Reopening is expected to be revisited in coming weeks as Orange County moves past an early summer case surge and goes off the state's monitoring list for counties with high cases and hospitalization.

Orange County is now expected to come off the monitoring list on Aug. 23, after being added in June.

As of Aug. 21, the county has met state criteria for three consecutive days, the requirement to be taken off the monitoring list.

The county then must stay off the list by meeting state criteria for an additional two weeks before any additional reopening can be considered.

While a welcome sign, there will be no immediate change once the county comes off the monitoring list.

After Orange County stays off the monitoring list for two weeks, initially only schools are expected to be allowed to reopen for in-person learning.

Some public schools, including those here in Anaheim, are likely to continue with distance learning for the time being and evaluate a hybrid model in coming months.

For additional business reopening or changes to businesses already open, we continue to await additional guidance from the state.

Any return to reopening is expected to be gradual, with limited, phased reopening to guard against another spike in cases.

For now, no additional businesses can reopen or change operations at this time pending new reopening guidance from the state of California.

We expect a state update on next steps during the week of Aug. 24.

Any additional reopening will come with restrictions, including face coverings, social distancing, occupancy limits and other public health best practices.

To prevent moving backward as we saw in June and July, Anaheim employers need to diligently follow state reopening guidelines.

You can find guidelines and more at Anaheim.net/reopening.

Those visiting businesses must also keep their guard up with face coverings, limited outings, not going out in groups and other best practices.

Orange County requires the wearing of face coverings in public in accordance with California's guidelines.

Anaheim also requires wearing a face covering in public in accordance with California guidelines.

And Anaheim businesses are fighting to survive amid state and county regulations and the constantly fluctuating requirements and closures from the state's stay-at-home order.

Anaheim is here to help. Amid these challenging times, we've dedicated nearly $35 million in assistance directly helping our community.

The Anaheim City Council has allocated $19 million in spending for community and economic relief, called the Anaheim Community and Economic Recovery Plan. The money comes from $33 million in federal funding allocated to Anaheim from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, also known as the CARES Act.

Anaheim has also aggressively pursued and secured more than $15.6 million in additional state and federal grant funding to pass on to those who need help.

The money has gone to help renters, nonprofits helping seniors and families, workers, those living in homelessness and others. We're also using it to increase available COVID-19 testing and provide masks to the community.

In addition, we've dedicated funds to help our economic recovery, including helping businesses and boosting tourism once it is safe to do so.

Find more details at Anaheim.net/recovery.

If you are unable to pay all or part of your rent, notify your landlord of your situation before or by seven days after rent is due and provide a filled-out form you can find just to the right.

Anaheim's eviction moratorium places a hold on evictions of tenants whose inability to pay rent was due to the impacts of the coronavirus crisis.

Tenants are required to notify their landlords that they have a covered reason for delayed payments, provide the landlord with verifiable documentation to support a covered reason for delayed payment, and pay the portion of the rent that they can pay.

If you are able to pay all or part of your rent you should do so to aid landlords who also are struggling and to avoid a large future bill for deferred rent.

The moratorium does not forgive but rather defers rent that is due.

Deferred rent payments can be paid back rent over several months or by mutual agreement between tenant and landlord.

If a repayment plan has not been agreed upon, regular rent payments are set to resume Oct. 30, 2020, with back payment of deferred rent spread equally over the amount of months missed entirely or partially.

Find more at Anaheim.net/eviction.

Click here to make an appointment.

Testing is available for:

• People with even mild symptoms
• Healthcare workers and first responders
• Residents and employees of skilled nursing and other group living facilities
• Essential workers: grocery, food supply, utility and public employees
• Those who have had close contact (15 minutes or more within 6 feet) to someone known or suspected to have COVID-19.

Testing is contact-free and self-administered inside vehicles. Results are returned within two to four days.

For those with insurance, insurers will be billed with no out-of-pocket cost for those being tested.

For those without insurance, federal funding will cover the cost of testing.

The testing site is part of Anaheim's ongoing efforts to address the coronavirus crisis, in partnership with the county of Orange. The operator is Garden Grove-based 360 Clinic.

To make an appointment, click here.