COVID-19 Digest: March 26

COVID-19 Digest: March 26

March 26, 2020 • Estimated Reading Time: 11 minutes

COVID-19 Digest

Thusday, March 26, 2020Tech:NYC’s COVID-19 resource guide is available here. It’s updated daily with the latest info from across the NYC tech sector. Please share this with your networks and encourage your colleagues to sign up here.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: NYC manufacturers are producing medical supplies; breakdown of the stimulus package; caring for our pets during a pandemic; send us pics of your furry WFH co-workers for Friday’s newsletter! Confirmed Cases: 

  • New York State: 37,258 (+6,447)

  • New York City: 21,393 (+3,537)

  • Statewide Fatalities: 385 (+100)

  • Patients Discharged: 1,517

General Updates:

  • At the Brooklyn Navy Yard and across the city, many manufacturers are helping by pivoting their production to hand sanitizer, face masks, and other protective supplies. (Wall Street Journal)

  • Gov. Cuomo plans to reduce the size of his proposed state budget and is seeking the authority to make rolling, quarterly cuts to the state budget based on actual revenue. The latter would be unprecedented and the state legislature expressed initial concern with the concept. (Newsday)

  • New York approved a method that allows one ventilator to serve two patients, a potential life-saving move as healthcare workers decide how to best use a limited supply of the critical machines. (CNN) 

  • This Twitter thread, by Slack CEO Stewart Butterfield, recaps a fascinating play-by-play on his company’s experience of the last few weeks. (Twitter)

Get Involved: The COVID-19 Global Hackathon is an opportunity for developers to build software solutions that drive social impact, with the aim of tackling some of the challenges related to the current coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Read more about the hackathon timeline here, and join the Slack group here.Read: Our friends at the Center for an Urban Future put out a report on how to best support NYC’s small businesses right now. Importantly, the report finds that the “city and state’s top priority should be delivering aid quickly and effectively, with centralized resources that are easy for businesses to navigate, and that can be accessed in days, not months.”

 

Survey

Yesterday’s results: As a large portion of the world shifts to working from home and internet traffic increases, many of us are likely to face challenges with our home internet connections. How is your home internet holding up?

  • 45.6%: I have had no issues with my internet connection. 

  • 42.9%: I have had a few issues with my internet connection, but it has not impacted my ability to work from home. 

  • 10.4%: I have had frequent issues with my internet connection, and this has impacted my ability to work from home. 

  • 1.1%: I have had major issues with my internet connection, and I have been unable to reliably work from home.

Today’s flash survey: we’re taking a little break. And we thought the best temporary replacement would be for you all to share your WFH furry (feathery, scaley, or slimy) colleagues with us. If you have pandemic pet pics, we want to see them, please! Send us your favorite snap from quarantine, and we’ll pick the best for tomorrow’s newsletter.

What You Need to Know

FEDERAL STIMULUS PACKAGE:We’ve received a number of requests for more details on the $2 trillion federal stimulus package working its way through Congress. While there’s quite a lot in the nearly 900-page bill, it can broadly be broken down into three areas. We’ve included some topline information below. Importantly, this package is not finalized and we will continue to share relevant updates. 

  1. Individual Relief: The package extends and expands unemployment insurance provisions, increasing the maximum payment by up to $600 more for four months and extending overall eligibility by 13 weeks. The provision also applies to independent contractors. The federal government will also issue checks of up to $1,200 to individuals dependent on income. (NBC) 

  2. Business Relief: The package includes a variety of business tax provisions, including an allowance for deferral of payroll taxes. (Senate Finance Memo) It provides for $350 billion in cash flow assistance through 100% federally guaranteed loans of up to $10 million for small businesses and partial loan forgiveness for businesses that retain their workers or rehire ones that were laid off. (Wall Street Journal) As of right now, there may be complications for certain venture backed small businesses seeking these loans. (Axios). It also creates a $500 billion loan fund for distressed industries, to be controlled by the Federal Reserve. (New York Times) 

  3. Government Relief: The package provides emergency supplemental funding to a number of federal agencies, as well as $150 billion in assistance to city and state governments; states and cities will also be able to apply for loans from the $500 billion Federal Reserve fund. (Politico) 

According to Sen. Schumer, in total, New York stands to receive at least $40 billion in specific funding and tens of billions more in individual cash payments, hospital emergency funding, small business forgivable loans and expanded unemployment compensation from the $2 trillion emergency coronavirus relief bill. (Newsday) Notably, the MTA will receive $3.8 billion, just short of its requested $4 billion. (Gothamist) But MTA leaders are still worried that this won’t be enough. (Wall Street Journal)For more information on how this package and previous efforts impact businesses with under 500 employees, check out this U.S. Chamber of Commerce Guide. WORKPLACE TOOLS:

  • Cybersafe: offering 60 days of free network and endpoint security monitoring. Get more details here.

  • Dashlane: in-depth tips and resources for staying safe online.

  • Elektra Health: a community page for free women’s healthcare services and resources, including online doctor visits, free text support, hormonal health webinars, and more.

  • Elucd: a tracker for public perceptions around COVID-19, being updated daily.

  • Facilitators for Pandemic Response: a toolkit for facilitating online meetings and other workplace practices. 

  • Loomio: a new guide for those new to virtual-only work.

  • PepTalkHer: curating daily 15-minute virtual talks for women in the workplace, 6pm EST daily at this link and on @PepTalkHer’s Instagram Live.

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

  • Request: please let us know as your work-from-home policies are extended or what plans your companies have as they are reassessed. Sharing this information is helpful to companies and employees across the NYC ecosystem and can be kept anonymous.

EVENTS:

  • March 27: Webinar: Building Community and Collaboration with a Displaced Workforce. Hosted by Ellevate Network. (Details)

  • March 27: Virtual: Managing Your Sleep Wellness During COVID-19. Hosted by The Rest. (Details)

  • March 27: The Future of Work is Flex, with Knotel CEO Amol Sarva. Hosted by Savills. (Details)

  • March 29: Virtual: brunchwork from home with Google’s Head of UX Design and the founder of Oatly. Hosted by brunchwork. Use code VIPFRIENDS to get 40% off. (Details)

  • March 31: Webinar: Weathering 2008 & Now, with Bank of America. Hosted by Work-Bench. (Details)

  • April 3: Virtual: The Combine Demo Day, featuring the Combine 2020 cohort. Hosted by the NYC Media Lab. (Details)

Caring for Pets During the Pandemic:

  • Helping Your Dog Survive During a Quarantine (New York Times)

  • Alone no more: People are turning to dogs, cats, and chickens to cope with self-isolation (Washington Post)

  • UVA's Kenny, The School of Nursing's Endearing Therapy Dog, Gives Online Sessions (UVAToday)

  • Newest Shortage in New York: The City Is Running Out of Dogs to Adopt (Bloomberg)

  • How to Pet Dogs During the Coronavirus Pandemic (Washington Post)

  • So … How Are We Supposed to Open Doggy Poop Bags Now? (The Cut)

When In Doubt

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