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COVID-19 Digest: September 16

COVID-19 Digest: September 16

September 16, 2020 • Estimated Reading Time: 11 minutes

COVID-19 Digest

Wednesday, September 16, 2020As NYC’s reopening and recovery efforts continue, 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: Mayor de Blasio to furlough himself and nearly 500 city workers for one week; OMNY, contactless MTA payment, is now active at stations Manhattan-wide; city to restore some cut sanitation services, including upping garbage collection frequency; an ongoing employment survey shows about one third of workers feel less connected to teammates and managers.Confirmed Cases:

New York State: 446,366 (+652)
New York City: 235,625 (+252)
Statewide Fatalities: 25,410 (+4)
Daily NYC Infection Rate: 0.8 percent (-0.3 percent)

General Updates:

The state’s infection rate rose above one percent for the first time in more than a month on Tuesday. But with another 75,000+ tests conducted since then, the rate is now back below one percent, at 0.87 percent. (NYS)
School closures and stay-at-home measures in NYC contributed to a 70 percent reduction in the spread of COVID-19 in the five boroughs from March through June, according to new research from Columbia University and the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. (New York Daily News)
Mayor de Blasio will furlough 495 city staff members for a week, including himself. (New York Times) The symbolic move is expected to yield $860,000 in savings and could be a precursor to similar moves to slash the budget.
The NYC Council passed a bill today allowing restaurants to tack a “COVID-19 recovery charge” onto patrons' bills. (Crain’s NY) Officials say the 10 percent surcharge will help eateries recoup lost revenue after the pandemic forced them to shut down normal operations.
A biotech company and a machine vision startup collaborated to create a coronavirus test that can be fully completed at home and deliver results in 15 minutes. (Axios)
NYC is opening its own virus testing lab in Manhattan to address testing backlogs and delays. (New York Times) NYC tests more than 200,000 people per week, and the new lab will prioritize NYC residents, expecting turnaround times to be within 24 to 48 hours.

One good read: ‘You hope it doesn’t stretch past 2022’: Bill Gates on COVID-19 vaccines, America’s failures, and when we can expect real global relief (New York Magazine)

Survey

The latest results: The wildfires raging on the West Coast have now charred more than five million acres across multiple states, and smoke from the fires has even reached NYC. Have the wildfires impacted your work or home lives?

6.9%: Yes, they directly impact me personally
2.3%: Yes, they directly impact me professionally
2.3%: Yes, they directly impact me both personally and professionally
88.5%: No, they don’t directly impact me

Today’s poll: With public schools reopening for in-person instruction next week and more workers returning to office buildings — and as cooler weather moves more activities indoors — New York officials are preparing for the possibility of rising infection rates. Do you think we will see a second wave of coronavirus cases?

*|SURVEY: Yes, but I think New York can safely maintain reopening|*
*|SURVEY: Yes, and I think New York will have to roll back reopening|*
*|SURVEY: No, I think New York will keep the curve flat through the winter|*

Find the poll results from all previous editions of this newsletter here.

What You Need to Know

What to Know: Reopening:

Schools will no longer be required to offer any live instruction on blended students' remote days if they don't have the staff available to do so. (NY1) The move alleviates some staffing shortages faced by public schools, but frustrates some families as students could spend up to four days a week without any real-time interaction with their teachers.
The MTA has completed installation of contactless fare payment system, OMNY, across all Manhattan subway stations. (Wall Street Journal)
Gov. Cuomo said the state would not bar trick-or-treaters from going door to door this Halloween. (NBC New York) The state will release official guidance on how to safely participate in those festivities.
Visitation rules for nursing homes have been relaxed. (Times Union) New state guidance says that nursing home facilities must be COVID-free for 14 days, visitors must present a negative COVID test within the previous seven days, only two visitors per resident are permitted at a time, and no one under 18 is allowed to visit.
NYC will restore some garbage collection services that were cut earlier this summer due to budget constraints. (Wall Street Journal) Litter-basket cleanup was decreased 63 percent in the city budget approved in June, and this move restores 24 percent of what was cut, which is still a reduction to services before the coronavirus pandemic.
This year, snow days won’t be built into the school calendar. (Chalkbeat) With the start of school delayed, the Dept. of Education says it needs to squeeze in as many days of instruction as possible, so if a blizzard or other major weather events comes, the city won’t cancel school but instead have all students learn remotely that day.
The Big Ten will resume football games and kick off its season on Oct. 24. (ESPN) If any team’s positivity rate exceeds five percent, it must pause practice and competition for at least seven days.