COVID-19 Tips & Resources

WHDC encourages all to stay safe amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Check out this useful guide below from our friend Jose Ortiz, Jr., Executive Director of NYC Employment & Training Coalitions (NYCETC). Another excellent resource is the newsletter from Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer and other elected officials. We’ve added a few other resources and will continue to make updates as we receive them.

Below you will find Federal, State and Local Government Resources; Day-to-Day Tips; Support and Discussions for Human Services Organizations; and Small Business Support.

FEDERAL, STATE + LOCAL GOVERNMENT RESOURCES

Please take a look at the following Federal, State, and Local agencies links provided below. These are the main websites for an overview on COVID-19. They each contain information on the symptoms, prevention, testing, and precautions around travel, as well as other resources, guides, and answers to commonly asked questions.

Government Agencies

• NYC Vaccine Command Center
• NYC DOE School Re-opening 2020/2021 Family Guide
• NYC Pandemic EBT (P-EBT) – $420 for every NYC public school student

• NYS Test Site Finder
• NYC Food Help
• NYC DoE Remote Learning Device Request Form

• World Health Organization
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• NYS Dept. of Health
• NYC Dept. of Mental Health and Hygiene
• NYC Nonprofits

FAQ’s

• CDC Fact Sheet
• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
• NYC Department of Health Fact Sheet
• FAQ for Contracted Health and Human Service Providers from the Office of the NYC Mayor
• NYC Health Business and Employer Guidance
• NYC Comptroller’s COVID-19 Resource List

Additional Resources

• The Armory – Schedule your vaccine appointment
• Community Voices Heard’s Resource Map
• PA’LANTE’s COVID-19 Rental Assistance
• Advocates for Children’s Jill Chaifetz Education Helpline
• The Fortune Society’s Good Ship Fortune Kid and Teen Friendly Resource
• Manhattan Legal Services – if you are seeking legal assistance on a new matter, you can call the legal assistance hotline at 917-661-4500, Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Staff can take calls in any language.

• Childcare for Children of Essential Workers
• NYS OCFS Guidance for funded, operated, licensed, regulated, or designated providers
• Homeless Shelter Interim Guidance
• Congregate Setting Interim Guidance
• Schools and Families Guidance
• Business and Employer Guidance – updated
• Businesses and Non-Healthcare Setting General Disinfection Guidance
• Updated Guidance for Business Owners from the NYC SBS
• CDC: Business Planning Checklist for Pandemic

 

OTHER FORMS OF COVID-19 FINANCIAL RELIEF FOR INDIVIDUALS

Our friends at Finimpact want to remind you of your personal financial relief options during this pandemic. If you have been hit hard with the effects of COVID-19, its vital to use all of the avenues at your disposal. These avenues include:

 

DAY-TO-DAY TIPS

Below, are some day-to-day tools to prevent and/or manage the epidemic, including tips we have collected from a number of workforce development service providers. We’ve listed them into three broad categories: Personal Protective, Community Mitigation Strategies, and Environmental Measures

Personal Protective 

• Ensure sufficient supply of personal hygiene products, especially hand soap and hand sanitizer.
• Wash hand frequently, cover coughs, and to stay home when sick through emails and flyers throughout your office and facilities.
• Wipe down surfaces, especially doorknobs and elevator buttons more regularly

Community & Social Distancing 

• If traveling,  stay informed of which areas are high-risk and the associated risk.
• Establish policies to ensure those returning from travel to high-risk areas self-quarantine for 14-days.
• Limit non-essential business travel.  
• Limit large gatherings and large events. 
• For employers, consider creating separate teams of employees working on essential business functions. Teams could then be located in separate areas and/or asked to rotate working from home.
• Consider staggering shifts for workers, as well as staggered one week quarantines if necessary.
• Institute policies to separate employees from being in close contact.
• Encourage and support telecommuting:
  • Do an inventory of employees working with laptops that can be more easily asked to work from home.
  • Ask staff and clients about computer and Internet access at home and set up policies for those without access. 
  • Investigate your organization’s IT capacity if the need arises to have all staff work remotely simultaneously and accessing your servers. 
• Encouraging and supporting remote learning and training:
  • Analyze and prepare what classroom content, if any, could be delivered remotely or via alternative methods.
  • Prepare digital and distance learning tools and protocols. 
  • Digital tools to consider include Zoom and Google Hangouts

Environmental Measures 

• Note: While COVID-19 can survive on surfaces for approximately 72 hours, the main method of transmission is from person-to-person. 
• Clean surfaces regularly and increase cleaning of high touch surfaces.