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COVID-19 Digest: July 7

COVID-19 Digest: July 7

July 07, 2020 • Estimated Reading Time: 11 minutes

COVID-19 Digest

Tuesday, July 7, 2020As NYC begins reopening, 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: NYC jobless rate remains in double digits despite reopenings; three more states added to NY travel advisory; the city may enter Phase IV on July 20, with indoor dining still on hold; 3,000 daycares citywide expected to reopen to ease parents’ return-to-work. Confirmed Cases:

New York State: 398,237 (+588)
New York City: 217,488 (+272)
Statewide Fatalities: 24,924 (+10)
Daily NYC Infection Rate: 1.1 percent (+0.2 percent)

General Updates:

Even as NYC continues to reopen and more workers get back to work, the city’s unemployment is hovering near 20 percent, a figure not seen since the Great Depression. (New York Times) At least one million jobs have been lost in the city.
Three additional states were added to New York’s travel advisory meant to limit visitors from high-surge areas of the country. Delaware, Kansas, and Oklahoma join 16 others from which travelers are required to self-isolate for 14 days upon arrival. (Democrat & Chronicle) More on that below.
New Jersey holds its primary elections today, with a majority of voters opting to cast mail-in ballots. Similar to New York, results will be delayed as mail-in ballots will be counted through next week. (The Hill)
The US is paying vaccine maker Novavax $1.6 billion to develop 100 million doses of a coronavirus vaccine by early 2021. (New York Times) The company, which has never brought a product to market before, won the largest deal to date as part of the Trump Administration's Operation Warp Speed.
Speaking of a vaccine: POLITICO launched a news tracker that aggregates the latest developments and stories all about the vaccine race to fight COVID-19. Browse the tracker yourself here.

ICYMI: yesterday we wrote about Summer Bridge, an initiative to connect 35,000 NYC youth to paid work and mentorship experiences with local companies in the tech industry and beyond. With City and State-supported funding, this year’s program is all-remote and prioritizing low-income youth and those most impacted by COVID-19. Employer partners commit just 2-4 hours per week to participate. If your company is interested in hosting a cohort of students in August, get more details here and enroll to get involved here.One helpful read: How to Make Your Tech Last Longer (New York Times)

Survey

The latest results: Have you streamed Hamilton already?

47.8%: Yes
29.6%: No, but I plan to
22.6%: I don’t plan to watch it

Today’s poll: Over the holiday weekend, more than 700,000 passengers flew for the first time since the pandemic began. This comes as airlines have started relaxing onboard distancing policies and both state and international travel advisories are extended. When do you plan to travel by plane again?

*|SURVEY: I've already traveled via plane|*
*|SURVEY: In the next month|*
*|SURVEY: In the fall|*
*|SURVEY: Not until 2021|*
*|SURVEY: Not until there is a vaccine|*

Reminder: If you haven’t already, please help us get to know you better by completing our quick audience survey here. Find the poll results from all previous editions of this newsletter here.

What You Need to Know

Travel advisory:

Today, Gov. Cuomo announced another three states have been added to New York’s travel advisory for those coming to the state from places with high case counts. (NBC New York)
- Delaware, Kansas, and Oklahoma join 16 states previously announced. None of the listed states has met metrics to be removed from the list.
- States are added to the list when their number of positive tests exceed 10 percent or the number of cases exceeds 10 per 100,000 residents, based on a seven-day rolling average.
The advisory requires that anyone traveling to New York from listed states must self-isolate for 14 days upon arrival.
- But one small caveat: the requirement does not apply to anyone passing through New York for 24 hours or less (e.g., stopping at rest areas or layovers for air, bus, or train travel).
- And there is additional guidance for those traveling to New York for medical treatment here.
But as the number of cases around the country skyrocket and the list of restricted states grows, questions have arisen about how the quarantine requirements are enforced. (Newsday)
- While the advisory largely relies on travelers to self-quarantine, New York is monitoring flight logs from restricted states.
- The state has collected information from at least 5,000 travelers that have voluntarily filled out forms at airports across the state, and local health departments are then tasked with doing random checks to ensure travelers are complying with the quarantine. (NPR)
- Enforcement by travelers arriving by road is still fuzzy, and the advisory does not direct law enforcement to stop people coming into New York solely due to an out-of-state license plate.
Noncompliance with the quarantine order could carry a heavy cost: violations are subject to a penalty of up to $10,000 or imprisonment up to 15 days.
For more answers to frequently asked questions, click here.

What to Know: Reopening:

NYC could begin Phase IV reopening plans as soon as July 20, if everything goes to plan. Here’s what we can expect. (Time Out) Higher education institutions, museums, and non-spectator professional sports can reopen, but will all announce their own respective restart dates. Indoor dining is still on pause.
NYC Comptroller Scott Stringer today released a set of recommendations on how to safely reopen schools in the fall. His guidance comes as Mayor de Blasio and Gov. Cuomo have so far declined to issue an official guidelines to school districts, instead asking them to begin preparing for all possible scenarios. (USA Today)
Target, Home Depot, and other major retailers are calling on US state governors to require masks, saying different rules around the country have made it confusing for shoppers and often lead to conflict with employees trying to enforce the rules. (Crain’s NY)
The NYC Board of Health is expected to allow 3,000 daycares to reopen, with safety measures in place like having no more than 15 children per room. The move is intended to help parents get back to work as offices reopen. (New York Daily News)