Gilroy Novel Coronavirus Update March 16

From the City of Gilroy:

Posted on: March 16, 2020

Today, Monday, March 16, 2020, the Santa Clara County Public Health Department issued an order requiring all individuals living in the County to shelter at their place of residence with certain exceptions. This order takes effect on March 17, 2020, and will go until at least April 7, 2020.

In compliance with this order, Gilroy City Hall will be closing for three weeks, through April 7, 2020. This closure includes recreation centers and all non-essential services provided by the City.

“The health and safety of our community continues to be our number one priority,” said Mayor Roland Velasco. “The Gilroy City Council feels strongly that it is in the best interest of our community to do our part to slow the spread of this pandemic. Therefore, we will close City Hall and discontinue all non-essential functions of the City in compliance with the order from the Santa Clara County Public Health Department. I believe that together, as a community, we can improve the outcome of this situation if we all do our part. Please take care of yourselves. We will get through this together.”

For regular City business, please call 408-846-0583. This line will be monitored and calls related to essential services will be answered within 48-hours.

For non-emergency public safety needs please call 408-846-0350.

For emergencies, please call 9-1-1.

The City of Gilroy is monitoring the situation closely while working in partnership with our local, state, and federal partners to ensure the safety of our community and employees. The health and safety of our community is our number one priority. We want to thank our community for their understanding and cooperation as we all do our part to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Essential Services

Police and Fire Response Including 9-1-1.

Gilroy Police and Fire will continue to provide response to emergency calls.

In-person response to non-emergency calls will be restricted. These calls for service will be handled via telephone or referred to our online reporting system.

Utilities

There will be no terminations of existing water service while the City is closed. If you received a termination notice from the City already, please disregard. The City will work with residents and businesses on a payment plan for water and sewer bills that are due upon City Hall’s reopening.

If you need to start water service during City Hall’s closure, no application will be required. Please contact the utility billing phone line at (408) 846-0420, or e-mail to ub@cityofgilroy.org, and leave a message with the address, name, and phone number of the person requesting water, and the request will be forwarded to our technicians to turn on the water service.

If your water was turned off for non-payment, you may call and request your water service to be restarted during the temporary closure of the City.

Online payments, including one-time and automatic recurring payments, will still be processed. However, there will not be any customer service representatives available to take payments over the phone.

Senior Center Services

The Gilroy Senior Center will continue to facilitate the daily Senior Nutrition Program coordinated with the YMCA. Additionally, the bi-monthly Second Harvest Food Bank Brown Bag program will continue to take place the first and third Thursday of the month.

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On Sunday, March 15, 2020, the Gilroy Fire Department received notification from the Santa Clara County Public Health Department that two patients they attended to earlier in the week tested positive for COVID-19. Patients were a husband and wife in their 80’s and 90’s. The wife has since passed away. The firefighters who responded to the call were wearing all the prescribed personal protective equipment and followed all disinfecting protocols. Out of an abundance of caution, these firefighters have been placed under medical self-monitoring to protect the health and safety of our community.

Cases of COVID-19 in our community are not unexpected and based on information from the Public Health Department and the CDC, we anticipate that we will have more positive cases in our community in the near future.

Each one of us plays an important role in “flattening the curve” and slowing the spread of this disease. And we express our appreciation to each and every one of you who are diligently following the social distancing guidelines provided by the CDC. As a reminder, the Governor of California has asked that all seniors over the age of 65 and people with chronic health conditions isolate themselves at home and asked that all bars, wineries, nightclubs, and brewpubs close.

The City of Gilroy is continually evaluating its operations, essential services, and ways to further implement social distancing for the safety of the community. We are canceling all non-essential classes and programs, canceling non-essential travel, and implementing electronic meetings. For more information on current City of Gilroy cancelations please visit the City website at www.cityofgilroy.org.

The Gilroy Public Library has announced that it will be closed until further notice.

The City Council meeting scheduled for tonight, Monday, March 16, 2020, will still take place but will be shortened. Social distancing measures will be in place and members of the community attending the meeting are asked to follow the guidelines of social distancing and not attending if they are feeling ill.

Lastly, Santa Clara County residents can now call 2-1-1 for information on novel coronavirus and COVID-19 thanks to a new partnership between the County of Santa Clara and 2-1-1. Residents can also receive information on novel coronavirus by simply texting the word “coronavirus” to 211211 and following the prompts provided. 2-1-1 phone and text services are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, in 150 languages.

Please visit the webpage for the Santa Clara County Public Health Department for the most up to date directives regarding COVID-19. The latest directive prohibits gatherings of more than 100 people and sets specific criteria for essential gatherings of 35 to 100 people.

Effective Immediately through April 5, 2020:

City Council Meetings: The March 16 City Council Meeting will be held in Council Chambers and live-streamed through the City website. Residents are encouraged to view remotely and will able to provide public comments through WebEx. Instructions for WebEx are provided on the Council Meeting agenda.

Board & Commission Meetings: Except for City Council Meetings, all Board and Commission meetings are canceled.

Recreation Classes & Programs: Canceled. All recreation programs including adaptive, adult, preschool, youth, sports, and youth programs have been canceled. Please contact the Recreation Department for more information at 408-846-0460.

Senior Center: All senior programs are canceled. Box lunches and the Second Harvest Food Bank Brown Bag will continue to be provided.

Special Event Permits: All special event permits for events scheduled through April 4, 2020, are canceled. For more information visit: http://www.cityofgilroy.org/707/Special-Event-Permit

Reservations of City Facilities & Public Parks: All reservations for City facilities and public parks will be canceled with automatic refunds.

Gilroy Public Library: The Gilroy Public Library is closed to the public through April 12, 2020. For more information visit: https://sccld.org/

Per regular emergency preparedness guidance, we recommend that households have a basic 2-week supply of food and necessities. Purchase only what you need, to allow food and supplies to be available for others.

If You’re Feeling Sick:

Symptoms of COVID-19 include fever, fatigue, cough, and aches. The illness can progress to shortness of breath and complications from pneumonia. Symptoms may also include nausea with vomiting and diarrhea. Some infected patients experience only mild symptoms while others – particularly older individuals and those with underlying health conditions – might develop more severe symptoms.

Please stay home if you are sick and call your doctor. Doctors work closely with the Public Health Department to determine who should be tested for the novel coronavirus. Let them know your symptoms when you call. If you have a fever, cough or sneezes, runny nose, or a sore throat, put on a mask before going to the doctor.

The flu and other viruses are circulating in our community. So, if you are sick with a fever (including chills or night sweats), cough, or shortness of breath, you should stay home until at least 24 hours after you have recovered.

If you need to see a healthcare provider and don’t have insurance, call Valley connections at 1-888-334-1000. If you are experiencing a medical emergency call 911.

Stay Informed:

Information is changing frequently. The Health Department has a webpage dedicated to novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in English and Spanish at www.sccphd.org/coronavirus. The City of Gilroy will also keep a direct weblink to the County Public Health page at www.cityofgilroy.org.

• Public Health Website: http://sccphd.org/coronavirus
• Public Health Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sccpublichealth/
• Public Health Instagram: @scc_publichealth
• Public Health Twitter: @HealthySCC

For questions or additional information regarding COVID-19 please contact the Santa Clara County Public Health Department hotline at 408-885-3980. This hotline is available Monday through Friday, from 8 am- 5 pm.

Novel (new) CoronavirusStay healthy and up to date on novel coronavirus.Visit

Nuevo CoronavirusManténgase saludable y actualizado sobre el nuevo coronavirus.Visit

This press release was produced by the City of Gilroy. The views expressed here are the author’s own.