Hermosa Beach Coronavirus Update For February 25

Press release from the City of Hermosa Beach:

February 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.

Community Reminder: Small Business Grant Applications Open Up March 1: Small businesses in Hermosa Beach that have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic can apply for grants of $10,000 each to meet payroll and other operational expenses. The application process begins on March 1 and ends March 5. The Los Angeles County Development Authority is overseeing the Small Business Grant Assistance Program. It will hold a lottery to determine which applicants receive a grant, and selected businesses will be asked to complete a comprehensive application form. This program is for Hermosa Beach businesses only. These grants came about through the City Council’s action at its February 9 meeting. This is a one-time opportunity to re-direct $110,000 in Community Development Block Grant funds to a grant program for small businesses in Hermosa Beach that create or retain jobs for low- and moderate-income people. To learn more, please see the Small Business Program Fact Sheet.

Organized Outdoor Contact Sports May Resume Friday: The state Department of Public Health issued a new Sports Guidance that allows organized outdoor youth and adult recreational sports, including moderate contact and high contact sports, to resume on Friday. This order allows practice, training and competitions in counties where the case rate is at or below 14 cases per 100,000 population. Because L.A. County’s adjusted case rate is now at 12.3 cases per 100,000, county protocols were also revised to align with the new State guidance. Moderate contact sports include baseball, field hockey, softball and volleyball, all outdoors. High contact sports include football, basketball, rugby, soccer and water polo, all outdoors.

The new State guidance requires youth leagues offering moderate and high contact sports to obtain consent from parents or guardians of participants to ensure they are aware of the risks of playing. Competitions are limited to two teams within a county or two teams playing from adjacent counties. Travel to other states and countries to play in competitions or tournaments is prohibited for counties still in the purple tier. L.A. County is still in the purple tier.

Players and coaches who participate in certain high contact sports - namely, football, rugby and water polo - are required to get tested on a weekly basis for COVID-19. These revised protocols cover all youth and adult recreational sports. Schools, city leagues, and private clubs are all required to adhere to all the safety measures in the protocols.

State Providing COVID-19 Relief to Individuals and Businesses: Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law a package of immediate actions on Tuesday that will speed relief to individuals, families and businesses suffering the most significant economic hardship due to COVID-19. The legislation provides cash relief to lower-income Californians, increases aid to small businesses and provides license renewal fee waivers to businesses impacted by the pandemic. Following are its major provisions:

• Individuals and Families: Provides $600 in one-time relief to households receiving the California Earned Income Tax Credit for 2020. In addition, the agreement provides a $600 one-time payment to taxpayers with Individual Tax Identification Numbers (ITINs) who were precluded from receiving the $1,200 per person federal payments issued last spring and the more recent $600 federal payments. It also provides $600 payments to households with ITINs and income below $75,000. ITIN taxpayers who also qualify for the California EITC would receive a total of $1,200. The payments will be provided to these households shortly after they file their 2020 tax returns.
• Small Businesses: Provides grants of up to $25,000 for small businesses impacted by the pandemic and allocates $50 million of this total for non-profit cultural institutions.
• Bars and Restaurants: Provides 2 years of fee relief for restaurants and bars licensed through the state’s Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control. The action also reflects fee relief for more than 600,000 barbering and cosmetology individuals and businesses licensed through the Department of Consumer Affairs.
• Child Care: Addition of just over $400 million in new federal funds to provide stipends of $525 per enrolled child for all state-subsidized childcare and preschool providers.
• Community College Students: Provides an additional $100 million in emergency financial aid for qualifying low-income students carrying six or more units, with award amounts to be determined locally and made available by early April.

Inequities in COVID-19 Infections and Vaccines: L.A. County Department of Public Health (Public Health) on Wednesday reported the COVID-19 infections and deaths remain higher in lower-income communities and among people of color. Public Health also reported vaccination rates are lower in these communities.

It said that while cases are dropping overall, there remains a large gap between Latinx residents and other groups. For Latinx residents, daily age-adjusted rate of cases per 100,000 people peaked more than 2,400 new cases per 100,000 people in early January and has dropped to 453 new cases per 100,000 people as of February 12 but is still almost two times that of Black residents, who have the second highest case rate of nearly 234 new cases per 100,000 people. Asian residents and White residents have a case rate of around 180 new cases per 100,000 people.

While the mortality rate among Latino/Latinx residents has declined to 25 deaths per 100,000 people, Public Health said it remains more than double that of other groups. Vaccination trends are similar. White and Asian residents 65 and older continue to have the highest vaccination rates: 48% of White residents and almost 45% of Asian residents 65 and older have received at least one dose of the vaccine. Thirty-eight percent of American Indian/Alaska Native residents, 34% of Latinx residents and 29% of Black residents who are age 65 and older have received at least one dose.

L.A. County Continuing to Check Businesses for COVID-19 Compliance: The L.A. County Department of Public Health (Public Health) announced this week that its inspectors examine businesses every day to ensure compliance with the Los Angeles County Health Officer Order, identify violations and issue citations for businesses out of compliance. During Public Health's recent business compliance checks, inspectors noted restaurants with unapproved structures, tables less than eight feet apart, TVs turned on, staff without face shields and retail stores not monitoring occupancy.

To remain open, Public Health said all businesses are required to adhere fully with their sector specific protocols. From February 14 through February 18, Public Health reported that 36 citations were issued to businesses, including restaurants, food markets, gyms, personal care salons and shopping malls for noncompliance with Health Officer Orders. Since the end of August, it said a total of 1,025 citations have been issued.

Vaccine Update: L.A. County Department of Public Health reported this week that 77% of staff and 74% of residents at skilled nursing facilities received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine by February 14. Of these people who received first doses, 83% of staff and 79% of residents received their second dose. With many more staff and residents vaccinated, Public Health said new cases in skilled nursing facilities should continue to decline which will mean less outbreaks and less deaths.

In Hermosa Beach, 2734 residents, or about 16.7 percent of the City’s population have received the vaccine.

As of February 7, Public Health said the seven-day average number of daily cases associated with skilled nursing facilities dropped from over 100 just four weeks ago, to 5. As cases have decreased, the number of deaths among people at skilled nursing facilities has also dropped, and the current daily average number of deaths is 7. These facilities did not experience the same steep surge that the County experienced in December and January.

Los Angeles County will offer COVID-19 vaccines for workers in the following sectors on March 1 – Food and Agriculture, Education and Childcare, and Emergency Services and First Responders. Registration is required and workers will need to show proof of identification and proof of employment in a qualifying sector within Los Angeles County. With very limited vaccine supply and uncertainty on timing for increased production, a realistic and carefully developed plan for expanding vaccination availability to these additional sectors is being executed by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. For more info, visit www.bchd.org/covidvaccine.

City Manager’s COVID-19 Update: In case you missed it, City Manager Suja Lowenthal provided the City’s COVID-19 Update at Tuesday’s City Council meeting.

Los Angeles County Update: The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) has confirmed 132 new deaths and 2,072 new cases of COVID-19. To date, Public Health identified 1,187,474 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County and a total of 21,102 deaths.

There are 1,988 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized and 30% of these people are in the ICU. This is the first-time in three months that the daily number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 is less than 2,000 when there were 2,049 hospitalizations reported on November 29.

Public Health is reporting 10 additional cases of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), bringing the total cases in L.A. County to 100 children including one child death. L.A. County has experienced more than a 77% increase in children with MIS-C this past month; on January 23, Public Health reported 62 children with MIS-C. This increase in cases is a distressing delayed result of the surge we experienced in December and January. During the surge, there was a significant increase in children infected with COVID-19. Most children with MIS-C were infected with COVID-19 at some point prior to a MIS-C diagnosis.

All 100 children with MIS-C in L.A. County were hospitalized and 40% of the children were treated in the ICU. Of the children with MIS-C, 30% were under the age of 5 years old, 40% were between the ages of 5 and 11 years old, and 30% were between the ages of 12 and 20 years old. Latino/Latinx children account for 71% of the reported cases.

Unfortunately, another Hermosa Beach resident passed away due to COVID-19 complications this week, resulting in 11 total deaths in Hermosa Beach from this horrible virus. We send our deepest sympathies and condolences to the friends and families mourning a loved one who passed away from COVID-19. Our thoughts are with you during this challenging time.

Latest Facts and Figures

Jurisdiction - Reported Cases | Reported Deaths

• Hermosa Beach - 887 | 11
• L.A. County - 1,187,474 | 21,102
• California - 3,460,326 | 50,991
• United States - 28,138,938 | 503,587

*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.