The Coronavirus pandemic has arrived in California. With already over 300 confirmed cases in the state, fifteen cases here at home in Santa Cruz County, our local governments have a moral obligation to treat this public health crisis seriously and with urgency. We also know that working families in Santa Cruz, one of the top 5 least affordable cities in the US, are one paycheck away from homelessness.

With a temporary ban on evictions, we can protect our community from both a housing crisis, by protecting ill workers from homelessness, and a public health crisis, by isolating them and mitigating the spread of a highly-contagious virus.

The city and county of Santa Cruz have both introduced emergency ordinances to enact temporary bans on evictions, but they don't go far enough.

In addition to a ban on evictions, there needs to be a stated grace period for repayment of rents so that people can get back on their feet without a hefty fee after the lockdown is lifted. The ordinance must forbid no-cause evictions as well, not just for non-rent payment. Without such protections, a landlord could theoretically refuse to re-up a lease.

We also ask our local governments to stop conducting sweeps of encampments of people experiencing homelessness, and to increase the number of hand washing stations and port-a-potties. The Centers for Disease Control agrees these are crucial steps that must be taken to slow the spread of this virus that is especially dangerous to our vulnerable unhoused population.