City of Pasadena officials announced 128 new cases of Corovnavirus last week, about 20 new local cases of the Coronavirus each day. More than half of the City's cases were people under 40 years old. No new deaths were reported as the city’s case count continued to move towards 2,000. So far there have been 1,956 cases and 106 deaths. Meanwhile cases at Huntington Hospital appear to be on the decline.
Los Angeles County saw 2013 new cases and 35 deaths from Coronavirus. So far, LA Cunty has had 220,762 cases and 5,245 deaths. The Los Angeles Times did an analysis of the reopening here.
Also: California, which has recorded more than 600,000 coronavirus cases, saw the highest weekly death toll in August since the pandemic began, with 969 deaths reported in a seven-day period, Rong-Gong Lin II and Iris Lee report for the Los Angeles Times. The state’s vast Central Valley, where jobs in agriculture and food processing are concentrated, has been hit particularly hard. There have been major outbreaks at a poultry processing plant, a meatpacking facility and a frozen-food packager, and the low-wage workers who staff such businesses may not be able to afford to skip work and stay home, either because they could face eviction or other financial hardship if they don’t work, or because their employers have threatened that they could lose their jobs.
The United States reported its largest single-day death toll since May on Wednesday, with 1,499 people dying because of Covid-19, CNN reports. The seven-day average of new deaths has been above 1,000 for 18 consecutive days. There are now more than 5.2 million cases in the U.S. with more than 167,000 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins University coronavirus tracker.
A New York Times analysis found that there have been at least 200,000 more deaths in the U.S. than usual since March, probably a better measure of the true toll of the pandemic. Globally, nearly 21 million cases have been recorded, with more than 760,000 deaths.
The imapct on employment, business and industry has been catastrophic. Here is a link to the UCLA/Alan Matkins Economic report on commercial real estate. In part, they found that the current recession has tripled down on the struggles retail already faced during the previous economic expansion. First, household loss of income and shelter-in-place policies reduced current demand for brick-and-mortar retail. Second, the inability to physically frequent many retail establishments created a new set of online shoppers. Third, increases in the savings rate on the part of households in response to the recession portends less consumption. To be sure, some activities will return, particularly personal services and experiential retail. However, marginal properties will not find tenants willing to pay sufficient rent to keep the properties in the retail space.
More than 2,000 students, teachers and school staff members across five states are in quarantine after over 200 coronavirus cases were reported shortly after restarting classes, Christina Walker, Annie Grayer, and Elizabeth Stuart write for CNN. In one Georgia school district that began in-person classes on August 3, more than 1,100 students, teachers and staff members are under quarantine and more than 50 positive cases have been reported. School districts in Alabama, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Indiana have had to do the same. Also: The Georgia high school depicted in the viral photo of a crowded school hallway where few students were wearing masks has switched over to virtual learning after nine positive cases of coronavirus were reported, Dakin Andone and Chuck Johnston report for CNN. Hannah Watters, the student who took and shared the photo, was initially suspended for it, but her mother told CNN that the suspension was later reversed. “My biggest concern is not only about me being safe,” Watters said. “It’s about everyone being safe because behind every teacher, student and staff member there is a family, there are friends, and I would just want to keep everyone safe.”
Weekly new jobless benefits claims fell below one million last week for the first time since March, The Wall Street Journal’s Sarah Chaney reports. Still, the number of people collecting unemployment benefits is twice that of the peak of 6.6 million in 2009 during the Great Recession. The extra $600 a week that out-of-work Americans were receiving expired at the end of July. President Trump created a new program through an executive order that he said would add $400 to unemployment benefits—$300 from the federal government and $100 from states—but states have vocally protested, citing huge budget shortfalls. So the extra cash will likely be reduced to just $300 a week, Ben Casselman and Emily Cochrane write in The New York Times. More significantly, it could be weeks or months before the extra benefits start arriving.
BEWARE
In the wake of emergency assistance available to help small businesses in response to the Coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19), the SBA is urging disaster loan applicants seeking federal aid to be alert to phishing campaigns and scams. These malicious actors are impersonating the SBA and its Office of Disaster Assistance to collect personally identifiable information (PII) for fraudulent purposes.
NEW ROUND OF GRANTS
LA County Assessor's Disaster Relief Program
If your property has been damaged by this year's civil unrest incidents which began on May 26, 2020 (or by any natural disaster or unforeseeable occurrence, such as an earthquake, fire, flood, etc.) you may be eligible for property tax relief through the Disaster Relief Program offered by LA County Assessor Jeff Prang's Office. Those found eligible for disaster relief will see a temporary reduction on the assessed value of their property - and property taxes - which will remain in effect until damage repairs are completed. To qualify, applicants must have sustained a minimum of $10,000 in physical damage to their property; and must submit a Misfortune & Calamity Claim (M&C) within 12 months of the disaster date
Business owners considering this disaster relief should know: 1) Tax relief is only available for taxable property. Taxes are paid on business personal property (such as machinery, equipment, and furniture), but generally not on inventory or merchandise. 2) If the business rents the space, then relief for damage to business personal property (equipment and furniture) would be filed for by the business, while relief for damage to real property would be filed by the landlord. To learn more or apply to the County Assessor's Disaster Relief program, visit assessor.lacounty.gov/disaster-relief.
SBA Disaster Relief Deadline Has Been Extended
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) extended the deadline to apply for a disaster recovery loan to September 16, 2020 for LA County business owners who suffered physical or property damage due to the civil unrest incidents that began on May 26, 2020. Read this week's announcement for more on the deadline change and how you can apply.
Last week LA County announcedthe creation of a COVID-19 Rent Relief Program which aims to assist low-income renters and property owners who have struggled to pay their rent and/or who are behind on paying rent due to COVID-19. Today, we offer you a multi-lingual Toolkit and FAQs, so it's easier to share the good word before the application filing period (August 17 through August 31) comes and goes!
LA COUNTY RELIEF GRANTS
LISC LA has partnered with the County and City of Los Angeles along with other philanthropic partners to oversee and manage the new LA COVID-19 Regional Recovery Fund. The regional Fund will create a much-needed new wave of relief and recovery tools for small businesses, non-profits providing essential services, immigrant-owned enterprises and the most vulnerable Angelenos impacted by COVID-19. The first phase of the program includes a $3 million grant fund for microenterprises, small businesses and nonprofits.The Round 6 application period is now open. Click here to apply. Your application must be completed by Monday, August 24th, 11:59 p.m. ET.
Before completing the application, please review our Grant Information and FAQ.
Please keep the following in mind:
- For business owners with multiple businesses, please answer this survey based on your largest business owned.
- Each awardee is limited to one grant.
- Grants will be made to qualified businesses and based on accurate and complete submission and verification of required documentation.
- This round of applications must be submitted by Monday, August 24th, 11:59 p.m. ET.
LA COUNTY PROTOCOLS FOR COLLEGES AND HIGHER LEARNING FACILITIES, CHILDCARE CENTERS and more
LA County's Department of Public Health (DPH) has released it's Protocol for Institutes of Higher Education, which, among other things, states essential operations at colleges and universities may continue, but most academic instruction must continue to be done virtually. Regrettably, LA County's community transmission rates remain high. (Pasadena protocols are the same.)
If you haven't read it yet, below we share highlights on what's new or may have changed:
- Institutions may continue to offer in person training;
- Instruction only for students who are or will become part of the essential workforce (and only for required activities that cannot be accomplished through virtual learning);
- Faculty and other staff may come to campus for the purpose of providing distance learning, and other activities related to the purposes above, as well as maintaining minimum basic operations;
- Colleges and universities should limit their on-campus student residency to only providing housing for students who have no alternative housing options;
- Collegiate sports may ONLY proceed in compliance with all the California Department of Public Health Specific Interim Guidance for Collegiate Athletics.
DPH continues to work closely with the State to ensure that when students return to campuses, the environment will be safe for all. As guidance is updated, we will let you know.
Protocols for Child Care & Extended Day Programs
As County students, families, educators and care providers navigate the beginning of a new school year, LA County recognizes that extended day programs for school-aged children are an essential piece of the puzzle for working parents. These programs provide essential enrichment activities, and help children stay healthy while socializing with their peers in the periods before and after school.
To help get virtual learning started on the right foot, LA County's Department of Public Health (DPH) developed protocols for early childhood education, childcare programs for school-aged children, and day camps. Protocols issued earlier this week include the following highlights:
- Childcare centers may now have more students per class (increased from 10 to 12)
- Childcare programs can now offer physical activity & academic enrichment activities before, during and after the normal school day.
- Extended day programs will now have to follow similar rules as childcare & day camps:
- staff and students are required to maintain a safe physical distance;
- wear cloth face coverings while they are together; and
- staff and students will be screened before the start of activities each day, and will need to take detailed actions if anyone in the program develops COVID-19 symptoms.
LA County continues to urge residents to wear masks, socially distance from people you don't live with, and wash hands regularly, in order to slow the spread of COVID-19. In-person learning for students in TK-12 can not take place until LA County's case rate drops to 200 cases per 100,000 population, per State guidance.
Learning Together Safely
To help children get back to school, and parents back to work, LA County will be sharing regular content on resources and support for distance learning. County students, parents, educators, child care providers, or administrators are invited to read and share what you see here to ensure we are all "learning together safely" during the COVID-19 crisis.
Heard of the COVID-19 Education Response Fund?
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