Issue link: https://blog.providence.org/i/1367422
Orange County Community Resilience Fund Evaluation Report 8 The onset of the pandemic The first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the United States was reported on January 21, 2020. While the World Health Organization declared a global health emergency on January 30th, in February action in the US was limited. Some organizations and government agencies began contingency planning, but cases counts were small and localized, and people continued their daily lives. The situation changed dramatically and quickly in March. On March 9th, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost more than 2,000 points as investors began to fear the economic impacts of the virus. On March 11, after the National Basketball Association shut down its season, President Trump gave an Oval Office address on COVID-19; two days later he declared a national emergency. Disneyland, the second largest taxpayer in the County 3 , closed on March 14th. On March 17th, the Orange County Health Care Agency issued a shutdown order of non-essential businesses through the end of March. There were 29 confirmed cases in Orange County at the time. The economic impact of the shutdown were immediate. With non-essential business such as tourism, hospitality, dining, and most retail shuttered, thousands were furloughed or laid-off immediately. Schools sent students home, forcing parents to suddenly juggle watching their kids during the day and managing remote learning, while still fulfilling their other responsibilities. Nationally, the unemployment rate had its single ever largest weekly increase, hitting 14.7% by April. Many nonprofits were left to determine whether or not they were "essential," how they could stay open safely, and how they could pivot their work and service delivery to a remote format. Most plans were calling for a few weeks of shutdown, but initial steps were effective in slowing the spread but not entirely halting it. As a result, the public health order persisted through April and schools announced they would be remote only through the remainder of the school year. However, Impact on Community 3 Second to the Irvine Corporation.