Eligible DC Residents To Receive One-Time Stimulus Check

WASHINGTON, DC — District residents hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic are getting a reprieve from the D.C. Department of Employment Services in the form of a one-time stimulus check.

Approximately 20,000 D.C. residents who filed and were deemed eligible for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) as of Nov. 30 will receive a one-time direct payment of $1,200. The PUA payments, which will be issued in the coming weeks, cover individuals not eligible for traditional unemployment insurance.

“The District is committed to using every resource at our disposal to provide support to residents who have been hardest hit by the pandemic,” Mayor Muriel Bowser said, in a release. “With federal assistance getting ready to end later this month, and as the public health and economic crises continue, this stimulus payment is one way we can get immediate and much-needed relief to more than 20,000 Washingtonians. But we also know that short-term relief is not enough. We urge our federal partners to pass legislation that recognizes the needs of millions of Americans who have made tremendous sacrifices and who are struggling to get by through no fault of their own.”

The D.C. Government is providing the payments to PUA recipients whose federally funded benefits are due to expire at the end of December. The stimulus payments will be taxed, locally and federally, and will be dispersed however the recipients are currently receiving benefits.

On Monday, Bowser also issued a new order prohibiting all high-contact sport in the District. The prohibited sports include basketball, hockey, rugby, boxing, lacrosse, soccer, football, martial arts, and wrestling.

The restrictions do not apply to professional or university leagues, which are required to have approved health and safety plans.

Bowser also suspended all high-school extracurricular sports and competitions for D.C. Public Schools, as well as public charter, private, and parochial schools in the District.

Recreation centers and sports clubs must also suspend any organized athletic activities and physical sports for high-school aged athletes. This includes not just high-contact sports but also other sports and physical activities.

D.C. Department of Health 270 new positive cases of COVID-19, the illness associated with the new coronavirus, on Tuesday. That's up from the 183 reported on Monday. This brings the District's total number of positive cases to date to 23,589.

D.C. Health also confirmed no new deaths in the District due to COVID-19 on Tuesday. The total number of deaths in the District stands at 701.

According to D.C. Health, 745,631 coronavirus tests have been administered in the District, 320,985 residents have been tested, and 16,884 have been cleared from isolation.

The District currently has 51 intensive care unit beds available out of 345 total intensive care unit beds. There are currently 207 in-use ventilators and 233 available. Also, there are 55 COVID-19-positive ICU patients.

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Globally, more than 67.8 million people have been infected by COVID-19, and over 1.5 million people have died, Johns Hopkins University reported Tuesday morning. In the United States, more than 14.9 million people have been infected and over 284,000 people have died from COVID-19.

District residents should take the following actions to help prevent the spread of COVID-19:

• Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
• Wash hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. An alcohol-based hand sanitizer can be used if soap and water are not available.
• Avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands.
• Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.
• Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces.

Also see ...

• High-Contact Sports Prohibited In DC Due To Coronavirus
• DC Public Schools To Start New COVID-19 Testing Protocol
• DC Coronavirus Update: 1 Additional Death; 316 New Cases
• DC Coronavirus Update: New Coronavirus Cases Double In 1 Day
• DC Coronavirus Update: 157 Additional Cases; 5 New Deaths
• 5 New Deaths Due To Coronavirus Reported In DC
• DC Coronavirus Update: No Additional Deaths; 140 New Cases
• DC Rolls Out Grant Program To Help Those Impacted By Coronavirus