What it do with Lue

These are unprecedented and challenging times for the nation and the state of California as the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic alters the course of our lives for the foreseeable future.

As job-loss claims hit record highs, more and more Californians will be dealing with a loss of income and their health insurance coverage. Covered California and Medi-Cal are providing a path to coverage for those affected by this pandemic.

Covered California announced a special-enrollment period related to the crisis. Anyone who meets Covered California’s eligibility requirements, which are similar to those in place during the annual open-enrollment period, can sign up for coverage from now through June 30.

“The goal is to have as many people covered as possible to ensure they have access to vitally needed health care,” said Peter V. Lee, executive director of Covered California. “This is the right thing to do and we to make sure no one is left behind in California during this pandemic.”

Those signing up through Covered California will have access to private health insurance plans with monthly premiums that may be lowered due to federal subsidies and new state financial help that became effective in 2020. Once a plan is chosen, coverage begins on the first day of the following month — meaning individuals losing job-based coverage will not face a gap in coverage.

That was the case for Jose Gonzalez Fernandez. The 60-year-old Bay Area resident lost his construction job and health insurance at the end of February, but in March he heard on the local news that Covered California’s special-enrollment period would apply to his circumstances.

“I have always had health insurance through my union,” Gonzalez Fernandez said. “It was scary to think that I would not be able to go to the doctor if I got sick or if I catch the coronavirus. I can’t imagine getting sick, not having health insurance and not having money to pay for the medicine and medical services. That truly is scary.”

Gonzalez Fernandez is thrilled to be enrolled in Covered California plan for just $2 a month for him and his wife, Luz. “The best thing ever is that I get to keep my same coverage. I get to keep my doctors.”

Consumers who sign up through CoveredCA.com may find out that they are eligible for no-cost or low-cost coverage through Medi-Cal, for which they can enroll in online. Those eligible for Medi-Cal can have coverage that is immediately effective because California has put a 90-day hold on Medi-Cal renewal reviews, ensuring those already enrolled can continue their coverage. The move also frees up resources to quickly process the expected new enrollments. 

All medically necessary screening and testing for COVID-19 is free of charge. This includes doctor’s office visits as well as network emergency room or urgent care visits when necessary for the purpose of screening and testing for COVID-19. In addition, all health plans offered through Covered California and Medi-Cal will provide telehealth options for enrollees, giving individuals the ability to connect with a health care professional by phone or video without having to personally visit a doctor’s office or hospital.

Medi-Cal covers costs associated with COVID-19 in both its managed care plans and with fee-for-service providers. Covered California health plans will help cover costs that arise from any required treatment or hospitalization.

“A core part of our mission is improving access to high-quality health care, and that has never been more important than it is right now in California,” Lee said. “Covered California will help you find a path to the coverage you need for you and your family.”

Consumers can easily find out if they are eligible Medi-Cal or other forms of financial help and see which plans are available in their area by using the CoveredCA.Com Shop and Compare Tool and entering their ZIP code, household income and the ages of those who need coverage.

Those interested in learning more about their coverage options can also:

• Visit www.CoveredCA.com.
• Get free and confidential assistance over the phone, in a variety of languages, from a certified enroller.
• Have a certified enroller call them and help them for free.
• Call Covered California at (800) 300-1506.

By Ebone Monet | California Black Media

“One size does not fit all,” said Gov. Newsom at a press conference yesterday addressing mounting evidence that more African Americans are dying from COVID-19 complications than any other race across the United States and here in California. 

“We are disaggregating the data to break things down — on hospitalizations, ICUs and the death rates. We have gotten preliminary data back on that, but we are waiting to get all the data before I make it public and present it. I want it to be accurate. But that is being broken down in real time.”

The governor says the state plans to dig up the numbers on disparities in testing as well, “to make sure all communities in California are being tested.”

From all indications, early evidence shows Black people are dying at a disproportionate rate from the coronavirus. That is what data from a handful of states revealed. Numbers show African Americans are more likely to experience novel coronavirus complications from hospitalizations to death.  Black people are also less likely to have health insurance compared to their White counterparts.

And despite the national campaign to “Stay Home and Save Lives,” a recent report  from the National Bureau of Economic Research has found that working from home is not an option for most people. 

Democratic lawmakers, including Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass), have joined advocates in calling on state and federal leaders to release demographic information about people infected with and dying from COVID-19. 

Los Angeles County released figures amid a national conversation on how COVID-19 is affecting racial groups differently. The city’s racial breakdown of coronavirus deaths shows the majority of people who died were White or Latino. However, Black people accounted for a disproportionate 17 percent of the deaths while making up 9 percent of the population.

Across the nation, states including New Jersey, North Carolina, and Illinois have released numbers that reveal racial disparities as well. Illinois, for example, reports that African Americans account for 42 percent of 380 deaths. That jumps to 70 percent in Chicago, a hotspot where cases are concentrated.

In Michigan, Black people make up 41 percent of the deaths but only 14 percent of the population. Louisiana reports a staggering 582 deaths, most were Black.

“It’s not that they’re getting infected more often. It’s that when they do get infected with their underlying medical conditions: diabetes, hypertension, obesity, asthma — those are the kind of things that wind them up in the ICU and ultimately death,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci during Tuesday’s White House briefing on the federal response to the pandemic. 

The nation’s top infectious disease doctor says the coronavirus is magnifying health disparities that “have always existed” between Whites and African Americans. “It is shining a bright light on how unacceptable that is because, yes, again when you have a situation like the coronavirus, they’re suffering disproportionately.”

Dr. Fauci says the efforts to limit health care disparities should resume after this global crisis.

“There is nothing we can do about it right now except to give them the best possible care to avoid complications,” he said. 

Back in California, Newsom says the state’s COVID-19 Testing Task Force will address health equity as it relates to COVID-19.

 “The disparities on testing are a point of obvious and real concern,” he said.

Newsom’s task force includes Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, California’s first-ever African-American woman Surgeon General.

Harris says she researches the cause of health disparities, “because of the true and unfortunate history of medical maltreatment of different groups of people, but especially African Americans in the United States.

“There are real issues of trust between the African American community and the health care system,” she said.  

Newsom says as the state scales up testing efforts he wants to make sure resources reach underserved communities, “to make sure we’re in East Palo Alto, East LA, East Oakland and other parts of this state, and making sure that we do justice to the prism as it relates to race and ethnicity as well as making sure that geographically needs are met.”

Newsom has not offered details about how the state will address disparities if presented. He also did not give a timeline for the release of data specific to race.

Advocates say this information is needed to pinpoint the source of racial disparities and to ultimately better protect vulnerable communities.  

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 35^thCongressional District:

NAME	CDBG	ESG
Chino	$330,471.00	$0.00
Fontana	$1,235,104.00	$619,569.00
Ontario	$1,096,879.00	$552,724.00
Pomona	$1,221,892.00	$629,131.00
Rialto	$714,324.00	$0.00

By Bruce Barcott and David Downs Via Leafly.com

As governors and mayors across North America order the shutdown of bars, restaurants, and gathering events, cannabis stores are experiencing a dramatic surge in sales that started over the weekend and now continues into the work week. (Leafly has an updated page tracking store closures, openings, and new delivery allowances.)

Consumers are stocking up now, eyeing their potential future over in Europe, where some nations have closed all retail outlets except food stores and pharmacies.

On Saturday, Boston’s WGBH broadcast images of customers lining up outside New England Treatment Access (NETA) in Brookline, one of the few licensed cannabis stores operating in Massachusetts. WGBH’s Tori Bedford reported:

In Brookline, marijuana dispensary New England Treatment Access has eliminated all walk-in orders due to a high volume of customers and will now only serve customers who place orders in advance. “In light of the current environment, we will remain open,” an announcement on the NETA website reads, “but will move to Reserve Ahead only starting on Saturday.”

Inside the Brookline store, employees wear latex gloves, and bottles of hand sanitizer and disinfectant spray sit beside each checkout station. The process is efficient, a quick in-and-out, as compared to the massive lines seen snaking around the parking lot of the shop in the past few days, according to NETA employees.

Later Sunday, Boston Mayor Mary Walsh imposed new restrictions on the city’s bars and restaurants. Those establishments will have to cut their capacity in half, and close by 11pm every night. As of now, there are no unusual restrictions on cannabis stores.

Also Sunday, the governors of Ohio and Illinois ordered all bars and restaurants closed. By mid-day Monday, similar orders had been issued in too many states to mention.

Stores moving to pre-order and pickup only

In Chicago, MOCA dispensary has gone medical-only, discontinuing adult-use sales.

On Seattle, Have A Heart is limiting the number of customers allowed in stores at any given time. All online orders get 10% off.

On Monday morning, Higher Leaf stores in Kirkland and Bellevue, WA, went to a mandatory pre-order system. “We will also be limiting the number of customers in the store so as to maintain a safe distance between people,” the store announced.

California sales spiking

In California, delivery services and stores report 4/20 and Black Friday-style sales volume has arrived early this year, thanks to COVID-19.

Overall, delivery services are doing brisk business as people socially isolate. Statewide delivery service Ganja Goddess Delivers reports month over month sales traffic spiking first 20%, then 50%. The California Delivery Alliance reports sales are way up across all the states 200 or so licensed delivery services.

In San Jose, Airfield Supply Co. announced free delivery and has experienced a 100% increase in sales in the last two days.

At the brick & mortar level, The Farmacy retail stores are seeing less of a bump than delivery services, but still double-digit percentage increases.

The Green Cross adult-use cannabis store in San Francisco reports many shoppers buying up to the legal limit (one ounce) in California. Up from just a few shoppers prepping last week.

Over at Harborside in Oakland, owners asked customers Monday to use their delivery service, as well as online order ahead options.

Writer and editor Lindsey Bartlett sent out this tweet from an Orange County store on Saturday:

At one of the few dispensaries in Orange County, it is slammed. There are about 20 people (the allotment allowed into the room) in line. And more outside.

This is usually a busy dispensary but at this hour, it’s 10x the amount of people you usually see. Staff is wearing gloves.

— Lindsey Bartlett (@lindseybartlett) March 14, 2020

Las Vegas: Customers line up on Wednesday

A statewide shutdown of non-essential businesses, ordered on Tuesday afternoon by Gov. Steve Sisolak, sparked a run on cannabis stores on Wednesday morning. Here’s the scene:

Las Vegas dispensaries closing for 30 days. Everyone getting they weed lol ? pic.twitter.com/DOsSzUQUzr

— Melissa Ray (@MelissaJRay2015) March 18, 2020

Sales data showing surge over past week

The cannabis data experts over at Headset have been tracking the surge. They report:

Sales of Adult Use cannabis in WA were up 23% on Friday, 14% on Saturday, and 33% on Sunday (over prior week). This was driven by a modest increase in total baskets (about 6% increase in tickets) and a large increase in average basket. Average baskets on Sunday were $33.70 before taxes, up 22% over the prior week and 28% compared to baskets in Jan and Feb of this year.

Update: Dutch coffeehouses still open for takeout

In cities across the Netherlands, consumers lined up outside that nation’s famous coffeehouses to stock up on supplies before a nationwide shutdown took effect on Sunday. The government had announced that all cafés and coffeeshops must close at 6pm until April 6.

Our friends at VOC Nederland retweeted this video of customers lined up outside a coffeehouse in the Dutch city of Groningen:

Twintig minuten voor zes uur: “Om zes uur gaan alle #coffeeshops dicht”

Nederland: pic.twitter.com/YW38a7WteH

— ?????? (@esthsamuel) March 15, 2020

But wait! On Monday morning, the Dutch government revised its order and allowed coffeehouses to remain open for takeaway orders only. Government ministers realized a ramp-up of illicit trade could be a greater public health hazard than regulated retail.

Shopping tips during COVID

• Use licensed delivery—if available—in your area.
• Use Leafly Pickup to order ahead, and save time in-store.
• Go early when the store opens to decrease exposure to others.
• Keep six to nine feet apart from others.
• Consider personal protective equipment like gloves, masks, and goggles when in enclosed spaces—like stores—with strangers. (Remember to discard that equipment afterward, and decontaminate, so as not to bring contamination inside your home.)

By Mildred Henry

Much print has been devoted to adverse relationships between school districts and charter schools.  However, good positive partnerships that benefit thousands of children have also been formed.

The San Bernardino City Unified School District announced that “In light of Governor Newson’s order for all California residents to stay at home, … all schools will remain closed until May 1.  We are glad to inform you that SBCUSD will provide grab and go meal service for children Monday through Friday during spring break, which begins March 23rd and ends April 3rd”.

Everyone was excited, however, the unionized Nutrition Services of the school district could not fulfill that promise. The California Charter School Association, and representative Fatima Cristerna-Adams, stepped up to the challenge.  Steve Holguin, representative for Better 4 You Meals,  was contacted.  Holguin then called Dwaine Radden, CEO of the PAL Center and PAL Charter Academy (PCA) asking if PCA would be the San Bernardino hub for the distribution of food. Mr. Radden replied,  “Yes, we have a moral obligation to make sure students and families in the community have food to eat”.   Charter schools to the rescue. 

 The PAL Charter Academy’s two sites – 1691 N. Sierra Way in San Bernardino, and 2450 Blake Street in Muscoy – were mobilized by PCA Community Coordinator, Edward Brantley, along with four District schools to feed over 3,000 students per day.  The third charter school site was provided by Options for Youth at 985 South E Street, Suite A.

 Better 4 You Meals, that provide daily lunches at the PAL Charter Academy, has provided well over 400,000 breakfasts and lunches throughout California since the statewide school closures began, according to Holguin.

The next time that charter schools are criticized, please think of the void filled, and the thousands of children and families fed, because of the efforts of the California Charter Schools Association and their local affiliates.  It took a village to feed the children. 

                                                                                            Mildred Dalton Henry, Ph.D.

                                                                                            Professor Emeritus, CSUSB

“The Movies May Be Closed, but the Grill Is Still Open”

Studio Movie Grill (“SMG”) has served up American Grill fare in all its theaters to millions of hungry movie-goers for over 20 years and, like so many friends in the hospitality industry, after temporary closings, they are trying to help their team in every way they can during this crisis.  So, SMG is trying new ways to serve its community starting this week. 

Customers can now order curbside pickup from select SMG locations between the hours of 11am–8 pm, Monday- Saturday.  SMG will be offering a special menu of comfort foods and fan favorites including Coconut Chicken Tenders, BBQ Glazed Chicken Pizza, Pretzel Bites, and Chocolate Beignets.  Bottled beer and wine will also be available to go.  Credit card payments only.  All the details can be found HERE.   Best of all, when a customer orders their favorite menu items, SMG gets to keep its lights on and their beloved team members working and that saves hundreds of jobs during this crisis. 10% of proceeds from all food orders support SMG team members at locations nationwide affected by theater closures.

SMG will be participating in part 2 of The Great American Takeout (#GreatAmericanTakeOut) today, a national initiative asking customers to support restaurants in their area, and will soon be offering delivery in partnership with GRUBHUB™.

“As a conscious company that cares deeply about its team members, SMG is exploring every conceivable way to keep them working while staying safe and healthy as well as offering our local communities additional food options. We will continue to plan ahead for the day we can once more open our doors and welcome everyone back to relax and enjoy dinner and a movie together,” said Brian Schultz, Founder/CEO.

SMG is also offering movie fans a slate of alternate programming virtual screenings, including a selection of titles from Film Movement and Magnolia, at the link HERE which they can rent to enjoy with their meal and proceeds will additionally support SMG team members at locations nationwide. SMG dinner and a movie at home.

By Khalil Abdullah, Ethnic Media Services

Florida’s undercount in the 2010 census lost the state about $20 billion in federal dollars in the last decade, according to foundation executive Susan Racher. That money translates not only into missed funding for hundreds of social service programs and capital improvements, it also is likely to affect the state’s ability to respond to the coronavirus pandemic.

Nonprofits, foundations and other agencies have been working hard to avoid a repeat of the undercount in this year’s census. On March 24, activists, community organizers and career census professionals described their concerns and strategies in an online ethnic media telebriefing sponsored by Ethnic Media Services., the Walter H. Coulter Foundation, Miami Foundation, and the Leadership Conference Education Fund, among others. 

Susan Racher, vice president of the Wallace H. Coulter Foundation, described how the lost billions would have helped Florida fund 325 programs that rely on some percentage of federal revenue to serve the state’s residents — subsidized meals for school children from low-income families, housing and school construction, and funds to expand and improve hospitals, to name a few.

The bitter reality of scarce medical supplies, equipment, resources, and insufficient hospital staff to meet the threat of the Covid-19 pandemic could be a dire example of the undercount’s effect. One of Racher’s graphs citing figures from the Urban Institute  showed that Florida drew down only about 10% of the funds it expended on its health and hospital sector from federal contributions, relying on its own coffers to cover most of the 90% balance. 

An estimated 1.4 million Florida residents went uncounted in the 2010 census, and their per capita federal dollar returned to the state never arrived. Yet Florida — America’s fourth largest state by population and one experiencing phenomenal growth in several of its ethnic communities — hasn’t contributed state funding to encourage its residents to participate in the 2020 census.

The probability of another significant undercount spurred community-based organizations and philanthropies in Florida to intensify their efforts to educate the public about the census. Their optimism has been tempered by the yet unmeasurable drag the pandemic will have on their initiatives and the Census Bureau’s performance.

“The coronavirus quarantine has impeded outreach, but not crippled it,” said Lindsey Linzer, senior director of programs and grants administration for the Miami Foundation, describing the work of the Miami-Dade Counts 2020 Collaborative, an entity that formed in 2018 and grew out of her foundation’s resources and contacts.

“We partnered with 29 grantee organizations to do outreach, to do canvassing, to get the message out at early childhood education centers, at schools and universities, at health care centers to help them embed census messaging in everything that they were doing,” Linzer said.  

Margaret Sanchez, NALEO Educational Fund regional census manager for South Florida, pointed out that in the last census, “450,000 Latino kids were not counted in the United States.” Of those, 18,000 were in Miami and 6,000  in Broward County, she said.

NALEO has been addressing immigrants’ concerns about the kinds of questions asked on the census forum, Sanchez said. Of the nine questions, none touch on the respondent’s documented or undocumented legal status, yet unfounded rumors and beliefs persist throughout the Latino and other immigrant communities that a question about citizenship status is included — despite a judicial ruling prohibiting its addition to this year’s census form.

Sanchez said NALEO’s imperative is to educate communities about the census and its value to their daily lives through the programs that census dollars fund: “We have to make sure they become conscious that this is an important issue.”

Toward that goal, social media postings and a new communication toolkit for organizations needing additional resources to strengthen their community outreach are available from NALEO. Sanchez said the toolkit has various applications, from in-person training to webinar training, instructions on how to produce posters about the census for placement in highly visible locations like grocery stores, plus counsel on how to best use social media platforms.

Telebriefing participants concurred that while social media has become invaluable in improving public awareness, other bedrock issues impeding census participation may require different skills and resources.

Among newer Asian American immigrants, cultural customs and government distrust may hinder civic and census participation, said Winnie Tang, president of Florida Asian Services. Her organization is engaged with a burgeoning Asian American and Pacific Islander presence, including immigrants from India, the Philippines and China. 

Florida’s Asian population increased more than 70% between the 2000 and 2010 censuses, Tang reported, but three counties — Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade —- contain a third of the Florida’s Asian American population. The state’s Asian American population of 400,000 in the 2010 census now is estimated to have grown to 741,000. 

Generally speaking, Tang said, poor English language skills often exist among the immigrant elderly, a formidable barrier for many in whether they choose to participate in census education activities and the census itself.

Marilyn Stephens, U.S. Census Bureau assistant regional census manager, acknowledged that the size and diversity of Florida’s foreign-born population complicates attempts to get a complete count. 

However, concerns about whether the Census Bureau can share a respondent’s personal information are addressed by Title 13 of the U.S. Code. Any census employee knowingly violating the confidentiality of an individual who has submitted personal information to the Census Bureau faces stringent laws exist that levy fines and possible jail time. Personal information is sealed and can’t be shared with other agencies or made public for 72 years. 

But there is an exception to the 72-year moratorium, Stephens pointed out, which is a compelling reason for why everyone should be counted in the census.

“One thing I’d like to say, especially to the immigrant communities, is that you’ll be able to get your personal information if you need it,” Stephens said. 

She described a woman trying to qualify for Social Security benefits who couldn’t prove the dates or duration of her life in America. The solution was form BC-600. Through the Census Bureau’s age-search program, it can document that a person was in the U.S. and when the person responded to the census during those years.

“With that document, you can get entitlements, you can get a passport,” Stephens explained. “You can literally put your life back together.”  

She reminded attendees that Hurricanes Rita and Katrina victims, displaced from their homes, often lost all ways to identify themselves because their property and belongings had been destroyed. “So for immigrant communities, the census becomes very important. During the Reagan administration, for the amnesty program, people used that [BC-600] to prove that they had been in the United States for a certain length of time.”

Still, distrust of government intentions and practices persist in South Florida’s ethnic communities, said Emmanuela Jean-Etienne, advocacy coordinator for the Urban League in Broward County. Her organization reaches about 11,000 people through door-to-door canvassing and other activities in African American neighborhoods as well as in those whose residents are predominantly of Haitian and Caribbean descent — census tracts among those deemed hard to count because of their low census response rate.

“Most people are distrustful about sharing information,” Jean-Etienne said. “We get common responses — this won’t make a difference in their community; they don’t see what the changes are [from the last census.]” But she submitted that being engaged at the grassroots level is the best way to dissolve distrust. “We found that when we make it local, people are more trusting and have said that they’re more likely to fill out the census because we’re speaking from a place of integrity.”

That sentiment captured the media’s importance in increasing the census count. 

“The media is a major, trusted voice,” the Census Bureau’s Stephens said. “In many of our communities, they rely on you for information.”

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.
• Applicants must live in Southern California Edison’s service territory.
• The top 50 finalists will be required to submit a short video. Don’t stress, it’s simple.
• Dependents of Edison International and SCE employees and retirees are not eligible.

The 2020 Edison Scholars were announced in April 2020. For students graduating in 2021, the application period will open in fall 2020.

MEET THE 2020 SCHOLARS

CHINO, CA— Eleven staff and one inmate at the California Institution for Men (CIM) in Chino tested positive for COVID-19. Tests for two staff and three inmates are pending. Except for the inmate, the eleven CIM staff have been self-quarantined away from their place of employment.

Health professionals from San Bernardino County Public Health are working closely with CIM and the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) to address the situation, which includes testing and contact tracing.  

Under the authority of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), CIM Correctional Lieutenant Tom Lopez stated, “CDCR and California Correctional Health Care Services (CCHCS) are dedicated to the safety of everyone who lives in, works in, and visits our state prisons. We are continuously evaluating and implementing proactive measures to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 and keep our CDCR population and the community-at-large safe.” 

CDCR has announced its plan to further protect staff and inmates from the spread of COVID-19 in state prisons, which include CIM. The plan includes the following:

• Temporarily suspend the intake of new inmates and cancel in-person visits.
• Create increased capacity and space to help with inmate movement, physical distancing, and isolation efforts.
• Make greater use of the state’s private and public Community Correctional Facilities, as well as maximize open spaces in prisons, such as gymnasiums, to increase capacity and inmate movement options.

CDCR has protocols for testing and quarantine in place that follow recommendations by CDPH and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).  CDCR and CCHCS have launched an internal patient registry to assist institutions in monitoring patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 and track all individuals by risk. This registry also includes release date information for each individual, in the event that individuals are to be considered for early release during the pandemic. This tool is not publicly available as it contains personal health care information protected by medical privacy laws.

For more information regarding CDCR’s preparedness and response efforts for COVID-19, please visit the CDCR COVID-19 Preparedness page at www.cdcr.ca.gov/covid19.

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.

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.