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Tech:NYC Digest: February 22

Tech:NYC Digest: February 22

February 22, 2021 • Estimated Reading Time: 11 minutes

Monday, February 22, 2021As NYC works through another surge of the coronavirus, 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: Statewide daily positivity rate drops below three percent, first time in months; Nassau resident confirmed as first South Africa variant case originating in New York; movie theaters reopen in NYC March 5 at limited capacity; new projections show stronger post-pandemic rebound than previously expected, Goldman Sachs predicts 6.8 percent economic growth.

By the Numbers:

New York State: 1,584,931 (+6,146)
New York City: 687,543 (+3,358)
Statewide Fatalities: 37,941 (+89)
NYC Positivity Rates:
- NYS reports: 4.5 percent (+0.1 percent)
- NYC reports: 7.2 percent (-0.1 percent)
Vaccine Administering Progress:
- NYS first doses: 2,228,283
- NYC first doses: 884,747

General Updates:

We’re starting the week off with a grim milestone: 500,000 Americans have died due to COVID-19.
- As we approach the one-year mark since the beginning of the pandemic, it’s a number that feels almost too large to grasp. Here’s an interactive that may help put things in perspective. (Washington Post)
Yet, we’re continuing to see things move in the right direction in New York: yesterday, the statewide daily positivity rate was 2.99 percent, the first time it has dropped below three percent since November. (NYS)
Vaccine shipments that were delayed due to winter weather have resumed arriving in NYC today, with more arriving each day this week to get us caught back up. Right now, the city’s stock of first doses is up to about 23,000 shots. (Bloomberg)
- The US vaccine rollout has actually been going well, compared to other countries. The US has done more vaccinations than any other country in the world, and as a percentage of population, only five other countries are doing better. (Axios)
The state Senate is expected to pass a package of nursing home bills this afternoon that would include new requirements for how COVID-19 deaths must be reported to the state and released to the public. (New York Post)
Officials have confirmed a case of the South African in a Nassau County, Long Island resident, the first originating in the New York metro area. (New York Times) Officials have warned that it was inevitable the strain, which has higher transmission rates and is potentially resistant to some current vaccines, would show up here.

The latest results: NYC began allowing indoor dining again exactly one week ago, and today, officials announced it could expand slightly from a 25 percent to 35 percent capacity limit next week. But many patrons are still leery of being inside, and restaurant owners are warning it’s no panacea for a struggling industry. What do you think would benefit restaurants most immediately?

Today's poll

: Beginning today, subway service is expanding to 22 hours a day, with a closure remaining from 2am - 4am for cleaning train cars and stations. While many are still leery of riding the subway, ridership is slowly ticking back up as several studies have shown spread of the virus

isn’t linked to mass transit

. How often are you taking the subway now?

*|SURVEY: Daily|*
*|SURVEY: One or more times weekly|*
*|SURVEY: One or more times monthly|*
*|SURVEY: I have not returned to the subway|*

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

Movie theaters in NYC will be allowed to reopen at 25 percent capacity, or no more than 50 people, on March 5, consistent with rules for theaters in the rest of the state. (Gothamist) Masks, social distancing, assigned seating, and other safety protocols will be required.
New nursing home visitation rules based on the positivity rate of the country the facility is in go into effect this Friday, Feb. 26:
- In a county with less than five percent positivity rate, no COVID test is required ahead of a visit;
- In a county between five and 10 percent positivity rate, a COVID test is required within 72 hours ahead of a visit;
- In a county above 10 percent positivity rate, visitations are no longer permitted. (NY State of Politics)
Many economic experts have predicted a period of strong business growth after the pandemic from so much pent-up demand. Recently, projections are showing an even stronger “supercharged” rebound — the economy will grow 6.8 percent this year and the unemployment rate will drop to 4.1 percent by December, a level that took eight years to achieve after the last recession. (New York Times)
NYC is betting on those trends playing out. Mayor de Blasio today appointed Lorraine Grillo, currently the head of two city agencies focused on construction, as the city’s new “recovery czar.” (New York Daily News)
ICYMI: NY PopsUp, a statewide initiative of pop-up performances to help jumpstart the arts and entertainment industry, kicked off yesterday with a concert at the Javits Center for healthcare workers running the mass vaccination site there. (New York Times) Future performances will continue through Labor Day. Learn more here.
Airline experts are saying that tourists could come back in the spring or summer but that the more profitable business travelers could stay grounded for another year or more. (New York Times) Even so, the TSA is betting on a post-COVID travel rush as more people become vaccinated between now and summer: the agency is planning to hire 6,000 airport screeners in anticipation of the jump. (Bloomberg)