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COVID-19 Digest: August 18

COVID-19 Digest: August 18

August 18, 2020 • Estimated Reading Time: 8 minutes

COVID-19 Digest

Tuesday, August 18, 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: Gyms likely not reopening in NYC anytime soon, says Mayor; 40K+ more NYC students opt for a remote fall; NYC’s travel advisory now requires visitors to complete health forms before checking into hotels; Amazon is increasing office space investment in six cities, including New York.Confirmed Cases:

New York State: 426,571 (+655)
New York City: 230,742 (+284)
Statewide Fatalities: 25,264 (+8)
Daily NYC Infection Rate: 1.1 percent (+0.2 percent)

General Updates:

Two more states — Alaska and Delaware — were added to the travel advisory requiring those coming to New York to quarantine for 14 days. Both states were previously on the list. No other states have been removed. See the full current list here.
While Gov. Cuomo said gyms may reopen across the state beginning August 24, NYC residents will likely have to wait longer. (NBC New York) Under the safety guidelines, all gyms must be inspected by localities before reopening, and Mayor de Blasio’s office has said it will delay those inspections while they prioritize school reopenings.
Now two months into NYC’s contact tracing program, more than 11,000 infected people didn’t provide the names of others they might have exposed, and when they did, tracers completed interviews with six in 10 of them. (Times Union)
The special enrollment period for health insurance through the state marketplace has been extended another 30 days, to September 15. Learn more here.
And Gov. Cuomo is writing a book.

One good read: from Tech:NYC co-chair Fred Wilson: NYC is Dead, Long Live NYC (AVC)

Survey

The latest results: Assuming all safety protocols are in place, are you comfortable returning to a gym or fitness studio?

24.1%: Yes, I would be comfortable returning when they reopen this month
23.5%: No, I would be comfortable returning only later this year or in 2021
52.4%: No, I would be comfortable returning only when there is a vaccine

Today’s poll: The first night of this week’s Democratic National Convention is in the books, and over 18 million viewers tuned in. Today, the recorded speeches from Michelle Obama, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Gov. Cuomo, Gov. Kasich, and others have been making the viral rounds across the internet. How did you digest the opening two hours of the 2020 Convention?

*|SURVEY: I watched it live|*
*|SURVEY: I watched select clips online|*
*|SURVEY: I only read summaries|*
*|SURVEY: I did not watch or read anything about it|*

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

What You Need to Know

What to Know: Reopening:

A public school teacher in Kansas has made a Google spreadsheet tracking COVID-related school closures and quarantines across the country, and it already has more than 700 entries. (Washington Post) Upstate districts in New York count for seven of the entries. See the full spreadsheet here.
In the last week, 41,000 NYC students who were planning to return to the classroom for the fall semester have instead opted to begin the semester fully remote. (Chalkbeat) That brings the total to more than 300,000 students who won’t return for in-person instruction.
Mayor de Blasio will require hotels and short-term rentals that are hosting travelers from states on the travel advisory to fill out traveler health forms before they can check in. (New York Post)
The MTA announced that front-door bus loading and fare collection will return on all buses beginning August 31. (New York Post)