UPDATE

March 30

By Mary O’KEEFE

There have been seven new deaths and 342 new cases of COVID-19 reported in Los Angeles County. Of these deaths six occurred in people over the age of 65, five of those had underlying heath conditions. One death was of an individual between the age of 41 and 65; that one death also had underlying health conditions.

As of today, LA County Dept. of Public Health has identified a total of 2,474 cases including 44 deaths. Upon further investigation, four cases reported earlier were not LA County residents. As of today, 492 people who tested positive for COVID-19, equal to 20% of positive cases, have been hospitalized at some point during their illness, according to the Dept. of Public Health Los Angeles County.

The total number of 2,474 includes 62 cases in Glendale, eight cases in La Cañada Flintridge, eight in Eagle Rock, 21 in Burbank and four in Tujunga. Numbers in the unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County include 10 in Altadena, zero cases confirmed in the Angeles National Forest and zero in La Crescenta/Montrose.

According to USC Verdugo Hills Hospital, as of today there are two patients with confirmed COVID-19 who are in the hospital, 13 patients have been sent home and nine were transferred. There are 14 patients with who tested negative for COVID-19 who are currently in the hospital, 76 were sent home and one was transferred. There are four patients with pending COVID-19 tests currently in the hospital and one patient who has been sent home.

 A Reminder of Social Distancing

Social distancing guidelines have been extended to April 30. The LA County Public Health Dept. social distancing guidelines include:

• Avoid any places where a lot of people are together such as gatherings, parties, worship services, and crowded parks.
• Work or study from home, if possible.
• Do not have visitors over or let your children have playdates.
• Avoid health care settings – unless you need services.
• Cancel non-essential health care appointments.
• Avoid non-essential travel.
• Avoid public transport, if you can

Reaching Out to Support USC-VHH

Many of CVW readers have been asking how they can support the staff at the USC Verdugo Hills Hospital. Below are some suggestions of showing support including sending meals to medical and support staff in the Emergency Department and ICU. More units will be added to the list as the hospital’s cases increase.

Meals for ED and ICU Staff via Meal Train: Visit bit.ly/uscvhhmeals.

The hospital staff also needs PPE [personal protective equipment]:

         A variety of items are needed. Visit Keckmedicine.org/coronavirus.donate to see a comprehensive list.  Local community members with small batches of any of these items can contact Cecilia.Pyzow@med.usc.edu. For larger donations from companies, please contact DonateProtectiveGear@med.usc.edu.

For Patients:

iPads are needed to help patients communicate with caregivers in a way that won’t require PPE usage. Please see the list below for the types of iPads needed. Furthermore, the hospital is aiming to stay consistent with the cases for these iPads; it has elected to use Otterbox Defender cases, as they are easy for hospital staff to disinfect. The hospital would be greatly appreciative to those who are able to donate these along with any iPads.

• iPad 7th Gen
• iPad 6th Gen
• iPad 5th Gen
• iPad Air 3rd Gen
• iPad Pro 12.9
• iPad Pro 9.7
• iPad Pro 2nd Gen
• iPad Pro 3rd Gen
• iPad Pro 4th Gen

SBA Business Loan Information

For those attempting to navigate the Small Business Administration Economic Injury Disaster Loan program, below is updated information:

At present, there are two SBA emergency capital programs that are available today; more will be available soon.

1. Low interest, long term Economic Injury Disaster Loans for up to $2 million. The first payment is deferred for 12 months. The application has been simplified and can be completed 100% online through the SBA improved web portal at www.sba.gov/disaster.
2. Economic Injury Disaster Loan Advance for up to $10,000. The form to apply is part of the economic injury disaster loan application. If approved, these funds can be used for payroll and other operating expenses and will be forgiven.

The online loan application portal is updated and streamlined, and is available at www.sba.gov/disaster.

If a business had already started the loan process online but did not complete it, many times due to SBA website issues, the application will have to begin anew on this new platform.

Back to Virtual School

A message from Crescenta Valley High School Principal Linda Junge:

“Monday is day one. It is time to get back on a “school night” sleep schedule, to prepare a workspace at home, and for students to prepare to be more self-regulated. It is recommended that students use the CV Bell Schedule to manage their learning and course time. Not all teachers will meet live regularly with students, and this first week is for enrichment and review as we get everyone connected and acclimated to this way of teaching and learning. We will all need to be patient, flexible and forgiving as we get into the rhythm of distance learning together. Instruction will begin moving us forward on April 6.

“Teachers have multiple tools and platforms available to them, as well as the freedom to select the approach most appropriate to their class.  Many are using Zoom or Google Classroom, and posting classroom codes on their webpage, or sending them to students GUSD email accounts. Others are reaching out via Remind or Blackboard with instructions to students. Students should be signing into their Clever accounts for information there too. If you have not heard from a teacher, please reach out to that teacher via email. Click here for: CVHS Teacher Directory.

“If a student needs a password reset for their Gmail/student Google account, please have them send an email request through one of their teachers or counselor and they will forward to administration for processing to get a password reset as soon as possible. The email should contain: first and last name, ID number and a non-GUSD email address to reply to. Please make sure the student sends a non-GUSD email address through their teacher and/or counselor to be able to get confirmation of the reset and instructions on how to login to their account.

Chromebooks have been distributed to students who need a device to connect to online materials at home. Distribution of Chromebooks will continue; if your student needs tech support please use Chromebook Tech Support Line: (818) 478-2664.

GUSD has created a Remote Learning Information Hub at www.gusd.net/remotelearning. This landing page includes links to all things related to COVID-19 and remote learning, including important district updates, information about technology and meal services, as well as educational and mental health resources for students and families. It is updated continuously as new information is available.

As of now we are off through May 5. Although we all hear reports that it could go longer, for now we have not made decisions beyond May 5, so are trying to keep hope alive for senior culminating events. I will be sending home a senior survey to students in the coming days related to end of year events –– prom, graduation, senior awards, etc. –– to hear the student voice in case we need to make decisions quickly. At this point it is still possible that we could be back in school for traditional culminating events. If we are not able to return to school, it will make for a different ending to school, but that does not have to mean we cannot still do something special for our seniors.”