Grand County COVID-19 Community Task Force
MoabCOVID.org
This is a community-based program established to ensure everyone in Grand County has what they need during this challenging time. Simply sign-up to request assistance securing needed items or services. Those wishing to donate and/or volunteer time or resources are encouraged to contact us through the website above.
Grand County has a range of programs accessible to the public to ensure all citizens have food security. Please review these resources:
Grand County Library
Grand County School District
Grand County Food Bank
Moab Episcopal Church Food Pantry
HOUSING AUTHORITY RESOURCE GUIDE
HOUSING AUTHORITY RESOURCE GUIDE
The Housing Authority has compiled a resource guide for those experiencing financial hardship due to COVID-19. It contains information for landlords who generously wish to defer rent payments for tenants with decreased income due to the pandemic, information on how you can apply for unemployment benefits, information for those who might be having trouble making mortgage payments, and much more. Contact the Housing Authority if you have any questions. We are in this together! Call us at (435) 259-5891.
The Moab Area Travel Council has worked with the Moab Chamber of Commerce to create a business status resource page to help the public know which businesses are open, which have modified their services, and/or which have closed. This is an ongoing project with updates occurring frequently. Businesses can submit their information directly to the page. Please help our economy during this challenging time by supporting open local businesses here: DO IT LIKE A LOCAL.
ECONOMIC RESILIENCE TASK FORCE
The Economic Resilience Task Force has compiled a list of resources for those who are unemployed. These resources include information from the Moab Valley Multicultural Center, Wabi Sabi, Federal Stimulus Package, Arches Pregnancy Center, MoabCOVID.org, along with information on remote working, learning new skills and search for remote/online jobs. Individual/Employee Resources
GRAND COUNTY COMMUNITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Grand County Community Economic Development is heading up the economic resilience group within the interagency COVID-19 Task Force. This group includes representatives from the City of Moab, Grand County, Moab Chamber of Commerce, Moab Area Travel Council, Utah Department of Workforce Services, Small Business Development Center/Small Business Administration, Custom Fit, and residents with extensive business experience. Our primary objective is to help businesses successfully navigate this challenging time.
We have established four “action teams” to address different needs: Information/Communication (for employers AND employees); Emergency relief, incentives and policy recommendations; Rapid response consultation with businesses; and, Social innovation, entrepreneurship, and non-profits.
New grants, loans, and policies have been implemented at the local, state, and federal levels to support businesses. We acknowledge that all this information may be overwhelming and confusing for employers and employees. Early next week, we will release a simple summary of each program and who you can contact in Moab for more information.
Our Rapid Response Business Consultation team will begin contacting businesses next week. We will offer information, support, and even assistance with applications, a $1,000 grant for business expenses (first come, first serve), and business consultation, including adaptation strategies, web presence, real estate, etc.
Check out our Employee Resource Guide & sign up for our newsletters.
COVID-19 Federal Rural Resource
Informative resource link for a wide range of financial assistance, management assistance, technical training, state, and local assistance. Please review and surf the link for more information below
IMPORTANT:
Businesses are encouraged to consult the CDC and OSHA guidelines above for more comprehensive information about operating safely.
- Implement social distancing (six feet) measures in communal areas of the establishment.
- Staff who have to take cash or credit cards are encouraged to use cleansing measures, including best practices issued by the CDC, between transactions. Cash transactions are discouraged, but not prohibited.
- Management must ensure, on a daily basis, that no employee who presents symptoms of illness will be permitted to work.
- Members, guests, patrons, or customers who present symptoms of illness shall be excluded from the establishment.
- Management shall post signage approved by the CDC which advises patrons of COVID-19 protocols.
HELPFUL LINKS:
CDC: Interim Guidance for Businesses and Employers to Plan and Respond to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
Community and Agency Resources
⇒ SENIOR AND AT-RISK HOME DELIVERY PROGRAM: (435) 259-6623
As those who are 65+ years old and/or at-risk can request grocery/supply shopping and delivery assistance
⇒ Rent Relief Fund: Application
Rent assistance for individuals and families in Grand County with financial hardship caused by the current Coronavirus/COVID-19 crisis
⇒ Moab Valley Multicultural Center: (435) 259-5444 or online at https://moabmc.org/
Utility assistance, homelessness prevention funding, food and supplies, thrift store vouchers, and interpretations/translations, to those in need
⇒ Moab Solutions: (435) 401-4685
Housing, utilities, and other emergency financial assistance
⇒ Moab Free Health Clinic Prescription Medication Assistance: (435) 259-1113
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ASSISTANCE/DONATE/VOLUNTEER PROGRAM
Currently, a community-based public assistance program has been created. This program serves two key purposes; 1) those in need of assistance in securing essential daily items, services, and resources can sign up to receive help, and 2) those who have items or resources to donate, or services they can provide, can sign up to offer their help. Anyone in need of help during this time can reach out to see what type of assistance our community can provide. Please, take a moment to consider what you can offer, and sign up now. MoabCOVID.org
EMERGENCY FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM: PRESCRIPTION MEDICATION
The Moab Free Health Clinic started an Emergency Financial Assistance Program to make sure our community members can afford their medications and/or treatments. Due to the essential shut down of our economy, many of our community members lost not only their income but their insurance. Even with insurance, copays are now out of reach. We are here to make sure no one falls through the cracks or neglects their care. All donations to the Emergency Financial Assistance Program will be utilized to cover the cost of medication or care for those so completely affected by the coronavirus pandemic. If you are in need of medication or assistance, please call the Clinic. If you are able to donate to this fund, we are accepting donations here. Thank you for your generosity during this worrisome time. We will emerge from this a stronger community because we all came together.
Moab Regional Hospital’s Clinical Mental Health Counselor, Antje Rath at (435) 719-5500
We all know that social distancing at this time is the most important thing we can do to help #FlattenTheCurve. However, isolation may cause increased fear and anxiety which may lead to depression and other mental health issues. We are all facing things we have never faced before with the outbreak of COVID-19. If you need to talk, do not hesitate to call or email Moab Regional Hospital’s Clinical Mental Health Counselor, Antje Rath at (435) 719-5500. or by email antjer@mrhmoab.org
SEEKHAVEN FAMILY AND CRISIS RESOURCE CENTER
Should you find yourself feeling unsafe in your home, NOW may be a good time to find security elsewhere. Even if it does not look like it, you do have options that you can take. Please, call to speak confidentially with Seekhaven at (435) 259-2229 now.
NORTHERN GRAND COUNTY COVID-19 COMMUNITY NETWORK
If you, or someone you know, live in the northern region of Grand County (Crescent Junction, Thompson Springs, I-70 area) please contact us to be put in touch with the area COVID-19 community network of neighbors helping neighbors. We’re all in this together, and together, we’ll get through. Email us at GrandTaskForce@GrandCountyUtah.net for more information.
OTHER HELPFUL SOURCES:
Moab ValleyMulticultural Center 435-259-5444
National Suicide Prevention LifeLine 1-800-273-TALK (8255)
IF YOU THINK YOU MAY HAVE COVID-19:
PLEASE CALL Moab Regional Hospital at 435-719-3998
The Grand County COVID-19 Community Task Force was established in an unprecedented, collaborative effort from all Moab and Grand County area stakeholders and community leaders.
These include, but are not limited to, the Southeast Utah Health Department, Moab Regional Hospital, Grand County EMS, Moab City Police Department, Moab Area Travel Council, Grand County Sheriff’s Office, Grand County School District, Moab Chamber of Commerce, Moab Valley Fire Department, City of Moab, business owners, and private citizens. The mission of this collaborated team is to prepare, plan, and respond to a wide range of risk scenarios that the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) may present.
Most cases are mild-to-moderate, but symptoms can last from a few days to a few weeks. Symptoms can develop within days of being infected or take up to two weeks to develop. It is extremely important to note we may be infected and contagious prior to any symptoms developing. Please consider this when you are around other people and stay at least 6-feet away to ensure you are protecting them, as well as yourself.
A smaller percentage of cases will become critically ill, and some cases are fatal. Our only tools to combat this virus are for each of us in Grand County to diligently practice personal hygiene and physical distancing. It is imperative that we adhere to the basics of frequent hand washing of at least 20-seconds, sneeze or cough into a tissue or your elbow, disinfect often-touched items, maintain a physical distance of at least 6-feet from others, and avoid groups of 10 or more people. At-risk individuals should self-quarantine to ensure they reduce their risks as much as possible. These simple practices really are our best tools to prevent COVID-19 from gaining a stronghold in our community.
PROTECTING YOURSELF & OUR COMMUNITY BY SLOWING THE SPREAD
COVID-19 presents Grand County with increased risk factors due to the nature of rural healthcare. As we have seen in other communities, it is common for multiple COVID-19 cases to be identified within a very short time frame. This surge can quickly overwhelm our medical response capabilities to adequately care for not only COVID-19 patients but for all of the other medical needs within our community. If the infection rate in our community is slowed down, fewer patients will need medical care at one time, allowing healthcare facilities to keep up. It is critical that we all do our best to "slow the spread" of infection.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that by creating at least a 6-foot distance between yourself and other people, you can slow the spread. This is an extremely powerful tool in protecting not only yourself but the rest of our community. Diligent personal hygiene is the only other tool we have to protect Grand County. Please ensure that you and your family;
- STAY HOME and self-quarantine at the first sign of sickness
- Frequently wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20-seconds.
- Use hand sanitizers when soap and water are not available.
- Do not touch your face at all, try to not touch anything above your shoulders.
-Cough and sneeze into a tissue or your elbow.
- Disinfect often-touched objects, including door handles, reading & sunglasses, cell phones, iPads, laptops, remote controls, and light switches.
See the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for more information.