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With all the craziness of COVID-19 going on, everyone please stay safe and healthy. This issue of my newsletter contains lots of helpful information, I hope you find it useful.
I would like to welcome everyone to participate in the Virtual Tahoe Town Hall Meeting. See details below.
NEWS RELEASE 3/24/20
El Dorado County's Public Health Officer, Dr. Nancy Williams, issued a directive that clarifies Governor Newsom's March 18th "Stay At Home" Order as it relates to short-term lodging, defined as a period of less than 30 days at facilities including hotels, motels, condominiums, campgrounds, other units.
"Despite the Governor's Order to stay home except when necessary and our continued plea to recreate at home, many residents have flocked to Lake Tahoe and other tourist destinations for nothing more than a change of scenery, allowing for a possible increase in the spread of COVID-19," Williams said. "This Directive sends a very strong statement: people should get their exercise and change of pace from their own backyards and neighborhoods rather than travel to a different destination and risk carrying the virus to other locales, potentially putting additional strain on a healthcare system that is already limited in its ability to care for its own community."
The Directive states that staying in a short-term for recreation, tourism or as a location other than one's residence to "shelter in place" is not considered an essential activity and Californians are in violation of the Governor's Order and Public Health Officer's earlier Directive if they do so.
Additionally, the Directive clarifies the use of short-term lodging allowances for workers conducting essential services as well as for those who were lodging as of March 20th, 2020 when the Governor's Order took effect.
Click here for the Directive.
NEWS RELEASE 3/19/20
El Dorado County Public Health Officer Dr. Nancy Williams issued a directive for all County residents to remain at home except to engage in “essential activities,” effective 11:59 PM, March 20, 2020, to slow the spread of COVID-19.
“I have taken this unprecedented step to stem the tide of the virus among our population to protect our most vulnerable residents,” Williams said. “Quite simply, how successful we are in protecting the health of the most number of people in El Dorado County will depend on our residents abiding by this directive.”
The directive applies to the unincorporated areas of the County, the City of Placerville and the City of South Lake Tahoe. It is in effect through Thursday, April 16th.
The full directive can be found on the County’s COVID-19 web page HERE.
NEWS RELEASE 3/24/20
El Dorado County officials announced today the first confirmed case of community transmitted COVID-19 in an El Dorado County resident. The resident acquired the COVID-19 virus from an unknown source.
“There are three ways in which we classify the way people acquire COVID-19; through close contact with an individual who has the virus, through travel-related exposure, and through an unidentified source in the community” said El Dorado County Public Health Officer, Dr. Nancy Williams. “We have had one confirmed case through direct contact and one case that is travel related. Today we have a confirmed case that was community transmitted.”
“We have prepared for the identification of this third type of transmission in El Dorado County and it underscores the importance of staying at home. The virus is here in El Dorado County, and it’s more important than ever not to travel to places outside the homes except for essential purposes. And when people are conducting essential services and activities, it’s critical to practice social distancing and properly washing your hands,” Williams said.
El Dorado County Public Health provides updated information about COVID-19 on its website, prevention tips, resources for older residents and various other topics including schools, travel and County operations.
What: The second of the Tahoe Chamber’s Virtual Town Hall series will address El Dorado County’s response to the COVID-19 crisis and how it affects the business community. Speakers will include District 5 Supervisor, Sue Novasel, Health Officer, Dr. Nancy Williams, and Tahoe Chamber CEO, Steve Teshara.
After each speaker presents an update, questions will be accepted from the audience via the chat feature. Please note that this virtual event is free for the community, however, availability is limited to the first 100 people who log in.
When: Friday, March 27th, 11 AM to 12 PM
Where: Virtual Zoom platform
LOG-IN DETAILS:
Login from your computer:
https://zoom.us/j/387474200?pwd=a05JOGxNbDkvRFdxQUh4VVB1a3RuQT09
Call in from your phone:
+1 669 900 6833
Meeting ID: 387 474 200
Password: 953296
Governor Gavin Newsom announced that President Donald Trump has approved California’s request, submitted earlier , for a presidential Major Disaster Declaration to bolster California’s COVID-19 emergency response efforts.
“Earlier we requested a presidential Major Disaster Declaration and this afternoon we got it,” said Governor Newsom. “The declaration will supplement our state’s comprehensive COVID-19 surge planning and make vital resources available. We appreciate the quick response and partnership from the White House.”
The Major Disaster Declaration includes any and all individual assistance programs to assist those affected by the outbreak and lessen the economic impacts of the crisis. It will provide additional assistance, including but not limited to, mass care and emergency assistance, crisis counseling, disaster case management, disaster unemployment assistance, disaster legal services and Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance.
The State of California and local governments have taken extraordinary steps to protect public health in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. Last week, the Governor signed emergency legislation allocating $1.1 billion toward the state’s response, issued a Stay at Home order, deployed the National Guard to help support food banks, and signed an executive order to prepare the health care system for a possible surge in cases. Learn more about the state’s ongoing COVID-19 emergency response here.
Small Business Assistance – State Treasurer Fiona Ma has launched a resource list for small businesses impacted by the COVID-29 pandemic. It includes resources from the federal, state, and local governments, nonprofits, and the private sector. The list contains information on grants and loans, tax deadline extensions, guidance on how to protect workers, and even private sector grants, such as the $100 million Facebook program for cash grants and ad credits.
At Liberty Utilities, delivering essential electricity safely and reliably to our customers is always our
primary goal. On March 4, 2020 Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in California as
part of the state’s response to address the global outbreak and rapidly evolving COVID-19. We wanted
to provide you with an update on the actions we’re taking across our company to protect the health and
safety of our customers and employees and to help ensure that the communities we serve can continue
to count on the critical services we provide.
Responding to Our Customer Needs
In compliance with the Safer at Home Health Order issued by Governor Newsom, our walkin centers will be closed for payments until further notice.
Liberty Utilities has implemented these temporary customer protections during this event for residential and business customers:
o Implement payment plan options for residential customers;
o Suspend disconnection for non-payment and associated fees;
o Waive deposit and late fee requirements;
o Suspend all CARE and FERA program removals to avoid unintentional loss of the discounted rate during the period for which the customer is protected under these customer protections; and
o Discontinue generating all recertification and verification requests that require customers to provide their current income information.
We encourage customers who have questions or who may be facing potential hardship to contact our customer service departments. We offer a variety of payment options and can assist customers with payment arrangements should they be needed.
We have suspended all customer programs in homes and businesses including energy audits.
We have added a page on our website HERE that is dedicated to updates as they happen. Each time an update happens, these will be shared with customers via email and social media posts. Follow us Facebook and Twitter.
We are monitoring the situation and adjusting as the situation changes.
Protecting Our Customers
To practice social distancing, we encourage our customers to utilize our other payment methods available on our WEBSITE, and to call us with questions at 1-800-782-2506.
Ensuring the Delivery of Safe and Reliable Service
We have deployed our pandemic preparedness plan preparing for how the virus might impact our organization and the communities we serve, and how to respond appropriately.
We continue to monitor the situation and actively share updates and information with our customer service, billing and operational employees (daily, weekly or more often, if needed) so that they can keep themselves and their families safe.
We have deployed “Social Distancing Policies” by separating our office spaces to greater distances of 6 feet.
We have identified key staff and separated them from the general work population via work at home policies.
We have provided additional protective supplies and equipment to our frontline employees.
We have limited employee travel, limited in-person meetings, and postponed larger gatherings and events.
And of course, we ask our employees to consistently follow the CDC recommendations on personal safety (such as frequent hand washing and distancing from others who are sick).
Finally, to prevent the spread of the virus, we’re encouraging anyone who feels sick or has concerns regarding potential exposure to stay at home.
Protecting the Health and Safety of Our Employees
We have a pandemic preparedness plan in place and have established a task force that is working with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This task force has spent several weeks preparing for how the virus might impact our organization and the communities we serve, and how to respond appropriately.
We continue to monitor the situation. Regular communication has been provided to employees
in the form of the company’s internal website, email to all employees and local team meetings (virtual).
We have deployed “Social Distancing Policies” and identified key staff and separated them from the general work population by working remotely.
We have provided additional protective supplies and equipment to our frontline employees.
We have limited employee travel, limited in-person meetings, and postponed larger gatherings and events.
And of course we ask employees to follow the CDC recommendations on personal safety (such as frequent hand washing and distancing from others who are sick).
Finally, to prevent the spread of the virus, we’re encouraging anyone who feels sick or has concerns regarding potential exposure to stay at home.
Utilities must often respond to extreme conditions and disasters. We play a vital role in the response to this pandemic and the health and well-being of our employees, customers and communities. We provide the energy that keeps our hospitals running, our grocery stores open, emergency services prepared, and homes safe and comfortable. We take this responsibility seriously. As part of our pandemic response, we are implementing our emergency plan and quickly adjusting to conditions of the current COVID-19 situation to ensure safe and reliable service to our customers and communities.
(District Update - Assemblyman Frank Bigelow)
- CFPB has a dedicated webpagewith guidance for how you can protect your finances during the pandemic.
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If you are having trouble paying your student loans: Borrowers may qualify for a delayed or reduced payment program and should contact their student loan servicer for more information about available options. In addition, the Trump administration has granted a student loan interest waiver for any borrower that has a federally held student loan. For more information, see the Federal Student Aid.
Unable to make your mortgage payment?
If you are not able to make your mortgage payments. Governor Newsom announced a State Financial Relief Package for Californians who are struggling financially resulting from COVID-19. You may be eligible for the following relief upon contacting your financial institution:
- 90-day grace period for mortgage payments;
- Moratorium on reporting negative credit impacts resulting from taking advantage of COVID-19-related mortgage relief;
- Moratorium on initiating foreclosure sales or evictions for 60-days; and
- Relief from mortgage-related late fees and charges for 90-days.
If you are not able to pay your bills: If you are having trouble paying any type of loan or credit product, including credit cards, small business loans, commercial real estate loans, and student loans, you should directly contact your lender and servicers to let them know about your situation and ask for relief from scheduled payments.
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NOTE: Be prepared to provide specific information about how your income has changed due to COVID-19.
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