The Angeleno Cards financial aid fund increased with two million dollar donations

Los Angeles Mayor Announces Expansion of Angeleno Card Program Thanks to Donation from Qatar

Mayor Eric Garcetti announced the expansion of the Angeleno Cards program.

Photo:
Archive / The Opinion / The Opinion

As cases of the new coronavirus continued to accumulate in Los Angeles on Thursday, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti announced an expansion of the Angeleno Card program and other ongoing efforts to soften the blow of the Los Angeles pandemic.

The city saw 471 new detected cases of COVID-19, bringing the total to 8,022, Garcetti said. That represents a 6.3% increase in cases since Wednesday.

In the meantime, Los Angeles County infections exceeded 17,500, with 797 deaths attributed to the virus, according to Los Angeles County Department of Public Health officials.

"Another dark threshold we crossed is that COVID-19 is now the leading cause of death in Los Angeles County, ahead of heart disease and above emphysema," said Garcetti.

The city's testing capacity has grown to 12,100 people per day, and by the end of Thursday, Garcetti said more than 100,000 tests will have been issued in Los Angeles.

Donations that help expand Angeleno Cards

Thanks to a $ 5 million Qatari donation to the Mayor's Fund for Los Angeles, the largest donation to the fund, the Angeleno Card program is expanding.

Garcetti thanked the Qatari government for the "truly generous humanitarian gift for Angel families." He said the gift had special meaning as it coincided with the start of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

Donations of $ 1 million from two Taiwanese American businessmen They will also greatly help the cause through the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Los Angeles, Garcetti said.

More than 1,100 of the Angeleno prepaid cards, loaded with up to $ 1,500 each, have been distributed in the past two days, Garcetti said.

The free debit cards, "totaling $ 1.1 million, have already been put into the hands of the people," he said. "We are going to do that every day."

But although the program initially requested the distribution of a total of 10,000 cards, officials now plan to deliver 15,000 of them, according to the mayor, benefiting some 45,000 people.

Those who receive the cards will be selected from the more than 500,000 people who have already submitted applications, he added.

The mayor also praised the City Council for expanding the city's rent freeze to cover most rental properties on Wednesday, as well as a new local measure against price increases.

Efforts to providing COVID-19 evidence to the homeless has also escalated in the past few days, with more than 500 tests administered so far, Garcetti said.

The mayor reminded all critical workers who can be tested for coronavirus on the same day, a service that the city implemented Wednesday. Interested parties were encouraged to speak to their employers.

"If you qualify, do yourself, your family and your city a service and get tested," Garcetti said.

It may interest you:

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here