Upcoming holidays and the Coronavirus

The Mendocino Coast Clinics continue tooffer COVID-19 surveillance testing by appointment only on Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to 12p.m. (noon), andon Thursdays from 1p.m. to 5p.m. Please contact MCC at (707) 964-1251 or email info@mccinc.org to schedule an app

To help keep the Mendocino Coast Community informed of Coronavirus updates, Dr. William Miller, Mendocino Coast District Hospital Chief of Staff; and Tabatha Miller, Fort Bragg City Manager (no relation), have teamed up for The Miller Report, a hyperlocal, weekly column on the progress of COVID-19 and other local emergencies within our community. The two Millers will be trading off writing the column each week.

I have started to use my bi-weekly report as an update on what is happening at the city, both in the context of COVID-19, but also regular day-today business. This week, most of the current news is COVID-related.

Last week, Mendocino County issued guidance on Halloween and Dia de Los Muertos celebrations in the time of COVID-19. Included in the activities to avoid are traditional trick- or-treating and trunk- or-treating, and outdoor activities where social distancing cannot be maintained.

Activities that are sanctioned include one-way trick or treating with individual goodie bags lined up or set up to maintain proper social distancing, Zoom costume parties, yard decorations and small outdoor costume parades with members of a “Stable Household Support Group,” as defined by the order.

place order, effective that day at 5 p.m. Dr. Coren has shortened and simplified the orders so that they are a little easier to read and understand. Much of the focus is on consistency with the statewide Public Health Officer’s order.

Under the current order, indoor pools and fitness facilities must remain closed, so for now, the C.V. Starr Community Center will remain closed.

The Mendocino Coast Clinics continue to offer COVID-19 surveillance testing by appointment only on Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. (noon), and on Thursdays from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Please contact MCC at (707) 9641251 or email info@mccinc.org to schedule an appointment.

Mendocino County has secured this local surveillance testing from UCSF through Oct. 31. If you visit Ukiah, testing is also available from OptumServe, Sunday through Thursday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at 1055 North State St. Visit https:// lhi.care/ covid testing to make an appointment.

This is old news however, funds are still available through the city’s Tenant-Based Rental Assistance program for low

and moderate-income households who may be having difficulty paying their rent due to COVID-19. Assistance is provided on a first- come, first- serve basis to qualified applicants who reside within city limits. Please call (707) 961-2823, extension 106 or email tbra@ fortbragg.com for more information or to request a TBRA Program application.

The city has applied for additional funds that should be available soon to help households impacted by COVID pay their past- due water and sewer utility bills. As soon as more information is available, an announcement will be made.

As to the city’s COVID-19 sewer testing, recent results reported a none detected for the two strains of COVID-19. While the strength and presence of COVID-19 in the sewer are helpful to gather information in the long term, it provides no information to help identify who is COVID-19 positive.

I would like to remind everyone that the 95437 zip code has a population of approximately 15,000, while the city limits and city’s sewer area is approximately 7,500.