Information That May Be of Interest
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Information that may be of interest... September 21, 2020 This information is provided by The Murray Hill Neighborhood Association. We are sharing it as a service to our members. If this notice does not interest you, please disregard it. You can also find these weekly newsletters online in PDF (printable) format at www.murrayhillnyc.org in the News section. Look for Weekly Eblasts 2020. Please share this email with a friend, neighbor or colleague. You can sign up for these emails at www.murrayhillnyc.org, scroll down the Also Happening column. Coronavirus updates New York City is in Phase 4 of the coronavirus reopening High risk activities with gatherings of people are being phased in slowly and cautiously. Indoor activities pose a higher risk than outdoor activities. See murrayhillnyc.org for more on NYC’s reopening. Reopening Neighborhood houses of worship, museums, educational and cultural institutions Neighborhood restaurants, food & spirits that are open for delivery & pickup Neighborhood retail, health care (including pets) & services that are open and more. 9/16/2020 New York State has extended the special Enrollment Period for medical insurance for New Yorkers through December 31, 2020. Press release below. governor.ny.gov/news/governor-cuomo-announces-special-enrollment-uninsured-extended- through-end-2020-0. 9/30/2020 (effective date) Indoor dining for NYC restaurants may resume with 25% capacity. There will be strict health and safety precautions, including temperature checks at the door, placing tables 6 feet apart, and mandatory masks except when the party is seated at their table. For contact tracing purposes, one person in each party must leave their contact information. Restaurants must meet the state's air filtration requirements. In addition, there will be no bar service or bar reopening; however, drinks can be served at the table. All restaurants are required to close by midnight. Indoor dining guidance governor.ny.gov/sites/governor.ny.gov/files/atoms/files/NYC_Indoor_Food_Services_Summary_Guid elines.pdf. Related: Press Release Governor Cuomo Announces Indoor Dining in New York City Allowed to Resume Beginning September 30 with 25 Percent Occupancy Limit, September 9, 2020. People can anonymously report violations by calling 833-208-4160 or texting "VIOLATION" to 855- 904-5036. NYC Restaurants Get Go-Ahead To Add Coronavirus Surcharge September 17, 2020, patch.com, by Matt Troutman 10 percent hike. [awaiting Mayor's signature] Bill to allow restaurants to charge a COVID surcharge of up to 10% of the total check price for in- person dining (whether outdoor or indoor) at restaurants that feel it’s necessary (until 90 days after full indoor dining is restored). legistar.council.nyc.gov/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=3486106&GUID=475A15A2-0BE6-4C36-B282- C7AFDF585A2C&Options=&Search= 9/30/2020 (effective date) Indoor Pools may open with 33% capacity. 9/18/2020 NYS finally distributing $300 weekly jobless benefits to 2.26 million residents September 18, 2020, nypost.com, by Carl Campanile The state Labor Department said the jobless New Yorkers received retroactive federal Lost Wage Assistance benefits of $300 each for the weeks of Aug. 2, 9 and 16...New York City’s unemployment rate dropped from 20 percent to 16 percent. But there were still 626,000 fewer jobs in the city compared to August 2019, when the unemployment rate was 3.9 percent. Related: [Source: Gov. Cuomo's Coronavirus Update email, September 11, 2020] Additional unemployment benefits for eligible New Yorkers affected by COVID will begin going out next week. The New York Department of Labor will start distributing an additional $300 a week in unemployment, which replaced the expired weekly $600 Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) benefit that many New Yorkers had been receiving. The Department of Labor will be contacting New Yorkers who may need to submit additional certification to qualify for the benefit. Learn more at dol.ny.gov and also at labor.ny.gov/ui/pdfs/lwa-factsheet.pdf and des.nc.gov/need- help/covid-19-information/covid-19-information-individuals/lost-wages-assistance. IMPORTANT: There is still no cure or vaccine for COVID-19. To prevent the spread of COVID-19 • wear face coverings when with people who are not in your household 2 • maintain distance (6 feet between people who are not in the same household) • practice good hand hygiene • stay home if sick All New Yorkers can get tested for coronavirus. You can get tested for covid-19 any time. Sites run by New York State are free. coronavirus.health.ny.gov/find-test-site-near-you. NYC testing page: www1.nyc.gov/site/coronavirus/get-tested/covid-19-testing.page For Murray Hill/Kips Bay Bellevue, no appointment necessary unless they are experiencing very heavy volumes, but be prepared to wait in long lines–they will provide a chair if asked. Be sure that they set up your patient portal correctly so that you can get your results. If you don’t get results in 4 days, call and speak to a clinician. The clinician can check the test result status. You can also check with your doctor, pharmacies and walk-in urgent care to find out if they do testing and if there will be charges. It may take days or even weeks to get results. Free rapid COVID-19 virus test at multiple COVID Express sites are available throughout the city by appointment. Test results will be available within 24 hours or less of your visit. COVID-19 tests performed at COVID Express sites will be free to all New Yorkers. The nearest site is in Chelsea at 303 9th Avenue. www1.nyc.gov/site/doh/covid/covid-19-rapid-testing.page. Appointment slots at the Chelsea facility are hard to get. Developing Antibody Standards for Covid [Source: Developing antibody standards for Covid, Bloomberg Prognosis email of 9/15/2020] Siemens Healthineers has joined U.S. and European health officials to create an international standard for coronavirus antibody tests, a key step toward knowing who needs a future vaccine or booster shot. The effort aims to establish a unit of measurement for the level of protection someone has built up against the deadly virus. The project from Healthineers, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre will probably take a matter of “weeks, not months,” Deepak Nath, president of laboratory diagnostics at Healthineers, said in an interview. Researchers will also be able to use the standard to determine a level of antibodies that appears to confer immunity against infection. Health officials can then determine whether someone who previously fought off the virus needs a vaccine, once shots are available—or whether someone who’s already been inoculated needs a booster shot....Antibodies are highly specific proteins raised by the immune system to disable viral invaders. They’re also markers of infection that help health officials know how far the virus has spread.—Tim Loh Related: When Will There Be a Covid-19 Cure? The Body Is Still the Best Virus- Killer September 14, 2020, bloomberg.com, by Michelle Fay Cortez Most success has come with vaccines, not drugs. 3 FDA banned (unsafe or ineffective) hand sanitizers fda.gov/drugs/drug-safety-and- availability/fda-updates-hand-sanitizers-consumers-should-not-use#products Schools, children & youth programs The NYC Department of Education (DOE) website is updated daily at schools.nyc.gov. Schools reopening The City’s Dept. of Education has set up a Return to School 2020 page schools.nyc.gov/school-year- 20-21/return-to-school-2020 with the latest updates on reopening public schools and specifics on hybrid learning and the first day of school. Chancellor Carranza also released a letter schools.nyc.gov/about-us/news/chancellor-s-message-for-families for NYC school families. [Source: Gov. Cuomo's email Important update for New Yorkers as fall approaches, 9/8/2020) [New York] State is requiring all school districts to report daily data on the COVID infection rate and new cases at every school. This information will be publicly available on a new online dashboard schoolcovidreportcard.health.ny.gov that will have constantly updated data for your school. In addition, the State launched a SUNY COVID-19 Case Tracker suny.edu/covid19-tracker that provides real-time, up-to-date data on COVID-19 testing and other vital information at each of SUNY's 64 colleges and universities. 9/18/2020 Remote instruction for NYC public schools started on Wednesday, September 16. In-person learning will be phased in. Monday, September 21, in-person learning for grades 3k, pre-k and District 75 students will begin. Tuesday, September 29, for grades K-5 and K-8, in-person learning begins. Thursday, October 1, middle and high school students begin in-person learning. Unless parents opted for fully remote learning, a blended learning model will be used, with students alternating between in-person and remote learning. Parents may opt for all-remote learning for their children. Schools will operate at reduced capacity for in-person instruction, with approximately one- third to one-half of the student population attending at one time. More than 10% of students and teachers will get a covid test once a month. Students, teachers and staff must wear face shields at all times. Social distancing will be required. Hand sanitizer dispensers must be available in high traffic areas and all students will be provided with appropriate PPE. Wellness barriers will be placed in the general office and at the main school safety desk. School buildings will undergo a nightly sanitization process. Breakfast and lunch will be served in classrooms. Related: Cited for ventilation problems, these 21 NYC schools will remain closed until the problems are fixed.