COVID-19 Digest: March 27

COVID-19 Digest: March 27

March 27, 2020 • Estimated Reading Time: 9 minutes

COVID-19 Digest

Friday, March 27, 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: Federal stimulus package is now law; a collage of furry co-workers; need-to-know transit updates; a few things to fill your at-home weekend.Confirmed Cases: 

  • New York State: 44,635 (+7,377)

  • New York City: 25,398 (+4,005)

  • Statewide Fatalities: 519 (+134)

  • Patients Discharged: 2,045 (+528)

General Updates:

  • The U.S. now leads the world in confirmed coronavirus cases. (New York Times)

  • In just the last hour, Pres. Trump signed the federal stimulus package into law. (New York Times) 

  • Gov. Cuomo asks Pres. Trump for a field hospital in each borough, (POLITICO); this is after confronting the President over what he called a “grossly uninformed” Tweet about ventilator distribution protocol. (CNN | Tweet) 

  • The USNS Comfort, a Navy hospital ship, is expected to arrive Monday. Onboard are 1,000 beds and 1,200 medical staff ready to treat non-coronavirus patients to ease pressure on the city’s hospitals. (New York Post)

  • The Javits Center temporary hospital is slated to open Monday. Take a look at a video and some photos of the facility that the New York National Guard and the Army Corps of Engineers built in a week. (New York Post) It’s hard to believe this is happening right here in NYC; for some of us, these pictures really hit home. 

Quaratined Pet Interlude

Yesterday, instead of our usual flash poll, we asked you all to share your new WFH animal colleagues with us. We got lots of responses, and with much deliberation, here are some of our favorite quarantined pets:

What You Need to Know

WORKPLACE TOOLS:

  • Salesforce: a series of new free solutions to help companies stay connected to their employees, customers, and other stakeholders; can be set up immediately and very quickly.

  • Suzy: a consumer insights hub with real-time data from U.S. consumers on spending habits and other economic sentiments.

  • thelighthouse: a crowdsourced guide of WFH tips, including suggestions for working parents and how to keep growing your career during this time.

  • Wellory: offering free 1-1 messaging with a nutritionist. If you’re looking for at home recipes, pantry overhauls, or support on how to snack healthy while WFH, text COVID19 to 69922 to chat with one of our nutritionists.

  • 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.

  • Read: On the intensifying debate of whether it’s safe to take a walk outside: No Longer Just A Walk in the Park (New York Times)

TRANSIT:

  • MTA’s Essential Service Plan is now in effect until further notice.

    • There are several subway and bus service changes, including suspended B, W, and Z lines and suspended express service on many lines. See all the service changes here.

    • A modified schedule of Metro-North Railroad service begins today. Full details here.

    • LIRR is running half-hour or hourly service on most branches, with strategically added trains during peak travel times. Full details here.

  • Citi Bike is providing free, 30-day memberships to essential first responder, healthcare, and transit workers by signing up through their employers. Get more details here, and healthcare employers should reach out here to obtain enrollment information for their teams.

  • Lyft is partnering with the National Supermarket Association to offer discounted rides for seniors to affiliated supermarkets in the Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn and Upper Manhattan. (Queens Chronicle) Uber has partnered with 1199SEIU to offer free discounted rides to health care workers. (USA Today)

  • A crowdsourced spreadsheet is inviting New Yorkers to log their unused MetroCards and donate them to essential workers. If you can donate or need to claim a MetroCard, get more details here.

POLICY:

  • New York State will revise its essential business guidelines and end non-critical construction during the shutdown. (New York Post)

  • Gov. Cuomo extended school closures statewide to at least April 15th. (Tweet)

  • New York City Council is proposing $50 million in emergency government funding to aid struggling food assistance programs. (Press Release)

EVENTS:

  • 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 30: Webinar: Brand Building in Uncertain Times, with iHeartMedia. Hosted by Suzy. (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)

Tech:NYC's suggestions for how to spend your weekend:

  • The Municipal Art Society is partnering with Urban Archive to bring their popular Jane’s Walks online. Here are two — on hospitals throughout history and the 1918 influenza epidemic in New York — to remind you that this too shall pass.

  • Tomorrow, MoMA PS1 is hosting Come Together (Apart), a daylong streaming festival to celebrate and support local and international music communities. More information can be found here. 

  • Here’s 12 foreign language TV shows to help you escape. Both Babylon Berlin and Call My Agent come highly recommended by our policy director Zach...and he needs people to discuss the shows with (spare us!).

  • Read the next pick for Tech:NYC’s (virtual) book club: Steven Levy’s Facebook: The Inside Story. Let us know if you want to join, and we’ll send you details!

When In Doubt

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