South Bay Leader

City of Hermosa Beach issued the following announcement on Dec.17

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.

Hermosa Beach’s New COVID-19 Diagnoses More than Doubled Since Thanksgiving: Hermosa Beach -- along with the rest of Los Angeles County -- has experienced a surge in COVID-19 diagnoses since Thanksgiving. Today, the L.A. County Department of Public Health reported a total of 476 COVID-19 diagnoses in Hermosa Beach since the start of the pandemic. That includes 142 new diagnoses in Hermosa Beach since Thanksgiving Day, which was 3 weeks ago. That is more than twice as many new cases as were reported in Hermosa Beach in the preceding 3-week period: Hermosa Beach added 63 confirmed cases from Nov. 5 to Nov. 26, according to L.A. County Department of Public Health records. 

The Department said people gathering for the Thanksgiving holidays contributed to the surge in COVID-19 cases and reported today that the Southern California ICU capacity has fallen to 0%. Public Health is urging everyone to avoid gathering with those outside of your household for the holidays this year. People were also asked to continue to practice physical distancing, wear a mask over their noses and mouths when in public and stay home when ill.   

City Councilmember Michael Detoy Shares COVID-19 Experience: City Councilmember Michael Detoy who, as a Fire Captain, has been exposed to COVID-19 several times since March, first shared that he had tested positive for the virus during the Dec. 8 City Council meeting. He has since recovered and now shares his and his family’s experience with COVID-19 on his Facebook page. 

Shop Locally and Safely This Holiday Season: If you have holiday shopping still on your to do list this weekend, many Hermosa Beach stores are offering expanded online shopping, local delivery and curbside pickup options for added convenience and safety. Under LA Public Health Protocols for retail allow 20% capacity to facilitate social distancing for those planning to support our local businesses by shopping in-person. A Hermosa Beach Local Gift Guide and directory of local businesses are available on the Hermosa One website.  

Street Sweeping Enforcement Suspended for the Holidays: The City will take a holiday break in street sweeping enforcement. There will be no street sweeping enforcement from December 24 to January 3. Street sweeping enforcement will resume on Monday, Jan. 4, 2021. The City also is providing free holiday parking through Dec. 25 at marked street meters in Hermosa Beach’s downtown and commercial zones up to the posted time limits. Please note that only meters wrapped in red festive holiday meter-covers will be part of this program, and that the current 2-hour and 3-hour time limits will still be enforced according to posted signage. All other parking enforcement remains in effect. 

Holiday Schedules for City Operations: Following are the holiday schedules for City operations:  

• City Hall and the Community Center remain closed to the public. Many services are available online, and staff are available to assist during normal business hours, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday. 
• The Police and Fire Departments remain open. To report an emergency, please call 9-1-1. For non-emergencies, please call (310) 524-2750.
• Trash collection on Christmas Day, Dec. 25, and New Year’s Day, Jan. 1, 2021, will be postponed by one day. The holiday tree recycling bin located at 8th and Valley Drive will be available starting on Dec. 26.
• The Kelly Courts, Community Center Tennis Courts, Skate Park and Community Center offices will be closed all day on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.

COVID-19 Vaccine Has Arrived in L.A. County: The L.A. County Department of Public Health reported on Wednesday that initial allocations of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines have arrived in Los Angeles County. All nine designated sites have received their allotment of the almost 83,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. Each of these nine prepositioned sites worked with Public Health to arrange for the redistribution of vaccines so that every acute care hospital across Los Angeles County that treats COVID-19 patients receives a pro-rata share of this initial allocation. Acute care hospitals have begun or will soon begin the process of administering the vaccinations to their staff members who are at highest risk of exposure to the virus. The first round of COVID-19 vaccines in LA County are going to the frontline healthcare workers who have been putting themselves at risk to care for others. A second allotment of Pfizer vaccine is anticipated to arrive next week and will be used to vaccinate additional healthcare workers at acute care hospitals.

Second COVID-19 Vaccine Approved by FDA Advisory Committee: A second COVID-19 vaccine, the Moderna vaccine, was endorsed by the FDA’s Advisory Committee today. Based on the publicly released findings of the vaccine trial, L.A. County Department of Public Health announced today that it is hopeful the vaccine will receive Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) very soon. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory Committee on Immunizations Practices is scheduled to meet this weekend to discuss the recommended use of the Moderna vaccine and will also vote on additional priority populations to receive it. If the Moderna vaccine receives EUA, the Department said that doses of this vaccine should arrive in L.A. County next week as well. These doses will be used to vaccinate residents and staff at skilled nursing facilities and frontline EMS responders.

L.A. County Offers Headspace App for Free: Headspace and the LA County Department of Mental Health have partnered to provide support and resources during this challenging time. Sign up to access meditations, as well as sleep and movement exercises, designed to help you care for your mind — all free through 2020. You can also scroll through to explore a special collection curated for L.A. Headspace mindfulness and meditation exercises are meant to be a source of strength and comfort. If you or someone you know is having difficulty coping with the added stress, the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health can provide additional support at any time. Please call 800-854-7771 or visit DMH.LACounty.gov

L.A. County Makes PPE Available for Free to Small Businesses: L.A. County is making free personal protective equipment (PPE) available to small businesses through The PPE Unite™ program. This public and private partnership program creates access to PPE, promotes PPE use and provides additional resources for businesses. To qualify, a business must have fewer than 100 employees, be located in L.A. County and operate as a sole proprietor, partnership, LLC, C or S-corp, or micro-business. The business also must not have received any PPE through this program in the past. To get a 30-day supply of free Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), please visit The PPE Unite website.  

Los Angeles County Update: The L.A. County Department of Public Health (Public Health) has confirmed 102 new deaths and 14,418 new cases of COVID-19. To date, Public Health identified 580,325 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County and a total of 8,664 deaths.

There are 4,864 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized and 20% of these people are in the ICU. In the last two days the number of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 has increased by more than 450 people.

Latest Facts and Figures

Jurisdiction - Reported Cases | Reported Deaths

• Hermosa Beach -  476 | 4
• L.A. County - 580,325 | 8,664
• California - 1,723,362 | 21,860
• United States - 16,756,581 | 306,427

*All reported data is from the close of the previous day.

Original source can be found here.