The stay-at-home order will be in place for three weeks and will bar gathering of people from different households. Under the order, the following businesses/recreational facilities will be forced to close:

Note: Unlike previous stay-at-home orders, outdoor recreational facilities can remain open to promote and protect the physical and mental well-being of residents. That include beaches, parks and outdoor gyms; however, none may sell food or drink for on-site consumption. Overnight stays at campgrounds are not able to happen either.

The new stay-at-home order prohibits hotel use for tourism, leisure and other nonessential reasons. Hotels and other lodging locations can remain open, but only to support critical infrastructure sectors.

Office locations should arrange for employees to work remotely, except in the case of critical infrastructure sectors where remote working is impossible.

Those with waivers will be allowed to remain open, along with “critical infrastructure” and retail stores, which will be limited to 20% of capacity. Restaurants will be restricted to takeout and delivery service only. Hotels would be allowed to open “for critical infrastructure support only,” while churches would be restricted to outdoor-only services. Entertainment production - including professional sports – would be allowed to continue without live audiences.

Under the new order, Californians are being told to cancel nonessential travel plans.

San Diego is locked into the current restrictions for at least three weeks. At that time, the state will project what the region’s ICU capacity will be in another four weeks. If the projected capacity is 15-percent or more, the counties in that region return to whatever reopening tier they fall into based on their COVID-19 case rate and percentage of tests that come back positive. But if the projected capacity is below 15-percent, the order stands, and the state will issue its next assessment the following week. Per Supervisor Nathan Fletcher, “There’s no avoiding the situation we face in front of us. It is going to be difficult. It’s going to be tough," as he stated at the Saturday briefing, noting that the first COVID-19 vaccine doses will soon be on the way. Fletcher further stated, “We can do this. We’ve done it before. We just have to do it one more time.”

Teri Black and Company, the executive search firm retained by the City of La Mesa to recruit its next Chief of Police, will host an online community meeting on Monday, December 7, 2020, at 6:00 p.m. The meeting will provide the public with an opportunity to give feedback on the characteristics, leadership style, and issues to be addressed by La Mesa’s next Chief of Police.

When: Dec 7, 2020 6:00 p.m.

Topic: Community Meeting – Chief of Police Recruitment

Please click the link to join the webinar: https://zoom.us/j/97628920296 or Telephone: 1-669-900-6833

Webinar ID: 976 2892 0296

The public is also invited to complete the Chief of Police community survey at www.surveymonkey.com/r/LMPDChiefofPolice by 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, December 31, 2020.

For additional information on the recruitment process please visit: https://www.cityoflamesa.us/1647/Police-Chief-Recruitment.

The San Diego Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a $20M relief package. This plan will provide grants to businesses reeling from purple tier restrictions. The proposal was co-authored by Supervisors Nathan Fletcher and Greg Cox will allocate $20 million from the county’s general fund to businesses like restaurants, gyms, movie theaters, museums, zoos/aquariums and businesses with fewer than 100 employees that have been handcuffed by bans on indoor services. The $20 million will be split evenly among the county’s five districts, leaving each district $4 million to divide between businesses in their area. This Small Business Stimulus Grant will not need to be repaid. The county will try to focus its attention to helping businesses that don’t have the resources to facilitate expanding outdoors. The goal is to have these funds provide a lifeline that will keep businesses from closing their doors for good. Businesses can use the funds to pay rent and mortgage, purchase equipment needed to comply with COVID regulations and pay employees.

Please Apply here: https://sandiegocounty.gov/content/sdc/stimulusgrant.html.

It is recommended that a 14-day quarantine be done for persons arriving in CA from other states or countries, including returning CA residents.

If you traveled or gathered with people outside your household over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, you were at higher risk of having contracted COVID-19 and could inadvertently be spreading it.

They met, and recommended healthcare workers and residents of long-term care facilities would be in the 1A priority.

Both symptomatic and asymptomatic who have or may have COVID-19 should stay home, and away from others until they recover.

Those who had contact with a person with COVID-19, should stay home and away from others for 14 days to prevent potential spread and see if they develop symptoms or the infection without symptoms.

Per the CDC, employees can end home isolation and to return to work: At least 10 days since symptoms first appeared and at least 24 hours with no fever, without using fever-reducing medication and other symptoms of COVID-19 are improving. **Loss of taste and smell may persist for weeks or months after recovery and need not delay the end of isolation.

If an employee had severe illness from COVID-19 (was admitted to a hospital and needed oxygen), their healthcare provider may recommend the employee stay in isolation for longer than 10 days after symptoms first appeared (possibly up to 20 days).

Employees can receive up to two weeks/80 hours of paid sick leave at the regular employee’s rate of pay when they are unable to work because they are in quarantine pursuant to federal, state, or local government order, advised by a heath care professional or experiencing COVID-19 symptoms. Visit the website for more information.

Most businesses are complying with health and safety protocols. An ongoing challenge is identifying where COVID-19 exposure occurred since the virus is widespread in the community. Action is being taken when the County learns about entities who are not in compliance.

The County’s eviction moratorium for unincorporated business areas has expired. Alternatively, an additional $20 million was recently approved by the Board of Supervisors to extend the County’s Small Business Stimulus Grant Program as a bridge to support small businesses. Eligible activities for funding include assistance for rent or mortgage payments. Applications are now open.

An employee who has been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 must quarantine themselves, stay home and away from others for 14 days, to prevent potential spread per the County Health Order. If the employee who has been in close contact, develops COVID-19 symptoms or tests positive, they should inform their employer and then that employer needs to take further action, per the State’s Employer Playbook. To notify the County of San Diego Public Health Department of an employee’s COVID-19 positive test, employers need to compete the necessary form.

Individuals who feel sick with non-COVID symptoms should defer to their health care provider for clinical diagnosis. Individuals in need of a health care provider, can call 2-1-1 or visit www.211sandiego.org.

The CDC website provides steps to create a safe and healthy workplace for workers and clients during the COVID-19 pandemic that employers, owners, managers, and operation specialists can follow. Per the CDC, consider taking steps to improve ventilation in the building such as: Increase the percentage of outdoor air potentially as high as 100%, increase air flow supply to occupied spaces, if possible, consider natural ventilation – opening windows is safe to do and improve central air filtration. For more ways to improve ventilation in the building visit the CDC website.

Senator Joel Anderson (Ret.) has been elected to the San Diego County Board of Supervisors District 2, according to the official election results certified by the San Diego County Registrar of Voters today.

"I am grateful to have earned the trust and support of the residents of East County to represent them on the County Board of Supervisors,” said Supervisor-elect Anderson.

“I also want to recognize Supervisor Dianne Jacob the longest serving County Supervisor, for 28 years of dedicated service to East County.

I am looking forward to working with all of my new Board colleagues in addressing the myriad of issues impacting the 2nd District and all of San Diego County,” said Anderson.

Based on Governor Newsom’s announcement on the Stay-At-Home Order and shut down, the East County Californian is stepping up to the plate again to help our local businesses. We have been the community newspaper for the East County region of San Diego for over 100 years and we want to help.

We will be publishing a FREE Open for Business Directory that will begin publishing next week in our Dec. 11 issue.

With the holiday season upon us, I would like to wish everyone a very special Season Greeting! I am so grateful to represent you, and it is with this spirit that I say thank you and Happy Holidays.

This year, we have overcome many challenging obstacles to make it this far. Although COVID-19 has had a devastating effect on families, friends and society in general, we remain optimistic about the creation of multiple effective and safe vaccines. As we take the time to acknowledge those individuals who have succumbed to the coronavirus, we realize how fortunate we are to be able to celebrate another holiday season. This time of year also is a great opportunity to bless those in need. So please find a safe way to give back to our communities and those around us.

In this time of celebration, the greatest gifts we can give our family and friends are safety and health. We must stay diligent in stopping the spread of the virus by adhering to State and Local gathering guidelines because it is up to each individual and household to stay disciplined as we get through this pandemic. Together, we will overcome and move forward to a brighter tomorrow.

To ensure that you are aware of important information, I have listed below updates on topics including, the Regional Stay at Home Order, Employment Development Department filings and claims, Business relief, safe shopping tips, COVID-19 testing sites and new Department of Motor Vehicles extensions.

The Regional Stay Home Order, announced December 3, will go into effect within 48 hours in regions with less than 15% ICU availability. It prohibits private gatherings of any size, closes sector operations except for critical infrastructure and retail, and requires 100% masking and physical distancing in all others. The order will remain in effect for at least 3 weeks and lifted once a region's projected ICU capacity meets or exceeds 15%. Assessments will be done on a weekly basis after the initial 3-week period. Learn more here.

Last week, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors approved a plan to give out $20 million worth of grants to businesses reeling from purple tier restrictions. The goal of the Small Business Stimulus Grant Program is to provide a lifeline grant to many local small businesses to get them open, keep them open, and help prevent more from going out of business.

Has your business been impacted by the "Purple Tier" restrictions? Are you in the following industries? Then you need to Apply Now!

COVID-19 has touched every part of our everyday life. All Californians should be doing their part to stop the spread of the virus. Throughout this crisis, California Retailers have put employee and shopper safety at the forefront. We have learned from each other and continue to stand ready to work with policymakers and medical experts on strategies to stop the spread of COVID-19. Learn more tips for safe shopping.

SHOPPERS RESPONSIBILITY TO SAFE SHOPPING FOR ALL

You are able to order food for “take out” and you may “pick up” meals at these restaurants. You may check the websites of these restaurants to see what food delivery services they use to make your dining experience easy and convenient.