The Accessible Pandemic Data Bulletin is a website that provides information about the pandemic from Johns Hopkins University in a way that's accessible to people with visual impairments. 

The State of California has put up a website to share information and resources related to the coronavirus pandemic: https://covid19.ca.gov/

On Thursday, March 19th, California Governor Gavin Newsome issued a statewide order to stay home.

Because of the pandemic, the deadline to file both California and federal taxes has been pushed back to July 15th. 

For more information on taxes, see the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS's) webpage on coronavirus.

On Monday, March 16th, the following counties issued “shelter-in-place” orders through Tuesday, April 7th. Most (if not all) of these orders were updated and extended through May 3, 2020.

1. Alameda
2. Contra Costa
3. Marin
4. San Francisco
5. San Mateo 
6. Santa Clara

Santa Clara County Public Health has posted an FAQ about the shelter-in-place order that is available in English, Español, Tiếng Việt, 中文, and Tagalog (pilipino). Santa Clara County is allowing more businesses to open up and activities to resume (PDF), with social distancing guidelines in place, starting on June 5, 2020.

Since then

1. Monterey,
2. Santa Cruz, and
3. Sonoma counties 

have also issued “shelter-in-place" orders. These orders are also called “shelter-at-home.” 

If you live in any of these counties, you should stay home unless you need to do an “essential activity” or do work that is considered essential.

Essential Activities

• Getting medicine / seeing a doctor
• Getting food
• Walking, hiking, or running outside (just make sure you stay six feet away from other people)
• Caring for family members (including pets!) or other vulnerable people 

Essential Businesses

• Pharmacies and hospitals
• Grocery stores and convenience stories
• Newspapers, TV, radio, and other news and media services
• Gas stations and auto repair
• Garbage collection
• Banks
• Laundromats

• Santa Clara County Public Health
• San Mateo County Public Health
• Santa Cruz County Public Health
• Monterey County Public Health
• San Benito County Public Health

On Wednesday, March 18th, San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo announced Silicon Valley Strong, a new initiative to coordinate local information and resources.

The website for Silicon Valley Strong is also available in Español and tiếng Việt.

Do you want to volunteer to help fight coronavirus and help vulnerable people in our community? Maybe you just want an excuse to get outside? Consider signing up to volunteer with Silicon Valley Strong. 

 The census counts every person living in the United States. It happens only once every ten years, and it's happening right now! It's important because it affects political representation and funding (power and money) for the next decade.

You can complete the census online or through the mail. The census only asks a few questions, and the Census Bureau is required by law to keep your information private and confidential.

Santa Clara County has published a webpage explaining what the census is and why it's important for our region. Because of coronavirus and shelter-in-place, many outreach events to promote the census have been cancelled, so it's extra important that you fill out the census for your household and reach out to your communities and encourage them to do the same.

For more information on what the census is and why it's important, check out this podcast episode.

SARC has put up a webpage dedicated to coronavirus information and resources. 

Because of the shelter-in-place orders, SARC workers are working remotely from their homes until Tuesday April 7th.

On March 16th, SARC published a letter that outlines which services count as essential for persons with intellectual or developmental disabilities. These essential services will continue to run during the shelter-in-place order. People who work for these services are allowed to leave their homes to go work:

• Residential care facilities (group homes)
• Supported living services (SLS) 
• Independent living services (ILS) for people who live on their own

Services that are non-essential include:

• Day programs 
• Caregiver relief services

These programs should not continue serving people in person during the shelter-in-place order.  Clients and employees of these programs should stay home. 

However, the California State Department of Developmental Services has authorized “regional centers to pay vendors for absences that are a direct result of the COVID-19 outbreak.”

For more information, see SARC’s webpage dedicated to coronavirus and ask your manager.

If you want to recieve up-to-date emails regarding Covid-19 and other San Andreas Regional Center related information, anyone in our community can be added to this list.

San Andreas Regional Center Community Email Contact List

• parents
• consumers
• family members
• service providers
• vendors
• support staff
• educators
• teachers
• community based organizations

and others who support the developmental disability community can sign up.

On April 27, 2020, SARC emailed out a list of organizations that provide housing, information, and resources for families looking for assistance within Santa Clara, Monterey, Santa Cruz, and San Benito County. View the list of organizations.

The Cares Act provides that workers who are vested in a company retirement plan, now have the ability to make an early hardship withdrawal if financially needed during the COVID 19 shutdown. The 10%withdrawal penalty will not apply for those in need, however you will still have to pay income tax on any distribution.  

Social Distancing Order For All Hope locations

April 1, 2020

This Notice expands and clarifies the list of social distancing requirements to be adhered to in the workplace:

Only essential staff are permitted on premises, and by approved schedule to keep staffing to a minimum. 

Every individual must maintain at least six-foot social distancing from other individuals who are at the same worksite, except for members of the same household and personal caregivers in the home.

Continue to frequently wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or using hand sanitizer

Cover cough and sneezes with a tissue or fabric or, it that’s not possible, coughing or sneezing into your sleeve or elbow (not into your hands)

Avoid social interactions outside your home to prevent possible transmission at work locations.

Remain at home when sick with a fever or cough.

These social distancing requirements are mandatory, except between members of the same family or living unit. Everyone must strictly comply with the social distancing requirements when they are not in their home unless specified otherwise. Exceptions are for activities where strict social distancing is impossible or inadvisable, such as:

When providing client care or necessary supports; 

When the work of the essential business functions, or provision of minimum basic operations requires some amount of closer contact;

When providing essential transportation when strict compliance is impossible.

Because of the shelter-in-place orders, you should stay home unless your work is considered essential. Some of Hope’s programs are considered essential, such as Supported Living Services (SLS). 

Many of Hope’s programs (including all day programs) are not considered essential, and clients and staff for these programs should stay home while shelter-in-place continues.

If you work for a program that is non-essential (like EMCC) and you want to work outside your home, check with you manager. You may be able to temporarily work for an essential program like SLS. Some managers may offer in-person work hours for tasks that are different than the direct services you usually provide. They will likely announce or request this in email.

If your program is closed, check with your supervisor — you may be able to work from home.

In addition to paid hours for training, you may be allowed to do wellness checks (call clients on your caseload, see how they’re doing, and document it).

During shelter-in-place, you can stay home and use paid sick time even if you’re not sick.

Do you have kids who are home because of coronavirus? You can use paid sick time to stay home and care for them.

Have you used up all of your paid sick days? You can take up to 15 more days of paid sick leave that count as negative sick time. If you quit Hope and have negative sick time, you may have that time deducted from your final paycheck.

If you can’t work because of coronavirus, you may be eligible for unemployment, disability, and paid family leave (PFL) benefits from California State’s Employment Development Department (EDD).

For more information on unemployment, disability, and paid family leave, check out EDD’s webpage on coronavirus.

If you can’t work because your kids are home because of coronavirus and you need to care for them, you may be able to get unemployment insurance benefits. Visit EDD’s website to see if you’re eligible and file a claim.

If you can’t work as many hours as you usually do because of coronavirus, you can file for unemployment insurance.

Please note, if you are receiving paid sick leave or paid family leave, there is a chance that you may not qualify for unemployment insurance. This is somewhat unclear to us.

If you get coronavirus, you can file for disability insurance.

Are you quarantined because you got exposed to coronavirus? If a doctor can certify that, you can also file for disability insurance.

If someone in your family has coronavirus and you’re caring for them, you can file for Paid Family Leave (PFL).

Is someone in your family quarantined because they were exposed to coronavirus? If a doctor can certify that and if you’re caring for them, you can also file for PFL.