With the percent of positive COVID-19 cases increasing week over week, indoor dining shutting down, and Mayor Bill de Blasio indicating that a complete shutdown may be necessary after Christmas, it's hard to imagine when the city that never sleeps will return to normal. However, that in fact, is the question on everyone's minds: when can we expect life to be like it was pre-COVID?

Hope on the Horizon

Governor Cuomo's cluster initiative attempts to address and halt the spread of clusters of cases before they balloon into more widespread events. The FDA recently approved Pfizer's vaccine, and the Vaccine Advisory Committee meeting on December 17, 2020, will examine authorizing Moderna's vaccine. Subsequently, there is light on the horizon. Dr. Fauci told CNBC, “So if we can get the overwhelming proportion of the population vaccinated by let's say the end of the second, the beginning of the third quarter – by the time we get into mid-fall of 2021, we can be approaching some level of normality,” He cautioned, however, that this will require 75-85% of the population being vaccinated.

Schools Begin Return to Normal

New York City recently revealed its plan for their 2021 Student Achievement Plan, which includes the newly returned to school Grades K-5, and an approach to gather a baseline to evaluate where the most ground has been lost. This will help teachers and administrators plan how to respond and help the students catch up. At this time, there is not any date for when middle school and high schools will reopen. One of the strategies to support the elementary schools' reopening, is randomized weekly COVID-19 testing.

Industries in New York

The Daily Mail reports that NYC & Company expects that foreign tourism to NYC will not return to its 2019 heights (when 66.6 million visitors came to the city, and 13.5 million were international) until 2025. However, certain aspects of daily living in NYC have returned to normal, such as live music at some dining locations. Economists and investors have varying opinions of when business will return to normal. Some say it will take roughly two years, while others expect that there will not be much difference at all, once the virus is gone.

In New York City, the city guide will have the most current information about reopening phases and strategies. Fortunately, New York City has recovered from a pandemic before, the Spanish Flu, and the results were the Harlem Renaissance and more.

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