Dear Residents,

The City of Rancho Palos Verdes continues to monitor the spread of the novel coronavirus in Los Angeles County and would like to share the following updates with the community:

The Latest

Five Neighborhood Parks Partially Reopened

To provide residents with access to park space during the “Safer at Home” Order, at this time, the City has partially reopened five neighborhood parks on a trial basis. Only turf areas and walking paths are open in the following parks:

Eastview Park (excluding the dog park)
Frank A. Vanderlip Park
Fred Hesse, Jr. Community Park
Ladera Linda Park
Robert E. Ryan Community Park

The City encourages residents to participate in recreational outdoor activity in their neighborhoods. If you visit these parks, please do so responsibly, be mindful of your interactions and wear a face covering. All visitors MUST practice physical distancing, staying 6 feet away from others not in their household. City Staff, Park Rangers and law enforcement are monitoring these areas to ensure compliance with public health directives. Pursuant to the City Council’s March 17 local emergency proclamation, the City may close these areas if rules are not observed by the public and conditions become unsafe.

STILL CLOSED

Parking lots, restrooms, playgrounds, dog parks, basketball and tennis courts, baseball and soccer fields.
Beaches, open space areas, the Palos Verdes Nature Preserve, and trails

STILL NOT ALLOWED

Active sports or organized activities
Group gatherings or activities

The City is considering a comprehensive reopening plan of more of its parks and open space area over the next few weeks that is managed and responsible. To that point, the City recognizes the health and well-being of our residents and employees as a top priority, and is committed to keeping them safe. We urge all residents to follow the “Safer at Home” Order and only leave their homes for essential activities. We also urge the public to diligently practice physical distancing, as it is the most effective tool we have to fight this pandemic. We all must do our part to “flatten the curve.”

Cases

As of April 29, there are 22,485 confirmed cases of COVID-19 across Los Angeles County, including the South Bay, so the public should not think one location is safer than another and everyone should be aware and practice physical distancing. The total includes 58 cases in Rancho Palos Verdes, 37 in Palos Verdes Estates, 13 in Rolling Hills Estates and one in Rolling Hills. Countywide, 1,056 people have died.

According to the Department of Public Health, nine deaths have been reported in Rancho Palos Verdes. The City extends its deepest condolences to the families of these residents.

For clarification, prior to the launch of the COVID-19 Surveillance Dashboard this week, the Department of Public Health was not providing death data broken down by community, so City Staff was unaware of the true number of deaths in RPV. Without this information from the county, City Staff was only able to share reported deaths if confirmed by the resident’s family and/or media reports.

For a list of cases broken down by city, demographic characteristics, and settings, visit: http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/media/Coronavirus/locations.htm

An interactive dashboard of COVID-19 cases in the South Bay maintained by the City of Torrance is available at bit.ly/2XB1fv1. The dashboard reflects information sourced by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.

Governor Newsom Provides Update on California’s Pandemic Resilience Roadmap

On April 28, Governor Gavin Newsom, alongside California Department of Public Health Director and State Public Health Officer Dr. Sonia Angell, laid out an update on California’s Roadmap to Pandemic Resilience, which discusses how the state is planning its path forward – in phases based on science, health and data.

View the presentation at https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Update-on-California-Pandemic-Roadmap.pdf
View the Governor’s press conference at https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?v=524013811808326&ref=watch_permalink

The Journey – A Conversation About Mental Health in New, Uncertain Times

Join Beach Cities Health District and South Bay Families Connected for The Journey – A Conversation About Mental Health in New, Uncertain Times” with professional surfer and Rancho Palos Verdes native Alex Gray and local clinician Kevin Sousa, MFT. The meeting will be held via a live stream on Thursday, April 30 from 6:30-8 p.m. Live stream meeting information will be directly emailed to registered participants. Register at https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/60679fa998b8425890a328e65366c003

To learn more about the speakers, visit https://www.southbayfamiliesconnected.org/sbfc-virtual-events/alex-gray

New COVID-19 Surveillance Dashboard

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health has created an interactive dashboard that provides an overview of COVID-19 testing, cases and deaths, along with maps and graphs showing testing, cases and death data by community, poverty level, age, sex and race/ethnicity. To view Public Health's COVID-19 Surveillance Dashboard, visit: http://dashboard.publichealth.lacounty.gov/covid19_surveillance_dashboard/

New COVID-19 Symptoms Added to CDC List

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has added the following six symptoms to its list of COVID-19 symptoms: chills, repeated shaking with chills, muscle pain, headache, sore throat, new loss of taste or smell.

These are in addition to previously known symptoms of fever, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing.

When to Seek Medical Attention

If you have any of these emergency warning signs* for COVID-19, get medical attention immediately:

Trouble breathing
Persistent pain or pressure in the chest
New confusion or inability to arouse
Bluish lips or face

*This list is not all inclusive. Please consult your medical provider for any other symptoms that are severe or concerning to you.

Call 911 if you have a medical emergency: Notify the operator that you have, or think you might have, COVID-19. If possible, put on a cloth face covering before medical help arrives.

For more information, visit cdc.gov/COVID19

RPVtv’s “City Talk”

In the latest edition of RPVtv’s “City Talk” host Liz Brown Swanson has a virtual conversation with Mayor John Cruikshank about the City's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, its impact on the community, and other issues before the City Council, including Fiscal Year 2020-21 budget talks.

The episode will air daily on Cox 33/Frontier FiOS 38 and can be viewed on RPVtv's YouTube channel at youtu.be/iiubA41L67U

How to Cover Up Properly

Under the Safer at Home order, you must wear a cloth face covering anytime you're in close proximity to people outside of your household: like at the market, pharmacy, your essential job and on public transportation. Here are some tips for properly wearing and caring for your face covering.

Before putting on face covers, wash or sanitize your hands.
When putting on face covers, make sure it fully covers your nose and mouth.
While wearing face covers, avoid touching any part of your face.
While wearing face covers, do not pull down at any time.
Before taking off face covers, wash or sanitize your hands.
When done using face covers, fold OR store in a paper bag.
Machine wash face covers daily.
Discard face covers that do not cover nose/mouth OR have holes/tears.
Help children properly remove face covers.
And remember, cloth face coverings are NOT substitutes for staying home, washing your hands frequently, and maintaining physical distance.

Local Volunteer Match

Join PVPUSD School Board Member Linda Reid’s local volunteer match effort during the COVID-19 pandemic. About 40 volunteers have been linked with 100 isolated seniors needing help with grocery shopping and other errands.

If you're a parent, student or graduate of the Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District interested in participating in the volunteer match program, or an older resident needing support, contact Member Reid at reidl@pvpusd.net.

Find out more ways to help your community during the COVID-19 crisis by visiting the How You Can Help page on the City’s coronavirus webpage.

Closure Information

For a list of school, library, transit and other local closures, visit the Closure Information page on the City’s coronavirus webpage.

Open for Business

Need a list of Peninsula restaurants that are serving takeout and delivery? Or updated grocery store hours? Check out the Open for Business tab on the City’s coronavirus webpage. If you would like to add your business to this page or provide updated information, please email slee@rpvca.gov.

City Hall Closed

As a reminder, to reduce the risk of community spread of COVID-19, through at least May 15, City Hall and park buildings are closed to the public, and all recreational activities, classes and events at City facilities have been canceled. The City will primarily be providing essential city services that are necessary to protect the health, safety, and welfare of our community and City employees. To facilitate these measures, all non-essential staff will be working remotely. Inquiries will be reviewed daily and will be responded to on a case-by-case basis. Please note that our response to your inquiry could be delayed.

Community Development Department applications and permit requests may be submitted to planning@rpvca.gov.

Non-emergency service requests may be submitted at http://www.rpvca.gov/FormCenter/NonEmergency-Customer-Service-Requests-3/NonEmergency-Customer-Service-Requests-43.

Public Works service requests may be submitted at https://survey123.arcgis.com/share/6d13530e7ca84edbb5c4e022bdc54da8.

Please visit the appropriate department page on the City website for a list of phone numbers and email addresses to accommodate your needs:

City Manager
City Clerk
Community Development
Finance
Human Resources
Public Works
Recreation, Parks & Open Space
RPVtv

Overall Staff Directory

Resources

Always check with trusted sources for the latest accurate information about the novel coronavirus.

Los Angeles County Department of Public Health: publichealth.lacounty.gov/media/Coronavirus
California Department of Public Health: cdph.ca.gov/covid19
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): cdc.gov/COVID19
World Health Organization: who.int/coronavirus
California Governor’s Office: covid19.ca.gov
County of Los Angeles: lacounty.gov/covid19
L.A. County residents can also call 2-1-1
FEMA Coronavirus Rumor Control: https://www.fema.gov/Coronavirus-Rumor-Control

Sign up for “Notify Me” city listervs at rpvca.gov/notify

Be sure to also follow the City on Nextdoor, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Sign up for emergency alerts from Alert SouthBay by:

Texting “alertsb” to 888-777, which returns a link to register for Everbridge (for COVID-19-related alerts, text the keyword "cv19rpv")
Registering online at alertsouthbay.com
Downloading the free Everbridge app on an iOS or Android device from the App Store or Google Play. Select “Find an organization or subscription” and search “alertsb”

Sign up for emergency alerts from Alert LA County at https://lacounty.gov/emergency/alert-la/

The City Council is committed to keeping you informed on this ever-changing situation, and thanks you for your cooperation and support. The City reminds all residents that closures and cancellations announced by the City and other agencies and institutions are being implemented because public health officials advise that physical distancing is the best and most effective tool to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus.