Coronavirus Updates and Resources from Rep. Lieu

Dear neighbor, 

I hope you and your loved ones are staying safe and healthy as we continue to navigate this difficult period. COVID-19 remains a major concern in our community. Please remember to do your part in mitigating the spread of this virus and wash your hands frequently; practice social distancing; and wear a mask in public. 

Today, Governor Newsom unveiled a new tiered system to determine when businesses can reopen. Each county will be assigned a color based on case rate and positivity rate. Counties must remain in each tier for at least 21 days before being eligible to move on to the next tier. Schools may reopen when counties have been in the Substantial (red) zone for more than two weeks, and businesses can almost fully reopen when their counties are in the Minimal (yellow) zone. Los Angeles County remains in the Widespread (purple) zone, meaning most non-essential indoor business operations remain closed. For more information on the Blueprint for a Safer Economy, go to covid19.ca.gov/safer-economy.

In LA County, younger people are driving coronavirus infections. Individuals between the ages of 18 and 29 are most likely to become infected with COVID-19 and are also spreading the virus to others. To prevent further spread, please stay home except when performing essential activities and remember that large social gatherings are prohibited.

Despite the recent changes in CDC testing guidelines, California and LA County will continue to recommend testing for people who have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19. If you have been exposed to the virus, please get tested and quarantine at home for 14 days. 

Since the beginning of the pandemic, Asian Americans have experienced a surge in unemployment, harassment, discrimination, and hate crimes. We must stand up to anti-Asian bigotry and report incidents of hate. If you witness a hate crime, please contact local law enforcement and call 911 if emergency services are needed. If you witness a hate incident, please report it to either Stop AAPI Hate or Stand Against Hatred. If it’s safe to do so, bystanders should speak out if they witness acts of hate. To learn more about ways to safely intervene, please register for a virtual bystander training here or view these intervention resources.

Your weekly reminder: 

1. Please remember to fill out the Census if you have not yet done so, and remind your friends, before the September 30th deadline. The Census results will help determine the amount of funding our local schools, hospitals and first responders receive from the federal government for the next ten years. The information will be kept safe and is confidential to the Census. Please complete your census form today online, by phone or by mail. 
   
   
   
   
2. If you tested positive for COVID-19, you should expect a call or text from a county public health specialist as part of an effort to contact trace and contain the spread of the virus. They are not law enforcement officers and will not ask about immigration status. Please be aware that scammers are posing as contact tracers in LA County in an attempt to steal personal information. Contact tracers will never ask for your financial information, so if you receive a call from someone asking for your social security number or bank account number, hang up immediately. If you tested positive for COVID-19 and have not yet heard from a contact tracer, please call 1-833-540-0473.
   
   
3. Have you witnessed fraud, waste, or abuse of coronavirus pandemic relief funds? Congress has approved over $3 trillion in federal spending to combat the pandemic and I am committed to ensuring your tax dollars are being spent properly. I encourage you to visit coronavirus.house.gov/contact/tip-line or call 202-225-4400 today to report waste, fraud, or abuse of COVID-19 funds.
   
   
4. Every registered voter in California will receive a mail-in ballot in time for the November election. All voters in LA County have been mailed a Vote by Mail Address Confirmation Card. Please check your mail and ensure the address on the card is correct. If you’ve recently moved, you can easily update your address by filling out the card and dropping it in the mail. For more information on vote-by-mail in LA County, go to lavote.net.

COVID-19 Updates

From the State 

This week, Governor Newsom announced that California signed a contract to provide cheaper coronavirus tests and increase the number of tests administered. Currently, the state is conducting on average around 100,000 tests per day. Under this new contract, California plans to more than double its testing capacity through a partnership with PerkinElmer to build a new lab with a full supply chain. This will enable the state to decrease testing costs and increase turn-around time for results. 

To help Californians who have been impacted by the pandemic, Covered California opened a special enrollment period for eligible individuals to sign up for health care coverage. The special enrollment window ends on Monday, August 31st. To shop and compare health care plans for you and your family, go to CoveredCA.com. This week, Covered California announced additional measures to allow Californians who have been impacted by the recent wildfires and the COVID-19 pandemic to sign up for health insurance beyond the special enrollment deadline. If you are a victim of the wildfires, lost your job, or suffered a loss of income, you may be eligible for a new health care plan at CoveredCA.com. 

In addition, the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development announced the California Rebuilding Fund to support California’s most vulnerable small businesses. This public-private partnership will support lenders that provide loans to under-served and underbanked small businesses in communities that are often disenfranchised.

From LA County 

At this time, the LA County Department of Public Health is not opening up the waiver process for reopening schools. The county will closely monitor state guidance and continue to consider all options to ensure students can return to school when it is safe to do so.  

Additional Resources 

1. Free COVID-19 testing is available in LA County for those experiencing symptoms; those working or living in a high-risk facility; those who were in close contact with someone with COVID-19; and/or essential workers with frequent contact with the public. If you do not meet the criteria but would like to get tested, please contact your primary care provider. Some testing sites may offer free testing if you do not meet the criteria. For more information and to sign up for a test near you, go to covid19.lacounty.gov/testing.
   
   
2. For updated data on COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in California and LA County, go to update.covid19.ca.gov and publichealth.lacounty.gov/media/Coronavirus/data/index.htm.
   
   
3. Please make sure you are wearing your face mask correctly – tightly over your nose and mouth. 
   
   
4. To stay prepared this wildfire season, sign up for county alerts, create an evacuation plan, and be ready to go if you receive an evacuation order. For more, please visit readyforwildfire.org and listoscalifornia.org.
   
   
   
   
5. Legionnaires’ disease is a serious type of lung disease that is caused by Legionella bacteria. It is NOT caused by wearing a face mask. To learn more, click here.
   
   
6. If you’ve recently tested positive for COVID-19, you may be eligible to participate in a research study. The Westside Medical Associates of Los Angeles, in partnership with the Montreal Heart Institute, is investigating whether a medicine called colchicine is effective as a short-term treatment for COVID-19. To be eligible for the study, you must be diagnosed with definite or probable COVID-19 in the last 36 hours, not hospitalized and 40 years of age or older. You do not need to leave your home to participate. If you meet the criteria and are interested in participating, please call the study hotline at 1-877-536-6837. If you are a patient of Westside Medical Associates of Los Angeles, please call 310-289-5221. For more information, please visit colcorona.net.  
   
   
7. Please remember to do what you can to protect food store workers during this difficult period. This includes paying and tipping electronically when you pick up or order delivery, asking for your items to be left outside the door, and going to grocery stores when they are less busy.
   
   
8. Mental Health America has developed a Back to School mental health toolkit to help students and families navigate this unusual school year. To download the toolkit, click here.
   
   
9. During wildfires, poor air quality, and the COVID-19 pandemic, please remember to check-in on a neighbor or friend.
   
   
   
   
10. If you’re not eligible for Unemployment Insurance benefits, you may be eligible to receive Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) if you’re fully or partially unemployed due to COVID-19. To learn more about PUA, click here. 
    
    
11. The LA County Department of Public Health created printable posters for businesses to display COVID-19 safety measures such as wearing a mask and practicing physical distancing. To view and print the posters, click here.
    
    
12. If you are facing extreme hardship due to COVID-19 and need legal assistance with your landlord, employment, or debt in the City of Los Angeles, please visit LA Represents for more information on available assistance.
    
    
13. Monday, August 31st is the last day to apply for LA County COVID-19 Rent Relief. To submit an application, please go to 211la.org/lacounty/rentrelief.
    
    
    
    
14. LA County Parks and Recreation has made many different resources available to help students and families stay active during this remote learning period. For online exercise classes, virtual park tours and more, please visit parks.lacounty.gov/virtual.
    
    
15. If you see businesses and other establishments refusing to follow public health guidelines, please click here to report it to LA Public Health.
    
    
16. Round 4 of the LA Regional COVID Fund opens Monday, August 31st. To learn more about financial relief available to small businesses and non-profits, go to LACovidFund.org or call (833) 238-4450. 

Thank you for keeping up the hard work in the fight against COVID-19. We must all continue to wash our hands frequently; practice social distancing; and wear masks in public to protect the health and safety of our community. For more information, please visit my coronavirus webpage or follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. I look forward to updating you again soon.

Stay safe. 

Sincerely, 

Ted W. Lieu 
Member of Congress