Orange County restaurants that prioritize customer safety and worker protections will soon be eligible for $10 million in financial support during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Under a plan that I authored, and was unanimously passed by the Board on Tuesday, restaurants in Orange County that have followed health safety rules and complied with state COVID-19 health guidelines will be eligible to apply for a $1,000 grant from the County.

The $10 million program, which is funded through the federal CARES Act stimulus package, is a way to incentivize compliance with state and local health guidelines. Restaurants in Orange County that have had no uncorrected major violations from their last routine health inspection will be eligible for the County grant.

For more information, check out my press release.

Starting today, the County of Orange – in partnership with Clinic 360 and the City of Anaheim – will be opening a large-scale testing operation at the Anaheim Convention Center.

Santa Ana and Anaheim are the two cities highly impacted by COVID-19. That is why it’s important that we continue to have a strong focus on individuals that face social and economic disparities that cause them to be more greatly impacted than others. Latino communities face a greater risk of catching COVID-19, and of getting seriously ill from their infections, based on their jobs, living situations, and underlying health issues. As such, it is critical that we bring the testing to these regions in the County.

Testing is available for:

• People with symptoms
• Healthcare workers and first responders
• Residents and employees of skilled nursing and other group living facilities
• Essential workers: grocery, food supply, utility and public employees

Testing will be available Wednesdays to Sundays from 8am-4pm.

To find out more about the program, or to make an appointment, please visit the Health Care Agency's website at https://occovid19.ochealthinfo.com/supersite.

Last week, OC Health Care Agency, in partnership with Latino Health Access and Families Together of Orange County, hosted a free COVID-19 mobile testing for Santa Ana residents at Walker Elementary. This week, the testing site took place at Valley High School.

To find out more about future testing sites, visit Latino Health Access’ website at www.latinohealthaccess.org or call them at 714-332-6367.

On Monday, my office hosted three webinars, in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese, for First District residents interested in applying for the District 1 Grant Program.

Participating individuals got the opportunity to walk through the application process and to ask questions to our third-party vendor, MCS.

For anyone who may have missed the webinars, you can access the videos online here.

With social distancing the new norm for our lives, adjustments to current modes of transportation are necessary.

Metrolink has launched an online tool that helps riders know how full each train is. Below 30% of train capacity, the online tool indicates that is there is more room for social distancing, and at above 30% there is less room. This tool is a smarter way to ride and a best practice to help keep rates of infection low.

Check here for more information.

The Orange County Mosquito and Vector Control indicates that West Nile Virus has been detected in the Orange County cities. Please remember to dump any standing water around your home and alert your neighbors.

Click here for more information.