Daily Update – 102
Three More States Added to New York’s Travel Advisory
Governor Cuomo today announced that three additional states meet the metrics to qualify for the travel advisory requiring individuals who have traveled to New York from those states, all of which have significant community spread, to quarantine for 14 days. The newly-added states are Delaware, Kansas and Oklahoma. The quarantine applies to any person arriving from a state with a positive test rate higher than 10 per 100,000 residents over a 7-day rolling average or a state with a 10 percent or higher positivity rate over a 7-day rolling average.
Here is the travel advisory page which includes the restricted states
NY Forward Website Improved
The NY Forward website has been much improved to ease navigation. It shows reopening stages by region; allows easy access the the COVID- Metrics; industry guidelines, essential businesses and testing information.
New York’s Economy Ended the First Quarter Off 8.2 %, the Latest Federal Data Show.
The Empire State’s real gross domestic product (GDP) decreased 8.2 percent in the first three months of 2020 compared to the fourth quarter of 2019, ranking 49th out of 50 states as the new coronavirus began to spread, according to Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) estimates of seasonally adjusted annual data. Only Nevada was ranked lower; that state’s gambling-intensive economy also crashed by 8.2 percent as casino customers vanished, but its decline was marginally worse than New York’s.
Read the story at the Empire Center
White House Wants Stimulus by August Recess With $1 Trillion Cap
The White House and lawmakers are set to intensify talks on a new package of virus-related stimulus this month, after they return to Washington from their Independence Day holiday break. Trump administration officials have eyed a $1 trillion spending cap since at least early June, Bloomberg News reported last month. The administration wants to be sure it’s “striking the right balance between income replacement on the one hand, and ensuring that we don’t have excessively high implicit tax rates on the return to work, on the other hand,” Tyler Goodspeed, acting chairman of the president’s Council of Economic Advisers, said in a interview with Bloomberg Radio.
EPA OKs First Two Surface Disinfectants Tested on Coronavirus
The Environmental Protection Agency said it has approved the first two surface disinfectants, both made by Lysol, specifically to kill SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19. Since the start of the pandemic, the government has advised cleaning surfaces with disinfectants to prevent the spread of the virus, but it had yet to announce any test results on specific products. Lab tests confirm Lysol Disinfectant Spray and Lysol Disinfectant Max Cover Mist are effective against the virus, the EPA said Monday.
5 Ways to Help Employees Overcome Fear
A CEO with a former life as a Royal Marines Commando writes: “To understand human behavior around fear, it is important to recognize that it is not just the risks that create fear but also the unknown: When will this be over? How will I ensure my employees are safe? How can I maintain customer engagement and keep my business afloat?
Employees are in danger of slowing down as fear sets in and leads to inaction. As business leaders, this is a complicated dance of lending support in the face of fear, maintaining momentum, and inspiring employees to create and envision a future. Ultimately though, the C-suite sets the pace, and there is no way to win any race without keeping a steady one.”
Schools Face Tough Road to Fall Opening
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), an organization known for its caution, published guidelines last week urging policymakers to get children back in schools. “The AAP strongly advocates that all policy considerations for the coming school year should start with a goal of having students physically present in school,” the association said in a statement laying out safe back-to-school procedures. “The importance of in-person learning is well-documented, and there is already evidence of the negative impacts on children because of school closures in the spring of 2020.”
But experts say the conditions for reopening will depend on how rapidly the coronavirus is spreading through local areas.
Using Safety Technology to Measure Physical Distance: Siemens Adapt its Tools to COVID
The pandemic made it quite clear that there will soon be a new normal for manufacturers. As such, manufacturers are facing an array of challenges as they begin the process of restarting regular operations. While figuring out and ultimately navigating this new operational reality, manufacturers must consider additional dimensions of employee safety, including the establishment of production environments and workflows that address physical distancing requirements.
Combining proven hardware and software, Siemens has created a new solution that enables companies to quickly and efficiently model how employees interact with each other, the production line, and plant design. The new solution also enables organizations to build an end-to-end digital twin, in order to simulate worker safety, iterate on and optimize workspace layouts and validate safety and efficiency measures to help future-proof production lines.
Jackson Lewis Webinar Series: Guidance for Manufacturing Industry Litigation Avoidance
Part I – Wednesday, July 22, 3:00 PM – 3:30 PM EST
- Disability and Leave of Absence Management, including accommodation issues and the Families First Coronavirus Response Act
- Environment, Health and Safety, including claims involving failure to furnish a safe workplace and negligence
Part II – Thursday, July 23, 3:00 PM – 3:30 PM EST:
- Employment and Tort Claims, including issues resulting from reductions in force and COVID-19-related claims of discrimination, retaliation and harassment
- Immigration Compliance, including verifying employment eligibility in a newly-virtual environment and preparing for an expected post-COVID upswing in I-9 audits and worksite investigations
Part III – Tuesday, July 28, 3:00 PM – 3:30 PM EST:
- Labor, including violations of the NLRA’s “abnormally dangerous” rule and union grievances resulting from reductions in force
- Wage and Hour, including employee misclassification issues resulting from a newly-remote workforce and COVID-19-related “failure to pay” claims
For more information, contact Thomas McDonough
Click here to register for one or all of the webinars
