COVID-19 Digest: March 20

COVID-19 Digest: March 20

March 20, 2020 • Estimated Reading Time: 10 minutes

COVID-19 Digest

Friday, March 20, 2020Tech:NYC’s COVID-19 resource guide is available here. It’s updated daily with the latest info from across the NYC tech sector.Email us at [email protected] with anything you’d like to see included in an upcoming email or with other feedback. Please share this with your networks and encourage your colleagues to sign up here.As the nature of the pandemic evolves, so too will our community’s responses and needs. If there are other topics or resources that would be helpful in future editions of this digest, please let us know here.

The Latest in New York

The latest: Gov. Cuomo shuts down NYS; request for used laptops or tablets; dealing with anxiety; our weekend recs; and finally, read to the bottom for a poll on Andrew Ross Sorkin’s bridge loan proposal.Confirmed Cases: 

  • New York State: 7,102 (+2,950)

  • New York City: 4,408 (+1,939)

  • Statewide Fatalities: 35 (+13)

Reminder: confirmed cases will exponentially increase as New York ramps up testing. This does not necessarily mean the virus is spreading at a different rate than it previously was. 

General Updates:

  • Beginning Sunday evening, New York State will mandate that all non-essential businesses close and that people remain home to the greatest extent possible. The following will remain open:

    • Medical facilities

    • Pharmacies

    • Grocery & liquor stores

    • Restaurants, take-out and delivery only

    • Parks (Announcement) 

  • Beginning tomorrow evening, New York will temporarily close all barber shops, hair and nail salons, tattoo shops, and similar services. (Tweet)

  • The IRS' tax filing deadline has been extended three months to July 15. (Axios) The same is true with the state filing deadline. (Tweet)

Request: Student Sponsor Partners, a nonprofit organization serving financially and academically vulnerable students in NYC, is looking for businesses who have used laptops or tablets that they might be willing to donate to their students (who are now required to continue coursework while at home). If you have any resources to offer or leads for securing them, please send us a note here.

 

What You Need to Know

NEW EMPLOYER UPDATES (for the full list, see our resource guide):

  • Kadena: mandatory WFH for all employees as of March 16th.

  • Moved: mandatory WFH as of March 4th until further notice.

  • Zola: extended its WFH policy to at least April 13th; continuing to assess further extensions on an ongoing basis.

  • Request: please let us know if you are instituting mandatory, optional, or other work-from-home policies. Sharing this information is helpful to companies and employees across the NYC ecosystem and can be kept anonymous.

WORKPLACE TOOLS:

  • Attentive: created a content hub with insights from 1,000+ leading brands to help e-commerce businesses navigate the rapidly evolving trends related to COVID-19.

  • Holisticly: offering all companies the Holisticly Platform free for 90 days, which handles the administrative side of offering employees multiple remote wellness solutions such as Headspace, Calm, Aaptiv, and Audible. Reach out here if you want more details.

  • RRE: a manager’s guide to newly remote teams.

  • Trello: a free ebook on the most pressing issues, plus actionable advice, on building up remote teams; a roundup of 12 of the best remote work guides.

  • Verizon Media: a news hub across the Yahoo ecosystem (News, Finance, Sports, Lifestyle & Entertainment) that aggregates the latest news about the pandemic in the U.S. and across the globe.

  • Voro: a guide of interactive tables and maps visualizing the latest coronavirus case statistics, plus resources from local municipalities.

  • Read: The Doctor Who Helped Defeat Smallpox Explains What’s Coming (WIRED)

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

POLICY UPDATES:

  • Gov. Cuomo is postponing residential and commercial evictions for 90 days. (Twitter)

  • In the latest move to restrict travel due to COVID-19, the federal government has moved to prohibit all non-essential travel between the U.S. and Mexico. (The Hill)

EVENTS:

  • March 21: Virtual: brunchworks at home, with First Round Capital co-founder Howard Morgan. Hosted by brunchwork. (Details)

  • March 24: Virtual: How to Ace Your Remote Pitch with Yang 2020 Senior Communications Strategist Michael Hoeppner. Hosted by NYU Data Future Lab. (Details)

  • March 24 – 25: Virtual: TICTeC 2020, a civic technology conference. (Details)

  • March 25: Webinar: Navigating the Remote Workplace. Hosted by Eden, Donut, Electric, and Justworks. (Details)

  • March 25: Virtual: Remote Work for Startup Founders, with Help Scout, Friday, and RemoteHQ. Hosted by Silicon Valley Bank. (Details)

  • March 25: Virtual: Venture Capital Advice for Startups, with Female Founders Fund, Bowery Capital, Lerer Hippeau, and Common. Hosted by Stacklist. Use code TECHNYC for 50% off registration. (Details)

  • March 26: Tech:NYC Virtual Book Club: Golden Gates with Conor Doughterty. (RSVP for login instructions)

COMPANY CULTURE: Mental Health Resources to Take Into the Weekend:

  • In announcing the mandatory closure of all non-essential businesses and a directive to avoid gatherings, Gov. Cuomo alluded to the important work we all must do to combat feelings of anxiety and loneliness amongst family and friends. He pointed out that “(t)hose three word sentences can make all the difference. I miss you, I love you, I'm thinking of you.” (Transcript)

  • Bitly: offering several resource to employees, including:

    • platforms that allow employees to connect with professional therapists, like TalkSpace and Betterhelp, which qualify as reimbursable expenses using the quarterly wellness reimbursement program;

    • a #Mental_Health Slack channel to share tricks and tips that have been useful; and

    • recommending Simple Habit, which is offering a free premium subscription until the end of April.

  • Crisis Text Line: text HOME to 741741 for free, 24/7 support in the U.S. from a trained Crisis Counselor.

  • Fluent: offering remote meditation sessions once a week.

  • Nautilus Labs: offering employees:

    • remote weekly meditation through Headspace for Business;

    • directing employees to their Employee Assistance Program via Justworks to utilize counseling services;

    • giving the team a half-day time of extra personal time next Friday.

  • Other resources:

    • A bulleted list of tips for parenting through COVID-19. (Psychology Today)

    • 'This fear everyone's feeling is our everyday life': Living with OCD amid coronavirus. (NBC News)

    • 6 Ways to Protect Yourself and Your Family from Anxiety About the Coronavirus. (Thrive Global)

Team Tech:NYC's suggestions for what to eat/read/watch this weekend:

Survey

Your answers are anonymous and we’ll share results here.You might have seen Andrew Ross Sorkin’s recommendation that the “government could offer every American business, large and small, and every self-employed — and gig — worker a no-interest ‘bridge loan’ guaranteed for the duration of the crisis to be paid back over a five-year period. The only condition of the loan to businesses would be that companies continue to employ at least 90 percent of their work force at the same wage that they did before the crisis.”Do you think your company would consider taking out a no-interest bridge loan right now?

When In Doubt

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