Connell–Wang's pointwise negative Ricci curvature conjecture for positive simplicial volume

Let $M$ be a manifold. Suppose $M$ admits a Riemannian metric with nonpositive sectional curvature everywhere and negative definite Ricci curvature at some point. Connell–Wang's conjecture. Then

$$\lVert M\rVert>0.$$

The source presents this as a stronger version of Gromov's conjecture, motivated by a local straightening technique. It is cited as Conjecture 4.1 of Connell and Wang, and the supplied context gives no evidence that it has been resolved.