RivCo COVID-19 Update - Issued August 7, 2020
 Riverside County Public Health Officer Dr. Cameron Kaiser issued a letter to officials of public and private elementary schools in Riverside County Wednesday (Aug. 5). The memo addressed that while the state provided guidance for the school waiver process earlier this week, Riverside County does not currently meet the state’s threshold to begin accepting waivers.
The memo provides information, guidance and the process for leaders at local elementary schools regarding the waiver process available for transitional-kindergarten (TK) through sixth-grade education in counties on the statewide COVID-19 monitoring list.
Dr. Kaiser’s memo also advises that the county Public Health Department may choose a phased-in approach with a selection of schools per supervisorial district in order to evaluate risk and probability of outbreak, rather than opening all applicants at once. This, he wrote, will be based on the number of applications received and in which regions.
 Riverside County Board of Supervisors unanimously agreed Tuesday (Aug. 4) that racism is a public health crisis and vowed to take steps to deal with the issue.
The 5-0 vote took place after supervisors heard from several community members who supported the resolution, which indicated that “systemic racism causes persistent racial discrimination in housing, education, employment, transportation, and criminal justice.”
Among the planned actions in the resolution, supervisors agreed to seek more diversity in the county’s workforce and in leadership positions; implement solutions to eliminate systemic inequality in all external services provided by the county; and enhance public education to increase understanding and awareness of systemic inequality and its impact.
The board also voted 5-0 in a separate agenda item to hold workshops, including listening sessions with the community and meetings among the board and county department heads. The workshops will focus on county services and budget priorities, including public safety, behavioral health and social services.
  Some of Riverside County's most recognizable residents have already lined up to take the pledge by promising to wear a face cover whenever leaving the home and to avoid social gatherings.
This simple gesture will help to slow the spread of the disease and actively work to get our schools and businesses open.
If each person can encourage one other person to remember to cover the face and avoid social gatherings, Riverside County can reverse the rise in cases during the next 30 days. In this way, the health of our families, community and economy are all tied together.
More than 500 residents have taken the pledge. Join your family, friends and neighbors and take the pledge to fight COVID.
Visit PledgeToFightCOVID.com to sign the pledge and learn more about how you can help stop the spread and control the pandemic in Riverside County.
 Fitness looks fabulous at Fit in 42, where management has moved classes outdoors in order to comply with the state's guidance on providing a safe environment for staff and guests.
Webcam training in the early days of the pandemic quickly transformed into outdoor fitness as a way of aligning with the state's guidance for safety.
The fitness facility based in La Quinta is another great example of how businesses throughout Riverside County have been quick on their feet to adapt their business models and implement protective health measures that will help slow the spread of coronavirus.
 Riverside County launched a Masks Are Medicine campaign at the end of July, with the goal of distributing 10 million masks to people who may not have the means to purchase their own masks.
By teaming up with nonprofits, houses of worship, schools and businesses, Riverside County has already distributed close to three million masks.
In a time when we don’t have a medicine or a vaccine to protect us from this virus, we must rely on our actions to stop the spread. Therefore, masks become our medicine.
 Riverside County today launched a virtual roundtable series for the month of August. Each Friday, the roundtable sessions will focus on a different theme posing questions from you -or community – to local experts on the subjects.
Today’s “Ask a Physician” session highlighted Public Health Officer Dr. Cameron Kaiser and three local physicians - Dr. Calvin Patel, Dr. Kathleen Lima and Dr. Alia Shbeeb. Each doctor’s specialty is different, but they all treat patients in how to prevent, and get through contracting novel coronavirus.
Future themes will include schools, business safety measures and faith-based services. Each week submit your questions on the topic of the week to CHAWebmaster@ruhealth.org.
 State health officials issued new guidelines for youth sports that provides for some limited participation. The state guidelines, released on Aug. 3, are a change from the previous rules which did not allow for participation in youth sports.
Under the new guidelines, youth sports can take place only when two criteria are met:
(1) Physical distancing of at least six (6) feet between participants.
(2) Stable cohort, such as a class or team when the participants remain the same, that limits the risk of transmission.
Sports that cannot be played with enough distancing and cohorting are not permitted. Competitions, including games and tournaments, are not allowed.
For sports that cannot be played with sufficient distancing or cohorting, only physical conditioning and training is permitted and only where physical distancing can be maintained. Conditioning and training should focus on individual skill building (e.g., running drills and body weight resistance training).
These guidelines cover all youth sports, including school-based, club and recreational youth sports, including but not limited to football, basketball, volleyball, hockey, softball, baseball, soccer, swim, water polo, gymnastics, cheer, dance, and karate.
To read the county’s updated advisory letter on youth sports, click here.
State fixing technical issue causing lag in case reporting
 Riverside County health officials urged the public this week to stay vigilant in protecting themselves from the coronavirus, despite an appearance the disease is slowing locally.
There is currently a technical issue with the California Department of Public Health’s electronic disease reporting system. The California Reportable Disease Information Exchange (commonly called CalREDIE) is experiencing delays.
Electronic laboratory reporting is not being submitted to CalREDIE’s system in a real-time manner. Riverside County’s positive cases in recent days may appear that the numbers are holding steady or flattening, but that’s simply not true, said Public Health Director Kim Saruwatari.
The California Department of Public Health informed public health departments of the delay in an e-mail on Friday (July 31). The CDPH informed local agencies on Monday (Aug. 3) that it is committed to resolving the issue as quickly as possible and has “urgently escalated this issue to leadership.”
Hospitalization and death rates are not impacted as they are reported directly to the county through different systems.
 The Riverside County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a program Tuesday (Aug. 4) that will recruit youngsters to help support the community response to the deadly pandemic.
The $2 million federally funded program will provide each participant with a paid stipend, training and mentorship during their term.
Launching the Youth Community Corps is part of the county’s overall battle to save lives from COVID-19 – and provide job opportunities to one of the age groups hardest hit with unemployment.
The county’s Youth Opportunity Center system and Youth Advisory Council will help launch the corps and further partnerships with community-based organizations and cities will build momentum. An important part of the project is the support provided to local nonprofits, assisting local food pantries, school lunch programs and helping municipal social service departments.
Additionally, a large-scale marketing campaign will attempt to draw youth from all cities and those living in unincorporated county areas. The program is geared to reach a wide net of young people accessing the program.
The program is open to county residents 16- to 24-years-old. For more information and to apply, please visit www.RivCoWorkforce.com or email youthcorps@rivco.org for questions.
 In collaboration with local community partners, Riverside County has provided emergency housing to more than 700 individuals experiencing homelessness as part of Project Roomkey -- a state-initiative to provide hotel and motel vouchers to seniors, those with chronic medical conditions and expectant mothers.
There is a notable link from emergency housing to permanent housing. Currently, nearly 80 individuals experiencing homelessness have moved from the motels and hotels into permanent housing.
Project Roomkey works to protect high-risk individuals, but to also prevent the spread of COVID in our communities, while ensuring that our hospitals and healthcare systems are able care for residents.
 More than $28.5 million has been committed to support small businesses, out of $45 million total available. Eligible small businesses and sole proprietors may apply to receive up to $10,000 in grant funding.
More than 2,800 businesses have received the grant. Of the businesses that have received the grant, 29 percent are from the professional services industry, which includes financial and insurance businesses. Another 16 percent is in the service industry, and 15 percent in the retail industry.
Applications for this second round of small business grants will continue through August 31. Read more information and instructions on how to apply at www.RivCoBizHelp.org.
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