City Of Hermosa Beach Coronavirus Update For September 17, 2020

Press release from the City of Hermosa Beach:

September 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.

COVID-19 Update Switching to Thursdays Only: The City of Hermosa Beach is changing its COVID-19 Updates to once per week on Thursdays. The City will continue to provide other updates via social media, its website and email communications. To ensure receipt of all the City’s news, please sign up for the City’s e-Notifications and for emergency notifications.

City Business Tax Relief for Hermosa Beach Businesses Closed Because of the Pandemic: The City Council will meet at 6 p.m. Tuesday night and, among other matters, be asked to ratify an Executive Action that deferred Hermosa Beach business taxes that were due March 31 and also waived those taxes for any businesses that ceased all business operations between March 16-31, 2020 and that have been closed or remain closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The City business taxes are deferred until the businesses resume operations and the taxes due will be prorated until the businesses’ next tax payment anniversary date. For more information, including how to qualify for the tax deferral and waivers, please see Executive Order No. 2020-12.

Hermosa Beach Police Department Offers New Online Reporting System: The Hermosa Beach Police Department is offering a new online reporting tool to submit police reports for certain non-emergency incidents. Filing an online report is not appropriate for all incidents. But it can be used to report vandalism, property theft (under $950 in value), identity theft, lost property, custody order violations or harassing phone calls that occur within the City of Hermosa Beach. If the category of incident you are trying to report is not listed in the selection list, please call the Hermosa Beach Police Department station at 310-318-0360 for further directions. If you have an emergency, dial 9-1-1. For the non-emergency dispatcher to have an officer respond, the number to call is 310-524-2750.

Hermosa Beach Dog Licenses Available Online: Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, City Hall remains closed, so pet owners are encouraged to purchase or renew their 2021 dog licenses online. They can also be obtained by mailing the required documents to the City of Hermosa Beach, Dog License Renewal, 1315 Valley Dr., Room 101, Hermosa Beach, CA 90254. The City requires dog licenses for dogs that are four months and older. Dog licenses also provide proof of ownership and help to quickly reunite dogs with their owners. For more information, please call the Finance Cashier at 310-318-0251 or 310-318-0217.

Businesses Asked to Answer Survey about COVID-19 Impacts: Beach Cities Health District, in partnership with the Beach Cities chambers of commerce, is asking local businesses to answer a survey about how COVID-19 has affected businesses’ operations and what additional resources they may need during the pandemic.

L.A. County Continues to be in Tier 1: Gov. Gavin Newsom introduced the state’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy in August, which is a four-tier framework by which counties are measured for loosening or tightening restrictions on social activities and business operations. L.A. County Department of Public Health’s statement on Wednesday said the County continues to be in the State’s Tier 1, or purple status, which represents “widespread” risk, with the most severe restrictions. The Department said this is due to the adjusted daily case rate of 8.1 cases per 100,000 residents. To move to Tier 2, which would lead to opening up more of the economy, the County's case rate needs to be less than 7 new cases a day per 100,000 residents for 2 consecutive weeks. The County's test positivity rate is 3.2 percent, which places the County in Tier 3 for this metric. However, the State places Counties in the most restrictive Tier when the metrics fall in two different tiers, so the County remains in Tier 1 because of the daily case rate.

L.A. County COVID-19 Update and Flu Shot Reminder: The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) reported today 38 new deaths and 1,160 new cases of confirmed COVID-19. To date, Public Health has identified 257,271 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County and a total of 6,324 deaths. There are 780 people currently hospitalized with COVID-19 and 31% of these people are in the ICU. The number of daily hospitalizations has returned to levels seen early in the pandemic. In Hermosa Beach, the Department reported a total of 203 confirmed cases and 4 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic.

Because it is highly likely that both flu and COVID-19 will be present in L.A. County this year, Public Health advises residents to protect themselves from the flu by getting the flu immunization. Every year, tens of thousands of people nationwide are hospitalized or die from flu-related illness. Considering the toll COVID-19 has had on our healthcare system, now more than ever it is important to be protected from influenza by getting immunized. Not only is getting immunized important because it is safe and provides protection against the harmful effects of influenza, it can also help keep people out of the hospital which will conserve hospital resources that may be taxed with both influenza and COVID-19 circulating at the same time. You can get the flu immunization from your regular health care provider or local pharmacy. Flu immunizations are also provided at no-cost or low-cost at various locations throughout the County. Please visit LA County Department of Public Health for more information on where you can get immunized for the flu.

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