Aid approved for businesses, testing, food distribution
The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors moved to extend security and services for residents experiencing hardships during the coronavirus pandemic.
With two members present and three members visible through laptop screens by their spots on the dais, the board unanimously voted to pass three items on its consent calendar that will guarantee an extended commercial eviction moratorium, additional testing resources and continued allyship with a local food bank as residents experience life in the state coronavirus scale’s red tier.
Through a recommendation from County Administrative Officer Carlos J. Palacios, the board approved an extension on the county’s commercial eviction moratorium. Commercial tenants who cannot pay rent due to a loss of income from COVID-19 cannot be booted from their spaces until at least March 31, 2021.
Previously, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Executive Order N-28-20 allowed localities to suspend commercial evictions through Sept. 30. A more recently adopted order, the Santa Cruz County ordinance explains, allows for local protections over commercial evictions to continue into the coming year.
Requests by the county’s Health Services Agency to accept more than $2 million in funding from the California Department of Public Health designated for the enhancement of epidemiology and laboratory capacity and to appropriate more than $1 million in revenue from CDPH to the department for this fiscal year were also granted. Finally, the vote also allows for the addition of 12 full-time staff to support the enhanced detection operations.
The Health Services Agency reported that the $3 million and subsequent staff will be utilized to “aid in decreasing the risk for COVID-19 transmission in the community” with the goal of reducing restrictions for non-essential businesses and activities.
Prior to the board’s vote, HSA had hired 32 extra-help employees and more than 40 volunteers to help combat the spread of the virus at the agency’s COVID-19 Departmental Operations Center (DOC). Those staff members have logged more than 10,000 hours and HSA predicts this level of staffing to be necessary over the next 18 months.
The agency requested 12 more workers because of the limitations that come with the category of extra-help employees. The new team will include two public health investigators, two public health nurses, four clerks, one administrative aid, one prog ram coord inat or, one clinic nurse and one health educator.
Beyond aid to businesses a nd improved testing processes, the local leaders also amended their agreement with Second Harvest Food Bank for a fifth time and extended the cost not to exceed $ 1.9 million to purchase and distribute emergency food rations in response to the population’s increased food insecurity caused by the pandemic.
Through the U. S. Department of Homeland Security Federal Emergency Management Administration policy around public assistance in response to President Donald Trump’s March emergency national proclamation, the county applied for and received approval for assistance under the FEMA
Public Assistance Program. Since then, Second Harvest reported a nearly doubled increase in food distribution since before the shelter-in-place orders were set.
According to HSA’s report, the food bank has reported an “observable deepening” of need as the pandemic rolls on and stimulus supports expire. On top of the need, the financial burden of usual donations from local retailers and manufacturers is exacerbating high food purchase costs with long wait times for delivery.
“As previously reported to the Board, food insecurity and increased food needs in our community are anticipated to remain elevated for no less than the next 30- day FEMA approved increment,” staff wrote.
According to the county’s health services website, the region has had a total of 2,725 cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic began with 24 resulting deaths.
Though the daily repor ted ca se rate ha s gone down, the county still registers a 3.3% testing positivity rate. In all, more than 55,000 tests for the virus have been conducted in Santa Cruz County.