COVID-19 INFORMATION AND RESOURCES

Union Park District Council is following the guidance of the Minnesota Department of Health and the Center for Disease Control to slow the spread of the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and help protect the health and safety of its staff, partners and the community.

Union Park District Council offices will be closed through March 31st.
The staff will be working from home.
All UPDC meetings will here on out be online so please look out for meeting emails.

Neighborly Assistance

If you or someone you know is immunocompromised, elderly, sick, or otherwise concerned for any reason and needs help during this outbreak of the coronavirus--your neighbors want to help you!

Need assistance? Click Below!

Want to help your neighbors? Click Below!

Need to get in touch? Reach us at:

(651) 645-6887 or info@unionparkdc.org

Saint Paul Parks and Recreation facilities to the public, including recreation and community centers, municipal athletic facilities, Great River Water Park, and Como Zoo and Conservatory will be closed beginning March 16th through the 27th

The Minnesota Department of Health Coronavirus/COVID-19 information is available on their website and a hotline is available to take phone calls: 651-201-3920 or 1-800-657-3902 open 7 AM to 7 PM.

Ramsey County Public Health - local, updated information about Coronavirus
Programs and restaurants offering food to families in Minnesota

Self-care Resources for Healthcare Workers - ideas, tricks, and advice for any healthcare worker currently involved in fighting COVID-19

Important Things To Know:

Advocate!

On March 16, 2020, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz issued an executive order to ensure workers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic have full access to unemployment benefits. The executive order makes applicants eligible for unemployment benefits if:

A healthcare professional or health authority recommended or ordered them to avoid contact with others.
They have been ordered not to come to their workplace due to an outbreak of a communicable disease.
They have received notification from a school district, daycare, or other childcare providers that either classes are canceled or the applicant’s ordinary childcare is unavailable, provided that the applicant made reasonable effort to obtain other childcare and requested time off or other accommodation from the employer and no reasonable accommodation was available.

More Information for Workers:

Unemployment insurance
What workers need to know about unemployment benefits during the COVID-19 emergency
Programs and restaurants offering food to families in Minnesota
SPPS Bus Routes are now food drop-off locations. An adult needs to accompany kids to pick up food. Don’t need the food? Still, pick it up to share with neighbors who might.
Ramsey County Employment Assistance

Greater Twin Cities United Way’s 2-1-1 Resource Hotline: If you or someone you know is in need, dial 2-1-1 or text the letters MNCOVID to 898-211.

Their Certified Community Resource Specialists are trained to make appropriate referrals for people who believe they are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms. They also are available to provide local resources related to accessing food, paying housing bills and other essential services. Another helpful resource is our 2-1-1 website.

Saint Paul Public Libraries are closed March 16th - 27th. In the meantime discover the digital library resources

Facebook Groups for Neighborhood Community Support:

A message from MySlumberYard

Seventy-four percent of Americans experience sleep-related struggles multiple nights per week, contributing to heightened chronic stress responses and weakened immunity during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

That’s why we created an educational guide, Sleep, Immune System & COVID:

https://myslumberyard.com/blog/sleep-immune-system-covid/

We explore how sleep affects the immune system while providing tips from our sleep experts to amplify the quality of your nighttime routine and, ultimately, support your health. We also break down a list of self-care and daily lifestyle habits with a direct impact on remaining physically healthy and mentally strong.

A message from St. Paul Police Department:

"The Saint Paul Police Department is, unfortunately, experiencing fraud activity preying on concerns about COVID-19 within our community. We realize that a lot of communications are being published from organizations like out colleges, universities, and neighborhood councils on this topic. Nevertheless, I promised to pass along information on current fraud trends and this is a concern we would like to interdict for the benefit of our citizens.

Our best advice

Engage only trusted sources for your information.

For example, A recent site (coronavirusapp.[.]site) had people believing they would get updated maps of the virus outbreak.
Instead, they found it had ransom wear that locked them out of their phones and demanded $100 in bitcoin to have the phone unlocked.
Watch out for phishing emails and texts.
Students received an email claiming to be from their college directing them to a webpage for updates on the school's actions.
Instead, they were asked to log in to their office 365 accounts and their credentials were stolen.

We advise undertaking a dual-verification approach to responding to calls for assistance, fundraising or for up to the minute information on the emerging trends of this pandemic.

Instead of responding directly to an e-message or following a link embedded in an e-mail or text message, we recommend taking extra steps to contact the source of the message and seek out how to participate.
We recommend interested persons use an alternative means of looking up contact phone numbers or e-mail addresses to participate in any programs. DO NOT rely on links or use phone numbers included in the message – use an alternative means to source appropriate contact information."