COVID-19 Digest: April 9

COVID-19 Digest: April 9

April 09, 2020 • Estimated Reading Time: 9 minutes

COVID-19 Digest

Thursday, April 9, 2020Tech:NYC’s COVID-19 resource guide is available here. It’s updated daily with the latest info from across the NYC tech sector. Please 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.Programming note: tomorrow, the digest will take a short break in observance of the Passover and Good Friday holidays. We’ll be back in your inbox on Monday. Stay safe!

The Latest in New York

The latest: Hospitalization rate continues to decrease; the Senate fails to reach a new spending deal; making the best of an isolated Easter.Confirmed Cases: 

  • New York State: 159,937 (+10,621)

  • New York City: 87,028 (+5,225)

  • Statewide Fatalities: 7,067 (+799)

General Updates:

  • The number of new hospitalizations is almost flat, increasing only one percent in the past day. If the trend continues, the number will soon start to decline, a potential sign that the virus has passed its apex. (New York Times)

  • Mayor de Blasio signaled that some restrictions may be lifted in May (New York Post), but Gov. Cuomo rejected the notion that anyone can predict a timeline for normalcy, stating that there may be multiple waves of the virus if social distancing measures are rolled back too early. (The Center Square)

  • Tomorrow, our friends at the Desai Sethi Foundation are bringing their biweekly Community Resilience Prize to NYC to support community-driven solutions to COVID-19. If you or your organization have a creative idea that could use support, learn more here. 

  • You’re invited: the next pick for Tech:NYC’s (virtual) book club is Steven Levy’s Facebook: The Inside Story. We’ll discuss the book with the author on April 27th, and if you’d like to join us, shoot us a note for the details!

Holiday Interlude

This was certainly not how we expected to be spending the Passover, Easter, and Ramadan holidays, but with new challenges come new happy surprises. If you capture any fun, make-it-work moments over the holiday weekend, we really want to see them! Please send us your favorite pics from your quarantined festivities, and we’ll share some of the best next week.

What You Need to Know

WORKPLACE TOOLS:

  • Accenture: a new report of actionable steps CIOs can take to build resilience into IT systems. 

  • Airtable: 9 new templates for a smooth transition to remote work.

  • Capalino: a comprehensive guide of small business grants and emergency funding programs.

  • First Round: a 8-part field guide for founders navigating the crisis, with advice from recession-era leaders, investors, and CEOs, plus a scenario planner template to organize in. 

  • Salesforce: offering Salesforce Care Small Business Grants of $10,000 to provide capital to keep small businesses afloat. Learn more here.

  • Series B: a resource guide for startups facing severe economic disruption due to COVID-19. 

  • Reminder: Tech:NYC’s COVID-19 resource guide is available here.

  • 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.

  • Read: At these two NYC COVID-19 testing sites, immigrants are helping immigrants. (Gothamist / WNYC)

POLICY:

  • The nation’s governors are in talks to create a more cooperative consortium to oversee the purchase and distribution of medical supplies across the country. (POLITICO)

  • New York will delay a two percent raise for approximately 80,000 state workers, saving about $50 million over a 90-day period. (Bloomberg)

  • The Senate adjourned after Democrats and Republicans rejected each other’s respective bids for new relief spending. Republicans proposed an additional $250 billion for small businesses, while Democrats pushed for $250 billion for hospitals and local governments to be coupled with the small business spending. (CNBC)

EVENTS:

  • April 14: Webinar: Marketing Strategies and Sensitivities In the Wake of the Coronavirus, with Columbia Business School’s Jeremy Kagan. Hosted by TechDay. (Details)

  • April 14: Virtual: NY Tech Meetup, with DaVinci Eye, MeetFox, Salut, and Switch. Hosted by NY Tech Alliance. (Details)

  • April 15: Webinar: How to Run Remote Team Retrospectives. Hosted by Carbon Five. (Details)

  • April 15: Virtual: Why Emotion Belongs in Your Layoffs. Hosted by Bravely. (Details)

  • April 16: Virtual: Next Wave: Prepare for A Radically Digitized Future. Hosted by Betaworks Studios. (Details)

Easter in quarantine:Easter weekend is upon us, a time for family, gratitude, and a fresh step into Spring. Here are a few ideas for making it a festive celebration under any circumstances — stay safe, keep social distancing, and be sure you have enough treats stocked up (kids, don’t worry, the Easter Bunny is an essential worker). 

  • Easter brunch or dinner? We recommend both. Whether you’re cooking or catering, here are some tips to help you prepare: 

    • A new restaurant in Little Italy was set to open last month, but with the pandemic, it instead skipped straight to Easter dinner takeout and delivery. (New York Times)

    • Here’s a list of a dozen more places where you can grab a quintessential Easter brunch delivery.

    • Still deciding what to make? Set aside time to mull through Bon Appetit’s massive Easter recipe collection.

    • If the quarantine is making a full Easter dinner seem like too much work, Food & Wine has some tips for how to scale back and simplify your recipes.

  • Yes, even Easter egg hunts can go virtual. Good Housekeeping shows you how.

  • Holy Week services are marching ahead, albeit virtually:

    • St. Patrick’s Cathedral is conducting its planned services via livestream throughout the weekend. (Details)

    • The Vatican will livestream Vigil Mass and Sunday Mass to a near-empty St. Peter’s Basilica. (Details)

    • The Shroud of Turin, stored in a climate-controlled vault at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Turin, Italy, will be displayed via livestream on Saturday. (New York Post)

  • Here’s a fluffy piece to brighten your spirits: NYC residents are fostering bunnies just in time for Easter. (New York Post)

  • And finally, don’t stress yourself out over prepping to compensate for the quarantine. A good-enough holiday can be just as special — think more showing, sharing, singing, games — and when we get to the other side, our lives will be burnished with all the more gratitude for it. (New York Times)

When In Doubt

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