Updates on resources, schools, and events related to the COVID-19 pandemic
The news just kept coming today. Here’s information related to COVID-19 and our local communities.
Menlo Park City Council member Ray Mueller worked with Stanford hospital workers on a PSA video reminding parents to not let their children play with other children —- and to stay home.
Facebook is awarding $15 million in Facebook grants for small businesses, saying in a press release: “We heard loudly and clearly that small businesses need financial support — in fact we saw that 96% of US small-business owners were already feeling the impact of coronavirus. That’s why we’re supporting businesses of all sizes in any way we can.” Businesses can now go to facebook.com/grantsforbusiness to check their eligibility and get more details on the program.
Menlo Park resident Peter Carpenter sent along a YouTube video 10 Things You Can Do to Manage COVID-19 at Home.
Atherton resident Julie Kaufman, a long-time TheatreWorks board member, emails that there will be “an initial stream of TheatreWorks’ recent production of “Pride and Prejudice”, a musical with book and music by Paul Gordon… filmed with a professional film crew. I hope it’s good! Certainly the performance I saw in-person was very worth watching. I believe that it is free only this Friday for the two performances at 3:30 and 7:00 pm PDT.” Sign up to view online.
Menlo Park City Council member Betsy Nash forwarded a weekly message from the Menlo Park Chamber of Commerce. It touched on:
- A COVID-19 Business Continuity Action Plan for small and medium businesses
- COVID-19 Emergency Relief for Small Businesses though a) Paycheck Protection Program and b) Economic Injury Disaster Loan and Emergency Advance
- News from San Mateo County tax collector Sandie Arnott that property tax deadline for the second installment is moved to Monday, May 4, 2020.
- Essential Menlo Park Businesses Open During COVID-19, which include restaurants for take-out service or delivery, grocery stores, homeless shelters, social services, pharmacies, child care facilities, gas stations, banks, laundry businesses and services necessary for maintaining the safety, sanitation and essential operation of a residence. Of note: this list does not include gardeners for routine maintenance. Many locals have voiced their commitment to continue to pay their gardeners along with their household cleaning people while they are unable to enter the home or work in the yard. Here is a the Menlo Park Chamber of Commerce list of restaurants open for take out/and or delivery.
Schools to remain closed for the remainder of the year: After recently announcing campuses would remain closed for in-person learning until May 1, Bay Area counties took action to review their closure timelines following statements by Governor Newsom and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond suggesting that California’s students would not likely be able to return to campus for in-person learning for the remainder of this school year.
Stanford Blood Center (SBC) will begin convalescent plasma collections from potential donors to help support patients battling COVID-19. The new investigational treatment recently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will be used by hospitals initially for critically ill patients and later also in the setting of clinical trials in patients in different stages of the disease.
SBC will be working with Stanford Medicine on this new initiative that involves taking plasma donations from recovered COVID-19 patients and transfusing that plasma into COVID-19 patients in hopes that the antibodies in the donated plasma will help save the lives of the recipients. More information is available online.
Dan Clendenin shared a link to a talk Director of the National Institutes of Health Frances Collins gave on COVID-19, science and faith.
And finally, what’s with the poppy photo? We missed that yesterday was California Poppy Day, doubly sad as we had this great poppy photo taken by Betsy Sergeant Snow.
