FLASH REPORT #141 – COVID-19 Response and Recovery

Post Date: 12/16/2020 4:00 PM

The following is information about the City of San José’s response to slow and reduce the spread of COVID-19 and support our most at-risk communities.

SOURCE:
City of San José
Emergency Operations Center

Contact:
Carolina Camarena/Colin Heyne, City of San José Media Line: 408-535-7777
City of San José Customer Contact Center: 3-1-1 or 408-535-3500

Email:
News/Media: EOC_PIO
Residents: 311
Businesses: covid19sjbusiness
Non-Profits: covid19sjcbo

Updates on City of San José Services and/or Operations

• San José City Hall, City Offices to Close for Christmas and New Year Holidays: The City’s EOC will continue operating while most noncritical City services will be closed in observance of the Christmas and New Year holidays. Public safety and utility services will operate during the holiday.

• Customer Contact Center (San José 311): The City’s Customer Contact Center will be closed on Dec. 24 and 25, 2020 as well as Dec. 31, 2020 and Jan. 1, 2021. An answering service will provide information and assistance to callers. Non-emergency requests requiring follow-up will be routed to the proper department and handled during open business hours.

• Updates to San José Public Library’s Express Pickup Service: On Dec. 21, the San José Public Library (SJPL) will temporarily reduce its Express Pickup hours of operation to Tuesday-Saturday from 2-6 p.m, through the duration of the County’s Purple Tier status. Library holds will be reduced from a maximum of 30 to 10 requests; bundles will now only include non-requestable items and limited to 2-bundles per customer with an additional extra week on the lending period. Express Pickup will not be available on Dec. 24, 25, and 31, 2020 and Jan. 1, 2021. The eLibrary is always open at www.sjpl.org. Library facilities remain closed due to the current pandemic.

• San José Community Centers and Regional Parks: City community centers remain closed due to the current pandemic. The following parks and parking lots will be closed on Dec. 24, 25, 31, 2020 and Jan. 1, 2021: Almaden Lake, Emma Prusch Farm and Lake Cunningham. Neighborhood parks will remain open. Residents are advised to follow Santa Clara County’s physical distancing orders, avoid gathering or engaging in group activities, and comply with all county and state health guidelines while using parks. Stay up to date information on seasonal closures.

• Garbage and Recycling Services: If residents’ garbage, recycling, and yard trimmings collection day falls on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, collection will be one day later that week. Set out carts and bins by 6 a.m. on collection day. Residents can contact their garbage, recycling, or yard trimmings company to report missed collections, damaged carts, or to change cart size. Use our lookup tool to locate collection companies. Curbside collection of holiday trees will be on the regular collection day from Dec. 26, 2020 to Jan. 29, 2021. Remove stands, tinsel, and decorations. Cut into 5-foot pieces and set out by 6 a.m. Holiday trees will be recycled into mulch. Residents can contact GreenWaste Recovery at 408-283-4800 for collection or service inquiries.

• Building Inspections & Permit Services: Limited building inspections will continue on Dec. 28 to 30, and inspections may be scheduled at www.sjpermits.org. The Permit Center’s remote services, listed at www.sanjoseca.gov/PermitCenter, are not available during the Dec. 24, 2020 to Jan. 3, 2021 closure.

• Code Enforcement: Code Enforcement will respond only to emergency situations during the closure. See www.sanjoseca.gov/CodeEnforcement for emergency information.

• Essential Volunteers Needed: Volunteers have been classified “essential” by the State of California as they help package, distribute, or deliver meals at food banks and other public food security programs as part of the state’s COVID-19 response and recovery efforts. Hundreds of volunteers are needed to assist local nonprofits such as Second Harvest Food Bank, Veggielution, Sourcewise, First 5 Santa Clara County, the Salvation Army, Martha’s Kitchen, and more. Submit a volunteer application at SV Strong: https://siliconvalleystrong.org/volunteer/

• Winter Holidays Food Distribution: Many food distribution sites will be closed a few days over the next few weeks and we urge residents to prepare in advance of Dec. 24, 25, and 31, 2020 and Jan. 1, 2021 dates.
  • Second Harvest and Other Community-Based Organizations (CBOs): Sites will be closed on Dec. 24, 25, and 31 and Jan. 1. some have changed their distributions to another day that week. For more information, go to: https://www.shfb.org/get-food/
  • City of San José Senior Nutrition Program (SNP) Winter Holiday Plan: SNP will be closed on Dec. 24, 25 and 31, 2020 and Jan 1. Shelf stable meals will be provided in advance.
  • Senior Meals on Wheels (HealthTrust): Will be delivered as scheduled on Monday through Thursday.
  • School Sites: For information, check your local school district’s website or for a comprehensive list, go to Food Distribution by School District
  • City/County Targeted Homeless Placements (Team San Jose/Hunger at Home): Will be delivered as scheduled.
  • Great Plates Delivered (seniors and other at-risk adults): GPD will not operate on Dec. 24, 25 and 31, 2020 and Jan. 1, 2021. Participants will receive two additional meals per day in advance of the holidays.
  • Rock ’n’ Learn: Participants will receive a pre-assembled multi-day meal box in advance of the holidays.

The City of San José has arranged for the organizations below to provide additional meals for the community during the Winter Holiday period.

• Veggielution – Community Distribution: (Meal) Boxes contain organic, local produce sourced from farmers in Santa Clara County, Salinas and Watsonville. The boxes include a locally sourced lean protein and grain/bread.
  Dates: Dec. 23, 24, and 31 and Jan.1.
  Locations:
  • Martha’s Kitchen, 311 Willow Street, San José www.marthas-kitchen.org
  • Loaves and Fishes, 1500 Berger Drive, San José www.loavesfishes.org
  • Visit Martha’s Kitchen or Loaves & Fishes website above for exact times at each location.

• Hunger at Home – Community and Non-Profit Organization Distribution: Ready-to-heat holiday family meals that feed four to six people.
  Distribution Location: Hunger at Home Building at 1534 Berger Drive, San José

  COMMUNITY DISTRIBUTION DATES

  • Dates: Dec. 23 and 30
  • Time: 9 a.m. – Noon

  NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION DISTRIBUTION DATES

  • Dates: Dec. 22, 23, 24, 29, 30 and 31
  • Distribution Times: 7:00 am – 4:00 pm
    Organizations in need of meals, please contact Hunger at Home, 408-318-0038 or contact.
• Free Groceries – Our community partners are providing free fresh fruits, vegetables, and pantry staples for individuals and families in need.
  • Call 1-800-984-3663 (Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.)
  • Text ‘GETFOOD” to 408-455-5181
• Interactive Food Distribution Map – A look-up map with information on locating food resources in your area. All you have to do is type in your address for the nearest locations. Visit bit.ly/SCCFoodMap.

• Donate and Help Bride the Digital Divide: The Grace Art and Wellness program is featured in the Mercury News 2020 Wish Book. The goal of the program is to bridge the digital divide by purchasing tablets that can be loaned to members of this vulnerable community, allowing them to re-connect via meetings, exercise and art classes, and therapy sessions that are otherwise missed during the health crisis. The Grace Art and Wellness program is located at Northside Community Center and serves adults with mental illness and other cognitive disabilities. The center is funded by the City and operated by the Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services with additional support from their nonprofit partner, Friends of Grace. Please donate today.

• Noon Year’s Eve: On Thursday, Dec. 31, tune in to Happy Hollow Park & Zoo’s social media at 11:30 a.m. for a special "Stay-At-Home" Noon Year’s Eve surprise, featuring Danny the Dragon. View Happy Hollow’s Facebook event or join us on the Park & Zoo’s YouTube channel.

• Happy Hollow releases 2020 Naughty & Nice List: We can learn a lot from the animals at Happy Hollow. Let’s follow their lead and help prevent the spread of COVID-19 by staying home, avoiding gatherings and practicing social distancing with those outside our households. The Happy Hollow zookeepers finalized the 2020 Naughty & Nice list to send to Santa. This year, almost everyone made the cut! See who has been naughty and who has been nice.

• City Digital Services Survey is Live: As we continue to expand and refine our digital presence across the web, social media, and mobile apps, it is important that we understand your needs so we can best serve you. We appreciate your time – thank you for helping us improve our services. The survey should take no more than seven minutes.
  • English
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COVID-19 Testing, Tracing, and Support Services

If you need a COVID-19 test, don’t wait! A high rate of testing helps identify and stop the spread of COVID-19 cases, and is one of the factors that is helping our county reopen under the new State regulations. Some testing sites are listed below, but there are many more throughout the county. For a full list of COVID-19 testing sites in Santa Clara County, go to www.sccfreetest.org or call 2-1-1.

The County offers support options for people who test positive or have been in contact with someone who is COVID-19 positive. If you need help with food, bills, or a place to stay while you isolate or quarantine, please call 408-808-7770 to learn about support services from the County of Santa Clara.

• Appointments Available for Testing in San José, Campbell, and Palo Alto: Getting tested for COVID-19 is convenient and easy, and now there’s more lead time offered for scheduling an appointment through an improved online portal. Appointments can be made at the rotating city-based sites a week in advance, and five days in advance at the ongoing Santa Clara County Fairgrounds operation. Appointments can be made at www.sccfreetest.org, where you can also find a complete list of testing options. Valley Medical Center testing sites can now provide automated results via text message – often as soon as the day after the test is administered.
  • San José
    Santa Clara County Fairgrounds Parking Lot A
    344 Tully Rd., San José, CA 95111 (across from the blue arch)
    Drive-through, bike, or walk-up
    Mondays, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
    Tuesday-Thursdays, 7 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
    Fridays, 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
    Saturday-Sundays, 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
  • Campbell
    Orchard City Banquet Hall, 1 W. Campbell Ave., Campbell
    Drive-through, bike, or walk-up
    By appointment only: Thursday, Dec. 17, 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
  • Palo Alto
    Art Center Auditorium, 1313 Newell Rd., Palo Alto
    Drive-through, bike, or walk-up
    By appointment only: Friday, Dec. 18, 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

• Pop-Up Testing Sites: No appointments needed and only for people without symptoms:
  • San José
    Emmanuel Baptist Church
    467 N. White Rd., San José, 95127
    Tuesday-Friday, Dec. 15 through Dec. 18, 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
  • Gilroy
    South County Annex (formerly Del Buono Elementary)
    9300 Wren Ave., Gilroy, 95020
    Tuesday-Friday, Dec. 15 through Dec. 18, 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
  • Public Health Resource Hub in East San José
    1775 Story Rd., San José, 95122
    Friday, Dec. 18 from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Updates from the State of California

• California Launches Exposure Notifications App: As part of California’s efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19 on Dec. 7 Governor Newsom launched a new Exposure Notification app that can alert people who may have been exposed to someone who is positive for the virus. The app is built on the Exposure Notification technology developed by Apple and Google, which was designed to provide these alerts while protecting your privacy. Neither your identity nor your location will be shared with other users, Apple, or Google. Many Californians will get a notification encouraging you to opt into CA Notify. If you’d like to opt in manually, here’s how you can do it:
  • Download CA Notify for Android.
  • For iPhone: Watch a short video to learn how to turn on Exposure Notifications in your iPhone settings.

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A person’s risk for COVID-19 is not related to race, ethnicity or culture. City employees must abide by the Discrimination and Harassment policy, and treat colleagues and members of the public with courtesy and respect. Discrimination and/or Harassment of any kind is a violation of the policies and will not be tolerated.