City Of Hermosa Beach Coronavirus Update For August 17, 2020

Press release from the City of Hermosa Beach:

August 17,2020

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.

Face Coverings Enforcement Increased: Health Enforcement Officers were out over the weekend enforcing the urgency ordinance the Hermosa Beach City Council enacted on July 28, which requires face coverings in Downtown Hermosa Beach, all City parks and on the Greenbelt, Strand, Pier Plaza and the beach when out of the water. The Health Enforcement Officers have been patrolling these areas daily since August 8 and over the weekend made contact with over 600 individuals. Between Friday and Sunday enforcement officers issued 343 warnings and 188 citations. Individuals without masks were also offered a mask and approximately 70 masks were distributed over the weekend. The Health Enforcement Officers initially issued many more warnings than tickets. But they have now shifted to emphasizing enforcement of the order that has been in effect for nearly 3 weeks. The City’s urgency ordinance is in addition to the State and County Public Health Orders that require people to wear face coverings in public when they cannot maintain at least 6 feet of physical distance. Face coverings are required to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

In Case You Missed It: City Manager and Beach Cities Health District COVID-19 Updates: At the last City Council meeting, City Manager Suja Lowenthal provided an update on the City’s COVID-19 response, and Beach Cities Health District Provided a PowerPoint presentation on COVID-19 in the South Bay.

Community Reminder - L.A. County Launches $100 Million COVID-19 Rent Relief Program Today: In an effort to assist renters with limited means affected by the COVID-19 crisis, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has provided $100 million in CARES Act funds to create a COVID-19 Rent Relief program to assist between 8,000 to over 9,000 households. The program is operated by the Los Angeles County Development Authority (LACDA) and launched today. Applications will be accepted for the next two weeks, ending on August 31. A list of Frequently Asked Questions with more program details are available at rentrelief.lacda.org.

Community COVID-19 Testing Reminder: As a reminder to residents, the nearest Los Angeles County COVID-19 Test Site is located at the Beach Cities Health District campus at 514 North Prospect Avenue in Redondo Beach. L.A. County is encouraging residents to first contact their Primary Care Provider or Healthcare Center. COVID-19 tests are free and available to all residents of L.A. County at County testing sites. Due to recent expansion, County-supported testing sites will have the capacity to test up to 55,000 residents a week. To sign up for a test at an open location, visit L.A. County’s testing scheduling platform. The County’s main hub page will continue to provide updated information and resources and link users to the new platform.

L.A. County Continues to See Decreases and Stabilization of Key Indicators: The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health continues to see decreases and stabilization of key indicators, including daily hospitalizations and deaths. There are 1,341 confirmed cases currently hospitalized and 33% of these people are confirmed cases in the ICU. In the last month, daily hospitalizations have decreased by 37%, from 2,219 in mid-July to 1,388 in mid-August. Today, Public Health reported 19 new deaths and 1,185 new confirmed cases of COVID-19. In late July, the average daily reported deaths was 43. Now, in mid-August, Public Health is seeing an average of 30 reported deaths per day.

To date, Public Health has identified 223,131 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County, and a total of 5,273 deaths. The County reported 6 additional COVID-19 cases in Hermosa Beach since the City’s last update this past Thursday, bringing the City’s total to 178 COVID-19 diagnoses and 3 COVID-19 related deaths since the start of the pandemic.

CDC COVID-19 Forecast Projects Between 180,000-200,000 Deaths By September 5: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) weekly national ensemble forecast predicts that between 180,000 to 200,000 total COVID-19 deaths will be reported by September 5. More than 5.3 million cases and nearly 170,000 fatalities have been reported in the United States as of August 17.

Global Coronavirus Figures: There are nearly 22 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 worldwide since the start of the pandemic, and more than 772,000 COVID-19 related deaths have occurred across the globe as of August 17, according to Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.

Latest Facts & Figures*

Jurisdiction - Reported Cases | Reported Deaths

• Hermosa Beach - 178 | 3
• L.A. County - 223,131 | 5,273
• California - 628,031 | 11,242
• United States - 5,382,125 | 169,350

*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.

Information regarding coronavirus is changing frequently, and the City will provide the latest information about COVID-19 and links to resources on our website. To stay informed, please sign up for Hermosa Beach eNotifications, public safety alerts or follow the City on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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