Santa Ana's top news & views blog

Santa Ana's top news & views blog

Tag Archives: Pandemic

Santa Ana’s COVID-19 cases jumped to 20 today

Posted on by Posted in Disease, Emergencies, Health and Medical, OC Health Care, Orange County, Public Safety, Santa Ana 3 Comments

The O.C. Health Care Agency is now reporting 403 cases of COVID-19 in Orange County. Here in Santa Ana the cases jumped from 13 yesterday to 20 today.

Cases in Anaheim similarly jumped from 28 to 37. There are 36 cases in Irvine.

As of March 27, 2020, 2 p.m., there are a total of 4,643 positive cases and 101 deaths in California (including one non-California resident), according to the California Department of Public Health. There were 3,801 cases in California the day before.

The CDC is reporting 103,321 total COVID-19 cases in the U.S. Jurisdictions reporting cases: 54 (50 states, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and US Virgin Islands).

The O.C. Social Services Agency expands online enrollment options and extends call center hours

Posted on by Posted in Orange County, Orange County Social Services Agency, Santa Ana Leave a comment

Orange County, Calif. (March 20, 2020) – The County of Orange Social Services Agency (SSA) announced today that it will expand its online application services and call center hours to meet the needs of the community affected by the State’s Stay at Home order issued yesterday.

Effective immediately, SSA’s Service Center has extended its hours of operation to:

·         Weekdays (Monday – Friday) from 6:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.

·         Saturdays from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Call Center operators will be available to take calls at (800) 281-9799.

Individuals wishing to apply for General Relief benefits now have another option to enroll online through http://www.mybenefitscalwin.org. They may also continue to apply or check on existing case information by calling Agency’s Service Center at (800) 281-9799 or by faxing an application to (714) 825-3155.

Previously, only Medi-Cal, CalFresh and CalWORKsbenefits were accessible on http://www.mybenefitscalwin.org.

For additional information on SSA programs, please visit: http://ssa.ocgov.com.

All non-essential travel to and from Mexico now restricted

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The strong partnership and close cooperation between the United States and Mexico has allowed us to maintain a productive border environment. We value the health and safety of our citizens and keep that at the forefront of joint decisions made by our respective leaders regarding cross-border operations.

Recognizing the robust trade relationship between the United States and Mexico, we agree our two countries, in response to the ongoing global and regional health situation, require particular measures both to protect bilateral trade and our countries’ economies and ensure the health of our nations’ citizens. We agree to the need for a dedicated joint effort to prevent spread of the COVID-19 virus and address the economic effects resulting from reduced mobility along our shared border.

The U.S. and Mexican governments further recognize critical services such as food, fuel, healthcare and life-saving medicines must reach people on both sides of the border every day. Essential travel must therefore continue unimpeded during this time. In order to ensure that essential travel can continue, the United States and Mexico are also temporarily restricting all non-essential travel across its borders.

“Non-essential” travel includes travel that is considered tourism or recreational in nature. Additionally, we are encouraging people to exercise caution by avoiding unnecessary contact with others.

This collaborative and reciprocal initiative is an extension of our nations’ prudent approach that values the health and safety of our citizens in the joint decisions made by our respective leaders regarding cross-border operations. This joint initiative will commence at 00:01 Saturday March 21 throughout the US-Mexico land border for a period of 30 days subject to extension upon review.

The City of Santa Ana halts evictions and foreclosures during the COVID-19 pandemic

Posted on by Posted in Civic Affairs, Housing, Public Safety, Real Estate, Santa Ana Leave a comment

SANTA ANA, CA – The City of Santa Ana has enacted a moratorium on all residential and commercial foreclosures and evictions for non-payment of rent for anyone who is unable to pay due to financial impacts related to COVID-19.

The Santa Ana City Council unanimously authorized the action on Tuesday, March 17, in a proclamation of local emergency. City Manager Kristine Ridge signed the executive order on Thursday, March 19, and it immediately went into effect.

The moratorium will remain in place as allowed under an executive order of the Governor of California through May 31, 2020, or longer if extended by the Governor.

The City of Santa Ana’s order includes the following:

• Residential landlords who know a tenant can’t pay rent for reasons related to COVID-19 aren’t allowed to serve a notice of eviction or take other actions to evict a tenant for nonpayment of rent.
• Commercial landlords are prohibited from charging rent and evicting commercial tenants for nonpayment of rent if the businesses are limited or closed to prevent or reduce the spread of COVID-19.
• To show that the landlord knew of the tenant’s situation, the tenant must provide the landlord with notice in writing of lost income and inability to pay full rent due to financial impacts from COVID-19, along with documentation to support the claim. This must be provided within 30 days after the date that the rent is due.
• The tenant is still responsible for the unpaid rent and must pay within six months of the expiration of the local emergency, under the executive order. A landlord can’t charge or collect a late fee for rent in these circumstances.
• Foreclosures on residential and commercial properties are temporarily suspended. No foreclosure action shall be initiated during the local emergency against a property owner with a demonstrated financial impact related to COVID-19.
• Water and sewer service can’t be shut off because of unpaid bills and late-payment penalties or fees can’t be charged.
• No late-payment penalties will be charged for parking violations.

The local emergency resolution that allowed this eviction and foreclosure moratorium also closed City Hall and all other municipal buildings to the public, suspended street sweeping parking citations, waived late fees for all City-provided services, suspended the shut-off of City-provided utilities, and enacted other measures to protect the public.

For the full executive order with all rules on evictions and foreclosures, go to www.santa-ana.org/coronavirus.

Ciudad de Santa Ana Detiene Desalojos, Ejecuciones Hipotecarias Durante Pandemia

SANTA ANA, CA – La Ciudad de Santa Ana ha promulgado una moratoria en toda ejecución hipotecaria y desalojo residencial y comercial por impago de alquiler para cualquier persona que no pueda pagar debido a repercusiones financieras relacionadas con COVID-19.

El Concejo Municipal de Santa Ana autorizó la medida de manera unánime el martes 17 de marzo, en una proclamación de emergencia local. La Gerente Municipal Kristine Ridge firmó la orden ejecutiva el jueves 19 de marzo, la cual entró en vigor de inmediato.

La moratoria permanecerá en vigor, de acuerdo con una orden ejecutiva del Gobernador de California, hasta el 31 de mayo del 2020, o más si el Gobernador la extiende.

La orden de la Ciudad de Santa Ana incluye lo siguiente:

• Los propietarios residenciales que saben que un inquilino no puede pagar renta por razones relacionadas con COVID-19 no tienen permitido presentar un aviso de desalojo o tomar otras medidas para desalojar a un inquilino por impago de alquiler.
• Los propietarios comerciales tienen prohibido cobrar renta y desalojar a inquilinos comerciales por impago de alquiler, si los negocios están limitados o cerrados para prevenir o reducir la propagación de COVID-19.
• Para demostrar que el propietario conocía la situación del inquilino, el inquilino debe presentar al propietario aviso por escrito de pérdida de ingresos e incapacidad de pagar el alquiler completo debido a repercusiones financieras de COVID-19, junto con documentación para apoyar la aseveración. Esto se debe proporcionar dentro de los 30 días posteriores a la fecha de vencimiento del alquiler.
• El inquilino sigue siendo responsable por el alquiler impago, y debe pagar dentro de seis meses de la expiración de la emergencia local, de acuerdo con la orden ejecutiva. Un arrendador no puede cobrar ni colectar un recargo por alquiler atrasado en estas circunstancias.
• Las ejecuciones hipotecarias en propiedades residenciales y comerciales se suspenden temporalmente. No se iniciará ninguna acción de ejecución hipotecaria durante la emergencia local contra un propietario con un impacto financiero demostrado relacionado con COVID-19.
• No se pueden suspender los servicios de agua y drenaje debido a impago de cuentas, y no se pueden cobrar multas o recargos por pago tardío.
• No se cobrarán multas por pago tardío por infracciones de estacionamiento.

La resolución de emergencia local que permitió esta moratoria en desalojos y ejecuciones hipotecarias también cerró al público las oficinas del Ayuntamiento y otros edificios municipales, suspendió las multas por estacionarse en días de barrido de calles, exentó cargos por demora para todos los servicios proporcionados por la Ciudad, suspendió el cierre de los servicios públicos proporcionados por la Ciudad, y promulgó otras medidas para proteger al público.

Para ver la orden ejecutiva completa con todas las protecciones y requisitos bajo la moratoria, visite www.santa-ana.org/coronavirus.

Orange County is now up to 42 cases of COVID-19

Posted on by Posted in Disease, Health and Medical, OC Health Care, Orange County, Public Safety, Santa Ana 4 Comments

The Orange County Health Care Agency has released their latest update regarding the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Orange County now has 42 documented cases of COVID-19. We were at 22 cases in their last report – the figure has almost doubled in one day.

The cases include 22 Travel Related victims, 7 Person to Person Spread and 12 Community Acquired. The latter are a major concern as these are people getting sick with no direct connection to another victim. They are getting sick and don’t know how they came into contact with the virus.

The total number of people tested by HCA Public Health Lab (PHL) and by commercial labs is 457. HCA PHL has kits available to test 990 specimens.

Some key points include:

  • High-risk populations which include older adults (ages 65 and higher) as well as people who have serious, chronic medical conditions (like heart disease, diabetes and lung disease) are at higher risk for contracting COVID-19. These individuals should self-isolate at home.
  • Residents should practice good health hygiene which includes washing your hands, staying home if you are sick, avoiding close contact with people who are sick and covering your cough or sneeze with a tissue or your sleeve (not hands).
  • Minimizing risk through social distancing whenever possible which includes avoiding attendance at large gatherings (250 people or more). Small gatherings should be limited to no more than 10 people and provide social distancing of six feet per person.
  • Maintain vigilance and personal readiness which includes being prepared if there is COVID-19 in your household or a disruption of daily activities in your community. For example, maintain a supply of medications, food and other essentials in your house.
  • Call ahead: If you are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19, stay home while you are ill. If you need to seek medical care, call your health care provider first so that appropriate precautions can be taken.

Governor Newsom takes action to protect renters and homeowners during the COVID-19 pandemic

Posted on by Posted in california, Disease, Gavin Newsom, Housing, Public Safety Leave a comment

SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today issued an executive order that authorizes local governments to halt evictions for renters and homeowners, slows foreclosures, and protects against utility shutoffs for Californians affected by COVID-19.

The Executive Order comes as Californians are experiencing substantial loss of hours or wages, or layoffs related to COVID-19, affecting their ability to keep up with their rents, mortgages, and utility bills.

“People shouldn’t lose or be forced out of their home because of the spread of COVID-19,” said Governor Newsom. “Over the next few weeks, everyone will have to make sacrifices – but a place to live shouldn’t be one of them. I strongly encourage cities and counties take up this authority to protect Californians.”

The order does not relieve a tenant from the obligation to pay rent, or restrict the landlord’s ability to recover rent that is due. The protections are in effect through May 31, 2020, unless extended. The order also requests banks and other financial institutions to halt foreclosures and related evictions during this time period.

The Governor’s Executive Order asks the California Public Utilities Commission to monitor measures undertaken by public and private utility providers to implement customer service protections for critical utilities, including electric, gas, water, internet, landline telephone, and cell phone service on a weekly basis.

The full Executive Order can be found here.