As we begin another week in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, we would like to provide you ongoing updates about San Francisco resources and opportunities available to you from the tech community and beyond.
- 15,182 confirmed cases in California
- 349 confirmed deaths in California
- 3,623 confirmed cases in the Bay Area
*As of 9:00am PT on 4/6
COVID-19 Updates from the SF Tech Community
UPDATES FROM THE TECH COMMUNITY
sf.citi highlighted three innovative tech tools developed here in Silicon Valley to track the spread of COVID-19 and find COVID-19 testing sites. Read more about Testing For Covid, How We Feel, and Let’s Trace here.
Last week, sf.citi convened COVID-19 roundtable discussions between our members and key leaders in the City. Our roundtable discussions covered a variety of areas where tech can provide resources in our community, while speakers included District 6 Supervisor Matt Haney, Ashley McCumber, CEO of Meals on Wheels San Francisco, Sherilyn Adams , Executive Director of Larkin Street Youth Services , and Lisa Countryman-Quiroz, CEO of JVS . We will continue to facilitate these roundtable discussions on how the tech industry can best serve our San Francisco community in the coming weeks. If you have a suggestion of a key leader for the sf.citi community to speak to, please reach out to info@sfciti.org.
- AT&T created a $10 million fund to support distance learning platforms, such as Khan Academy. Parents, students and teachers can access these digital learning tools to facilitate at-home learning throughout the school closures caused by COVID-19.
- Funding Circle is providing 16,000 of its small business customers with critical information about the Economic Injury Disaster loan and grant programs available through the Small Business Administration (SBA). Funding Circle will also be helping originate loans to small businesses through the Paycheck Protection Program—learn more here.
- Google partnered with the State of California to provide 4,000 Chromebooks to California students in greatest need, as well as free wifi to 100,000 rural households during the COVID-19 crisis.
- LinkedIn is helping hospitals, nonprofits working on COVID-19 relief, and essential services source the talent they need by allowing them to post jobs for free on LinkedIn. The company also expanded its Recruiting for Good platform to deploy LinkedIn’s own recruiters to screen talent for organizations on the front lines of COVID-19. And to help job seekers affected by COVID-19, Linkedin is offering 16 LinkedIn Learning courses for free.
- Microsoft has made several of its products free for educators and businesses. Educational institutions now have complimentary access to Microsoft’s communication and collaboration platform, Microsoft Teams, through Office 365 A1. The product offers a free customized hub for class teamwork that includes video meetings. Companies can also take advantage of a free six-month Office 365 E1 Trial, including Microsoft Teams, for file sharing and communication tools.
- Slack is offering nonprofits of any size three months of its messaging service free of charge. Slack also contributed $1 million to the COVID-19 Tech Collaborative—a coalition of 25 Bay Area companies that have committed $22 million in collective funding for organizations responding to the COVID-19 crisis.
- Twitter has donated $1 million to the Committee to Protect Journalists and the International Women’s Media Foundation. “Right now, every journalist is a COVID-19 journalist,” wrote Twitter’s Legal, Policy and Trust and Safety Lead, Vijaya Gadde, in the announcement.
- Uber pledged 10 million free rides and deliveries of food for frontline healthcare workers, seniors, and people in need.
- Zendesk is donating its customer support software (and training for using the product) to nonprofits impacted by COVID-19. Zendesk also has 75 volunteers willing to translate critical COVID-19 communications into a wide range of languages. Additionally, the company has offered to drive support within Zendesk to help nonprofits purchase the items they need or to fundraise on their behalf. You can reach out to socialimpact@zendesk.com to learn more.
More Tech Resources for COVID-19
UPDATES FROM THE CITY OF SAN FRANCISCO
- On March 31, Mayor Breed issued an updated Public Health Order extending the shelter-in-place mandate for San Francisco until May 3. According to the new order, areas with shared equipment and facilities (playgrounds, picnic areas, dog parks, tennis courts, pools, etc.) will close and residents are prohibited from participating in outdoor activities that involve shared equipment. The order also imposes stricter guidelines for what constitutes an “essential business,” and mandates social distancing protocols that essential businesses must follow to protect their employees and customers.
- On April 3, Mayor Breed announced a partnership between the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD), EducationSuperHighway, and the 1Million Project Foundation to increase internet access for San Francisco students. The week of April 13, 25 WiFi “SuperSpots” will be deployed to offer connectivity to San Francisco students without internet access and ensure they can continue distance learning even as school campuses remain closed.
- On April 3, Mayor Breed and Board President Norman Yee announced the creation of a COVID-19 Economic Recovery Task Force. The task force is charged with developing an economic recovery strategy to assist San Francisco businesses, nonprofit and community organizations, and individuals—especially in light of San Francisco’s significant projected budget shortfalls due to COVID-19.
- On April 2, Mayor Breed and the Board of Supervisors announced a $10 million Small Business Relief Fund to support small businesses impacted by COVID-19. Of the $10 million fund, $9 million will go to a new Emergency Loan Fund. The remaining $1 million will be used to expand the existing COVID-19 Small Business Resiliency Fund, which has received over 2,000 applicants since opening on March 11.
To stay up to date with all City of San Francisco updates, follow the Mayor’s updates here.
UPDATES FROM THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
- On April 1, Governor Newsom confirmed that California school campuses will remain closed for the rest of the academic year due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Teachers, classified employees, school boards, superintendents, and principals, however, will work together to ensure distance learning for California students. As part of these efforts, the Governor announced a partnership with Google to provide mobile hotspots and Chromebooks to students in rural areas.
- On March 30, Governor Newsom launched California Health Corps to recruit more medical professionals to keep up with the surge of COVID-19 cases in California. Retired or part-time health care professionals, as well as medical students nearing the end of their training, are encouraged to apply. In order to rapidly expand the state’s health care workforce, Governor Newsom signed an executive order waiving some licensing and certification requirements until the end of June.
- On March 27, Governor Newsom announced a statewide halt of evictions until May 31 for tenants affected by the COVID-19 outbreak.
To stay up to date with all State of California updates, follow the California Department of Health’s updates here.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
- Donate to America’s Food Fund, a new initiative to ensure all people have reliable access to food. COVID-19 has left millions unsure of where their next meal will come from. America’s Food Fund hopes to change that by supporting Feeding America and World Central Kitchen in their rapid-response efforts to deliver meals to those in need. You can donate here
- The City and County of San Francisco welcomes your support for the Give2SF COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund. You can make a tax-deductible monetary or in-kind donation by visiting Give2SF.org or emailing Give2SF@sfgov.org.
- Volunteer to help San Francisco seniors and people with disabilities get groceries, complete essential tasks, and stay connected during the COVID-19 crisis. Learn more and sign up here.
More Ways to Help with COVID-19 Relief
GRATITUDE AMID COVID-19
sf.citi would like to recognize the many courageous San Franciscans holding our City together during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Which other San Francisco heroes need recognition during these challenging times? Let us know by tagging sf.citi on Twitter (@sfciti ) or Instagram ( @sf.citi) and using the hashtag #OneCitySF, or by filling out the form below.
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