Tech:NYC Digest: February 10

Tech:NYC Digest: February 10

February 10, 2022 • Estimated Reading Time: 9 minutes

Thursday, February 10, 2022

In today’s digest, the latest mask-wearing guidance in NYC, Omicron claims the lives of half a million people worldwide, and the push to support employees with parenting or other career gaps.

Was this digest forwarded to you? Subscribe here.

By the numbers:  

  • New positive cases statewide: 7,442

    • New positive cases, NYC: 3,254

  • NYC Positivity Rate: 2.6 percent (no change)

  • NYC Hospitalizations: 1,751 (-150)

  • Statewide Vaccine Progress: 

    • Percentage of all New Yorkers with least one dose: 88.1 percent

    • Percentage of all New Yorkers who are fully vaccinated: 74.7 percent 

Today’s latest: 

  • With the statewide vaccine-or-test rule expired, there’s some confusion about what New Yorkers can and can’t do when it comes to safety protocols. (New York Times) To answer some of those questions:

    • Masks are still required on public transportation, taxis, and rideshare services. Federal rules also require masks in airports, trains stations, etc. until at least March 18.

    • The decision doesn’t supersede the “Key to NYC” rules renewed on Tuesday by Mayor Adams, and you still will be required to show proof of vaccination at NYC’s restaurants, theaters, and gyms. Stores, theaters, and offices in the city can also still choose to require masks. But with the statewide rule expired, you don’t have to wear a mask if those venues don’t require it. 

    • But all of that only applies if you’re fully vaccinated. Regulations still require unvaccinated people to wear a mask in any public space.

  • Broadway’s policy requiring both full vaccination and mask-wearing will remain in effect at least through April despite New York State loosening mask mandates. (Deadline)

  • COVID-19 case numbers are still high nationwide, however, and CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said now is not the time to drop mask mandates in schools and other public places. (Reuters) The Biden administration has said federal masking guidance would not change for now. (New York Times)

  • Half a million people around the world have died of COVID-19 since the Omicron variant was first detected in November, including 100,000 Americans. (Washington Post)

In other reading:

  • Former NYC COVID-19 adviser Dr. Jay Varma: When Do Masks Come Off? The Hard Truth About Lifting Covid Restrictions (New York Times)

  • The Next Vaccine Debate: Immunize Young Children Now, or Wait? (New York Times)

  • Are app-based coronavirus tests worth it? We tested them to find out. (Washington Post)

Recruiters are starting to notice a new type of career gap on résumés as people return to work after taking time off: “pandemic parenting gaps.” (Protocol)

Allison Rutledge-Parsi, senior vice president of people at Justworks, said the stigma of career gaps is fading:

  • If you see a gap on a résumé, it's no longer a red flag at all. It's an area of inquiry. But the inquiry is not assessing if it's OK or not. The inquiry is more like, ‘Wow, what did you do?'”

A 2021 LinkedIn survey also found shifting views on candidates’ work journeys:

  • 79 percent of hiring managers said they would hire a candidate with a career gap on their résumé, and 59 percent said they’re interested in how to apply transferable skills you might have learned during the gap.

  • LinkedIn has even added official new job title options to the platform — "stay-at-home mom," "stay-at-home dad," and "stay-at-home parent" — for users who want to indicate career gaps connected to parenthood. (Protocol)

Support through those career gaps is critical: The longer applicants are out of work, the more they may become discouraged about their skills keeping up or whether their professional networks will erode. (New York Times) 

  • Meta’s legal department, for example, has partnered with The Mom Project on its “Reconnect Program” for those who had to pause their careers, but not just for moms — the initiative is open to anyone who paused, whether to serve as a caretaker, pursue another passion, or any other reason.

  • The program provides participants with a cohort of support, as well as a sponsor to guide any training or workplace reorientation steps that make the transition back to work more seamless.

In other reading: 

  • Wall Street Opens Its Wallet to Keep Talent. It’s Not Always Enough. (Wall Street Journal)

  • If your job doesn’t give you purposeful work, you owe it to yourself to find one that will (MarketWatch)

  • 6 App That Take the Grind Out of Your Workday (WIRED)

  • Addition Wealth, a New York City-based personal finance benefit platform for employees, raised $4.2 million in new funding. Participation included Nyca Partners, Core Innovation Capital, Female Innovators Lab, and Financial Venture Studio. (TechCrunch)

  • Balanced, a New York City-based digital fitness platform for seniors, raised $6.5 million in seed funding. Founders Fund and Primary Venture Partners co-led the round and were joined by Lux Capital and Stellation Capital. (FinSMEs)

  • LoanStreet, a New York City-based loan analysis and management platform, raised $25 million in Series B funding. Portage Ventures led the round and was joined by Curql Fund, Coastal Financial Corporation, Sterling Bancorp, Third Prime Capital, and Arbor Ventures. (Fintech Finance)

  • Occupier, a New York City-based provider of lease management software, raised $11 million in Series A funding. OMERS Ventures and Stage 2 Capital co-led the round and were joined by Alate Partners and MetaProp. (TechCrunch)

  • Wallaroo, a Brooklyn-based machine learning ops platform, raised $25 million in Series A funding. M12 led the round and was joined by Boldstart Ventures, Contour Venture Partners, Eniac Ventures, and Greycroft. (VentureBeat)

  • February 10: Virtual: How to Raise Funding and Scale a Startup, with New York Angels founder David S. Rose, Caribu CEO Maxeme Tuchman, and more. Hosted by DownToDash and Innovatemap. Register here.

  • February 15: Virtual: Extend Your Runway with R&D Tax Credits, with Claurus R+D CEO Jeff Haskett, Justworks director of payroll tax Matthew Oberting, and others. Hosted by Justworks. Register here.

  • February 17: Virtual: Web3 Video and the Future of Content Ownership, with Glass.xyz founder Dayo Adeosun. Hosted by Betaworks Studios. Register here.

Any feedback or suggestions of things to add? Get in touch here. Was this digest forwarded to you? Sign up to receive it directly here.