Residents in Alameda County, California who test for coronavirus could get paid $1,250 if they isolate for two weeks, according to Washington Examiner.
The Alameda County Board of Supervisors voted to pay the stipend who test positive for the virus as an incentive to quarantine rather than return to work.
“What we heard — through our conversations with [residents] or the conversations they were having with contact investigators and tracers — was that many of them just could not afford to lose two weeks’ worth of wages to quarantine and isolate,” Vanessa Cedeno, a policy adviser for the county, told the Los Angeles Times.
"If people are afraid to get tested or they cannot isolate safely when they’re COVID-positive, then our efforts to contain the virus are not going to be as successful,” Cedeno said.
The $1,250 was formulated based on the equivalent of two 40-hour workweeks at a wage of $16.30 in the city of Emeryville, which has the county's highest minimum wage.
Alameda County set aside $10 million to pay 7,500 people who participated in the pilot program. The program is expected to start in a few weeks after all the details are hammered out.
"At the end of the day, you can’t meet everybody’s basic needs. Sometimes, people just need the money," Cedeno said.
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