Editordude: Realizing that many OBceans and San Diegans do not have access to up-to-date news from San Diego, below is an effort to keep abreast of city and county news relating to the COVID-19 crisis. (Most of this is right from the SD Union-Tribune with some editing for brevity and clarity.)
- A third San Diego County resident has died of COVID-19, an 87-year-old woman;
- a new cluster of infected people has been identified at an assisted-living community in Rancho San Diego; four employees of La Vida Real, a senior living community had tested positive for the disease; this cluster is the fifth in the county, including a cluster of five people who tested positive at the Veterans Affairs office in Mission Valley, which was confirmed Wednesday.
- the county had reported 341 cases of infected residents, an increase of 64 in one day, announced Thursday.
- Three San Diego Lifeguards have tested positive; Mayor Faulconer said:“This is one of the reasons access has been closed to beaches and parks. You can help prevent the spread of this virus among our public safety professionals who keep you, your families and our communities safe.”
- A nurse assigned to Las Colinas Detention and Reentry Facility in Santee tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday. The nurse has been isolated at home since then.
- portable toilets for homeless people would be installed in certain areas in the near future. He did not have information on the number of toilets or the timeline for their installation.
- 257 hand-washing stations had been installed throughout the county, and more have been requested and will be coming. Public health outreach teams also have distributed 1,785 hygiene kits to homeless people;
- some people have been seen gathering in groups larger than allowed by the county order.
- Law enforcement officers are more focused on education than enforcement, and so far they had not cracked down on offenders. The Sheriff’s Department has not ticketed anyone for violating social distancing orders, and police officers have not yet issued any citations in San Diego, Carlsbad, Chula Vista, Oceanside, El Cajon, Escondido, La Mesa or in Harbor Police’s jurisdiction; “Most people have been pretty cooperative,” Oceanside police spokesman Tom Bussey said Thursday.
- DMV closing all field offices to the public beginning Friday; the offices will be cleaned and reopened April 1;
- Oceanside closed its iconic fishing pier Thursday and instated a “soft” closure of beaches, meaning gatherings are not allowed but people still can walk, jog or surf. The city earlier had closed its parking lots west of the train tracks near beaches, and 75 social distancing signs are placed in the area.
- San Diego Police warn that with warm weather approaching on the weekend coming up, and the weather turning nice, they may begin citing people;
- San Diego City Council approved a temporary moratorium on residential and commercial evictions for missed rent payments due to financial hardship or out-of-pocket medical expenses related to COVID-19; Eligible tenants will not be evicted, but rent will continue to be due and tenants will still be subject to all other requirements of the rental agreement; tenants have up to 6 months from enactment of the ordinance to pay all unpaid rent;
- City Council created a small business relief fund to provide low interest loans to San Diego small businesses; it establishes a $3.9M Small Business Relief Fund to help small businesses sustain operations and retain employees during the COVID-19 state of emergency; small businesses (100 or less full-time employees), among other requirements, will need to provide proof economic hardship, have been in operation for at least 6 months, and have a City of SD Business Tax Certificate; fund will offer grants, forgivable, and deferred low-interest loans up ranging from $10,000 to $20,000.
- Sharp Rees-Stealy beginning Friday, will would operate outdoor respiratory clinics at each of its five Urgent Care facilities, which are located in Chula Vista, downtown San Diego, La Mesa, Rancho Bernardo and Sorrento Mesa; this service will be offered to Sharp Rees-Stealy patients who have been referred after speaking to a Sharp Rees-Stealy provider on the phone. Once referred, they may go into any of the outdoor respiratory clinics for assessment and care.
- Scripps Health will temporarily close three of its clinics by the end of the week to provide a safe environment for patients, providers and staff during the new coronavirus pandemic. Patients will be redirected from Scripps Clinic Coronado, Scripps Clinic Santee and Scripps Clinic Bariatric and General Surgery in San Diego’s Hillcrest neighborhood to other Scripps locations.
- City of San Diego facing budget crisis as city revenues fall from sales tax and hotels; $109 million drop mainly from loss of transient-occupancy tax.
- Property taxes still due April 10.
- County is working with UC San Diego on a plan to convert an empty dormitory into an alternative home for patients who are not well enough to go home, but do not have to be hospitalized. The plan would free up more hospital rooms for patients who do need them, he said.
- County bought nearly 90,000 bandanas for about $97,000 from Planet Apparel, a 12-year-old business that calls itself one of the largest producers of custom bandanas in the U.S.
- Hotel Del shuts down for first time in 132 years.
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