COVID-19 Digest: September 17

COVID-19 Digest: September 17

September 17, 2020 • Estimated Reading Time: 11 minutes

COVID-19 Digest

Thursday, September 17, 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 makes last-minute change to in-person school plan, majority of students will not start on Monday as planned; Open Streets program expanded to allow more weekday access for outdoor restaurants; as JPMorgan restaffs its offices, Deutsche bank announced US employees should plan a summer 2021 return; read how Casebook PBC has supported child welfare and human services with digital tools in our latest Companies to Watch.Confirmed Cases: 

  • New York State: 447,262 (+896)

  • New York City: 238,958 (+333) 

  • Statewide Fatalities: 25,413 (+3)

  • Daily NYC Infection Rate: 1.0 percent (+0.2 percent)

General Updates:

  • Just a few days before in-person classes were set to resume for NYC public school students, Mayor de Blasio announced another delay in start dates for some students. (NY1) In-person learning will roll out on a phased schedule based on grade level, with the oldest students now starting in October and only 3K, pre-K, and special education programs beginning next week as planned. (More below.)

  • CDC director Dr. Robert Redfield told a Senate panel that vaccines probably wouldn’t be distributed widely until next summer, and even said wearing face masks is a “more guaranteed” protection. (CNBC) He warned that it could take six to nine months after a vaccine’s approval to get enough people vaccinated to control the pandemic. Meanwhile Pres. Trump continues to claim a vaccine will be distributed in October. (CNBC)

  • New claims for state unemployment insurance fell last week, totaling 790,000. But that tally is still roughly four times what it was before the coronavirus pandemic shut down many businesses in March. (New York Times)

  • The Federal Reserve is projecting the US economy will shrink by 3.7 percent this year, a rosier outlook than the 6.5 percent contraction initially predicted in June. (Axios)

  • And if you’re looking for a way to get a coronavirus test in NYC — and get results back in 48 hours or less — here are some ideas.

One New York thing: You can’t count out NYC. It’s where people everyday make the impossible possible. Time and again, when faced with a challenge, we rally and come together in extraordinary ways. Be #AllinNYC and join us, along with NYCEDC and many other New York organizations and businesses, by joining this love letter to NYC. 

One good read: Call Me the Joan of Arc of Coronavirus Vaccine Trials (New York Times)

Survey

The latest results: Do you think we will see a second wave of coronavirus cases? 

  • 33.3%: Yes, but I think New York can safely maintain reopening 

  • 54.7%: Yes, and I think New York will have to roll back reopening

  • 11.9%: No, New York will keep the curve flat through the winter

Today’s poll: Video conferencing platforms have cemented themselves in our daily work and social lives alike, so much so that experts are now paying closer attention to phenomena like “Zoom fatigue,” a trend compelling people to change how they use the technology. How has the way you used video conferencing changed since the initial transition to WFH?

  • *|SURVEY: I have my video on more now than before|*

  • *|SURVEY: I have my video on less now than before|*

  • *|SURVEY: I have my video on the same as before|*

  • *|SURVEY: I don't use video conferencing|*

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

What You Need to Know

What to Know: Reopening:

  • With in-person instruction set to begin on Monday, Mayor de Blasio announced today a last-minute delay for many students’ return to classrooms. (New York Times) Here’s the new schedule:

    • Sept. 21: 3K and pre-K, and District 75 schools start

    • Sept. 29: K-5 and K-8 schools start

    • Oct. 1: Middle and high school students start

  • The delays come just as students began an all-remote orientation period yesterday to prepare for the school year. (New York Daily News) While students were excited to reconnect with their classmates and teachers, the process was not without its hiccups. (Gothamist)

  • New York’s Open Streets and Open Restaurants program — which allows establishments to extend seating to closed city streets on weekends — will be expanded to weekday service, as well. (Eater NY) About 40 of the 87 participating streets will become available for the expansion beginning Sept. 17.

Related reading:

  • The math of New York City’s recovery (Axios)

  • Does Wearing Glasses Protect You From Coronavirus (New York Times)

  • Zoom Fatigue and New Ways to Party (The New Yorker)

What to Know: Return-to-Office:

  • Facebook is hiring a director of remote work as its plans for a more permanent shift to WFH. (Business Insider)

  • Deutsche Bank told its US-based employees they may wait until summer 2021 to return to the office. (Wall Street Journal) The memo comes after employees asked for a clear policy that takes into account uncertainty around school reopenings, noting “understandable concerns about public transportation, cleanliness, security and other quality-of-life issues.”

  • Major commercial landlords are calling on Mayor de Blasio to start sending city workers back to offices. (Crain’s NY)

Related reading:

  • This Company's Approach to Remote Work Is the Worst I've Ever Seen (Inc.)

  • Seven Non-Work-Related Things Managers Should Encourage Remote Employees To Do (Forbes)

  • ‘Integrators’ and ‘separators’: How managers are helping the two types of remote workers survive the pandemic (Fortune)

One Company to Watch:

CASEBOOK

What does your company do?

Casebook PBC president and CEO Tristan Louis: Initially incubated by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Casebook is a proven SaaS human services platform. Our technology solutions are the response to frustration among human services professionals and leaders who have struggled with antiquated information systems. As a result, Casebook PBC developed a configurable, intuitive, and easy to use software in close partnership with human services practitioners. Our solutions evolve with policy and practice in child welfare and human services to provide the best-in-class experience.

Are there unique challenges the human services sector is grappling with right now? 

TL: Our typical customer’s work is difficult in normal times but this crisis has stepped it up even further. There are a number of specific areas where social distancing stands in the way of social work. For example, in child welfare, one of the ways in which child abuse cases are reported is through mandated reporters, people like teachers in a classroom who notice some issue with a child they deal with on a regular basis. But as classrooms have moved online, those high-touch points have all but evaporated, making it more difficult to ensure that children are safe. Yet, the number of people who need access to social services has increased and human services agencies are grappling with the difficult balance of having to provide more services while being faced with budget uncertainty. In the public sector, for example, we’re hearing of states cutting budgets by 15, 20, 25 percent, which is crazy for agencies that were already receiving too little financial support prior to the crisis. Read the full interview here.

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.

Recruit: A tech talent and job opportunities board from Tech:NYC and AlleyCorp compiles NYC tech workers looking for new roles and NYC-based tech companies hiring open positions. To contribute to the board, click here.

Events:

  • September 22: Virtual: Ask Me Anything Live, with Ben Lerer, Co-founder and Managing Partner of Lerer Hippeau. Hosted by Betaworks Studios. (Details) 

  • September 23: Virtual: How to Build Successful Companies, with How I Built This podcast host Guy Raz. Hosted by Company. (Details)

  • September 24: Virtual: Examining Racial Disparities During the Pandemic, with Chinatown BID executive director Wellington Chen, Manhattan Chamber of Commerce CEO Jessica Walker, Melba’s Restaurant owner Melba Wilson, and more. Hosted by City & State. (Details)

When In Doubt

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

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