What You Need to Know This Week
Week of March 20, 2023
The County of San Mateo distributes this weekly communications & resource sheet to county leaders, communicators and partners to help inform discussions with their respective audiences and help them serve as trusted messengers. Please also follow the County on Facebook and Twitter and share posts on these topics and others on your channels.
Now is the Time to Prepare for Emergencies: Know Your Zone
• The best time to prepare for any potential disaster is now, not when the lights go out or emergency managers are issuing evacuation orders.
• To prepare for possible evacuations, for instance, emergency managers have carved the Peninsula into more than 300 zones on an online, publicly available map supported by Zonehaven, a California-based company under contract with the County of San Mateo.
• Each zone is assigned a short code. All residents can enter an address to find your zone.
• In an emergency, first responders will issue evacuation or other orders and advisories based on the zones. This information will be pushed out via the news media, social media such as Twitter, emergency alert notifications and other platforms.
• Sign up for SMC Alert to receive emergency notifications.
• Find additional emergency planning tips.
COVID-19 Update
• County Health’s COVID-19 pop-up clinic program for schools and faith-based organizations will conclude on March 31.
• Organizations wishing to host a vaccine clinic may reach out to County Health at [email protected] for more information.
• Vaccines and boosters remain widely available at health care providers and pharmacies.
• For real-time information on the availability of vaccines and how to schedule an appointment by location, visit vaccines.gov.
Upcoming Events:
• San Mateo County Libraries is hosting an author talk with Meng Jin on Wednesday, March 22, at 6 p.m. She will discuss her new short story collection, Self-Portrait With Ghost. This new collection of 10 thematically linked short stories reflects relationships with others, with the past and with ourselves.
• San Mateo County Libraries is now on Fable, a new virtual book club app for iOS and Android. With Fable, you can join a virtual book club or start your own – no meetings or video calls required. Book club members can write a post or question, or comment on other people’s posts. It’s as easy as texting or commenting online—but just for your fellow book clubbers. Sign up to join the club and for your chance to get a free Fable eBook of Self-Portrait with Ghost.
• Come celebrate Cesar Chávez on Friday, March 31, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at East Palo Alto Academy, 1050 Myrtle St., East Palo Alto. Sponsored by Behavioral Health and Recovery Services, Human Services Agency, ALAS, and Voices of Recovery, the event offers free food, raffles, resource connections and entertainment. Joaquín Jiménez, who directs the Farmworker Program at ALAS, will be the keynote speaker. For more information, contact Voices of Recovery at [email protected] or (650) 643-6955.
Check Out These Helpful Ways to Stay Informed:
County of San Mateo Newsroom
Subscribe to County news email updates
County Facebook
County Twitter
County YouTube
County Nextdoor
Please direct inquiries to Chief Communications Officer Michelle Durand at [email protected] or Social Media Coordinator Christa Bigue at [email protected]
ABOUT THE SAN MATEO EVENT CENTER
During COVID, the San Mateo Event Center was unable to host most events but instead played a vital role in protecting our health care workers and most vulnerable populations by serving as a COVID-19 testing site, operations hub, and supply center, 250-bed temporary overflow hospital, and vaccine distribution center for the San Francisco Bay Area. To date, the Event Center has
administered 250,000 COVID-19 tests and vaccinated more than 90,000 individuals.
ABOUT THE SAN MATEO COUNTY FAIR
The award-winning San Mateo County Fair is the Peninsula’s premier community event for family fun and entertainment. The San Mateo County Fair strives to provide a diverse experience through education, inspiration, and entertainment. The annual Fair represents a celebration of our community’s talent, interests, innovations, and rich agricultural and artistic heritage.
