COVID-19 Resources

Santa Clara County is currently in the State's Purple Tier. 

For more information, visit COVID19.CA.GOV

On August 28 Governor Gavin Newsom unveiled the Blueprint for a Safer Economy, a statewide, stringent and slow plan for living with COVID-19 for the long haul. The plan imposes risk-based criteria on tightening and loosening COVID-19 allowable activities and expands the length of time between changes to assess how any movement affects the trajectory of the disease.

The Blueprint builds on lessons learned from the first six months of the disease – and the new scientific understanding that has been collected – to create a new system for regulating movement and COVID-19 transmissions. It includes:

1. At least 21 days to expand activities beyond the initial tier to ensure California better limits the spread of the virus;
2. Mandatory metrics – case rates and test positivity – to measure how widespread COVID-19 is in each county and guide what is allowed;
3. A uniform state framework, with four categories instead of 58 different sets of rules;
4. A more nuanced way of allowing activity: Instead of open vs. closed, sectors can be partially opened and progressively add to their operations as disease transmission decreases; and
5. A new process for tightening back up again quickly when conditions worsen.

Based on recent data, each county will fall into one of four colored tiers – Purple (Widespread), Red (Substantial), Orange (Moderate) and Yellow (Minimal) – based on how prevalent COVID-19 is in each county and the extent of community spread. That color will indicate how sectors can operate.

Currently Santa Clara County falls into the Purple tier. Inr this tier, hair salons and barbershops may be open, as well as indoor malls (at 25% capacity).  Click here for the Press Release from Santa Clara County allowing these activities.

Click Here to see what activities are allowed in our County and the rest of California.

County of Santa Clara Public Health Department Announces Revisions to the Health Officer’s Mandatory Directives Amid Steeply Rising Cases and Hospitalizations

The changes include requiring that certain sectors modify their operations to increase safety, reducing the number of persons allowed inside facilities at any one time, and reducing the size of outdoor gatherings.  Further, certain higher risk activities will be prohibited.  The Health Officer is also issuing a Mandatory Directive on Travel, which strongly discourages leisure and non-essential travel, and requires persons entering the county to quarantine for 14 days upon return from travel of more than 150 miles.  

These revised and new Mandatory Directives will take effect on Monday, November 30, 2020 at 12:01 a.m. and will remain in effect until at least December 21, 2020 at 5:00 a.m. unless they are extended.

Changes include:

• Capacity Limits for Indoor Facilities Open to the Public: Stores and other facilities open to the public will be limited to 10% capacity indoors.  Grocery stores, drug stores, and pharmacies, however, will be allowed to operate at 25% capacity indoors to ensure adequate access to food and medicine. All facilities open to the public must establish a “metering system” to ensure that the applicable capacity limits are not exceed by, for example, posting an employee at the facility entrance to track the number of people entering and exiting.
• Outdoor Gatherings: Gatherings continue to be allowed only outdoors, with a maximum of 100 people.  The State limits such gatherings to First Amendment protected activities, such as religious services or protests.
• Professional, Collegiate, and Youth Sports: All recreational activities that involve physical contact or close proximity to persons outside one’s household, including all contact sports, will be temporarily prohibited.  People can continue to engage in outdoor athletics and recreation where social distancing can be maintained at all times.
• Cardrooms: Cardrooms are temporarily closed.
• Hotels and Other Lodging Facilities: Open only for essential travel and for use to facilitate isolation or quarantine.
• Quarantine Post-Travel: Leisure and non-essential travel are strongly discouraged, and a new Mandatory Directive on Travel will require people to quarantine for 14 days upon return to the County from travel of more than 150 miles.  Healthcare workers traveling into the county to provide care or patients traveling into the county to obtain treatment will be exempted from this requirement.

To read the full press release, click here.

• The State of California’s Employment Development Department has programs to help both employers and employees deal with the costs of illness, caring for ill family members, shorter hours and closures. Employers can request an extension on their payroll reports and payroll taxes.
• The California Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GoBiz) has compiled information for employers and employees related to COVID-19.
• Silicon Valley Community Foundation (SVCF) has established 3 funds to provide assistance to residents, small businesses, and non-profit organizations within Santa Clara County impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. 
  • SVCF’s COVID-19 Regional Response Fund is working with Destination:Home in Santa Clara County to support individuals and families impacted by COVID-19.  Click here and select “Santa Clara County: Destination:Home” to provide support to individuals and families who are suffering from the economic impact of lost wages and other COVID-19 impacts in our community.
  • SVCF’s Small Business Relief Fund will provide critical loan and grant funding to small business owners struggling with the impacts of COVID-19.  Click here to make a donation to this fund.  
  • SVCF’s Regional Nonprofit Emergency Fund is providing flexible operating support grants to nonprofit organizations providing emergency-related services or facing unexpected costs due to the COVID-19 pandemic, such as increased sick days for staff, event cancelations, and costs related to hygiene supplies.  Click here and select “Santa Clara County” to donate to impacted non-profits in our community.  Nonprofit organizations can apply here to become eligible for receipt of these donated funds.
• Business Owner Space Partners is a City of San José -led team of more than 30 programs that help small businesses. Partners offer free or low-cost mentoring, classes, and other support on many topics including access to capital, business planning, marketing, and legal issues.
• The Centers for Disease Control has a dedicated page for businesses on COVID-19-related information.

California iBank has allocated $50M for loans up to $50K.  

California Disaster State Guaranty has loan options up to $1M

California Capital Access Program (CalCAP) for Small Businesses offers loans up to $5M eligibility.  Lender specific.

Federal Reserve Main Street lending program offers loans.