mayor Quintero’s and tag @BloombergCities.

CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES

Find more COVID-19 resources for city leaders here. Please suggest new resources to include here.

RESOURCES

COVID-19 Crisis Leadership Essentials for Mayors (Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative and Johns Hopkins University)
Answers to Mayors' Top Questions (Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative and Johns Hopkins University)
COVID-19 Management Metrics for Cities (Johns Hopkins University) Access webinars on using data and this metric set to tackle COVID in your community.
See how social distancing measures may have influenced trends in COVID-19 cases and deaths in every state. (Johns Hopkins University)
Streets for Pandemic Response and Recovery (NACTO)
COVID-19 Emergency Rental Assistance Programs in Ten Localities (Local Housing Solutions)
Free course on contact tracing (Johns Hopkins University)
Partnership for Healthy Cities COVID-19 Response Center (Bloomberg Philanthropies)
Transportation Response Center (NACTO)

CDC'S LATEST GUIDANCE FOR: