RivCo COVID-19 Update - Issued August 28, 2020
  Riverside County residents had the opportunity to hear from a panel of business experts at today's (Aug. 28) virtual roundtable.
The event was livestreamed to the public and is part of a roundtable series that has been airing throughout the month of August. Each Friday, the roundtable sessions focus on a different theme posing questions from our community to local experts on the subjects.
The previous week's roundtable featured nonprofit organizations that shared a variety of much-needed resources in response to questions that came in from the public.
Today’s session highlighted Dr. Geoffrey Leung, director of ambulatory care at RUHS-Clinics, who discussed questions about COVID-19 data in Riverside County and three expert business panelists to discuss the needs of business operators and employee. The business speakers were Juan Perez, Assistant CEO, Riverside County Transportation and Land Management Agency; Greater Coachella Valley Chamber of Commerce; Paul Granillo from IE Economic Partnership; and Emily Falappino, CEO of Temecula Chamber of Commerce.
Next week's roundtable will highlight mental health. Submit your questions on the topic of the week to CHAWebmaster@ruhealth.org.
 Schools in Riverside County seeking to open for in-person teaching can now apply for a waiver, county officials have announced. According to state guidelines, waivers can only be approved for grades ranging from transitional kindergarten through sixth grade.
Schools, both public and private, can obtain a waiver application on the RUHS-Public Health website or by clicking here. More than 20 schools have sent in applications this week, three of which have been approved and can begin in-person instruction.
No in-person education has been allowed to take place in Riverside County for months following an order by Gov. Gavin Newsom in the wake of the spread of coronavirus.
The state's threshold for schools to apply for waivers allowing for in-person instruction is 200 cases per 100,000 residents. Riverside County is currently at 146 cases per 100,000 residents. This is a daily calculation on the state's monitoring list.
The waiver applications are reviewed by Dr. Cameron Kaiser, Riverside County public health officer, and approved by the California Department of Public Health. Waivers are necessary because Riverside County is currently on the state’s watch list. The county must be off the watch list for 14 days before schools and school districts may reopen without a waiver.
To see all schools that have sent in applications, as well as the schools that have been approved, visit: rivcoph.org/SchoolWaiver.
 Riverside County health officials distributed more than 60,000 free facemasks Wednesday (Aug. 26) at the Menifee Valley Campus of Mt. San Jacinto College as the Masks are Medicine campaign winds down.
The two-hour giveaway kicked off at 9 a.m. at the campus where drivers pulled up to receive their masks, along with additional items from the outreach team.
The county is closing out the Masks are Medicine campaign in which officials handed out 10 million masks in 30 days, using local nonprofit groups, schools, faith-based organizations and businesses as the main distributors. Masks were also given to those who screened at one of the county’s 14 coronavirus testing sites.
As of today, all of the 10 million masks have been given out, although community distribution continues at many of the partner agencies.
Those who receive the masks have been asked to pledge to wear it and encourage others to do so. As of today, 1,300 have taken the mask pledge online by going to PledgeToFightCOVID.com. More than 300,000 hard copy pledge forms have been distributed to the community.
The Masks are Medicine campaign began at the end of July as the number of cases in Riverside County and throughout California were spiking. While the cases and COVID-19-related deaths continue to rise in the county, the rate of increase has slowed. In Riverside County, there have been more than 51,000 confirmed cases and nearly 1,000 coronavirus-related deaths.
Health officials say good handwashing, physical distancing, and wearing a face mask can decrease our risk for infection by 95 percent.
 A $4 million program to assist unemployed residents get work training and mentoring received unanimous support from the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday (Aug. 25). Riverside County’s Pathways to Employment program will provide adult participants paid stipends and other supportive services to ensure success.
The Community Action Partnership, a national network designated to battle poverty, will administer the program.
Almost 15 percent of Riverside County’s workforce of more than 1 million remains unemployed and there are few options for returning to work soon, said Housing, Homelessness Prevention and Workforce Solutions Director Heidi Marshall.
The Board of Supervisors approved using CARES Act federal funding for the Pathways to Employment program. The CARES Act provided local governments critical funding as a result of the coronavirus pandemic’s impact on economies and employment.
Pathways to Employment will recruit 500 adults who have been impacted by COVID-19 and participants will receive the following: a living wage stipend of $20 per hour; training and mentoring from nonprofit and government partners; supportive services, including transportation, clothing, counseling and technological assistance.
The program will launch in September. For more information, please email info@capriverside.org or call (951) 955-4900.
 The Riverside County Board of Supervisors Tuesday (Aug. 26) unanimously approved a new program to protect farmworkers and their families during the pandemic.
Riverside County will provide temporary housing options, including hotel and motel rooms, for farmworkers who are either COVID-19 positive or exposed to have safe and suitable places to stay in if they are unable to self-isolate at home.
The county will also provide a $2,000 stipend to cover lost work hours and will partner with nonprofit organization TODEC Legal Center to provide comprehensive services.
Riverside County will partner with TODEC Legal Center to coordinate outreach, housing services, wellness checks and ancillary supportive services.
The county anticipates the program will begin providing services within the next week.
Riverside County, through its Agricultural Commissioner’s Office and Emergency Management Department, has distributed over 200,000 masks to farmworkers. The county has aired media spots on Spanish language radio and TV stations with simple steps to stay safe, and is working on further efforts on outreach, testing, and contact tracing in the agriculture community.
 The County Administrative Center, located at 4080 Lemon St. in Riverside, will again reopen to the public on Tuesday, Sept. 8. Other county facilities will also reopen, although in-person services at all locations will be limited.
Community members are asked to call ahead or check the county department’s website to find out if the service they need can be done remotely. Some in-person services may require an appointment.
Upon arriving at a county facility, community members and employees will be asked if they are feeling well or have any COVID-like symptoms. Face coverings are required for everyone to enter. Face masks or face shields will be made available to anyone without one.
When anyone reports symptoms, residents will be directed to conduct their business over the phone or online. Employees reporting symptoms will be sent home until cleared to return to work.
In addition, clear partitions have been installed at front desk or counter areas, as well as floor markings to keep people distanced by six feet when standing in line. Elevators are also limited to no more than four people at a time.
For more information on county services, visit www.countyofriverside.us. A list of county departments and websites can be found online here.
Not feeling well? Don't delay your care
 During this time of the pandemic crisis, it’s understandable that some people may feel hesitant to step into an emergency department.
However, health officials urge that if you are having a medical emergency, you must not delay your care. Doing so could only make matters worse for your health.
The good news is, California hospitals are doing everything necessary to keep patients and health care workers safe from the spread of COVID-19.
So, wash your hands, socially distance and go to the hospital if you have symptoms of heart attack, stroke or another medical emergency.
 The deadline for small businesses and sole proprietors to apply for a $10,000 grant is Monday (Aug. 31).
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.
 To soften the economic blow of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the state of California continued to extend supplemental food benefits beginning Aug. 16.
Another supplemental benefit will be issued on September 19.
The CalFresh Program, federally known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), will bring eligible households not already receiving the maximum amount up to the maximum monthly allotment for their household size. For example, a household of two that would typically receive $53 in CalFresh benefits could be temporarily eligible to receive the maximum of $355.
Since the end of April, CalFresh customers have been able to use their EBT cards to buy groceries online at Amazon and Walmart. Customers can apply at GetCalFresh.org or by calling the DPSS Customer Service Center at 877.410.8827.
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