Local leaders will deliver America's communities through this crisis. That's why Bloomberg Philanthropies created the City Hall Coronavirus Daily Update, to elevate the critical information city leaders need to respond to and recover from the challenges at hand.

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Covid-19 and transportation:
5 things cities can do right now

City transportation officials are innovating in real time to address the growing Covid-19 crisis. Even as workplaces shift to homes and travel demand drops, they're adapting to get essential employees to work while keeping supply chains moving, residents safe, and transit workers protected. With these groundshifts in mind, we asked Janette Sadik-Khan, a former New York City transportation commissioner and now principal at Bloomberg Associates, and Corinne Kisner, executive director of the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO), what five transportation-related initiatives city leaders should be focused on right now. Here’s what they had to say.

What Seattle can teach everyone

Seattle was one of the first U.S. cities to face the Covid-19 crisis head on—and its mayor, Jenny Durkan, was among the first on the frontline. “You can’t act quickly enough,” Durkan told the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative in an interview reflecting on the first weeks of her city’s fight. “We think we acted really quickly…but we needed to act yesterday.” Another piece of advice for local leaders: Taking care of yourself—in addition to your residents—will be critical to getting the job done, she said.

LATEST CITY ACTIONS

A roundup of responses to the coronavirus crisis. See the
Covid-19: Local Action Tracker for more.

ECONOMIC CHALLENGES

• Baton Rouge, La., Mayor Sharon Broome signs an executive order to prevent bars from losing their liquor licenses for failing to pay taxes.
• Montgomery County, Md., creates a $20 million relief fund for small businesses and nonprofits.

GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS

• Chicago provides nearly 300 hotel rooms to first responders worried about exposing their families to Covid-19. 
• Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms provides hazard pay to front-line city employees, as Philadelphia cites cost concerns in ending time-and-a-half pay for 15,000 essential city workers.
• Officials in Pawnee Rock, Kan., grant the mayor additional powers and suspend city council meetings. 
• Candidates for mayor in Portland, Ore., debate via public video conference. 

CANCELLATIONS, CLOSINGS & SOCIAL DISTANCING

• Pittsburgh closes its famous Mount Washington overlook after crowds gather.
• Minneapolis opens a new police call center to respond to certain non-violent service calls without having to send an officer to someone's home. 

COMMUNICATIONS

• Salt Lake City launches a relief hotline to help connect businesses with resources.

VULNERABLE POPULATIONS

• As New London, Conn., and Austin, Texas, establish new facilities for residents experiencing homelessness, Las Vegas draws criticism for placing its homeless in a parking lot with painted squares to meet social distancing requirements. 
• Brockton, Mass, erects heated tents in a park outside existing homeless shelters to make room for social distancing. 
• Several of the finest restaurants in Sacramento, Calif., prepare and deliver meal boxes that include five days of prepared meals to 725 seniors living in low-income apartments. The effort, spearheaded by Mayor Darrell Steinberg, is funded by fines levied on illegal cannabis grows. 

TESTING & MEDICAL

• Miami opens a drive-thru testing site for residents ages 65 and over. 
• Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson requests hospitals share daily bed and ventilator counts to promote transparency.  

CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES

• NEW Inc. has curated a list of tools, resources, and financial help for businesses. 
• NEW The U.S. Small Business Administration releases new information on the Paycheck Protection Program.
• No Kid Hungry is providing grants to schools and nonprofits offering meals for children. 
• Financial assistance for bar employees. 
• One Fair Wage is providing cash assistance to tipped and service workers through a new support fund.
• U.S. Digital Response is matching data and digital service volunteers with local and state governments to assist with rapid response Covid-19 projects.
• Music blog compiles list of emergency funding and resources for artists.
• Forbes is curating a list of Covid-19 small business relief programs.
• Facebook is offering small businesses cash grants and advertising credits.
• The U.S. Small Business Administration is relaxing criteria on Economic Injury Disaster Loans of up to $2 million for impacted small businesses. Coordinate with your governor's office.
• The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is distributing $560 million to state and local jurisdictions to support Covid-19 response.

• NEW Pro bono access to experts platform (GLG)
• Maintaining essential health services (WHO)
• Summary of what's in the $2 trillion federal relief act for cities.
• Resources for local governments (ICMA)
• Building your strategic communications plan for Covid-19 (ELGL)
• Resources for local leaders (National League of Cities)
• Crowdsourced local government response resources (ELGL)
• Support for public servants (Apolitical)
• What mayors need to know (US Conference of Mayors)
• Fact sheets, posters & free communications resources (CDC)
• Disaster distress counseling hotline: 1-800-985-5990 (SAMHSA)

• NEW Optimizing PPE with burn rate calculator
• Homeless service providers
• Health care facilities
• Long-term care facilities & nursing homes
• Checklist for older people
• Retirement communities and independent living
• Preparing community- and -faith based organizations
• Mass gatherings and large community events
• Emergency medical services and 911 operators
• What law enforcement personnel need to know
• K-12 schools and childcare centers
• Businesses and employers
• Cleaning and disinfection of rooms and community facilities
• Caring for someone at home
• How to protect yourself