COVID-19 Digest: September 3

COVID-19 Digest

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Thursday, September 3, 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: CDC tells states to prep mass vaccine distribution by November; NYC plans ambitious random testing program at 1,800 schools; casinos and NYC malls reopening Sept. 9 at reduced capacity; find our tips to make the most of Labor Day weekend, and we’ll see you back on Tuesday!Confirmed Cases: 

• New York State: 437,107 (+889)

• New York City: 235,110 (+304) 

• Statewide Fatalities: 25,343 (+7)

• Daily NYC Infection Rate: 0.99 percent (+0.19 percent)

General Updates:

• Last week, CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield sent a letter to governors instructing them to prepare for “large-scale” vaccine distribution by Nov. 1, two days before the presidential election. (NBC News)

• New York City is not only rushing to reopen schools, but also to set-up mandatory random testing at 1,800 schools by Oct. 1. (Note: no other major city has attempted this.) Under the program, ten to 20 percent of students and teachers will get a nose swab each month. If parents refuse to let their children get tested, their children will then have to learn at home. At $70 per test, the program could cost the city $10 million per month. (New York Times) More details on how testing will work here.

• The latest jobless claims totaled 881,000 last week, with California reporting the largest increase of claims at nearly 40,000. About 29.22 million people are receiving unemployment benefits across the country. (CNBC)

• Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer today criticized the Republicans’ coronavirus relief package, calling it “emaciated” and lacking provisions for housing, food stamps, and better unemployment aid. (Washington Post)

• City Council Speaker Corey Johnson has thrown his support in favor of indoor dining, stating, “[t]he rest of the state has been allowed to reopen their restaurants for indoor dining, and New Jersey is allowing indoor dining come Friday. Now is the time to allow it in New York City.” (Crain’s NY) The governor reasserted that he doesn’t not think NYC is ready for indoor dining. (AP) Simultaneously, the Governor has announced that malls in NYC and casinos statewide can reopen on Sept. 9. (more details below) 

One connected thing: Yesterday, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced that work had been completed to bring cellular voice and data connections to the L line tunnel under the East River, making it the first under-river tunnel in New York City Subway to receive cellular connectivity. (h/t Tech:NYC member Transit Wireless)One celebratory thing (that is tied to a good read): Happy 100th Best-Seller Week to ‘Between the World and Me.’ The NYTimes celebrates this third-ever book to reach the 100-week milestone. (New York Times)

Survey

The latest results: How does the uncertainty around education this fall impact you? 

• 21.3%: It has a real impact on me both personally and professionally

• 5.7%: It has a real personal impact on me

• 7.4%: It has a real professional impact on me

• 65.6%: It has no real impact on me

Today’s poll: And, just like that… Labor Day weekend is upon us, marking summer’s unofficial end. An estimated 42.5 million people will hit the road over the weekend, with 66 percent planning to do at least some work while away, according to a survey from HomeToGo. Do you plan to travel over the upcoming weekend and will you work while away?

• *|SURVEY: Yes, I am traveling, but plan to work over the holiday weekend|*

• *|SURVEY: Yes, I am traveling, and I don’t plan to work over the holiday weekend|*

• *|SURVEY: No, I am not traveling, and I plan to work over the holiday weekend|*

• *|SURVEY: No, I am not traveling, and I don’t plan to work over the holiday weekend|*

• *|SURVEY: What is a holiday weekend?|*

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

What You Need to Know

What to Know: Reopening:

• Gov. Cuomo announced that casinos will be allowed to reopen Sept. 9 at 25 percent capacity. (Democrat & Chronicle) The approval does not yet include table games, which individual casinos can seek approval for once installing physical barriers to separate guests.

• Indoor malls in NYC are also allowed to reopen Sept. 9 at 50 percent capacity. (The RealDeal) Malls elsewhere in New York reopened in July.

• Following a surge of campus infections, SUNY Oneonta has cancelled in-person learning for the fall semester and will send all on-campus students home. All classes and other activities will be conducted virtually. (The Daily Star)

Related reading:

• Can Anyone Really Solve New York City’s Indoor-Dining Problem? (New York Magazine)

  • Related, Resy, the reservation platform, is conducting a survey to see how its users feel about indoor dining.

• After 5 Months, N.Y.C. Gyms Reopen. Here’s What to Expect. Expect less crowds, but no group activities like spin classes or yoga. (New York Times)

• At the U.S. Open, the coronavirus has disrupted a crucial relationship: Player and towel (Washington Post)

• Is Staying In Staying Safe? Indoor life has its dangers, too, but building-design specialists have big plans for us. (The New Yorker)

What to Know: OOO:

• Labor Day Weekend is upon us, and a number of the city’s great institutions have recently reopened. If you’re planning to spend the weekend in NYC here’s a roundup to guide you. Warning: the Washington Post cautions that the experience might be so culturally rejuvenating that you’ll need someone to pick you up off the floor. 

  • Open Now: This Way to Chloë Bass’s Outdoor Art Show The artist’s exhibition in St. Nicholas Park, mounted by the Studio Museum in Harlem, revolves around questions like: “How much of life is coping?” (New York Times)

  • Open Now: The Met is Back and So Are We. Seeing a line to enter the Metropolitan Museum of Art was enough to induce palpitations in a heart accustomed to quarantine, and not all of the good kind. (The New Yorker)

  • Open Now: The Whitney Reopens With 3 Powerhouse Shows (New York Times)

  • Open Now: 'You can sit with the art': MoMA reopens with social distancing precautions. The cultural powerhouse’s reopening marks a shift in New York’s pandemic recovery efforts as other museums to welcome visitors. (The Guardian)

  • Open Now: Frieze Sculpture at Rockefeller Center 2020. Exploring themes of women’s suffrage, migration, urban planning, and ecology, the free outdoor exhibition returns to the heart of Manhattan from Sept. 1 – Oct. 2. (Frieze)

  • Coming Soon: First You Clean the Dinosaur’s Teeth. Then You Open the Museum. The American Museum of Natural History is going for an intimate experience — allowing hundreds, not thousands, of visitors in per hour — when it reopens on Sept. 9. (New York Times)

  • A List of Reopening Dates for NYC Museums (Hyperallergic)

  • NYC museums reopening: Everything you need to know. (New York Post)

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 8: Virtual: Accelerators and Fundraising in a Virtual World, with Undock, Diem, ERA, 500 Startups, and more. Hosted by Undock. (Details)

• September 9: Virtual: A Conversation with Etsy CEO Josh Silverman. Hosted by Tech:NYC, Bloomberg, and Cornell Tech. (Details)

• September 10: Virtual: NYC’s Tech Economy After COVID-19, with Brooklyn Navy Yard CEO David Ehrenberg, The Innovation Complex author Sharon Zukin, ff Venture Capital partner John Frankel, and THE CITY columnist Greg David. Hosted by the Gotham Center for New York City History. (Details) 

• September 15: Virtual: AMA Live, with Managed by Q founder Dan Teran. Hosted by Betaworks Studios. (Details)

• September 15: Virtual: StreetEasy presents Addressing Housing Affordability During COVID-19. StreetEasy’s economist Nancy Wu will be joined Barika Williams, Executive Director of the Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development, and Charles McNally, Director of External Affairs at the Furman Center, to discuss how COVID-19 has elevated existing affordability issues and what can be done to help the city’s most vulnerable communities. (Details)

When In Doubt

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

• New York State Department of Health

• New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene

• Centers for Disease Control

• World Health Organization

• Sign up for Gov. Cuomo’s nightly updates

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