Laserfiche WebLink
BACKGROUND <br /> In December 2019, an outbreak of a respiratory illness due to a novel coronavirus (a <br /> disease known as 2019 Novel Coronavirus or COVID-19) was first identified in Wuhan <br /> City, Hubei Province, China. As of August 5, 2020, the number of reported COVID-19 <br /> cases has risen to 4.7 million in the United States with California reporting more than <br /> 519,000 cases, Alameda County at 12,000 cases and the City of Pleasanton at 241 <br /> cases. <br /> On January 23, 2020, the CDC activated its Emergency Response System to provide <br /> ongoing support for the response to COVID-19 across the United States. In addition, the <br /> Secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services declared a public health <br /> emergency in the United States on January 31, 2020. In Alameda County, the Board of <br /> Supervisors (Board) adopted a resolution ratifying the declaration of a local health <br /> emergency by the County Health Officer on March 10, 2020. In addition, on March 16, <br /> 2020, the Bay Area counties directed residents to shelter in place (SIP) except essential <br /> employees could leave their homes to work. In addition, schools, day care centers and <br /> many non-essential public serving businesses had to close or curtail their operations for <br /> the duration of the Order. In response to SIP, the City closed or curtailed non-essential <br /> City services like library and recreation programs and required staff who could <br /> telecommute to do so. <br /> The City also activated its Emergency Operations Center (FOC) to organize and deploy <br /> the City's efforts to respond to COVID-19 including procuring personal protective <br /> equipment (PPE), renting hotel rooms for at risk homeless individuals and City <br /> employees that need to quarantine, providing staff for food distribution efforts, providing <br /> child care services for first responders and health care professionals, and providing <br /> funding and staff to support the regional COVID-19 testing site at the fairgrounds. <br /> DISCUSSION <br /> Some of City's expenses to respond to COVID-19 will likely be covered by FEMA. At <br /> this time, as described in more detail in Attachment 2, staff estimates FEMA will <br /> reimburse the City approximately $642,000 for eligible COVID-19 expenses including <br /> the regional COVID testing site, the hotel rooms for at-risk homeless individuals and UV <br /> disinfecting robots that the City is acquiring to sanitize indoor public spaces including <br /> the library and senior center. <br /> CARES Act funding covers expenses from March 1, 2020 through December 31, 2020 <br /> that are ineligible for FEMA funding including staff time spent responding to COVID-19, <br /> unemployment insurance expenses relate to staff laid off as a result of COVID-19 and <br /> SIP, COVID-19 paid sick and family leave, facility improvements and operational <br /> expenses to ensure employee and public safety, and expenses related to facilitating <br /> telecommuting. As described in Attachment 1, staff compiled a list of eligible CARES <br /> Act expenses that total slightly more than the $981,153 State allocation. Staff has <br /> documentation for all of these expenses, including staff time in the event there is an <br /> audit in the future. <br /> The only expense to be funded by CARES Act that is not currently budgeted is the <br /> Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI). Thus, staff is proposing to amend the FY 2020/21 <br /> General Fund budget by $243,000 to purchase VDI, which will facilitate teleworking by <br /> Page 2 of 3 <br />