Redwood City – The County of San Mateo continues to work to protect public health and safety in response to the novel coronavirus known as COVID-19.
The County of San Mateo’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) remains open to coordinate countywide response and communications in response to the situation.
NOTE: Today, July 1, 2021, is the last EOC COVID-19 News Update. The EOC and Joint Information Center (JIC) remain active in response to the pandemic and will continue to issue relevant news releases and updates to the media and public. However, beginning Thursday, July 8, 2021, we will return to distributing our County News e-mail every other Thursday. This round up of County news and events will continue to include relevant COVID-19 items as well as highlight actions and initiatives from the Board of Supervisors and all County departments and commissions. Be sure to sign up to stay connected!
Today’s status report:
Board of Supervisors Steps in After Federal Support of Great Plates Program Ends; Approves $1M to Assist Renters
With federal support for the Great Plates Delivered program ending on July 9, 2021, the County of San Mateo will use federal COVID-19 stimulus funds to continue addressing the food insecurity needs of homebound older adults who have no alternative options.
At its regular meeting on June 29, 2021, the Board approved approximately $4 million to continue serving Great Plates participants. Up to $2.55 million will go to Second Harvest of Silicon Valley, one of the largest food banks in the country, to help provide home-delivered groceries to Great Plates participants who continue to need food assistance and are able to prepare meals at home. The Board also voted to provide almost $2 million a year for the next two fiscal years to current County-contracted senior nutrition providers to be able to ensure a seamless transition of home delivered meals for Great Plates participants who are homebound and unable to prepare meals.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, Great Plates Delivered has provided nearly 2.7 million restaurant-prepared meals to San Mateo County’s low-income seniors and those most at-risk from the coronavirus. The program served 4,689 total clients, with 84 restaurants participating. Upwards of $59 million was put back into the local economy by the program.
At the same meeting, the Board unanimously approved allocating $1 million to the San Mateo County Emergency Financial Assistance Program. This program can help renters earning 60 percent or below the area’s median income who do not qualify for the state Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) because they may be sub leasers, holding loans or having borrowed money to cover rent payments. Those who did not pay utilities or other bills may also qualify. The County will soon be launching an outreach campaign to inform residents about how to apply for either or both programs.
Youth Leaders Gear Up for Vaccine Week, Youth-Hosted Clinic
Youth leaders from the Sequoia Teen Wellness Center, Star Vista Health Ambassador Program – Youth, Jefferson Union High School District Be the Change Coalition, the Daly City Youth Health Center, and the County Office of Education summer internship program have banded together to promote COVID-19 vaccination among their peers. The goal is to get young people 12 years old and up fully vaccinated before the start of the school year in the fall.
They are receiving training sessions from COVID-19 experts from San Mateo County Health in preparation for conducting their outreach activities. They will host a youth-to-youth podcast and a youth town hall, post social media messages, and promote July 18-24 as Youth Vaccine Week. The youth-led campaign will culminate from 9 a.m to 6 p.m on Saturday, July 24, with a youth-hosted vaccine clinic at the San Mateo Medical Center parking lot and will include drawings for prizes donated by the San Francisco Giants.
Vaccine Doses Administered
A total of 574,367 individuals in San Mateo County have received at least one shot of COVID-19 vaccine as of June 27, 2021. This represents approximately 87.8 percent of total eligible county adults and 86.2 percent of the 12+ population.
COVID-19 Case Counts
Since the beginning of the pandemic, County Health has reported 42,487 cases of COVID-19 in San Mateo County as of Wednesday, June 1. 2021. The death toll stands at 581.
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