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COVID-19 Digest: August 10

COVID-19 Digest: August 10

August 10, 2020 • Estimated Reading Time: 11 minutes

COVID-19 Digest

Monday, August 10, 2020As NYC’s reopening and recovery efforts continue, the digest will focus on the resources that help you make decisions about your businesses and your lives as New Yorkers.

Below and in our resource guide, you’ll find the latest information on government resources for businesses, city and state reopening measures, and return-to-office preparedness plans. If this can be useful to your colleagues and network, encourage them to sign up here.

The Latest in New York

The latest: Less than one-third of NYC students opt for remote-only learning this fall; Gov. Cuomo reacts to Trump’s executive orders, including a $400 weekly unemployment benefit; NYC eviction moratorium extended 30 days; Facebook follows Google and others extending WFH through July 2021.Confirmed Cases:

New York State: 421,336 (+476)
New York City: 228,069 (+237)
Statewide Fatalities: 25,204 (+2)
Daily NYC Infection Rate: 0.9 percent (no change)

General Updates:

The US has surpassed five million coronavirus cases, the highest number reported by any country. (New York Times) The infection total has more than doubled over the past two months.
One alarming warning: The US’s window of opportunity to beat back COVID-19 is closing. (STAT News) But some experts believe we have the tools to get it done by October. (New York Times)
Gov. Cuomo announced that schools statewide can reopen next month for the fall semester, breaking with most other large school districts in the country. (New York Times) In NYC, more than 700,000 students will return for in-person instruction, with nearly 300,000 others opting for a fully remote semester. (ABC New York) More than 100 other school districts in the state have yet to submit their reopening plans, which were due over a week ago. (NY State of Politics)
And relevant: at least 97,000 children in the US tested positive in the last two weeks in July. (New York Times) Seven out of 10 child infections came from states in the South and West, with the fewest coming from New York and New Jersey.
The White House ordered new payroll tax deferments, an extended eviction moratorium, postponed student loan interest and payments, and $400 in weekly unemployment benefits, of which 25 percent must be paid by states. (Axios) Gov. Cuomo reacted to the four executive orders Pres. Trump signed over the weekend, saying that the orders will do little to help New York out of its fiscal hole and that some of the demands will be impossible for the state to meet. (NY State of Politics) You can read more about those orders here. (Washington Post)
And beware: the rats are returning. (THE CITY)

One good tech read: our own Julie Samuels and Pursuit CEO Jukay Hsu on what’s next for the workforce: The Future Belongs to the Upskilled (New York Daily News)One good NYC read: A Season of Grief and Release: 5 Months of the Virus in New York City (New York Times)

Survey

The latest results: Now five months into the pandemic, how often are you now taking the subway?

3.0%: Daily
21.8%: One or more times per week
26.7%: One or more times per month
48.5%: I still have not returned to the subway since the PAUSE order

Today’s poll: The pandemic has fundamentally changed our habits, including how we eat. With restaurants only recently reopening for dining, most New Yorkers have been feeding themselves at home seven days a week. From pre-pandemic times to now, how often are you getting meals delivered?

*|SURVEY: More often since the pandemic began|*
*|SURVEY: Less often since the pandemic began|*
*|SURVEY: The same amount as before the pandemic|*

Find the poll results from all previous editions of this newsletter here.

What You Need to Know

What to Know: Reopening:

Here’s a helpful interactive about what happens to viral particles on the subway. (New York Times) At any given moment, 75 percent of the air you breathe in a subway car is recycled, the rest being pulled in from outside. Two ventilation units in each car help fully replace inside air with outside air about every three minutes and 20 seconds on average, limiting viral particles from building up inside the car.
Many New Yorkers want to repurpose streets for walking, biking, dining, and schools, even as traffic returns. (New York Times) But new vehicle registrations in NYC were up in July compared to previous years, with 40,000 new cars coming on the road. (THE CITY)
New York’s eviction moratorium has been extended another 30 days. (New York Post)
As NYC schools struggle to find adequate space to hold socially distanced classes in the fall, the Manhattan Borough President has suggested some unexpected ideas. Among them: a dim sum restaurant and a cathedral. (THE CITY)
Howard, Johns Hopkins, and Princeton will conduct their fall semesters fully online. (Washington Post) The move comes as confirmed cases remain high in many states and more universities retract their reopening plans and limit on-campus housing just weeks before the first day of school.