East Bay Mayors, Council Members & City Management:

One of the League’s primary advocacy efforts during COVID-19 is ensuring that property taxes continue to be collected. A blanket statewide exemption from property tax collection would have serious fiscal impacts on cities. We are pleased to share that this evening, CSAC and the California Association of County Treasurers and Tax Collectors announced a commitment that counties will use their existing authority to cancel penalties or other charges for property owners that are unable to pay their property taxes due to COVID-19 impacts on a case-by-case basis, and property owners that can afford to pay these taxes should continue to pay on time. The Governor praised this commitment in a statement. This should mean that the Governor will not take executive action to delay property tax collections statewide.

The Governor also announced a new executive order to provide expanded access to child care for essential workers during COVID-19 response. 

Also announced today during the Governor’s press conference is a new website for individuals or companies to donate, sell or offer resources to provide the State for COVID-19 response. 

Attached are notes from the press conference and CalOES daily briefing.

Tomorrow (April 5) Events and Webinars

·        (Anticipated) 12:00pm: Governor Newsom press conference (streamed at the @CAgovernor Twitter page)

Upcoming Events and Webinars

·       April 7, 11:00am to 11:30am: (League of California Cities) Stopping Loitering in City Parks
·       April 7, 2pm to 3pm: (Institute for Local Government) Staying Connected: Tips and Tactics for Effective External Communication Despite Social Distance
·       April 8, 10:00am to 11:30am: (CalPERS) Webinar on CalPERS fund update. (City managers, fiscal directors, and HR/administration managers encouraged to participate) Registration now available.
·       April 9, 1pm to 2:30pm: (California Transportation Commission) Local Streets and Roads Funding Program Eligibility Schedule Revisions Workshop

Governor and Administration Updates

·       Daily COVID-19 Facts from Department of Public Health

Federal Updates
·       FEMA Daily Briefing Points
·       National League of Cities Update
None.

Key Resource Websites
·       League of California Cities COVID-19 Information
·       State of California COVID-19 Information
·       Sales Tax Guidance
·       Department of Public Health Dashboard

·       Federal COVID-19 Information
·       National League of Cities COVID-19 Resources Including Stimulus Legislation
·       Volunteer Opportunities (California Volunteers)
·       Neighbor-to-Neighbor campaign (California Volunteers)
·       California HealthCorps
·       Essential Critical Infrastructure Workers Guidance

Sam Caygill
Regional Public Affairs Manager | East Bay Division
League of California Cities
p. 916-402-7258 | e. scaygill@cacities.org

 
Strengthening California Cities
Through Education & Advocacy


Notes from Governor’s Press Conference on COVID-19 – April 4, 2020, 12:00pm
** Information transcribed and truncated for audience;
notes may not fully capture all information provided **

• 126,700 people tested in California.  Number is low to me.  I own that testing has been a challenge and need to do more.
• Backlog of tests has also been frustrating.  Brought in private sector expertise on to a taskforce about this. 
• It is a new day and we are turning a page on how we handle this.
• New partnership with UC Davis and UC San Diego to create a minimum of 5 to 7 hubs with high throughput.  Working with different vendors and look at various types of tests.
• Stanford Medicine first to have a serum test (blood-based).
• Getting more point of care tests (tests results in 15 minutes).  Abbot committed to 75 testing through Sutter, Kaiser and others. 
• Have 13,000 tests waiting results.  We have substantially reduced the backlog and commercial labs are stepping up to help with this.
• On data collection, we need to do better and I own that.
• Created covid19supplies.ca.gov which is a simple website for individuals and organizations to provide information about resources they may be offering.
• Virgin Orbit creating bridge ventilators (old windshield wiper kits being used); brought prototype to Sacramento to show. 
• Updated numbers:
• N95 masks: 41.2 million to date
• 12,026 positive cases (12.4 percent from yesterday)
• 1,008 in ICU (10.9 percent increase from yesterday)
• 2,300 hospitalized
• Over 79,000 applicants on healthcorps.ca.gov
• 7178 hotel rooms
• CDC engagement to help with hot spots in state.
• On Monday will discuss total assets procured.
• Continue to practice physical distancing.
• Thank all the local elected officials doing the appropriate level of enforcement.  State prepared to do more but do not force our hand on that.
• We are not out of the woods.

Questions and Answers
Q: What does adequate testing look like to you?
A: Everyone tested who needs to be tested; appropriate community surveillance. Different testing modalities.

Q: What is the state doing about fraudulent purchases?
A: Lots of fraud. People taking advantage of the moment.  Working with the FBI on many investigations (masks that are moldy; not receiving or receiving inadequate product).  New website is important about supplies.

Q: The President met with sports leagues urging them to resume play and that when the NFL starts later this summer with people in the stadium.  Thoughts?
A: Not anticipate happening in the state.  In Asia, they are rolling back opening because of how the virus has continued to spread; one has to be very cautious.  Cannot overpromise.  Our decision in California will be determined by the facts by the health experts by capacity to meet the moment and bend the curve.

Q: California’s effort to bolster response and recovery are deeply intertwined with the robust healthcare agenda you laid out earlier this year?  Does this go on the backburner?
A: All being reviewed and recalibrated into budgetary crisis that is starting to manifest. 2.1 million California have filed for unemployment insurance since March 12.  Healthcare will always be a top priority.  Reforms can happen on a good or bad day.

Q: Oregon Governor committed supplies to New York. Are you contemplating sending supplies to New York or other states?
A: If we have the resources, we would consider doing that.  Preparing for a scenario that we need 50.000 beds, millions of PPEs and ventilators.  If we are in a position to do that, absolutely unequivocally, we will do that.  Working with other states procurement chiefs to utilize purchasing powers.

Q: Religious community communications due to many people getting sick in that community?
A: Broadly yes. Results are devastating.  Cannot be more clear that everyone practice physical distancing.  Period.  Full stop.  Don’t put other persons lives on the line.

Q: More on the antibody test at Stanford – FDA approved yet? Timing, scale, false positive rate?
A: Test is about to be approved (thought we could announce it during the press conference).  Stanford will release more information about their test shortly. 

Q: Any efforts / directives to prioritize testing of healthcare workers or other workers who likely to get infected and likely to pass it on?
A: Taskforce has prescriptive recommendations on that.  Healthcare and first responders, broadly put together additional items of community surveillance to help identify a strategy to get people back to work.

Q: In the light of cases of nursing home in Orinda – what are you doing to stop or slow the spread in these types of facilities?
A: Teams assembled about answering this question in real time. Each location requires individualized answers.  Working with CDC to get people to hot spots to help get individuals isolated and then tracing how the virus was contracted.  Have 8832 sites we are monitoring which is a huge task.  Doing everything in power to address.  This and homelessness are of top concerns. Two-thirds patients testing positive.

Q: What about the LGTBQ community and their vulnerability? Is the state giving considerations to these unique needs of this community?
A: Across the spectrum – yes.  As former mayor of San Francisco, and the history of the HIV AIDS epidemic.  Dr. Fauci was a hero decades ago during that time.