Hello Morgan Hill Community.
We hope that you are staying healthy and finding new and creative ways to enjoy your time at home.
Social distancing continues to be the most powerful tool to slow the spread of COVID-19. Let's all do our part! Stay home. Save Lives.
New County Order related to medical-grade personal protective equipment (PPE), sanitizing supplies, and ventilators
On April 8, 2020, The Santa Clara County Public Health Department issued an order requiring reporting of medical grade personal protective equipment, santizing supplies, and ventilator inventories. All businesses and individuals in the County are to report, on a one-time basis, personal inventories of PPE and ventilators, if they have above a minimum amount, such as more than 5,000 vinyl gloves, more than 100 safety goggles, and more than 500 N95 masks.
Reporting is due by 11:59 p.m. on April 15 via an
online survey.
Find the new Santa Clara County Public Health Department
order here
with
more details here
.
County of Santa Clara COVID-19 Cases Dashboard
The Santa Clara County Public Health Department now has
Coronavirus Data Dashboards
. The data dashboards include data regarding cases within the County, hospital data, and testing data. As of today, April 9, the dashboard now includes data by City. You will note that Morgan Hill shows no active cases. It should be noted that due to the limited availability of testing it should be assumed that Morgan Hill has active virus cases that have not yet been confirmed. Please continue to follow the Shelter In Place order and follow strict social distancing if you need to be out for essential business.
Recommendation to wear cloth face covering
The Santa Clara County Public Health Department, along with Bay Area health officials, recommends that residents cover their nose and mouth when leaving home for essential activities, such as grocery shopping, doctor appointments, and going to the bank. This recommendation follows guidance recently issued by the California Department of Public Health.
Face coverings should not be medical masks or other similar products but include any type of breathable material that will cover nose and mouth. Medical masks are in short supply and need to be reserved for health care personnel. Examples of recommended coverings include bandannas and home-sewn fabric coverings.
Medical masks, such as N-95 and surgical masks, are strongly discouraged for general use. Due to the global demand for personal protective equipment (PPE), there is a severe shortage of PPE across the state. Local officials are prioritizing acquisitions of PPE for healthcare workers on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic. Santa Clara County Public Health asks residents to refrain from purchasing PPE for their own use and to utilize homemade face coverings instead.
“Wearing a face covering is an additional strategy to reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19. We know that a person can spread the virus before they develop symptoms, or even if they never develop symptoms” said Dr. Sara Cody, Santa Clara County Health Officer and Public Health Director. “Face coverings are not a substitute for sheltering in place, frequent hand washing, and social distancing, but they do provide an additional layer of prevention when engaging in essential activities.”
This new recommendation is based on developing information from the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
that some people may be infectious for a few days prior to symptoms beginning or may be infectious and never develop symptoms. Face coverings will help those people from unknowingly infecting others while conducting essential activities.
The Surgeon General has shared a
video
on how to make a face mask at home.
Morgan Hill Moratorium on Residential Rent Increases
On April 8, 2020, the City of Morgan Hill
enacted a moratorium on residential rent increases
that prohibits landlords from increasing rents from the rates in place on March 1, 2020. This will be effective until 60 days following the revocation of the shelter in place orders.
CARES Act
The federal government recently passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The CARES Act provides local governments funding to meet the immediate needs of residents, households, and small businesses on the economic margins. Unfortunately, the City of Morgan Hill will not receive any federal assistance from the CARES act as Morgan Hill's population is below the 50,000 population threshold. However, the City Council is lobbying our federal representatives to approve appropriations for direct local budget relief for every city and town, not only those over 50,000 in population.
We are here for you. We will get through this together!
