Hermosa Beach Coronavirus Update For February 18

Press release from the City of Hermosa Beach:

February 18, 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.

L.A. County Elementary Schools Can Reopen: The L.A. County Department of Public Health announced Tuesday that the COVID-19 infection rate was low enough for elementary schools to reopen. In Hermosa Beach, children in grades TK-2 returned to classes on a part-time basis already, and the Hermosa Beach City School District sent a letter to parents saying that students in grades 3-5 should be able to return in early March. The District asked families to let the District know if they wish to continue with all online classes or have their children in the classroom.

Additional Cases of More Infectious Variants in L.A. County: The L.A. County Department of Public Health (Public Health) announced Wednesday that L.A. County had 4 more cases of the more infectious UK variant of the virus – bringing the total number to 12. With the reality that there are more infectious variants circulating in the state and our county, Public Health said it has never been more important for community members to keep their distance and wear a mask whenever outside their homes and around people with whom they don’t live.

Join Mayor Justin Massey for a Virtual Coffee Saturday Morning: Hermosa Beach Mayor Justin Massey will discuss the City’s responses to COVID-19 and other topics at a Virtual Coffee at 10 a.m. on Saturday, February 20. An RSVP is required. Space is limited. Registration is available here. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the event.

Vaccine Update: L.A. County is currently vaccinating health care workers and people age 65 and older. On March 1, it plans to begin vaccinating three additional sectors - education and childcare, food and agriculture, and first responders and law enforcement.

The L.A. County Department of Public Health (Public Health) said it continues to enhance efforts that can better meet the needs of seniors. It noted that many older people in L.A. County may struggle to get to a site for a vaccine. Starting this week, Public Health said mobile strike teams began visiting senior housing developments and senior centers to provide vaccines in locations where seniors are living or visiting regularly. Public Health said it is also working with ride-hailing services to facilitate seniors accessing community vaccination sites, and pharmacies are reaching out to their customers age 65 years or older to offer them vaccination appointments at their site. Residents are encouraged to visit the website, www.VaccinateLACounty.com and www.VacunateLosAngeles.com (Spanish) to sign up for available appointments, learn about the vaccination phases, determine when it is your turn to get vaccinated and sign-up for the County’s COVID-19 vaccine newsletter. Public Health also noted that once it is your turn to be vaccinated, it will always be your turn. Your eligibility for a vaccine will not expire or go away, and you will not miss your window to be vaccinated once eligible.

Los Angeles County Update: The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) has confirmed 153 new deaths and 2,873 new cases of COVID-19. To date, Public Health identified 1,174,340 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County and a total of 19,514 deaths.

Public Health is concerned that actions over the Super Bowl weekend and this past holiday weekend could lead to increases in cases if individuals were not taking precautions and businesses were not fully adhering to their sector specific protocols. Public Health is carefully monitoring data over the upcoming weeks to see the impact across County communities.

If you have symptoms or think you were exposed to someone with COVID-19 or if you were in a crowd or gathering where people were close together and not wearing face coverings and/or keeping their distance you should get tested. Isolate immediately from your family and others if you have symptoms or test positive for COVID-19.

Public Health inspectors go out every day to make sure businesses are compliant with the Los Angeles County Health Officer Order, identify violations, and issue citations for businesses out of compliance. Compliance checks conducted during the Super Bowl weekend revealed Health Officer Order violations including: indoor dining, outdoor dining areas with enclosures, TVs turned on, overcrowding, tables spaced less than eight feet apart, and the lack of face shields for employees.

Public Health is carefully tracking outbreaks at worksites and continues to assist sectors with required business protocol compliance and safety measures. There are currently 1,078 ongoing outbreak investigations; this is a 20% reduction from the 1,351 outbreak investigations reported on February 4.

Workers and employers can anonymously report to Public Health clusters of COVID-19 cases at worksites as well as violations of Health Officer Orders and Protocols in the workplace. A complaint system to report violations is available online at www.publichealth.lacounty.gov.

Latest Facts and Figures

Jurisdiction - Reported Cases | Reported Deaths

• Hermosa Beach - 871 | 10
• L.A. County - 1,174,340 | 19,514
• California - 3,421,720 | 47,924
• United States - 27,669,556 | 489,067

*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.