FCW Insider: March 10

The Defense Department stresses telework, social distancing in its COVID-19 guidance for civilian employees, while civilian agencies are issuing widely disparate plans so far on travel and telework. Lauren C. Williams and Lia Russell have the story.

Contracting work could require some creative thinking for agencies and vendors in the event facilities are affected by the spread of coronavirus. Mark Rockwell takes a look at some of the challenges facing contactors amid the COVID-19 outbreak.

The National Federation of Federal Employees launched a program to support union locals that have lost workspace and other facilities access due to enforcement of Trump administration executive orders on the workforce. Lia explains.

According to a declassified report from U.S. Cyber Command, information contained in the publication by Wikileaks of thousands of diplomatic cables likely resulted in tactical changes by state-backed hacking groups to cover their tracks. Derek B. Johnson has more.

Quick Hits

*** Alex Azar, the secretary of Health and Human Services, said at a White House press briefing on Monday that there's no way yet for health officials to track the total number of coronavirus tests administered to Americans because many are taking place at hospitals and private labs that aren't required to report their tests to the Centers for Disease Control.

"CDC is actively working right now to build that IT connectivity with them so that we can gather that information," Azar said. "Let's work on getting the IT system up through CDC."

*** The Bureau of Land Management did not conduct a complete cost-benefit analysis to support the move of its headquarters from Washington, D.C. to Grand Junction, Colo., according to a report from the Government Accountability Office.

The report states that BLM "did not substantially address key practices for effective agency reform" in its reorganization plans. Specifically, there was "minimal" involvement from employees and key stakeholders.