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Coronavirus: Jonas Brothers, NY Giants Chairman Donate Combined $1M To Angeleno Fund; City Reports 24% Unemployment Rate

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — Mayor Eric Garcetti, in his final daily briefing on the city's coronavirus response, focused on programs aimed at helping Angelenos in need including the Mayor's Fund for Los Angeles and a partnership with local restaurants to provide meals to seniors.

"We cannot overstate what the economic impact of COVID-19 has been to our city and our people," Garcetti said. "Our work to reduce the spread of this virus came with a massive cost instantly — small businesses shut down on our main streets, households lost jobs and hours and income and, by our estimate, our city's unemployment rate has risen from 4.7% in February to over 24% in April."

The mayor announced that the city had launched a series of working groups across industries in an effort to establish guidelines that will allow more businesses to open in the coming weeks.

"Each of these groups is assembling a toolkit, with key health and economic metrics, to monitor our progress along with specific advice on how to gradually expand services guided by our public health professionals here in Los Angeles," Garcetti said.

RELATED: LA County Reaches 30K Coronavirus Cases

He also announced another expansion to the emergency senior meals program, in partnership with 15 restaurants from across the city, providing meals to an additional 1,000 seniors next week alone.

"It means more meals for our seniors," Garcetti said. "It means more help for our businesses, and it means more jobs for our people."

Seniors age 65 and older, or 60-64 with underlying medical conditions, who reside in the city of Los Angeles can sign up for the program online.

And the mayor announced an additional $1 million in donations to the Mayor's Fund of Los Angeles that will be used to expand capacity of the Angeleno Card program.

Steve Tisch, chairman of the New York Giants, and the Jonas Brothers each donated $500,000 to the fund — the latest in a series of high-profile donations.

"I'm grateful to you for not just recognizing the economic impact that this pandemic is having on our families, but for doing something about it," Garcetti said. "Thanks to everyone's generosity to this fund lives will be saved, and I encourage everyone to keep on giving."

And while Garcetti said he would no longer be holding daily briefings, opting instead for as-needed communication, those who want to stay up-to-date with the latest can sign up for notifications online.

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