Have questions about the impacts of the coronavirus on our region? Who doesn’t? At a virtual community town hall conversation hosted by Austin Justice Coalition, city and county leaders and health officials will discuss the impacts of the pandemic on different systems and communities in our area. Stephanie Hayden, director of Austin Public Health; Mark Escott, medical director of Austin/Travis County; and Joya Hayes, director of Austin Human Resources, are scheduled to speak. Register here for the Zoom webinar tonight (April 8) at 6 p.m.

The Austin Disaster Relief Network has kicked off a mask drive with the goal of collecting 20,000 home-sewn fabric face masks. With new evidence showing that asymptomatic people may be able to transmit Covid-19, face masks are urgently needed. The donated masks will be distributed to caregivers and essential personnel throughout Austin-Travis County and 11 other member counties of the Capital Area Trauma Regional Advisory Council. Please follow the CDC’s guidelines for sewing fabric face masks. Daniel Geraci, ADRN executive director, said in a news release, “We’ve been told by the city of Austin, CAMOC and CATRAC that the need for DIY face masks is immediate. We are mobilizing our network of churches to create task forces to recruit, equip and implement DIY face mask creation. We are also believing in faith that thousands of people will rise up to the challenges of making and donating these urgently needed homemade masks.” DIY face masks may be dropped off at ADRN headquarters, at 1122 E. 51st St., Monday-Saturday, 9 a.m.-6 p.m., at the back dock of Hope Family Thrift Store.

Travis County residents without health insurance or a medical provider may obtain Covid-19 testing and treatment through Central Health, CommUnityCare or Sendero Health Plans. Community members who have questions about Central Health’s response to the pandemic are invited to attend a community conversation touching upon the following topics:

• Covid-19 hotline
• Covid-19 drive-thru testing
• Medical appointments by phone, and tele-health
• Pharmacy delivery and curbside services
• MAP and MAP BASIC health coverage for the uninsured
• Reaching vulnerable populations during the pandemic
• Protecting clinical staff and patients
• How you can help: Donating personal protective equipment

Wednesday, April 8, 11 a.m.-noon. RSVP here. Ring Central or telephone U.S.: +1 (888) 501-0031. Meeting ID: 149 371 4767.

Last week, the Austin Monitor partnered with All Together ATX to raise money for local nonprofits serving residents suffering the economic effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. We’d like to thank those who contributed and helped raise more than $3.5 million as of Monday evening. And we would like to remind those seeking assistance that applications for $25,000 rapid response grants are still open. Donations to the fund, which was launched by the Austin Community Foundation and United Way for Greater Austin, are still being accepted.

The supplemental nutrition program for women, infants and children known as Texas WIC is expanding the number of food items eligible for purchase through the program, according to a news release from Texas Health and Human Services. The additional items include more milk, bread, rice, pasta and egg options. Participants can find details on the Texas WIC website. Dee Budgewater, HHS deputy executive commissioner for Health Developmental and Independence Services, said, “Grocers assure us they can meet this increased demand and have supply chains ready to respond. The Texas WIC team is working around the clock to ensure families have access to healthy food, which is one of the best ways to support mothers and growing children and help them achieve a greater sense of health and well-being.” WIC clients can also download a new version of the app MyTexasWIC (available on Apple and Android) that helps families shop by showing which items are “WIC approved” products.

With so many people out of work and having trouble making ends meet, the resources of Central Texas Food Bank are stretched to the limit. Television station KXAN and grocery store HEB are answering the need with a fundraising and volunteer relief effort dubbed Feeding Central Texas. According to a news release, every week the food bank provides meals to nearly 50,000 Central Texans across 21 counties. For every dollar donated to Feeding Central Texas, the food bank can provide four meals for hungry families. Derrick Chubbs, president and CEO of the Central Texas Food Bank, thanked the two entities. “We’re so grateful to our friends at KXAN-TV and HEB for teaming up to help us fight hunger during this crisis. Having the support of such great community partners will make a huge difference. We’re seeing unprecedented demand for our services, so every donation helps.” Donate what you can to Feeding Central Texas here.

Ghisallo Cycling Initiative has kicked off a campaign to get people out of their homes and onto their bikes at least once a week. Before the pandemic and the shelter-in-place orders hit, the Austin nonprofit had planned to promote biking to work every Wednesday in April as a way to warm up for Bike Month in May. Now Ghisallo has adapted the campaign into “We Bike Wednesdays,” an invitation to take yourself for a solo bike ride and connect with others on social media. Post photos of your biking experiences on Facebook or on Instagram using the tag #gciwbw. Always keep at least a 6-foot distance between yourself and other cyclists, and please, bike solo or with members of your immediate household only.

Over the weekend, Austin Parks and Recreation closed the Barking Springs spillway as well as access to all municipal golf courses. The parks department announced Friday that, due to park users’ inability to social distance at Barking Springs, the area would be closed until further notice. Starting today, golf course gates will be closed and walking, running, biking or any other use of golf courses will be prohibited. Though some parks remain open, officials remind users to keep a 6-foot distance from others, avoid team sports and let others know when you are passing them in order to help curb the transmission of Covid-19. The parks department is maintaining a list of closures for residents.

The Austin Independent School District will be holding a special board meeting tonight, and like most things these days, it will take place online. AISD is currently gathering public input on the agenda, which will feature discussions about the district’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic and its search for a new superintendent. Comments from the public are being recorded in advance using the following process: Those wishing to speak are asked to sign up and then call 512-414-0130 to record a 60-second remark by 3 p.m. today, April 6. Alternately, comments can be emailed to trustees@austinisd.org. AISD announced Friday that classes would be moving online, with school buildings to remain closed for “an indefinite period of time.” That move to online learning, and how it will take shape, will also be addressed at tonight’s meeting.

In a letter to the community, José G. Roig, interim director of the Austin Code Department, writes that his department’s mission – “Building a safer and greater Austin together through code education, collaboration and enforcement” – is more relevant than ever during the coronavirus pandemic. Reminding the public of the importance of social distancing and avoiding gatherings, he explains that, “While our inspectors are out educating the community on the Stay Home-Work Safe orders, the rest of our staff are doing their work from home. Our workforce continues to ensure that communication critical to the work of serving Austin residents is easier and more responsive.” Many code department services are available online or by cell phone, he writes, adding, “Know that during this time, we continue to receive and respond to your requests for service, and the unwavering commitment of our code inspectors to respond to your needs stands strong.” Read the entire letter here.

In an appeal to the community, Austin Resource Recovery Director Ken Snipes addresses the importance of sanitation workers, reminding the public that his workers are on the front lines working tirelessly at a job that is “critical to protect our people and communities. These workers are typically not who first come to mind when we think about the front lines, but I think they should be – not ahead of any of the other frontline service providers, but right alongside them.” In a backward glance at the devastating flu pandemic of 1918, Snipes tells us that the disease so thinned the ranks of sanitation workers nationwide that trash piled up 3 feet high in some cities. He writes, “As we fast-forward to 2020 and the Covid-19 outbreak, the question before us now is, What have we learned from the 1918 outbreak and others that we can use to protect our waste collection workers?” Staying at home is not an option for frontline workers such as sanitation staff, so as the Monitor reported last week, workers have doubled up on gloves, are using copious amounts of hand sanitizer and are disinfecting their vehicles “before, during and after each route.” Snipes asks the community to do their part by ensuring that all trash is securely bagged and tied so collections staff will not come into contact with loose garbage. He also asks customers to clean off cart handles when setting the bins out on collection day. “Let’s all do our part to protect these unsung frontline workers so that they and their families remain safe and healthy.”

And for those wondering whether their garbage and recycling will continue to be collected as usual during the pandemic, the city has launched an app to keep customers informed about curbside collections. The Austin Recycles app (available for Apple or Android) pushes reminders about pickup dates as well as alerts if there’s going to be a delay or an interruption in service. Most handy of all, perhaps, is a feature that allows customers to research items they’re uncertain about disposing. Do milk cartons go in the recycling or the trash? And who can remember what to do with those ubiquitous plastic takeout containers? Said Snipes, “We have all been impacted by big changes these last few weeks, and the launch of this app is just one small way to stay up-to-date on any impact to collection services in the future.”

The Texas Workforce Commission wants to assure people who have lost their jobs due to Covid-19 that they do, indeed, feel your pain. According to an email from the commission yesterday, “to those who have been laid off, are unsure about your employment situation or are worried for your business: we see you, we hear you and we are working around the clock to provide the resources and help that you need.” The commission is scrambling to respond to calls from people desperate to access their unemployment benefits – last Thursday, March 26, the commission received an unprecedented 1.7 million calls in a single day. Since that peak, the number of calls has fallen to about 120,000 a day. In an interview with Spectrum News last week, Ed Serna, the commission’s executive director, acknowledged, “None of our plans prepared us for the intensity and magnitude of this emergency.” With the system flooded, the commission is begging Texans to “be patient with us. … We are expanding both our technological and staff capabilities to meet our current needs. We have extended our hours of operation and are open Saturdays. We are hiring new staff. We are committed to helping every single Texan in need.”