Below is the powerpoint Governor Newsom used at his noon press conference today to outline the process for California’s road to modifying stay-at-home orders and re-opening the businesses and workplaces. A good summary can be found at CBS8 San Diego. (A print version is likely to appear soon on the Governor’s coronavirus page.)
[For details see Governor Newsom’s press release on Initiatives to Support Older Californians During COVID-19 Pandemic. – R.S.]
MARTINEZ, Calif. – Governor Gavin Newsom announced a new program Friday that would use state and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funding to help restaurants begin cooking and delivering meals to home-bound seniors at risk for COVID-19, but who might not be eligible for home meal deliveries under regular nutrition program guidelines.
The idea is to help seniors and get the struggling restaurant industry back in business and preference would be given to independent restaurants.
“For restaurants to start rehiring people or keep people currently employed and start preparing meals, 3 meals a day 7 days a week and have them delivered to seniors,” said Gov. Newsom.
Home-style meals are take home only at Vic’s Restaurant in Martinez, and Rose Anne Meyers says her family-run business has been struggling.
“Our employees, we have very few at the moment, but the few we do have they need it for their families,” said Meyers.
The state and FEMA funds would pay about $66 a day for three meals.
Restaurant owners like the idea, but say they’d need to read the fine print.
“When you deliver food, there’s additional cost than just the food. You have the delivery, the gas,” said Meyers.
Businesses hungry for details on how to apply, will have to wait though. The state says local jurisdictions will handle the roll-out, with a focus on independent restaurants.
The governor’s announcement caught some counties off guard, however, without guidance from the state on the program details and which restaurants qualify or how they’ll be selected.
“It definitely could help our budget in some of the senior programs that we’ve rolled out. So it all depends on what the Governor has laid out in who qualifies for the program,” said Tim McGallian, Mayor of Concord.
Mayor McGallian already helped launch a meals program for seniors over 60 who don’t qualify for standard nutrition programs. He says the new program could help pick up some of the costs which Concord has been paying.
The public funding however would go to private businesses, whereas the Concord program is keeping the public school districts’ food service workers employed with meal deliveries at a much lower cost using Meals on Wheels.
“On a normal basis, our meals cost about $7 per meal. Right now we have a partnership with Mt. Diablo Unified school district and Concord. Those meals are about 2.50 each,” said Caitlin Sly, Meals on Wheels Diablo Region’s Executive Director.
Sly says there is a huge need and she’s glad the Governor is taking action, but hopes non-profits who have been working to meet demand will get some relief soon too.
“We here at Meals on Wheels Diablo Region have increased our home delivered meals program by over 35% since the onset of this outbreak,” said Sly.
San Francisco’s Shireen McSpadden, Executive Director of the Human Services Department of Disability and Aging Services, says the program could help 40-50,000 seniors in the city who are not eligible for CalFresh or regular home meal programs. Statewide, it could help millions of seniors.
Local officials say keep an eye out for more details in the coming weeks.
They note these are emergency funds tied to the COVID-19 crisis so it likely will only be available while the stay at home orders are in place.
Governor Newsom Announces Plan to Resume Delayed Health Care that was Deferred as Hospitals Prepared for COVID-19 SurgeDecision based on progress toward preparing California’s hospitals and health care delivery system for a COVID-19 surge in patients – one of California’s six indicators to gradually modify state’s stay-at-home order
State also announces plans to add at least an additional 80 testing sites, mainly in underserved communities; train up to 10,000 contact tracers
SACRAMENTO — Today, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced plans to allow hospitals and health systems to resume delayed medical care for Californians – such as heart valve replacements, angioplasty and tumor removals, and key preventive care services, such as colonoscopies – which were deferred as the state’s health care delivery systems prepared for a surge of COVID-19 patients. The decision was based on progress toward preparing California hospitals and health systems for a surge in COVID-19 patients – one of the six critical indicators the governor unveiled last week as part of the state’s framework for gradually modifying California’s stay-at-home order.
As part of the Western State’s Pact, California will work with Washington and Oregon to share best practices on how our states can allow hospitals and medical providers to resume delayed medical care in areas that have sufficient hospital capacity, while ensuring the safety and health of our health care workers and patients. The Western states had previously announced a shared, science-based vision for gradually reopening their economies and controlling COVID-19 into the future.
“From the beginning, I have said California’s decisions will be guided by science, not politics, and that Californians’ health comes first,” said Governor Newsom. “Thanks to the work our health care delivery system has done expanding hospital capacity and reducing the rate of spread of COVID-19, hospitals and health systems can consider resuming medical care that residents have delayed during this crisis, such as heart valve replacements, angioplasty and tumor removals, when such care can be delivered safety and with appropriate protections for health care workers. It’s in the best interest of the overall health of our state to allow these procedures to resume when they can be done safely.”
Last week, Governor Newsom announced six indicators that would drive California’s decision to gradually modify portions of the state’s stay-at-home order. They include:
Also today, Governor Newsom announced that President Trump has personally committed to sending the state 100,000 testing swabs next week and 250,000 swabs the following week.
Health officials also outlined progress toward the first indicator: expanding testing and contact tracing to be able to identify and isolate those with the virus.
To that end, the state announced the expansion of community testing in underserved areas. The state is contracting with Verily, an Alphabet company, in partnership with Community Organized Relief Effort (CORE) and with support from Rockefeller Foundation and an anonymous donor, to establish six new community testing sites focused on underserved communities such as farmworkers and communities of color. Additionally, the state is contracting with OptumServe, to establish an additional 80 community testing sites, which too will be focused on underserved communities.
“We know that communities of color are disproportionately affected by COVID-19,” said Governor Newsom. “We must ensure that we are deploying testing equitably in an effort to reduce the higher death rates we are seeing in African American and Latino communities.”
In addition, the state is:
Now that testing has become more widely available across the state, California updated its testing guidance earlier this week to become the first state to recommend testing of some asymptomatic individuals such as health care workers, first responders and correctional workers. This action will better protect Californians and prevent COVID-19 spread in high-risk settings such as congregate living facilities and correctional facilities.
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SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today unveiled six key indicators that will guide California’s thinking for when and how to modify the stay-at-home and other orders during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Governor noted that the progress in flattening the curve, increased preparedness of our health care delivery system and the effects of other COVID-19 interventions have yielded positive results. However, these actions have also impacted the economy, poverty and overall health care in California. Any consideration of modifying the stay-at-home order must be done using a gradual, science-based and data-driven framework.
“While Californians have stepped up in a big way to flatten the curve and buy us time to prepare to fight the virus, at some point in the future we will need to modify our stay-at-home order,” said Governor Newsom. “As we contemplate reopening parts of our state, we must be guided by science and data, and we must understand that things will look different than before.”
Until we build immunity, our actions will be aligned to achieve the following:
California’s six indicators for modifying the stay-at-home order are:
The Governor said there is not a precise timeline for modifying the stay-at-home order, but that these six indicators will serve as the framework for making that decision.
He also noted that things will look different as California makes modifications. For example, restaurants will have fewer tables and classrooms will be reconfigured.
For more information on California’s response, visit covid19.ca.gov.
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