City Of Hermosa Beach Coronavirus Update For January 25, 2021

Press release from the City of Hermosa Beach:

January 25, 2021

To help keep the community informed, the City of Hermosa Beach is providing regular updates featuring the latest news about COVID-19; related local updates; and how the City is working to meet the needs of the community and protect public health.

We are issuing an additional COVID-19 Update this week with new public health orders issued and the importance of getting these messages to the community.

Outdoor Dining, Personal Services, Outdoor Fitness and Other Activities to Re-open: With hospitalizations decreasing hospital ICU levels projected to be above 15% for the Southern California Region in the coming weeks, California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday lifted the temporary Regional Stay at Home Order, prompting L.A. County Department of Public Health to announce today that it plans to issue a new Health Officer Order to allow outdoor dining to resume on Friday. At that time, the County will also remove previous limits on hours of operations, which require non-essential businesses to be closed from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.

The Department also announced that the following services and activities may resume immediately:

• Indoor personal services, including hair and nail salons, at 25% of capacity, provided all services are provided with a face covering in place. Outdoor-only private gatherings so long as they are limited to three households and no more than 15 people.
• Fitness facilities outdoors.
• Indoor malls, shopping centers and other retailers can open at 25% indoor capacity (but indoor food courts must stay closed)Family entertainment centers can reopen for outdoor operations at 50% capacity.
• Museums, zoos, aquariums can open for outdoor operations.
• Cardrooms can open at 50% capacity outdoors only.
• Mini-golf, go-karting venues and batting cages can open outdoors at 50% capacity.
• Hotels and motels for individual travel and tourism.

All services, activities and businesses that are allowed to reopen should visit the County’s website to ensure they are adhering to the most recent County reopening protocols for their business.

Statewide Eviction Moratorium to be Extended to June 30: Gov. Gavin Newsom, Senate President pro Tempore Toni Atkins and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon issued a joint statement today, saying they will extend the state’s eviction moratorium to protect renters to June 30. They also announced that they are “moving forward as quickly as possible to deploy California’s share of the latest federal stimulus bill – ensuring that up to $2.6 billion in renter aid is administered quickly, equitably and accountably. These critically needed federal funds, targeted to the most at-risk households with unpaid back rent, will help tenants stay afloat during and after this pandemic. Income-qualified tenants and their landlords can choose to receive direct rental assistance in exchange for forgiving prior rental debt.”

COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Improvements Announced: Gov. Gavin Newsom today announced a series of improvements to the state’s vaccination plan. Incorporating lessons learned from efforts to increase the pace of vaccination, he said these new steps will make it easier for people to know when they are eligible for vaccination and how to make an appointment, accelerate the administration of vaccines on hand and improve the state’s ability to track vaccination data.

The governor reported that California has tripled the pace of vaccinations from 43,459 per day on January 4 to 131,620 on January 15. The ten-day effort to ramp up vaccinations exposed key improvements needed to administer even more vaccines when increased supply becomes available. His proposal seeks to simplify the eligibility framework, standardize vaccine information and data and ensure the available supply of vaccines is administered as quickly as possible.

Moving forward, he said there will be a single statewide standard and movement through the tiers. The state will continue through 65+, health care workers, and prioritize emergency services, food and agriculture workers, teachers and school staff. From there, the state will transition to age-based eligibility, allowing California to scale up and down quickly, while ensuring vaccines go to disproportionately impacted communities.

He said the state has launched My Turn, a new system for Californians to learn when they are eligible to be vaccinated and a place to make an appointment when eligible as well as a mechanism to easily track vaccination data. It is currently being piloted in Los Angeles and San Diego counties and is expected to be available statewide in early February.

Through My Turn, individuals will be able to sign up for a notification when they are eligible to make an appointment and schedule one when it is their turn. Providers will be able to use My Turn to automatically share data on vaccines received and administered with the state, reducing lag times.

L.A. County Vaccine Scheduling Update: Los Angeles County and its partners are operating a COVID-19 vaccination call center for residents who do not have computer access or have a disability that requires phone assistance. The vaccination call center is experiencing a surge of thousands of callers seeking to schedule vaccination appointments, which is affecting their ability to serve residents who do not have access to a computer. Los Angeles County is reminding residents that the main way to schedule COVID-19 vaccination appointments is by logging on to VaccinateLACounty.com to check appointment availability. Residents who are currently eligible to receive a vaccine that do not have computer access can call 833-540-0473 between 8 a.m. and 8:30 p.m., 7 days a week for assistance with appointments.

Because of the limited supply of vaccine, only a very limited number of appointments are currently available, for frontline health care workers and county residents aged 65 years and older.

Contract Tracers Are on the Case to Stop COVID-19: Contact tracing is a simple, confidential process that has been used by public health departments for decades to slow the spread of infectious diseases and avoid outbreaks. County workers have been dispatched to serve as Contact Tracers in an effort to stop the surge of the coronavirus.

Click here to learn about how it works and how you can do your part in helping slow the spread by answering a few simple questions when Public Health calls.

Mental Health Wellness: The Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health (LACDMH) supports the wellbeing of County residents and communities. News and updates about COVID-19 may trigger anxiety, panic, frustration and depression—even when your risk of getting sick is low. During an infectious disease outbreak, please take the time to care for your own physical and mental health, and please reach out to others in kindness and compassion.

LACDMH’s Help Line is available 24/7 to provide mental health support, resources and referrals, just call (800) 854-7771 for assistance. LACDMH is also a part of PsychHub’s COVID-19 Mental Health Resource Hub, which is dedicated to providing free resources to help people address their mental health needs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Visit LACDMH's website to learn more about these and other mental health resources available to you and your community members.

Los Angeles County Update: Today, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) confirmed 43 new deaths and 6,642 new cases of COVID-19. Today's number of new cases and deaths reflect a reporting lag from over the weekend. To date, Public Health identified 1,079,396 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County and a total of 15,303 deaths.

Latest Facts and Figures

Jurisdiction - Reported Cases | Reported Deaths

• Hermosa Beach - 809 | 7
• L.A. County - 1,079,396 | 15,303
• California - 3,136,158 | 37,118
• United States - 25,018,520 | 417,936

*All reported data is from the close of the previous day.

Additional Resources

Please continue to follow public health experts’ recommendations to avoid spreading the coronavirus including frequent handwashing, wearing a face covering, keeping a safe distance from one another, and staying home if you are ill. Public Health has issued the following guidance during this time of increased spread: If you are mildly sick, stay home for at least seven days or until 72 hours after being fever free, whichever is longer. Call your doctor if you are concerned and/or your symptoms worsen. Individuals who are elderly, have underlying health conditions or pregnant should consider contacting their providers earlier when they are sick. More information is available here.

We are monitoring updates and sharing information about the coronavirus from trusted sources including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, California Department of Public Health, and Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.

This press release was produced by the City of Hermosa Beach. The views expressed are the author's own.