City Of Hermosa Beach Coronavirus Update For August 3, 2020

Press release from the City of Hermosa Beach:

August 3, 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.

Local Updates

Reminder: Face Coverings Required at All Times in Crowded Areas in Hermosa Beach: A reminder that the City Council enacted an urgency ordinance last Tuesday that requires face coverings be worn at all times in the more crowded parts of the City. These areas include Downtown Hermosa Beach, all City Parks, the Strand, Greenbelt and Beach when out of the water. The ordinance also reinforces the L.A. County requirement to wear a face covering any time someone may be in close contact with non-household members in all other locations in the City. In addition, it imposes administrative fines for violations, rather than a misdemeanor. The City is working on hiring additional personnel to help enforce the ordinance and expects health code enforcement officers to be in place by this weekend. For more information about the ordinance, please see the City’s press release.

HBCSD to Release Reopening Schools Plan on August 7: Based on the Governor’s guidance on safe schools and learning during COVID-19, the Hermosa Beach City School District (HBCSD) will be starting the school year in distance learning and will issue The Reopening Schools Plan on Friday, August 7. This plan will include the hybrid and distance learning models, schedules, safety information and other relevant details about the local 2020-2021 school year. For more information, please see the HBSCD announcement.

Citywide Summer Sale - Now through Thursday August 6th: Downtown Hermosa Business Association (DHBA) in partnership with the Hermosa Beach Chamber of Commerce, Truly Hermosa and HermosaOne.com, has extended the Citywide Hermosa Beach Summer Sale featuring more than 100 Hermosa retailers through Thursday August 6th. The Summer Sale will feature two options to shop: online from the comfort of home at HermosaOne.com, and safely in person for those ready to mask up and hit the streets. For more information, visit the Citywide Hermosa Beach Summer Sale event page.

Los Angeles Regional COVID Fund Offers COVID-19 Recovery Grants: The Los Angeles Regional COVID Fund will provide grants of $5K to micro-entrepreneurs and $15K for small businesses and nonprofits affected by the ongoing unprecedented economic pressures caused by COVID-19. The program will also offer loans, coaching, and technical assistance in multiple languages. Applications for the third round of funding opened August 3 and will close August 7. To apply online or for more information, visit www.lacovidfund.org or call (833) 238-4450.

L.A. County Public Health Department Reports Cautious Optimism Due to Slowed Spread of COVID-19: The L.A. County Department of Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer expressed cautious optimism in her report today, saying community spread of COVID-19 in L.A. County has slowed and other key indicators are stabilizing. She said the positive trends can be attributed to a variety of things, including the decreased opportunities for transmission, particularly in high-risk settings due because of the closure of bars and requirements that restaurants, fitness centers, retail and other businesses and institutions move outdoors.

The L.A. County Department of Public Health today reported 12 new deaths and 1,634 new cases of COVID-19. To date, Public Health has identified 193,788 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County, and a total of 4,701 deaths. The County reported five additional COVID-19 cases in Hermosa Beach since the City’s last update this past Thursday, bringing the City’s total to 151 COVID-19 diagnoses and 2 COVID-19 related deaths since the start of the pandemic.

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.

State & Federal Updates

Stimulus Negotiations Set to Resume This Week: With the $600 federal enhanced unemployment benefit lapsing last week, stimulus negotiations are set to resume this week as COVID-19 continues to affect the national economy.

CDC Issues Toolkit for K-12 Schools: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued an updated Toolkit for K-12 Schools for parents, teachers and students to help inform decisions, protect students and staff and communicate with communities about the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Global Coronavirus Figures: There are more than 18.1 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 worldwide since the start of the pandemic, and over 690,000 COVID-19 related deaths have occurred across the globe as of August 3, according to Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.

Latest Facts & Figures*

Jurisdiction - Reported Cases | Reported Deaths

• Hermosa Beach - 151 | 2
• L.A. County - 193,788 | 4,701
• California - 514,901 | 9,388
• United States - 4,649,102 | 154,471

*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.