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COVID-19 Digest: August 3

COVID-19 Digest: August 3

August 03, 2020 • Estimated Reading Time: 11 minutes

COVID-19 Digest

Monday, August 3, 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: Open Restaurants program picked up for a second season, will return Summer 2021; Gov. Cuomo to confirm this week if classes can meet in-person come Fall; Museum of Natural History to reopen after Labor Day; Quora is latest company to make WFH shift permanent.Confirmed Cases:

New York State: 416,843 (+545)
New York City: 225,964 (+241)
Statewide Fatalities: 25,172 (+3)
Daily NYC Infection Rate: 1.0 percent (no change)

General Updates:

New York has now completed more than 6 million COVID-19 tests, and the number of new deaths and new hospitalizations dropped to their lowest number since March 17. (Details)
Gov. Cuomo said today that he will make final determinations on schools reopening for the fall semester later this week. (CBS New York) More on that below.
Federal lawmakers on opposing sides have hit an impasse on the next round of relief funding, and the Senate is scheduled to recess for an extended break on Friday. (Bloomberg) The White House is exploring whether Pres. Trump can act on his own if Congress doesn’t come to an agreement on the bill.
More than 9,000 restaurants have now been certified to operate outdoor spaces. (Eater NY) The Open Restaurants program has largely been seen as a success, and Mayor de Blasio announced it will return next year beginning June 1. (New York Daily News)
Tropical Storm Isaias is projected to hit NYC tomorrow afternoon, and heavy storm surges and coastal flooding are expected. No evacuation orders are in effect as of now, but now is a good time check which hurricane risk zone you’re in.

One opportunity: The Engelberg Center on Innovation Law & Policy is inviting applications to its one-year fellowship program, open to projects by lawyers, technologists, artists, policymakers, academics, and innovators of all kinds. Applicants must be primarily based in NYC. Applications will be reviewed beginning today and continually accepted on a rolling basis. Learn more here.

Survey

The latest results: Are you planning to travel or take a vacation in the coming month?

12.3%: Yes, but I'm planning on a staycation
31.6%: Yes, but I'm staying within the tristate region
30.3%: Yes, I'm traveling outside the tristate region
25.8%: No, I’m not planning to travel this season

Today’s poll: New York is reviewing the reopening plans of its 700 school districts, with final decisions on if each may proceed expected later this week. While NYC is planning to move forward with a combination of in-person and remote instruction, some parents and teacher groups are concerned the plan doesn’t adequately ensure safety measures. What do you think the fall semester should look like?

*|SURVEY: NYC should resume instruction in-person full time|*
*|SURVEY: NYC should resume instruction with a hybrid model|*
*|SURVEY: NYC should resume instruction with a hybrid model, but beginning later in the year|*
*|SURVEY: NYC should resume instruction fully remote|*

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

What You Need to Know

Reopening Schools:

As debate continues to swirl about how — and if — to reopen schools for the fall semester, schools districts across New York hit the Friday deadline for submitting plans on how they intend to do so safely. (Newsday) NYC’s plan was submitted late. (New York Post) Gov. Cuomo said today final decisions on if those plans may proceed will be made this week.
Mayor de Blasio has outlined NYC's plan, noting that if a case is confirmed, specific classrooms an infected person occupies would be closed before an entire school building would be shut down. (NY1) Other details on what the first day back could look like aren’t completely clear. (New York Magazine)
Some parents and teacher groups say the plan doesn’t go far enough and are calling for more robust testing and tracing protocols. (NY1) Gov. Cuomo added that teacher safety is crucial, and that the state won’t force teachers back into the classroom. (Crain’s NY)
The plans to move forward with a hybrid model of in-person and remote instruction are at odds with much of what we’ve learned across the country:
- Almost all of the country’s largest school districts, including Los Angeles, Atlanta, and others, are planning fully remote reopenings. (New York Times)
- The same is true for other districts up and down the East Coast: every district from Northern Virginia, through Washington DC, and up through Pennsylvania have shifted their plans and will start the year fully remote. (Twitter)
- A superintendent of an Arizona school district sounded a widely-heard alarm that reopening schools will make things worse. (Washington Post) And early examples may prove him right: one school in Indiana, among the earliest to reopen its doors, had to quarantine students within hours of the first day back. (New York Times)
Even with everything still unknown, NYC is moving ahead with the hybrid model. Parents who want to opt their child out of in-person instruction and choose an all-remote schedule must register that preference via this portal by this Friday, August 7.

What to Know: Reopening:

NYC announced 15 more locations for its Open Restaurants initiative, bringing the total to 62 streets citywide that have been converted to outdoor dining space. (Gothamist) The new locations are listed here and will be open from 5pm to 11pm on Friday nights, and noon to 11pm on Saturdays and Sundays.
The MTA will now require face masks on all public transit systems, leaving those refusing to do so at risk of being escorted off a train or bus. (NY1)
The American Museum of Natural History announced its plan to reopen on September 9, pending permission from city and state officials. (New York Times) The museum will reopen at 25 percent capacity. Masks will be required and timed-entry tickets must be reserved in advance. While previously pay-what-you-wish, it will also implement a fixed admission fee for visitors not from New York, New Jersey, or Connecticut.
Wave Hill Public Garden has reopened in the Bronx. (Gothamist) Tickets are free for the first two weeks of reopening and must be reserved in advance online.