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Tech:NYC Digest: December 16

Tech:NYC Digest: December 16

December 16, 2020 • Estimated Reading Time: 11 minutes

Wednesday, December 16, 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: Mayor de Blasio predicts stricter shutdowns post-holidays; stimulus shapes up, nearly $900 billion package with direct checks and unemployment benefits looks likely; remote learning may bring an end to the snow day, NYC students expected to attend virtual school tomorrow; Wall Streeters are returning to remote work after slow shift to the office, likely won’t go back until vaccines are more available.

Confirmed Cases:

New York State: 804,555 (+9,998)
New York City: 365,758 (+3,531)
Statewide Fatalities: 28,100 (+95)
NYC Positivity Rates:
- NYS reports: 4.1 percent (+0.1 percent)
- NYC reports: 5.7 percent (+0.2 percent)

General Updates:

The number of statewide hospitalizations in New York has now crossed 6,000, the highest it's been since May 15, and Gov. Cuomo ordered hospital systems to shift into “crisis management mode” to respond to the influx. (CNBC)
One vaccine update: New York has now received almost 88,000 doses of the state's Pfizer vaccine allocation, and another 80,000 will arrive in the next few days to begin distribution to nursing home staff and residents. (NBC New York)
- To track incoming shipments and compile information about the distribution plans and timelines, New York State has a new website live here.
Mayor de Blasio again said he expects a broader shutdown in NYC after Christmas. (New York Daily News) Gov. Cuomo said today that while warnings about the potential of a fuller lockdown are helpful, it is not yet the time to make that decision. He reinforced that any shutdown measures after Christmas and in early January will depend on people’s adherence to safety guidance over the holidays.
Congressional lawmakers are closing in on a deal for the next stimulus package, which could be finalized as early as this evening. (POLITICO) At a $900 billion price tag, it will likely include direct checks to Americans for $600 to $700 and funding for unemployment benefits through March. Aid for state and local governments is expected to be left out.
The Trump Administration is reportedly in negotiation with Pfizer to secure tens of millions more doses for the spring. (New York Times) In order to achieve the quota, the government would need to order suppliers to prioritize the drug maker’s raw material purchase requests. Pfizer requested priority status with suppliers months ago, but has yet to receive the needed federal authorization.
One heads up if you’re planning to get a COVID-19 test: with the winter storm here, all CityMD locations will close at 5pm today and reopen at 11am tomorrow. The city’s Health + Hospitals public testing sites have closed early as well, and reopen tomorrow at 12pm. More info here. (NYC H+H)
And one more heads up: consider the storm if you still have holiday gifts to ship. (NBC News)

One good read: This week, the New York City Council met to consider the future of cloud computing in our local government. Julie and Council Member Robert Holden wrote about why it’s essential to embrace the tech as we enter a difficult fiscal year. (Crain’s NY)

Yesterday's results: Last winter season, New York recorded a measly 4.8 inches of snow. That bar is about to be shattered by today’s snowstorm, which is expected to bring as much as a foot of snow to the New York metro area. What are your plans for what might be the biggest winter storm in a decade?

Today's poll

: With the impending snow storm, Mayor de Blasio said, because of remote learning, snow days are a “thing of the past” and tomorrow would go on as a day of virtual instruction for all students. NYC kids, though,

have other plans

. And

Now THIS is a snow day. (h/t @vbagate)
— Neal Augenstein (@AugensteinWTOP)
11:45 PM • Dec 15, 2020

leaders elsewhere agree with them, deciding to close for the day and take it as a break from the mental and emotional toll the pandemic has wrought. What do you think schools should do tomorrow?

*|SURVEY: I think tomorrow should be a classic, no-school snow day|*
*|SURVEY: I think tomorrow should proceed as a remote learning day|*

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

Reopening:

Gov. Cuomo has said the hospitalization rate in a given area is one of the primary indicators for when that area should be subjected to stricter shutdown measures. Here’s a helpful new interactive tool to see what hospital capacity looks like near you. (New York Times)
The governor also said he anticipates Phase II of the state’s vaccine distribution plan, which includes (non-medical) essential workers and priority groups of the general public, to start in late January, assuming supplies continue to arrive as expected. (Gothamist)
New York State is advancing $1.5 billion in stopgap funding to government agencies who need cash flow support through early next year. The move is an effort to provide a lifeline until the state has more insight into what final stimulus package will arrive from Washington. (Patch LI)
The state’s Dept. of Financial Services today directed that all insurers in the state must cover all costs for getting the vaccine when it’s available. (Crain’s NY)
And no surprise here: an in-person audience won’t be permitted for the Times Square New Year’s Eve celebration. (New York Post) But fittingly, Gloria Gaynor will be on hand to perform “I Will Survive.”