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11. <br />H. In response to COVID-19, and in order to prevent further exposure, many <br />businesses have imposed: work from home policies; virtual meetings; events and <br />social gatherings have been cancelled as people remain at home; and customers <br />are not patronizing restaurants and stores or hiring domestic help or traveling. <br />With more businesses working from home, less of the workforce is patronizing <br />restaurants, hotels and other retail establishments that employ hourly workers, <br />which has led to hourly cutbacks and employee terminations. <br />As a result of the public health emergency and the precautions recommended <br />by health authorities, many tenants in Santa Ana continue to experience or <br />expect to experience sudden and unexpected income loss. <br />J. The Governor of the State of California has stated that individuals exposed to <br />COVID-19 may be temporarily unable to report to work due to illness caused <br />by COVID-19 or quarantines related to COVID-19, and individuals directly <br />affected by COVID-19 may experience potential loss of income, health care <br />and medical coverage, and ability to pay for housing and basic needs, thereby <br />placing increased demands on already strained regional and local health and <br />safety resources, including shelters and food banks. <br />K. Most, if not all, local schools were and remain closed to prevent further spread <br />of COVID-19. These school closures will cause children to have to remain at <br />home, leading to many parents adjusting their work schedules to take time off <br />work, whether paid or unpaid. Hourly wage earners are unlikely to be paid for <br />time off. The inability to work due to school closures will economically strain <br />those families who cannot afford to take off time from work to stay at home. <br />L. The situation is unprecedented and evolving rapidly. Further economic impacts <br />are anticipated, leaving tenants vulnerable to eviction. <br />M. On March 19, 2020, consistent with Executive Order N-28-20, the Director of <br />Emergency Services issued an Executive Order enacting and implementing a <br />moratorium on evictions due to non-payment of rent by residential and <br />commercial tenants impacted by COVID-19. This moratorium remained in <br />effect through May 31, 2020 and was intended to promote stability and fairness <br />within the residential and commercial rental market in the City during the <br />COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, and to prevent avoidable homelessness, <br />thereby serving the public peace, health, safety, and public welfare and to <br />enable tenants in the City, whose income and ability to work, is affected due to <br />COVID-19 to remain in theirhomes. <br />