COVID-19 RESOURCE GUIDE -- Alameda County
Updated Order Directing Alameda County to Shelter at Home
As of Wednesday, April 29, 2020, the Shelter in Place Order to reduce the spread of COVID-19 has been extended.
The collective efforts taken to date regarding this public health emergency have slowed the virus’ trajectory, but the risk to public health remain significant. The scientific evidence shows that at this stage of the emergency, it remains essential to continue to slow virus transmission.
The Health Officer Order requires that most people stay home unless they are engaged in certain “Essential Activities” which are discussed in the full Health Officer’s Order.
All persons to shelter at their place of residence, other than to provide or receive essential services or engage in certain low-risk activities, which include:
- Performing tasks or activities essential to personal or family health and safety;
- Obtaining necessary services and supplies, including perishable goods food and medical supplies (a more detailed list in the Order);
- Performing work providing essential products and services.
- Engaging in outdoor activity, including to take care of pets, go on a walk, or exercise--so long as you do not congregate in a group and maintain at least six feet of distance between you and other people;
For most people, this means you and those you live with should remain at home. If you are sick, you should self-isolate, including, to the extent you can, from others you live with (more on that in the Order).
Cessation of all non-essential travel.
The Order allows a limited number of additional Essential Businesses and certain lower risk Outdoor Businesses (defined in Section 16) to resume operating.
- All construction projects that follow the Construction Project Safety Protocols included with the order in Appendix B;
- Childcare, camps and educational/ rec programs that provide care for children of people who are allowed to work outside of their homes;
- Outdoor businesses such as nurseries, landscaping, and agriculture that normally operated outdoors prior to the shelter in place orders; and
- Use of certain outdoor recreational facilities, such as skate parks and athletic fields. Golf courses are permitted under local orders, but prohibited under state orders.
- As a condition of operating under this Order, the operators of all businesses must prepare or update, post, implement, and distribute to their personnel a Social Distancing Protocol for each of their facilities in the County frequented by personnel or members of the public, as specified in Section 16.h.
COVID-19 Regional Testing Site Announced For Some East Bay Residents
ValleyCare, in coordination with the cities of Pleasanton, Livermore and Dublin and the Alameda County Fairgrounds will be operating a drive through testing site for COVID-19 for residents of these cities. For more information, please click here.
Free Drive-In COVID-19 Testing for Eligible Contra Costa County Residents
For those with symptoms such as fever, cough, shortness of breath and fatigue, you can call for screening to see if you're eligible for free testing. For more information, please click here.
Child Care for Essential Workers in Alameda County
The Alameda County Resource and Referral agencies are serving essential workers, connecting them with child care during the coronavirus (COVID19) situation. Limited funding may be available to support the costs of care for eligible essential workers.
As you may know, as per state order, child care providers may remain open to serve essential employees. As schools are closed for the rest of the school year, we recognize that essential employees may now be seeking more permanent child care arrangements while they continue to serve our community.
The Alameda County ECE COVID -19 Team has surveyed child care providers and we have a listing of child care providers currently open and able to provide care to essential employees. The three Alameda County Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies (R and Rs), BANANAS, 4 Cs of Alameda County and Hively, are able to refer essential employees who are seeking care and live and/or work in Alameda County to these providers. There will be funding to support the child care needs of essential workers in the future, we will know more in the coming days on how this will roll out when we receive more guidance from the state.
For more information, please click here.
Contra Costa County Department Closures & Service Modifications During COVID-19
As the county continues to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, many non-essential county functions from across departments have been temporarily suspended to comply with the Bay Area-wide Shelter in Place Order. Please find below a list of closures and service modifications for County Departments:
Animal Services:
The following changes will be in effect by 12:01 am on March 17, 2020, until further notice (UFN)
Pinole Shelter is closed to the public and to impounds
Martinez Shelter by appointment only for: Lost/Found, Return to owner cases, transfer partners.
The following services are CLOSED: Adoptions, Public spay/neuter, Vaccination clinics, Mobile adoptions, Owner surrenders (unless public risk, severe behavior or urgent medical need)
Following services CONTINUE: Dispatch services (stray aggressive/sick/injured, bite quarantines, etc), Call center, Martinez front lobby for appointments (described above), Auxiliary duties (billing, bite reports, noise ordinances, etc.)
Licensing will be direct to Pet Data online only.
Assessor:
The Assessor's office is closed from March 16 to April 7, 2020, due to the Shelter in Place Order Regarding the Coronavirus.
Clerk of the Board of Supervisors:
Starting March 17, 2020 through April 7, 2020, the Clerk of the Board will operate on a modified schedule and will be open from 10 AM to 2 PM.
During non-public hours, please email clerkoftheboard@cob.cccounty.us and a member of our staff will contact you as soon as possible.
Clerk-Recorder/Elections Division:
The Clerk-Recorder-Elections Department remains open to provide essential services, but access to buildings and in-person services is limited. The Department is urging customers to use online services in an effort to help reduce the rate of COVID-19 transmission. In-person services are currently limited to transactions that cannot be done online, over the phone or through the mail. For more information on the impact of specific services offered by the Clerk-Recorder's office, please click here.
Department of Conservation and Development:
We continue to process certain applications and permits, and to perform construction inspections for certain projects with active building permits, as consistent with the direction provided in the Health Officer’s Order. We are striving to continue to operate our other programs and services to the extent possible by working remotely, but please be patient with us given the extreme limitations this presents.
Please call (925) 674-7200 with questions, to schedule an inspection for an active building permit, or to discuss procedures for submitting new applications.
For additional information on our current operations please click here.
For updated information about COVID-19, please visit coronavirus.cchealth.org
District Attorney:
Due to the Contra Costa County Health Officer order all of our offices are closed to the public at this time. As of now, our phone lines remain open - our main line is 925-957-2200.
Employment & Human Services:
EHSD will be putting all updates on their website regarding COVID-19.
Foster & Adoptive Parents (March 16, 2020): All Resource Family Approval Orientations canceled until further notice.
The Contra Costa County Area Agency on Aging remains operational during the shelter in place order. They are working to meet the needs of senior citizens and connect them with services during this time. See AAA Website
The Contra Costa County Community Services Bureau, part of the Employment & Human Services Department (EHSD), has temporarily closed its childcare centers effective Tuesday, March 17, 2020 through Tuesday, April 7, 2020. CSB plans to re-open on Wednesday, April 8, 2020, pending guidance from the local Health Department, Contra Costa County, Office of Head Start and California Department of Education.
EHSD Public Lobbies Closed Due to COVID-19
The restricted access affects the following locations:
400 Ellinwood Way, Pleasant Hill
4545 Delta Fair Blvd., Antioch
3105 Willow Pass Road, Bay Point
151 Sand Creek Road, Brentwood
1305 Macdonald Avenue, Richmond
1535 Fred Jackson Way, Richmond
151 Linus Pauling, Hercules
Health Housing & Homeless Services:
The Contra Costa County Health Housing & Homeless Services department remains operational during the COVID-19 shelter in place order. For frequently asked questions regarding how the department is responding to COVID-19 and providing services during the shelter in-place order, please click here for more information.
Library Services:
The Contra Costa County Library system is closed until further notice. Book drops will remain open, but as materials can carry viruses for several days, patrons are encouraged to keep items until the libraries reopen. The Library will automatically extend due dates on all materials. All overdue fines were eliminated in 2019 and no other negative consequences will result from late items during this closure.
Probation Department:
Until further notice, Probation field offices in Antioch, Martinez and Richmond will not be accessible beyond the public lobbies. Deputy probation officers are on duty and available for contact via telephone.
Personal visitation has been suspended until until further notice at the County Juvenile Hall and at the Boy's Ranch, however essential professional visits will continue with proper health screening beforehand
A health screening tool is being implemented for individuals who are booked into custody at either of these facilities.
Public Defender:
The office of the public defender will remain open during the Shelter In Place Order and court closure. Contra Costa Public Defenders understand that this abrupt court closure will cause confusion and hardship for our clients and their loved ones. For a list of Public Defender FAQs, please click here.
Sheriff's Department:
Sheriff's Office has temporarily canceled all professional, official, and social visits at the Martinez, West County, and Marsh Creek jails. However, attorney visits will continue with access to non-contact visit rooms only. The cancellation will be reassessed as conditions change.
Superior Court:
The Contra Costa County Superior Court will be closed at all locations for approximately two weeks beginning Monday, March 16, 2020. Court locations hope to re-open at 8:00 a.m. on Wednesday, April 1st, 2020.
The Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court has issued an emergency order providing that, at least until April 1, 2020, the court closure will have the effect of being a public holiday as far as statutory or other timelines are concerned. For more information, please click here.
Treasurer Tax-Collector:
In response to the Order of the Health Officer of the County, our office will be closed to the public until further notice. To communicate with the office, please email us at taxinfo@tax.cccounty.us. A representative will reply as soon as possible. Property tax payments can only be accepted by U.S. postal services, through our automated phone system at (925) 957-5280 or online here. If you need a receipt for proof of payment, a copy of your tax bill with the installment payment date is available in View Bill under Account Lookup. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation. We wish you and your household peace and protection during this time of uncertainty.
The 2nd installment of Secured property taxes is due no later than Friday, April 10, 2020.