Disney Executive Chairman Bob Iger and his wife, Willow Bay, are donating $5 million to help Los Angeles small businesses struggling during the pandemic, Mayor Eric Garcetti announced Thursday night.
“Thanks to an incredibly generous donation of $5 million from Willow Bay and Bob Iger, I’m proud to announce that 1,000 of our city’s hardest-hit businesses will come off that waiting list and be helped,” Garcetti said, referring to the Mayor’s Fund for Los Angeles. “Your new commitment will help these businesses weather this storm, and we are beyond grateful for your bold leadership.”
Garcetti also announced that Dodger Stadium will open up on Friday to be used as a mass-vaccination center with the capacity to vaccinate 12,000 people a day. Citing a shortage in vaccines, Garcetti said that as of now, only health care workers and seniors living in skilled nursing facilities are eligible to receive it.
“The bottom line is we don’t have enough vaccines,” Garcetti said.
On Thursday, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health reported 17,323 new COVID-19 cases and 287 deaths. The countywide totals are at 975,299 cases and 13,234 deaths.