Story at a glance
- The Los Angeles City Council has seen two motions that aim to pay residents to self-quarantine if they become sick with the coronavirus.
- The money would likely come from CARES funding given to the city.
With Los Angeles County leading California’s coronavirus case growth, the city council is evaluating plans to pay city residents who test positive for the coronavirus to encourage self-quarantining at home.
CBS Los Angeles reports that a motion introduced on Wednesday before the council by Councilmember David Ryu would set up a $25 million “wage replacement program” available to any Angeleno.
In order to receive the payment, individuals must agree to self-isolate and submit public health information to Los Angeles County contact tracers to support the eradication of the coronavirus throughout Los Angeles. Ryu introduced the proposal by citing statistics that corroborate the fact that communities of color and low income communities are likely to work essential jobs that are more at risk for exposure to the coronavirus.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT CORONAVIRUS RIGHT NOW
FAUCI WARNS YOUNG PEOPLE THEY ARE NOT IMMUNE TO ADVERSE EFFECTS OF CORONAVIRUS
12 STATES SHOW RECORD SPIKES IN CORONAVIRUS CASES
HERE ARE THE 6 WAYS THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC COULD END
YOUR BLOOD TYPE MAY AFFECT WHETHER YOU GET CORONAVIRUS
“The only way out of this crisis is through increased testing and staying home if you’re sick,” Ryu told reporters. “If we want to bend the curve, we need to make it possible for everyone to stay home when they’re sick – no matter their income or immigration status.”
Other councilmembers, namely President Nury Martinez, introduced the “Right to Recover” motion on Wednesday to draw up a plan to generate $50 million in direct paycheck assistance to support low-income Angelenos with food, rent, and other living expenses.
The legislation is modeled after a similar measure passed in San Francisco that pays low-income Latinos living in the city’s Mission District to stay home and quarantine if they get infected with the coronavirus. This not only improves the financial situation of many Americans amid the pandemic-induced recession, but also incentivizes infected individuals to stay home and reduce the virus transmission.
“While Latinos are dying at twice the rate of white Angelenos in L.A. County from COVID-19, many of the safeguards meant to assist, including Federal Relief, are not reaching poor, immigrant Latinos and others, who often work as essential workers or simply do not have medical insurance or Paid Leave and cannot afford to stay home,” Martinez said.
To fund the motion for Los Angeles, Martinez advocates using federal funds the city received from the CARES Act passed by Congress and signed into law by President Trump in March. Notably, the CARES Act excludes financial assistance to undocumented immigrants.
BREAKING NEWS ABOUT THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC
COUNTRIES LED BY WOMEN HAVE FARED BETTER AGAINST CORONAVIRUS. WHY?
MORE THAN 8.7 MILLION CORONAVIRUS CASES WENT UNDETECTED IN MARCH
EXPERTS: 90% OF CORONAVIRUS DEATHS COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED
FAUCI PREDICTS ANOTHER CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK IN THE FALL WITH A ‘VERY DIFFERENT’ OUTCOME
TEXAS REPORTS SINGLE-DAY HIGH IN CORONAVIRUS DEATHS TWO WEEKS AFTER REOPENING
changing america copyright.
