WASHINGTON, D.C.—- The NAACP, in conjunction with BET, will host part two of their four-part virtual town hall series, “Unmasked: COVID-19” on Wednesday, April 15, at 8 PM ET/ 5 PM PT. The hour-long call will focus on naming and addressing the real trauma communities are experiencing at this moment. Panelists will also touch on the severe impact this pandemic has had on the prison and incarcerated population throughout the country.
Callers can participate via interactive toll-free conference call that will stream LIVE on the NAACP’s website at https://naacp.org/call-to-action-program/. To join via phone, dial (866) 757-0756 and to join the conversation on social media follow @NAACP and @BET.
“Living in this new reality, we not only have to think about how we interact with each other, but we must give special care to our mind, body and soul,” said Derrick Johnson, president and CEO, NAACP. “The dynamic speakers in our second virtual town hall will provide in-depth information on how to cope during times of uncertainty.”
Participants on the call will have the opportunity to hear remarks from Derrick Johnson, president and CEO of the NAACP; Iylana Vanzant, host and executive producer of the award-winning show, Iyanla: Fix My Life; Benny Napoleon, sheriff ofWayne County, Mich.;and Dr. Patrice Harris, president of the American Medical Association.
Each speaker will offer words of encouragement and actions our communities can take to contribute to their well-being during this challenging time.
COLTON, CA—- Arrowhead Regional Medical Center (ARMC) will conduct Drive-Through testing for coronavirus (COVID-19) beginning April 9. The COVID-19 testing will be available for the public by appointment only. For appointments, call 1-855-422-8029. Instructions are available at this link: https://www.arrowheadregional.org/covid-19-updates/
The following dates are available for scheduling an appointment, as space allows:
Thursday, April 9, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Friday, April 10, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Tuesday, April 14,8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Wednesday, April 15, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Thursday, April 16, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
The Drive-Through testing will be conducted at the outpatient building entrance on the ARMC campus. The entrance will be on Meridian Avenue at the back of the ARMC campus. Once entering the campus from Meridian, signage will be displayed for the COVID-19 Drive-Through testing. Additional testing dates will be announced at a later date.
“We have been treating COVID-19 patients with all of the latest best practices in our fight against this disease,” said Dr. Sharon Wang, infection disease specialist at ARMC. “We would like to provide our expertise to help test members of the community.”
The San Bernardino County Health Officer declared a local health emergency to help ensure county government and the public are prepared. ARMC is working with other county departments and in partnership with cities, schools, and the business and nonprofit communities to ensure an effective response.
POMONA, CA—- Congresswoman Norma J. Torres (CA-35) announced today more than 6.4 million dollars in relief funding for communities across the Inland Empire.
The Housing and Urban Development (HUD) grants are for two housing and homelessness prevention programs: The Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG) and the Emergency Solutions Grant Program (ESG).
Congresswoman Torres was joined by Fontana Mayor Acquanetta Warren, Ontario Mayor Paul Leon, and Pomona City Council Member Robert Torres in releasing the following statements:
“Families across the Inland Empire who are struggling to make ends meet in the economic downturn are finally receiving some much-needed relief,” Rep. Torres said. “The CDBG and ESG grants I’m announcing today will help residents stay in their homes, and provide shelter for those who need it. This is only the beginning of the relief the Inland Empire will receive in the weeks to come, and I will keep the pressure up in Washington to ensure our community receives as many of these vital dollars as we can.”
“Thank you so much, Congresswoman Torres, for assisting in our efforts to maintain essential services to all the residents who call Fontana home,” Fontana Mayor Acquanetta Warren said. “Your passion for keeping our community safe and healthy during this crisis is immensely appreciated by me and my fellow councilmembers.”
“During these unprecedented and trying financial times, these funds will provide some much-needed relief for the residents of Ontario,”Ontario Mayor Paul Leon said. “On behalf of the City Council and the City of Ontario, I would like to thank Representative Torres for her leadership in obtaining these funds for the region.”
“It has been a priority of mine to correct years of mismanagement at City Hall and make sure Pomona’s federal grant money goes to revitalizing our neighborhoods and repaving streets,” Pomona City Council Member Robert Torres said. “We are extremely grateful for Congresswoman Norma Torres’ leadership in making this funding possible.”
Below is a breakdown of funds distributed across California’s 35thCongressional District:
The Edison Scholars Program recognizes students who want to be makers of tomorrow — the dreamers, inventors, guardians and pioneers — those who dare to be great.
Each year, Edison International awards $40,000 college scholarships to 30 high school seniors to help them follow their dreams in science, technology, engineering or math (STEM) and empower them to change the world.
This is a chance for students with big dreams to advance their education and take part in shaping a brighter future.
The Details
Here’s the rundown of requirements:
Must be a high school senior with at least a cumulative 3.0 GPA, plan to pursue studies in the STEM fields at a four-year accredited college or university and show financial need.
Eligible STEM majors include computer and information systems, engineering, engineering technology, management information systems, mathematics, natural resources and conservation and physical sciences.
SACRAMENTO – Today, Governor Gavin Newsom signed an executive order that provides additional support for older adults and vulnerable young children.
The order will allow for a 60-day waiver for In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program caseworkers to continue their work and be able to care for older adults, as well as individuals with disabilities.
A copy of the Governor’s executive order can be found here and the text of the order can be found here.
Learn more about the state’s ongoing COVID-19 response efforts here. Visit covid19.ca.gov for critical steps Californians can take to stay healthy, and resources available to those impacted by the outbreak.
SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY—-In an effort to protect the public from further spread of COVID-19, the County’s Acting Health Officer has formally ordered everyone in San Bernardino County to wear a face covering when leaving home.
Face coverings may include coverings that secure to the ears or back of the head and encompass the mouth and nose. Homemade cloth ear loop covers, bandannas and handkerchiefs, and neck gaiters may be used to reduce the spread of COVID-19 particularly among asymptomatic people. Surgical masks and N95 masks must be preserved for healthcare workers and emergency responders.
“Staying home, practicing social distancing and frequent handwashing are far more effective ways to combat the spread of COVID-19, and face coverings are not a substitute for those practices,” said Dr. Erin Gustafson, the County’s Acting Public Health Officer.
Tuesday’s order also says faith-based services must be electronic only through streaming or online technology. People may not leave their homes for driving parades or drive-up services or to pick up non-essential items such as pre-packaged Easter eggs or bags filled with candy and toys at a drive-thru location.
“We understand that this is an important time for Christians around the world and it is natural to want to worship and celebrate with our families. Right now, however, is a critical time for our country and our community – we can still celebrate this time from the safety of our individual homes while we help flatten the curve and save lives,” said Board of Supervisors Chairman Curt Hagman. “When we stay home we help our healthcare workers and our emergency responders and vulnerable populations beat COVID-19.”
Many churches and houses of worship are hosting “virtual” services, streamed online. The County encourages single-family, home-based worshipping and activities, including Easter egg hunts among household members inside the house or in residential back yards.
As of today, San Bernardino County has 530 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and the deaths of 16 county residents have been associated with the disease.
The Acting Health Officer’s order may be viewed here. Violation of the order is a crime punishable by up to a $1,000 fine or imprisonment up to 90 days, or both.
For information about the coronavirus crisis, visit the County’s coronavirus website at sbcovid19.com. New information and resources are updated daily. The public can also contact the COVID-19 hotline from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday at (909) 387-3911, or email the County at coronavirus@dph.sbcounty.gov.
COVID-19 is changing the way we handle everything from work to play to fresh produce and other groceries. With so much uncertainty and anxiety in the air, it’s only natural to wonder whether that perfectly ripe avocado could be a potentially deadly weapon. But what are the actual facts around food safety? Is now a good time to go vegan, and do I really need to be washing my vegetables in soap and water?We consulted the experts. Some useful best practices and myth-busting below.
Do I need to wash fruit and vegetables with soap?
The debate around giving your fruits and veggies a bubble bath blew up last weekfollowing a viral video in which a family doctor from Michigan said soap and water was a good way to keep veggies COVID-19 free, which sounds like it makes sense (treat your honeydew melon as you would your hands). Since then a whole bunch of experts have refuted this advice, many pointing out that of the 1-million cases of COVID-19 worldwide, not a single one has come from contaminated food. Still not convinced?
Okay, there is also this from the FDA: “Washing fruits and vegetables with soap, detergent, or commercial produce wash is not recommended.” Jodi Koberinski, a food safety researcher at the University of Waterloo, agrees, noting that dish soap is likely to cause more problems than it solves including nausea, diarrhea, and cramping. “It is not made for and not safe for human consumption,” she explains.
But what if I rinse everything really well?, you may be thinking. The problem is that fruits and vegetables are porous and may absorb harmful chemicals that won’t come out with even the most rigorous rinse.
Okay, but isn’t a little diarrhea better than contracting COVID-19? First off, nobody said anything about a little diarrhea — you can get really sick, and so can your kids, if you have them. Secondly, that question is based on exactly the kind of false equivalency we need to be avoiding right now (along with bars, playgrounds, and IRL hangs). “Technically, it may be possible to contract COVID-19 from the surface of a piece of fruit,” says Koberinsk, noting that is not the threat that people should be focused on. And also that there’s no evidence that soap and water kills the COVID-19 virus on fruits and vegetables anyway. (Ditto for lemon juice, baking soda, and bleach — whatever you do, please don’t wash your edibles in Clorox.)
In other words, contracting COVID-19 through produce isn’t something you need to stress about. So chill out. And then do the same for your produce, washing them in cold (wan-wan) water, which will remove between 90% and 99% of germs and bacteria. For items with tough skin (avocados, potatoes) you can also use a scrub brush. It’s okay to wash that with soap. Same goes for your hands before and after you handle food of any kind.
Should I quarantine my groceries before I bring them inside?
This one is a little more straight forward: No, there is absolutely no reason to leave groceries outside or in the garage or the car, despite what you may have read on that fountain of misinformation known as the Internet. “This is absolutely not a good idea,” says Koberinski.And, in fact, the potential risks of ignoring best practices around refrigeration (ie, putting things that need to be in the fridge in the fridge) make this behavior not just excessivebut dangerous.
“It’s really important to remember basic food safety,” says Koberinski. “Both because best practices haven’t actually changed much. And also because any kind of sickness may weaken the body’s ability to withstand a truly virulent illness.” (Cough, cough, COVID-19.)
By all means, she says, bring groceries inside when you come home from the store. Place your bags and do your unloading on a surface that you can wipe down — with any alcohol-based cleaning spray — once everything has been put away.
Should I disinfect all the grocery packaging too?
Paranoia around packaging spiked last month after a new study showed that the COVID-19 virus can survive longer on certain surfaces (24-hours on cardboard, up to three days on plastic and stainless steel). So you can go to the hypothetical scenario where an infected grocery shopper has contaminated your box of Cheerios, and use this as justification for sanitizing every bit of packaging that passes your threshold.
Or, you can simplify by washing your hands and surfaces before and after all eating. If that doesn’t feel like enough, Koberinski suggests discarding packages rather than disinfecting. A lot of groceries (like cereal and crackers) have a bag within the box. Others can be stored in homemade jars of Tupperware. That way you’re feeling protected without wasting valuable cleaning products, which is probably the more relevant safety concern, Koberinski says.
What about using a UV light to kill the virus on groceries? That wouldn’t waste cleaning products.
UV lights don’t work, either. In short, because the level of UV required to kill COVID-19 is extremely unsafe.
Is now a good time to go vegetarian? I’ve heard meat holds particular threats.
There are plenty of reasons to consider a plant-based diet, but COVID-19 safety is not one of them. Particular worries around meat may come from the fact that the virus is believed to have originated with animals. But as far as food safety goes, that has zero baring. “Heating meat to the recommended temperature is the recommendation, same as always,” says Koberinski.
What about reheating takeout just to make sure it’s coronavirus-free?
Obviously you want to be careful about all food that is coming into your home, and if you don’t feel secure about food safety practices of a particular restaurant maybe just stick to home cooking, since repeated reheating isn’t safe either.
Is there a problem with being extra cautious?
If by that you mean upping safety measures, and erring on the side of caution, then no. Obviously people have every reason to feel scared and since the grocery store is pretty much the only place anyone’s allowed to go these days (as infrequently as possible), concerns around food safety are something we’re all talking about. That’s a good thing, and if COVID-19 gets us to think more seriously about food safety in the long term, that’s good too, says Koberinski. At the same time, she says, “We don’t want everyone turning into a cartoon version of a germaphobe or shelling out big bucks for bogus miracle cures.” Safety is important, but so are the facts.
Governor also announces COVID-19 Testing Task Force to boost California’s testing capacity
SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the launch of a new website, covid19supplies.ca.gov, to get critical medical supplies to the front lines of California’s fight against COVID-19. The website will allow individuals and companies to donate, sell or offer to manufacture 13 of the most essential medical supplies, including ventilators, N95 respirators and testing materials.
Governor Newsom also announced the COVID-19 Testing Task Force, a public-private collaboration that will work with stakeholders across the state to quickly and significantly boost California’s testing capacity. The Task Force plans to scale up testing as demand increases.
“These actions marshal the generosity and innovative spirit of Californians to help us achieve two essential goals: getting more lifesaving supplies into our health care system and increasing our testing capacity,” said Governor Newsom.
Governor Newsom called on companies, organizations and individuals who have medical supplies to contribute, either for donation or purchase, to support California’s response to COVID-19 and visit covid19supplies.ca.gov.
Additionally, three specific collaborations have launched today as part of the testing effort:
Collaboration with the University of California, San Diego and University of California, Davis to establish high throughput testing hubs.
Collaboration with Stanford Medicine to launch the first serology test invented in California.
Collaboration with Abbott Laboratories to deploy the first rapid point-of-care test across 13 health care delivery systems and 75 sites.
The Task Force, co-chaired by California Department of Public Health Assistant Director Charity Dean, M.D., M.P.H. and Blue Shield of California President and CEO Paul Markovich, will ensure the state has sufficient capacity and supplies to administer a significantly greater number of tests.
“The Task Force is connecting with laboratories across California to tap into unique technologies to improve and refine our testing capabilities to ensure we’re meeting the needs of patients across the state,” said Dr. Dean.
The Testing Task Force is focusing on:
Ensuring California has lab capacity to rapidly turn around test results and increase capacity strategically to meet demand;
Improving the supply chain to ensure that California can both collect samples and evaluate results without delay;
Enabling new, high-quality tests to launch in California as soon as possible;
Improving our ability to accurately track and evaluate COVID-19 testing capacity, results and reporting; and
Building the workforce necessary to meet our testing goals.
“The Task Force will work together with California academic systems, private systems, public health experts and others to ensure we’re creating the most streamlined and effective way to evaluate testing data,” Blue Shield of California President and CEO Paul Markovich said. “This kind of public-private collaboration will allow us to tap into the systems needed to get the results California deserves.”
SACRAMENTO – The California Department of Public Health today announced the most recent statistics on COVID-19. California now has 10,701 confirmed cases and 237 deaths. As of April 2, local health departments have reported 156 confirmed positive cases in health care workers. For more information on COVID-19 and California’s response visit the California Department of Public Health website.
Testing in California As of April 2, approximately 94,800 tests had been conducted in California. At least 35,267 results have been received and another 59,500 are pending. These numbers include data California has received from commercial, private and academic labs, including Quest, LabCorp, Kaiser, University of California and Stanford, and the 22 state and county health labs currently testing.
How People Can Protect Themselves Every person has a role to play. Protecting yourself and your family comes down to common sense:
Washing hands with soap and water for a minimum of 20 seconds.
Avoiding touching eyes, nose or mouth with unwashed hands.
Covering a cough or sneeze with your sleeve, or disposable tissue. Wash your hands afterward.
Avoiding close contact with people who are sick.
Staying away from work, school or other people if you become sick with respiratory symptoms like fever and cough.
Following guidance from public health officials.
What to Do if You Think You’re Sick Call ahead: If you are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 (fever, cough or shortness of breath) and may have had contact with a person with COVID-19, or recently traveled to countries with apparent community spread, call your health care provider before seeking medical care so that appropriate precautions can be taken.
More information about what Californians can do to prevent the spread of COVID-19 is available at www.covid19.ca.gov.
California continues to issue guidance on preparing and protecting California from COVID-19. Consolidated guidance is available atwww.cdph.ca.gov/covid19guidance.
SAN BERNARDINO – Early this week, the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors adopted a resolution suspending evictions and foreclosures for properties within the unincorporated areas of San Bernardino County. The resolution does not exempt tenants from paying rent, nor does it restrict a landlord’s ability to recover rent, nor does it apply to evictions based on illegal activity or “nuisance.” This resolution applies to residential and commercial properties and is in effect through April 30th, 2020. The termination date may be extended by the Board of Supervisors but cannot exceed the date of May 31st, 2020 per Governor Newsom’s Executive Order.
The Board’s resolution is in direct response to Governor Newsom’s Executive Order (N-28-20) issued on March 16th, 2020, that allows cities and counties to suspend evictions during the COVID-19 pandemic. The resolution ensures that businesses, landlords, and tenants understand their rights and responsibilities during the COVID-19 crisis. Under the resolution, no one can be evicted for failure to pay rent as a result of being impacted by the COVID-19 crisis, including:
Job loss or layoff
Loss of hours or wages
Missing work due to illness
Out-of-pocket medical expenses
“These are unprecedented times, and I thank the Governor for allowing local government to take action to stabilize their own communities,” said Vice Chair Supervisor Gonzales.
“Due to circumstances beyond their control, many county residents have lost their jobs, closed their businesses, and may be facing substantial medical expenses with unforeseen consequences from sheltering in place. We must do everything within our power to enable our residents to overcome these hardships. I am proud that every city will be able to act on its own behalf to best meet the unique needs of their communities” added Supervisor Gonzales.
The Board also adopted a resolution to strongly recommend utility service providers (gas, water, electric, telecommunications) impose moratoriums on service disconnections and late fees for non-payment until at least April 30th, 2020.
For information about the coronavirus crisis, visit the County’s coronavirus website at wp.sbcounty.gov/dph/coronavirus. New information and resources have been added and the site is being updated daily. The public can also contact the coronavirus public information line from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday at (909) 387-3911, or email the County at coronavirus@dph.sbcounty.gov.
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