COVID-19 Digest: April 20

COVID-19 Digest: April 20

April 20, 2020 • Estimated Reading Time: 11 minutes

COVID-19 Digest

Monday, April 20, 2020Please share this with your networks and encourage your colleagues to sign up here. If there are other topics or resources that would be helpful in future editions of this digest, please let us know here.

The Latest in New York

The latest: NYC cancels Pride 2020 and the Puerto Rican Day Parade; an update on antibody testing; healthcare service program coming to NYCHA residents; self-styling tips for a quarantine hairdo.Confirmed Cases: 

  • New York State: 247,512 (+17,870)

  • New York City: 136,806 (+9,454)

  • Statewide Fatalities: 14,347 (+1,525)

*New confirmed case counts are in the aggregate as of our last digest.General Updates:

  • The FDA recently approved a new machine, developed by Newlab, 10XBeta, Boyce Technologies, and others in partnership with NYC, that can replicate the function of traditional ventilators at nearly 1/10th of the cost for less-critically ill patients. (New York Times)

  • Mayor de Blasio announced that all non-essential events in June, including NYC Pride events and the Puerto Rican Day Parade, have been cancelled. (The Hill)

  • Facebook is blocking anti-quarantine protesters from using its social networking platform to organize events and spread misinformation. Individual states — including California, New Jersey, and Nebraska — have requested removal of the event pages. (POLITICO)

  • There is no part of the city’s economy that will return unscarred from the pandemic, but recovering from financial and emotional crisis is something New York is no stranger to. The Times takes a look at what it’s going to take to get our businesses, and our lifestyles, back up and running. (New York Times) 

  • Two new data tools: Instagram founders launched a new spread tracker (Rt.live), and Facebook launched a county-by-county symptoms tracker (Facebook). Mark Zuckerberg also wrote about how tech can uniquely help health officials and governments get the information they need to build better response plans. (Washington Post)

Request: Startup Genome is collecting data to quantify the impact of the crisis on startups. If you’re a startup founder or executive, please complete this five-minute survey: if you’ve had to close your startup permanently click here, and if you are still operating, have paused operations, or are growing click here.Read: Unemployment has skyrocketed, but so has the city’s volunteer pool and the number of people fostering animals. Here are 11 numbers that show the city is as complex as it ever was. (New York Times) 

Survey

Friday's results: Would you spend more time outside and use the street space if it became available?

  • 74.6%: Yes

  • 25.4%: No

Today’s flash poll: After nearly one month of shuttered barbershops and salons, many Americans have taken to cutting their own hair or having someone they co-shelter with cut it. Have you gotten a DIY hairstyle over the last month?

  • *|SURVEY: Yes, and it looks fabulous.|*

  • *|SURVEY: Yes, and I regret my decision.|*

  • *|SURVEY: No.|*

What You Need to Know

Antibody testing:

As the rate of new COVID-19 cases begins to plateau or decline in certain regions globally, countries are considering the best path toward reopening their economies and loosening social restrictions. The practice of widespread antibody testing is one measure that may be a key component to any reopening plan. Below we’ve included a few helpful resources on antibody testing, including what exactly it means, what public health and government officials are saying, and what certain jurisdictions are doing. 

  • Antibody testing is the process of looking for signs in an individual’s blood that they have developed antibodies to fight the virus. Widespread testing will help researchers and governments determine more accurate infection rates and better assess the number of infected, but asymptomatic individuals. (USA Today)

  • One big question is the extent to which being infected offers immunity to reinfection. While researchers say they have not seen any evidence that people can get reinfected with the virus, it's not yet clear whether all people who have had COVID-19 are immune to reinfection. In addition, there are signs that the promises of COVID-19 antibody tests have been oversold, and their challenges underestimated. Kits have flooded the market, but most aren’t accurate enough to confirm whether an individual has been exposed to the virus. (Nature)

  • On Sunday, Gov. Cuomo asserted that antibody testing would be key in guiding the reopening of New York State and that finding the number of people who had developed antibodies to the virus would help authorities understand the full extent of its spread. (Business Insider)

  • To that end, New York State will begin testing people for coronavirus antibodies today. Administered by the Department of Health, it hopes to complete 10,000 tests by the end of the week. (New York Times) 

  • Germany is aiming to sample its entire population for antibodies in coming months, hoping to gain valuable insight into how deeply the virus has penetrated the society at large and use the findings to determine which social and economic restrictions can be safely lifted. (New York Times) 

  • Dr. Fauci has urged caution when it comes to relying on antibody tests. According to Dr. Fauci, one of the problems is that many of the tests companies are preparing for the market have yet to be validated. (New York Post) 

WORKPLACE TOOLS:

  • Glimpse: a COVID-19 consumer impact tracker, which visualizes behavior trends across several categories.

  • Remotive: a log of 150+ startups hiring for remote jobs. 

  • Request: please let us know as your work-from-home policies are extended or what plans your companies have as they are reassessed. Sharing this information is helpful to companies and employees across the NYC ecosystem and can be kept anonymous.

POLICY:

  • Gov. Cuomo issued an executive order allowing couples to obtain licenses and marry “utilizing audio-video technology.” (Quartz) 

  • New York State is launching a new partnership to bring healthcare services, including COVID-19 diagnostic testing, to public housing residents. (PIX11)

  • Earlier today, Gov. Cuomo raised the idea of offering a 50 percent bonus for police, firefighters, medical personnel, mass transit employees, and other essential workers on the front-lines of coronavirus. (ABC) 

  • New York City is increasing the maximum fine for violating social distancing rules to $1,000. (New York Daily News) 

  • If the state does not receive federal budget assistance, lawmakers may need to cut 20 percent across hospitals, local governments, and schools. (NY State of Politics)

EVENTS:

  • April 21: Webinar: Ask an Expert: Coping with Unexpected Staffing Changes. Hosted by Justworks. (Details)

  • April 22: Virtual: Ask Me Anything Live, with Union Square Ventures founder (and Tech:NYC co-chair) Fred Wilson. Hosted by Betaworks Studios. (Details)

  • April 22: Virtual: brunchwork at home, with Adobe Chief Product Officer Scott Belsky. Hosted by brunchwork. Use code TECHNYC30 for 30% off. (Details)

  • April 23: Virtual: The Power of Mentoring During Times of Crisis. Hosted by PowerToFly. (Details)

  • April 23: Virtual: Flex Office in a Post COVID-19 World, with Industrious, Convene, and Knotel. Hosted by Savills. (Details)

  • April 24: Virtual: COVID-19 Data Hack, with AppliedXL, The Boston Globe, and STAT News. Hosted by Newlab. (Details)

  • April 25: Virtual: brunchwork at home, with Foursquare co-founder and chairman Dennis Crowley. Hosted by brunchwork. Use code TECHNYC30 for 30% off. (Details) 

Quarantine hair care:

For those of you that answered no to our poll question, and are considering cutting your own hair, here are some resources. Note: Tech:NYC takes no responsibility for how it turns out:

  • The latest coronavirus panic buys: hair dye and clippers. (New York Post)

  • Some are turning to their hair stylists via video chat. (New York Times)

  • A step-by-step guide to giving yourself a buzz cut. (New York Times)

  • Here’s some professional advice on cut and color. One tip: don’t get scissors-happy. (T Magazine)

  • Queer Eye’s resident stylist, Jonathan Van Ness, agrees: put those scissors down! (Bustle)

  • Is there a risk that the virus could be in your hair or beard? (New York Times)

  • A reporter cut her own bangs on TV, and might we suggest a virtual background next time... (Disclaimer: NSFW) (Twitter)

When In Doubt

Check these sources for verified information from government agencies and public health authorities: