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COVID-19 INFORMATION

Information on this page is sorted by:

  1. Recent News
  2. Basic Needs: Food, Meds and Exercise
  3. Safety and Security
  4. Psychological and Social Needs

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Here's a quick and easy video to help you navigate Zoom. 

Austin Extends Stay Home, Mask and Otherwise Be Safe Order until December 15, 2020

Austin-Travis County is Now in Stage 3

Austin Public Health (APH) has published a color-coded chart to help residents of Austin-Travis County understand the stages of risk and provide recommendations on what people should do to stay safe during the COVID-19 pandemic.

APH is currently exploring the most effective indicators to help determine the level of risk in the local community. Provisional triggers are being modeled based on the number of hospitalizations because of their general correlation with numbers of cases, use of ventilators, deaths, and availability of effective treatment and vaccination.

 

Basic Needs: Living Well at Home

Groceries:

Wheatsville Co-op is offering "order online and curbside pickup".

H-E-B and Favor Senior Support Program
H-E-B and Favor are teaming up to offer grocery delivery for people 60+. The service is free with the purchase of your groceries and a $10 tip for the delivery driver.
 
Whole Foods
Whole Foods is reserving its first hour of grocery pickup at select locations for customers 60+.
 
Trader Joe's
Trader Joe's is reserving its first hour of grocery shopping for customers 60+.
 
Instacart
Instacart delivers food from H-E-B, Sprouts, Natural Grocers, Sam's Club, Costco, and other grocery, liquor, and pet food stores. There is a delivery fee each time or the option to pay $99 a year for free delivery.

If you're getting groceries from Randall's and you use one of their "Remarkable Cards", Capital City Village could use your help. Would you sign up for their Good Neighbor Program and designate CCV as your charity. That way some percentage of your spending will go to help Village members. Our charity number is GNP13219.

Medical

Older Americans Urged to Continue Distant Socializing, New Symptoms List Issued by CDC

Older adults and people at high risk for complications associated with COVID-19 are encouraged to continue to stay home as much as possible and to limit contact with others during the first two phases of reopening plans. Federal guidelines recommend that people continue to wash their hands frequently and maintain physical distancing for the foreseeable future.
 
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on May 7 updated its list of COVID-19 symptoms to include: cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fever, chills, muscle pain, sore throat and new loss of taste or smell. “This list is not all inclusive. Other less common symptoms have been reported, including gastrointestinal symptoms like nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea,” the CDC says.

 

Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Loosens Rules for Coronavirus Testing

  • Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries can now get tested for the coronavirus without a written order from a physician.
  • Physicans and occupational therapists as well as speech language pathologists can provide telehealth visits. 
  • Communities that are in phase 1 of the administration’s re-opening plan can begin to provide non COVID-19 treatments and elective procedures that have been curtailed since the coronavirus outbreak.
  • Coronavirus tests will be available for Medicare beneficiaries who cannot leave their homes, and testing will be ramped up in nursing homes.
  • Medicare officials have issued an alert to all beneficiaries that scammers may try to use the coronavirus as an opportunity to steal their identities and commit Medicare fraud. Medicare will never call to ask for your Medicare number.
  • CMS recommends that nonessential, elective surgeries and other medical procedures be postponed during the coronavirus outbreak. CMS also asks that nonessential dental exams and procedures be postponed.
  • Medicare expands telehealth options so more patients — especially older adults — can get medical advice and care while remaining in their homes and stemming the spread of the coronavirus.
  • Medicare Advantage and Part D prescription drug plans can relax copays and other cost sharing when it comes to testing for the coronavirus.

 

Pharmacies:


Walgreens

Walgreens is offering free prescription delivery from your local store in 1-2 business days.
 
CVS Delivery
CVS is offering free prescription delivery in 1-2 business days or same-day delivery through Shipt.
 
38th Street Pharmacy
Offers free delivery for prescriptions to patients in the Austin area.

 

Safety and Security: Living Well at Home

Thanks to Tito's Handmade Vodka, Capital City Village has received a donation of 240 bottles of hand cleanser that is being distributed to members and volunteers.  Additionally, four one-gallon bottles were donated for event use when it is safe for CCV to resume in-person gatherings.  

 

Travis County Orders

The Stay Home – Work Safe Order initially issued March 24, 2020 has been extended through December 15, 2020. The Order requires residents to stay at home, except for essential activities, essential businesses, and reopened businesses to prevent further spread of COVID-19. Additionally, the Order requires the public to wear fabric face coverings when conducting essential activities or work.

All open businesses must comply with physical distancing and face covering requirements.

Free Daily Phone Check-ins

Through our membership in the Village to Village Network, iamfine is offering free daily phone check-ins.

  • Free to use during the COVID-19 pandemic
  • No credit card required
  • Ideal for anyone that is self-isolating

 

Vial of Life packets are available from the office. Call Johanna at 512-468-5594 if you need one.

(These are information packets that EMS personnel can locate if they have to come into your home. They are usually stored in the freezer.)

Look here for AGE at Home Activities

Watch Out for the Security of Your Financial Information

From our partners at Frost Bank:

Recently, fraudsters have begun using the COVID-19 pandemic as a ruse to coerce consumers into giving out account access credentials, sending money to fake organizations or infecting their mobile or desktop devices with a virus. Some of these scams include, but are not limited to:

  • Phone calls from a fraudster who has “spoofed” or falsified their phone number to display as a reputable company
  • Fake texts, emails or calls about your stimulus or government assistance check
  • Fake cures, vaccines, medical supplies or home testing kits for COVID-19

As a reminder, most providers you do business with will never call, email or text you to request banking account information, account access credentials, debit card numbers or your Social Security number. Only you should know your account access credentials.

If you have received a suspicious call, believe you have provided your account access credentials to a fraudster or if you have any questions, call your banking institution.

 

Psychological and Social Needs: Living Well at Home

Ready for a good conversation?

There's an organization called "Big and Mini" where older people can have phone conversations with younger people. It's a good cure for loneliness for all concerned.

Also, from high school students in Calgary: By dialing 1-877-JOY-4ALL (1-877-569-4255), callers can hear pre-recorded, continuously updated jokes, poems and messages of positivity especially created with the elderly and isolated in mind.