Daily Briefing – 106
New York K-12 Schools Reopening Process and Some Guidelines
Yesterday Governor Cuomo unveiled the Health Department guidelines for New York State School Districts to reopen in the Fall. If a district is in a phase four region and that region has an infection rate of less than 5% for 14 straight days, the district can reopen for in-person classes. With the 5% infection rate achieved then districts will reopen based on plans they will submit to the State Education Department based on guidelines they have yet to release. NOTE: At yesterday’s Board of Regents meeting, the State Education Department announced their guidance will be ready for dissemination on Wednesday July 15, 2020.
Schools will close if their regional infection rate is greater than 9% using 7-day average after August 1st and will revert to remote learning.
- Schools must submit an affirmation that they have read and understand the guidance.
- Schools must also prepare and submit plan(s) for reopening and operating during the ongoing emergency by July 31, 2020.
Guidance for Pre-K to Grade 12 schools can be found here
Governor Cuomo Announces Travel Enforcement Operation at Airports Across The State
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced a travel enforcement operation will commence today, July 14th, at airports across the state to help ensure travelers are following the state’s quarantine restrictions. As part of the enforcement operation, enforcement teams will be stationed at airports statewide to meet arriving aircraft at gates and greet disembarking passengers to request proof of completion of the State Department of Health traveler form, which is being distributed to passengers by airlines prior to, and upon boarding or disembarking flights to New York State.
A new electronic version of the DOH traveler form is now also available
Pfizer and BioNTech Granted FDA Fast Track Designation for Two Vaccine Candidates Against SARS-CoV-2
Pfizer and today announced that two of the companies’ four investigational vaccine candidates from their BNT162 mRNA-based vaccine program (BNT162b1 and BNT162b2) being developed to help protect against SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19), received Fast Track designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). BNT162b1 and BNT162b2 are the two most advanced vaccine candidates in the BNT162 program currently being evaluated in ongoing Phase 1/2 clinical studies in the United States and Germany.
Fast Track is a process designed to facilitate the development, and expedite the review, of new drugs and vaccines that are intended to treat or prevent serious conditions that have the potential to address an unmet medical need.
Read the press release (it includes multimedia)
As Covid-19 Vaccine Development Pushes Ahead, Researchers Probe Safety
The large, final-stage trials starting to get under way will look for signs of rare side effects like the ones that arose for vaccines for dengue and other respiratory conditions, including other coronaviruses. The rare complication, known as disease enhancement because it worsens the disease the vaccine is supposed to protect against, is a concern for vaccine research generally.
“I think it’s important that we do rapid vaccine development, but I also think it’s important we do it safely,” said Dr. Barney Graham, deputy director of the vaccine research center at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease.
Three Ways Employers Can Address Concerns About Their Workers’ Mental Health
Employee mental health has declined sharply in response to the coronavirus pandemic, but employers can help by assessing employees’ well-being and providing access to support services, Paula Allen of Morneau Shepell writes. Fostering conversations about mental wellness to help reduce the stigma associated with mental health issues is also important.
Economic Report: Job Openings, Consumer Credit, Producer Prices, Value Added Input, Deflationary Pressure and More
The COVID-19 outbreak has altered the manufacturing labor market dramatically. Manufacturers hired 426,000 workers in May, the most since April 2001. At the same time, total separations have declined from an all-time high of 804,000 in March, to 762,000 in April, to 284,000 in May, the lowest since November 2016. Net hiring was 142,000 in May, rebounding after net declines of 505,000 and 436,000 in March and April, respectively. All, however, is not rosy.
Monday Economic Report 2020-0713
COVID-19 Employment Litigation Tracker Reveals 43% Explosion Of Workplace Claims In June
Fisher Phillips Reports that Nearly half of all COVID-19-related workplace lawsuits that have been initiated between employees and employers were filed in the past month, according to data collected by the Fisher Phillips COVID-19 Employment Litigation Tracker. Of the 283 COVID-19-related lawsuits filed in federal and state courts through June 30, 122 of them – or 43% – were filed in the month of June, demonstrating an exponential increase in the number of claims involving disputes between workers and employers.
Nearly half of all COVID-19-related workplace lawsuits that have been initiated between employees and employers were filed in the past month, according to data collected by the Fisher Phillips COVID-19 Employment Litigation Tracker. Of the 283 COVID-19-related lawsuits filed in federal and state courts through June 30, 122 of them – or 43% – were filed in the month of June, demonstrating an exponential increase in the number of claims involving disputes between workers and employers.
