Govini Predicts COVID-19 Will Affect Military Readiness; Tara Murphy Dougherty Quoted

A new Govini analysis shows that U.S. military readiness is likely to see a major impact in the next few weeks as the coronavirus pandemic spreads to manufacturing hubs and military bases in the country’s western and southern areas, Defense One reported Monday.

Govini analysts said the findings could help officials and commanders at the Department of Defense prepare and earmark some of the emergency funds for COVID-19 response efforts. A $2T stimulus package passed by Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump allocates $10B in emergency funds for DoD.

“I’m convinced that if they don’t apply data and decision science to this mission and this problem set, in the best case scenario, the funding risks being inefficiently allocated,” said Tara Murphy Dougherty, CEO of Govini.

Govini’s risk assessment is based on the number of confirmed cases, conducted COVID-19 tests and hospital beds in every U.S. county. The high-risk areas identified in the company-generated map include Arizona, California, Nevada, Wyoming, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Idaho, Georgia, New Mexico and large parts of Texas, Nebraska and Kansas.