COVID-19 Update for March 22, 2021-Information, Reopenings, Grants and more

PPP Loans: The House passed a bill extending the deadline for applying for a Paycheck Protection Program loan to May 31, sending the legislation to the Senate as the current March 31 deadline looms. Under the bill, which passed by a vote of 415-3, firms have until May 31 to apply for a loan and the SBA faces a June 30 deadline to process them. Small business advocates had called for an extension of the March 31 deadline to give lenders more time to implement a series of changes the Biden administration made to the program.

State Grants: You may be eligible to apply for the Nonprofit Arts & Cultural Program (Round 4). This is a separate grant than the original CA Relief Grant and is specifically for nonprofit cultural institutions. Please be aware that this application period closes on 3/23/21. You must apply by this date to be considered. Eligibility for this new grant is determined by your institution’s NAICS code. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) is the standard used by Federal statistical agencies to classify business establishments.

You are eligible to apply ONLY if your NAICS code is listed as any of the following:

453920 - Art Dealers
711110 - Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters
711120 - Dance Companies
711130 - Musical Groups and Artists
711190 - Other Performing Arts Companies
711310 - Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events with Facilities
711320 - Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events without Facilities
711410 - Agents and Managers for Artists, Athletes, Entertainers, and Other Public Figures
711510 - Independent Artists, Writers, and Performers
712110 - Museums
712130 - Zoos and Botanical Gardens
712190 - Nature Parks & Other Similar Institutions

If you’re interested in applying for this grant, you must submit a new application by 3/23/21. Please click HERE to apply. Please view our resource guide for additional details.

The Numbers: Pasadena public health officials on Sunday reported no new COVID-19 cases or virus-related fatalities. The city’s total case count remained at 11,080 with 330 deaths. Public health officials in Pasadena documented 11 new cases of COVID-19 in Pasadena on Friday, but no additional fatalities. On Thursday, the reported one additional fatality. The death took place in early-February but was only just added to city records, according to city spokeswoman Lisa Derderian. In total, the city has seen 11,072 COVID-19 infections and 329 fatalities. During the prior week, health officials recorded an average of 7.7 new cases of the virus each day.

At Huntington Hospital, officials reported treating 18 COVID-19 patients on Friday, with five of them being housed in intensive care units.

Public health officials in Pasadena reported the first known case of the so-called U.K. variant of COVID-19 in the city on Friday. The strain of novel coronavirus, also known as variant B.1.1.7, is believed to as much as 50% easier to transmit than its predecessor, “and likely causes more severe disease based on hospitalizations and case fatality rates,” the Pasadena Public Health Department said in a written statement. The patient confirmed to have the U.K. variant was described by health officials only as an adult. The infection was identified via genomic testing of lab specimens by the California Department of Public Health.

But the number of COVID-19 patients at Huntington Hospital continues its steady plummet, reaching 18 on Thursday, officials said. Five of the patients were being treated in intensive care units.

City data showed 43,877 Pasadenans, or 37.2% of the population over 16 years old, had received at least one vaccine dose, and 25,056 more were listed as fully vaccinated.

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health announced 933 new infections and 88 additional deaths, raising the county’s pandemic totals to 1,212,586 known infections and 22,664 fatalities. The daily test positivity rate for Los Angeles County was recorded at 1.8%, lower than the statewide rate of 2%, according to public health records. Total COVID-19 hospitalizations in the county numbered 861, with 26% of the patients being treated in ICUs, according to county officials.

At the state level, the California Department of Public Health reported 3,038 new infections and 2018 new deaths on Thursday, bringing the state’s totals to 3,535,534 COVID-19 cases and 55,795 deaths. As of Thursday, L.A. County accounted for 34% of California’s COVID-19 infections and 41% of the state’s fatalities.

Pasadena Unified School District and UTP have now reached an agreement on reopening schools for in-person instruction, agreeing to adjust the date for preschools and elementary schools to begin opening with a hybrid simultaneous learning model after spring break. Student cohorts in prekindergarten, transitional kindergarten, first and second grades, and early childhood education programs will return to campus on April 13 immediately after spring break. Third through fifth grade will return on April 20.

The City of Pasadena is promoting local shopping and dining. Calling All Businesses! Participate In A Shop Pasadena Instagram Takeover Next Week! The easing of certain COVID restrictions on businesses is a breath of much needed fresh air. Join other businesses across the city by participating in an Instagram Takeover on Friday, March 26th. Show solidarity with your fellow business owners by posting a photo for your business anytime on March 26th  with the "We're Open, Keep Us Open" graphic overlay on your Instagram account. Be sure to tag #shoppasadena. Businesses that post photos with the graphic overlay and tag #shoppasadena will be reposted on the City's social account via Instagram Stories. Shopping local is incredibly important. This is a great opportunity to remind the public that you are open for business. To download the "We're Open, Keep Us Open" graphic overlays, click here.

 

Revised Pasadena Public Health Order & Industry Protocols

As of Monday, March 15th, Pasadena latest Public Health Order Update eased restrictions to allow for more sectors of the economy to open or expand operations. Pasadena's Public Department has updated COVID health protocols to align with the new health order:

 

Helpful Links Regarding COVID-19:
 

 

Landlord/Tenant Relief: Federal relief is on the way for struggling landlords and tenants.
A complex hybrid of state and local programs designed to distribute $2.6 billion in federal aid to ailing California landlords and low-income renters began accepting applications March 15. The federal funds come from a relief package passed by Congress in December and are restricted to poor and moderate- income renters. The $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan package signed by President Joe Biden on March 11 is expected to bring an additional $2.2 billion in rental assistance to California in coming months.
The state gave large cities and counties three options to distribute the aid: use a state program, have a hybrid of state and local distribution sources or go it alone.

The Economy: From The Wall Street Journal: U.S. retailers and manufacturers slumped in February due to winter storms and supply- chain disruptions, but a broader economic rebound appears poised to accelerate this spring because of the easing pandemic and another round of government stimulus.

Retail sales—a measure of purchases at stores, at restaurants and online—fell by 3% in February compared with the prior month, the Commerce Department said Tuesday. The decline followed robust January sales that were propelled by stimulus payments to households from the December pandemic-relief package. January sales advanced a revised 7.6%, up from the earlier estimate of a 5.3% increase.

Severe winter weather wreaked havoc across a swath of the U.S., affecting retail shopping and manufacturing output last month. The Federal Reserve separately said industrial production fell a season- ally adjusted 2.2% in February compared with January. Manufacturing, the largest component in the industrial-production index, drove the decline because of the weather disruptions and supply shortages in semiconductors for autos, the Fed said.

Consumers, meanwhile, spent less on autos, furniture, electronics, home improvement, healthcare and clothing. Sales at food and beverage stores were unchanged, while sales at gas stations were up strongly, by 3.6%, as gas prices have accelerated this year.

Despite the February decline, retail sales were up 6% over the past three months compared with the same period a year earlier, according to the Commerce Department.

The backlog of claims for unemployment benefits filed by California workers has been stuck over 1 million for more than a month, according to the Employment Development Department.

As of Tuesday, the EDD’s dashboard was the official measure of department lags in paying unemployed workers.
On March 10, the most recent update available, 1.06 million claims had taken more than 21 days for the EDD to process. That includes 933,100 initial unemployment claims and 122,700 continuing claims. An initial claim is deemed to be part of the backlog if it has taken more than 21 days to issue the first payment or to disqualify the claim. A continuing claim is placed in the backlog if the worker has received at least one payment and is now waiting more than 21 days for more payments or disqualification from the program. The EDD began tracking the claims backlog in a dashboard format starting Sept. 30, and for six weeks all seemed well. On Jan. 6, the backlog had dropped to 516,000 claims. Then matters deteriorated and the agency reported a surge in the claims bottleneck, which soared past 1 million Feb. 3.