COVID-19 Resources

Santa Clara County is currently in the State's Red 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 Orange tier. 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.

Click Here for a list of Allowed activities in each tier.

Restaurant Revitalization Fund is an SBA grant program that will provide restaurants, bars and other similar places of business that serve food or drink with funding equal to their pandemic-related revenue loss up to $10 million per business and no more than $5 million per physical location.  Recipients are NOT required to repay the funding as long as funds are used for eligible uses no later than March 11, 2023.  Application portal opens Friday, April 30.

Where/ When to Apply:

Applications open on Monday, May 3,2021. You can apply directly on the SBA online application portal: https://restaurants.sba.gov.

If you would like to prepare your application, you can view the sample application form here.

For all the information on the Restaurant Revitalization Fund 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.