The Los Angeles City Council is reviewing plans that would pay residents who test positive for the Wuhan coronavirus to quarantine. Los Angeles is the primary engine of California's surge in coronavirus infections.
Councilmember David Ryu, a Democrat, introduced a motion on Wednesday that, if approved, would establish a $25 million "wage replacement program" for quarantined Los Angelians, CBS Los Angeles reported. Council President Nury Martinez, another Democrat, similarly introduced her own motion that calls for a report on a plan that would provide up to $50 million in paycheck assistance to low-income families. Martinez’s motion would tap $50 million from funds allocated to the city through the Federal CARES Act. But, as noted by CBS Los Angeles, the CARES Act prohibits illegal aliens from receiving such aid.
"The only way out of this crisis is through increased testing and staying home if you’re sick," said Councilmember Ryu. "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."
"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," said Council President Martinez.
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As reported by the Center for Immigration Studies, there is mounting evidence that the surge in coronavirus cases in states along the southern border is being driven to a large extent by people fleeing Mexico's "dysfunctional and overwhelmed hospitals to get American medical care." U.S. Customs and Border Protection said arrests along the southern border were up 40 percent in the month of June compared to the previous month.
California's Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom has kept much of the state on lockdown in an attempt to slow the spread of the Wuhan coronavirus. California was the first state to issue a stay-at-home order back on March 19. But the lockdowns were put on hold for a few weeks so that thousands of left-wing protesters could riot in the streets and defy social distancing guidelines and calls to wear face masks. According to Johns Hopkins University, California overtook New York last month to become the state with the most coronavirus cases.
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