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Tech:NYC Digest: December 14

Tech:NYC Digest: December 14

December 14, 2020 • Estimated Reading Time: 12 minutes

Monday, December 14, 2020As NYC’s reopening and recovery efforts continue, the digest focuses on the resources that help you make decisions about your businesses and your lives as New Yorkers.Was this digest forwarded to you? Subscribe here.

The latest: US begins administering the Pfizer vaccine, first dose given to Queens healthcare worker; indoor dining no longer allowed in NYC, most restaurants say they can’t survive the winter; airlines coordinating on an app to verify passenger test results, vaccination status before boarding; Google again pushes back office return date, will pilot hybrid schedules after that.

Confirmed Cases:

New York State: 784,204 (+9,044)
New York City: 358,081 (+3,029)
Statewide Fatalities: 27,780 (+83)
NYC Positivity Rates:
- NYS reports: 4.0 percent (no change)
- NYC reports: 5.5 percent (no change)

General Updates:

The coronavirus has now claimed more than 300,000 lives in the US. (New York Times) To put it in perspective: that number surpasses the total number of American service members who died in WWII and surpasses heart disease as the leading cause of death in the US.
That grim milestone comes as the first trucks carrying a certified COVID-19 vaccine departed from a Michigan manufacturing facility yesterday. (AP) UPS and FedEx are delivering three million doses to more than 600 distribution centers over the next three days. (Axios)
And this morning, Sandra Lindsay, an ICU nurse in Queens, became the first American to receive the coronavirus vaccine, outside of clinical trials. (New York Magazine) Gov. Cuomo said he expects 10,000 New Yorkers will be vaccinated by the end of today.
- As vaccine distribution continues, here’s a good tracker on how many doses are available in every state and who the priority groups are. (Washington Post) And here's another good FAQ on all what the rollout looks like in New York. (Gothamist)
The start of the rollout is welcomed news, as Gov. Cuomo continues to warn of a potential overwhelming of the state’s hospital system like there was in the spring. (New York Times) The hospitalization rate in a given region has become one of the primary indicators for determining if that region will be designated a “yellow,” “orange,” or “red” zone and have to put shutdown measures in place.
Mayor de Blasio warned today that NYC should prepare for a “full lockdown” in the coming weeks if the city’s case count continues to climb. (CBS News) But Gov. Cuomo said that would only happen if the city hits a threshold that indicates it would reach a 90 percent hospital capacity in the next three weeks. (NBC New York)
Nearly six weeks after Election Day, the Electoral College cast their votes today to decide the next president. If all goes to plan, Joe Biden will receive the 306 votes he expects to give him a majority and confirm his win as the President-elect. (NY State of Politics)
And if the pandemic doesn’t cause a full shutdown this week, the incoming Nor’easter could.

One fun watch: Dr. Fauci and Dr. Birx answer all your vaccine questions in SNL’s Cold Open (Vulture)

Yesterday's results: Many companies are taking imminent vaccine distribution as an encouraging sign employees will be able to return to the office in the first half of next year. But Facebook became one of the first companies to indicate the vaccine won’t be required or a factor in when an employee returns. Do you think taking the vaccine should be a requirement in order for employees at your company to return to the office?

Today's poll

: Indoor dining in NYC was put back on pause today, and with the winter months ahead of us, many restaurant owners say outdoor dining and takeout

won’t be enough

to keep their doors open — the iconic 21 Club

said it would close

, adding to the roughly 6,000 establishments that have been forced to make the same announcement. Have any of your favorite local places been forced to close due to the effects of the pandemic?

*|SURVEY: Yes|*
*|SURVEY: No|*
*|SURVEY: Not yet, but I’m worried they will in the coming months|*

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

Reopening:

Mayor de Blasio announced that a COVID-19 vaccine command center opens today to facilitate citywide distribution. (NY1) It will monitor and manage everything from delivery efforts, equity and transparency in distribution, and vaccine mistrust and public education campaigns.
The federal government is providing the vaccine, along with syringes, needles, face masks and shields, but state leaders are saying they need billions of dollars more to actually execute the rollout — funding for hiring medical workers, providing community outreach and education, setting up clinics, and ensuring storage capacity for vaccines. (Wall Street Journal)
Indoor dining is prohibited in NYC beginning today. (Gothamist) A survey of 6,000 restaurant operators by the New York State Restaurant Association found that more than half said it was unlikely their businesses would still be in operation in six months without any government aid. The survey also found that 78 percent expected more layoffs over the next three months. (New York Times)
- The city released new guidelines on what restaurants should do with their outdoor dining setups when it snows. (Eater NY) When the city expects less than an inch of snow, outdoor dining can remain open, with “snow sticks” and other safety tools installed. More than that, and the Dept. of Sanitation will issue a snow alert instructing establishments to close outdoor dining by a certain time.
In the coming weeks, major airlines plan to introduce CommonPass, a health passport app, that aims to verify passengers’ test results (and eventually vaccinations) and will then issue confirmation codes that enable passengers to board certain flights. The app is being floated as a digital solution for public health credentials that could be adopted in schools, workplaces, entertainment venues, and more. (New York Times)
Remember: even though vaccinations began in New York today, it will be several months before most of us are eligible to get it. Until then, keep up the masks and social distancing. Take it from this military-grade camera of people’s breathing patterns.