COVID-19 Digest: May 8

COVID-19 Digest: May 8

May 08, 2020 • Estimated Reading Time: 14 minutes

COVID-19 Digest

Friday, May 8, 2020Please 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.Tech:NYC’s resource guide includes information on government resources for businesses, new health tracking and treatment tools, and a new section with return-to-office preparedness plans and resources. It will be updated regularly.

The Latest in New York

The latest: Some public space limitations this weekend; too many task forces to count, but we did; one-year rent freeze for stabilized units likely; Team Tech:NYC’s Mother’s Day plans.Confirmed Cases: 

  • New York State: 330,407 (+2,938)

  • New York City: 181,783 (+1,567)

  • Statewide Fatalities: 21,045 (+216)

General Updates:

  • The U.S. unemployment rate hit 14.7 percent and 20.5 million jobs were lost in April — levels not seen since the Great Depression. (New York Times)

  • Williamsburg’s Domino Park and Piers 45 and 46 in Hudson River Park will begin enforcing limited entry this weekend because social distancing hasn’t been adequately practiced in either greenspace. (New York Post)

  • Mayor de Blasio has reassigned the city’s contact tracing efforts away from the Health Department to the city’s public hospital system, in a sharp departure from standard practice. (New York Times) Health officials have expressed concern, and City Council Speaker Johnson has promised a hearing to review the decision. (Twitter)

  • New York City hospitals have ceased recommending hydroxychloroquine as a possible treatment for COVID-19 after a study from the New England Journal of Medicine found no association between the drug and better patient outcomes. (NY1) 

One baking thing: 21 new quarantine baking recipes for every skill level (New York Times)

Survey

Yesterday's results: How worried are you about making your next rent or mortgage payment?

  • 4.7%: Very worried

  • 14.7%: Mildly worried

  • 80.7%: Not worried

Today’s poll: Following a Board of Elections decision to cancel New York’s Democratic presidential primary on June 23, a federal judge ordered it reinstated, but the reversal has already been met with a file for appeal. The back-and-forth makes clear our voting system is in uncharted territory as we inch closer to November. Do you think COVID-19 will still be top of mind for voters in November?

  • *|SURVEY: Yes|*

  • *|SURVEY: No|*

Find the poll results from all previous editions of this newsletter here. If you have a question you’d like to ask the broader community in this newsletter, send us your ideas and we’ll try to include them!

What You Need to Know

Task Force Tally:

Want to tackle COVID-19? Launch a task force! (City & State) That’s exactly what public officials at all levels of government have done in an effort to bring outside expertise into their crisis response plans, and by the looks of it, you can never have too many of them. Here’s a roundup of the groups that have been set up — and the leaders who have been tapped to serve in them.

At the city level:

  • Fair Recovery Task Force: will help the city formulate a broader post-crisis recovery effort that builds a stronger, safer, and fairer economy and society. The group will put a recovery road map in the beginning of June.

    • Members are announced here, including Tech:NYC co-chair Fred Wilson.

  • Administration Task Force on Racial Inclusion and Equity: will be composed of administration officials to monitor response and recovery efforts in NYC’s hardest-hit communities and to identify unique needs associated with Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises (MWBE) and community health care providers. (NY1)

    • The group will be led by First Lady Chirlane McCray and Deputy Mayor J. Phillip Thompson. 

  • Sector Advisory Councils: ten councils focused on, among others, business, workforce development, arts, healthcare, real estate, to advise on reopening the economy and city life.

    • Members of the first four councils are announced here and began meeting this week. The remaining six will be announced in the coming days.

  • Mayor de Blasio will also announce details on a Charter Revision Commission and a new taskforce on Domestic and Gender Based Violence. (CBS New York)

At the state level:

  • NYS Interagency Task Force: a group of senior New York State officials tasked with coordinating with local governments and healthcare partners to monitor and respond to the novel coronavirus outbreak.

  • NY Forward Reopening Advisory Board: a group of business, community, and civic leaders across all industries to guide the state’s reopening strategy.

    • Members are announced here, including Tech:NYC’s own Julie Samuels.

  • COVID-19 Technology SWAT Team: a first-in-the-nation partnership with global tech companies to develop solutions that accelerate and amplify New York’s coronavirus response.

  • Blue Ribbon Commission: will advise the state on lessons learned by the pandemic to utilize new technologies to improve telehealth, education, and broadband systems.

  • Reimagine Education Advisory Council: composed of educators, students, parents and education leaders to help districts reimagine schools as they prepare to reopen and how virtual learning can bridge the gap.

  • Reimagine New York Task Force: will guide the state on how to improve systems downstate once the state is no longer under the PAUSE order

    • Members are announced here, including Mayor de Blasio and county executives.

  • COVID-19 Maternity Task Force: a group of maternal and infant health professionals examining ways to provide mothers a safe alternative, when appropriate, to already stressed hospitals amid pandemic.

    • Members are announced here and submitted their first report of recommendations last week.

At the federal level:

  • Pres. Trump’s Coronavirus Task Force, with Dr. Facui, Dr. Birx, and more. (New York Times)

  • Opening Up America Again Congressional Group, a bipartisan group of Congressional representatives to advise on reopening strategy. (The Hill)

  • Great American Economic Revival Groups, composed of business leaders across various impacted industries. (Benzinga)

  • COVID-19 Technology Task Force, advising the U.S. government on how to effectively use data to combat the pandemic. (Washington Post)

RETURN-TO-OFFICE PLANS:

As New York plans its reopening, so too are companies forming their return-to-office strategies. In addition to following federal guidelines, here are more company updates on their current plans:

Related reading: 

  • White-Collar Companies Race to Be Last to Return to the Office; Google, Facebook, Amazon, Capital One and others are extending work-from-home policies to September and sometimes far beyond. (New York Times)

Request: please let us know as your return-to-office policies are developed and what considerations your companies are taking for developing them. Sharing this information is helpful to companies and employees across the NYC ecosystem and can be kept anonymous.

Reminder: Tech:NYC’s resource guide is now available here and contains a comprehensive list of return-to-office plans published in previous digests.

POLICY:

  • The Rent Guidelines Board approved a rent freeze for NYC’s nearly one million rent-regulated apartments in a preliminary vote. (POLITICO)

  • Due to current court delays, the window for victims to file cases through the Child Victims Act has been extended an additional five months to January 14. (NY State of Politics)

  • The NYC Department of Education reversed a ban on the use of Zoom for remote instruction, citing privacy and security upgrades. (New York Daily News)

EVENTS:

  • May 12: Virtual: Contact Tracing and Technology: Balancing Public Health & Privacy, with Congressman Jerrold Nadler and Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer. Hosted by Columbia University. (Details)

  • May 12: Virtual: Collaborating for Success: Product and Engineering Leadership, with Dropbox and Northwestern Mutual. Hosted by Advancing Women in Product. (Details)

  • May 13: Webinar: Term Sheets in a Recessionary Environment, with Orrick. Hosted by the Data Future Lab. (Details)

  • May 14: Virtual: Next Wave: Adaptable Mindsets for a New Reality, with Facebook, Grey Group, and more. Hosted by Betaworks Studios. (Details)

  • May 15: Virtual: How to Land a Job at a Tech Startup, with Movable Ink, Reonomy, and Wisita. Hosted by VentureFizz and General Assembly. (Details) 

What Team Tech:NYC is doing for mom:

Yesterday, we shared some ideas for how to make a socially-distanced or virtual Mother’s Day still special for mom. Here’s what Team Tech:NYC members planned for ours:

  • Julie: Every year for Mother’s Day, my sister and I renew my mom’s membership to the Chicago Botanic Garden, a magical spot just north of the city. I always enjoy this annual tradition, but it felt especially important this year to support a cultural institution we all love so much, and I know my mom can’t wait for the Garden to reopen so she can get back to her regular walks. I’m also pretty excited about my special quarantine mothers day gift, because honestly who doesn’t want a robot vacuum cleaner right now?! 

  • Sarah: Like most of us, my mother has been spending more time in the kitchen (def got a pic of sourdough today) and finds herself quite worried about NYC’s restaurants and their futures. As a little stocking stuffer I got her FAMILY MEAL: Recipes from Our Community — a digital cookbook that benefits the Restaurant Workers’ Covid-19 Emergency Relief Fund, which supports on-the-ground efforts in the restaurant community. I also got her a subscription to Mubi, because the combination of escapism and limited-decision-making seemed like something we could all use right now. 

  • Tyler: My mom reads this newsletter, so I can’t reveal what gift I got her. But let’s just say she’s been holding onto her Fitbit for too long and it’s time for her to upgrade to a certain other wrist device. And virtual mimosas will be a must.

  • Bryan: My mom unfortunately doesn’t read this newsletter, and I think that needs to change. That being said, my brother and I are gifting mom her favorite flowers and dessert. On Mother’s Day, we’re also planning a family videochat, which will be the first time this happens in the Lozano household.

When In Doubt

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

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