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

L.A. County Issues Reopening Protocols for Hair Salons, Barbershops and Personal Care Establishments Allowed to Offer Certain Services Outdoors

Today, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health issued reopening protocols for hair salons, barbershops and personal care establishments in the county. The following are highlights from the protocols, which have been updated to reflect new state guidance:

Hair Salons and Barbershops 

• Businesses must establish an outdoor reception area where customers can check in while still following physical distancing guidelines.
• Services that cannot be performed safely outdoors (or that would require a customer to have to enter the establishment) are not permitted.
  • For additional guidance on permissible outdoor services, see guidance from the California Department of Consumer Affairs.
  • For the latest from the Board of Barbering and Cosmetology, see a list of guidelines.
• Outdoor shaded areas can be configured to block wind, but cannot be enclosed or partially enclosed on more than one side.
• Businesses must comply with the Cal/OSHA standard for heat illness prevention for outdoor workers, including an effective heat illness prevention plan with written procedures on:
  • Access to water, shade, and cool down breaks; emergency procedures for heat illness cases; monitoring of employees who are acclimatizing during a heat wave; and training on heat illness prevention and symptoms
  • For resources (including Cal/OSHA FAQs, a webinar and a sample written plan), visit the Cal/OSHA heat illness prevention page.

• All establishments operating outdoors should have Cal/OSHA standard heat illness prevention plans and written procedures, as moving work outdoors creates additional hazards including the possibility of heat illness. 
• Businesses offering electrology, tattooing, microblading and permanent makeup, and piercing services may not operate outside because they are invasive procedures that require a controlled hygienic environment to be performed safely.
• Businesses must establish an outdoor reception area where customers can check in while still following physical distancing guidelines.
• Businesses which offer pedicures outdoors shall be limited to portable tubs/bowls and must be cleaned and disinfected with an EPA-registered liquid disinfectant that is labeled as a bactericide, fungicide and virucide (refer to manufacturer’s instruction on mixture). Disinfection should occur inside the nail salon and not in the temporary outdoor setting.

Visit DPH online at publichealth.lacounty.gov/media/Coronavirus to learn more.

Questions about moving your business operations outdoors?

If your RPV business is impacted by COVID-19-related closures and you have questions about moving your operations outdoors, please contact the Community Development Department at 310-544-5228 or planning@rpvca.gov.

L.A. County Extends Eviction Moratorium through September 30

Today, the L.A. County Board of Supervisors extended the countywide moratorium on evictions through September 30.

As a reminder, L.A. County’s eviction moratorium — which applies to Rancho Palos Verdes — prevents both residential and commercial tenants from being evicted for not paying their rent, for no-fault reasons, and other violations related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The board is set to consider establishing the protections in the county’s moratorium as the baseline for cities with their own moratoria on August 4.

In the interest of both property owners and tenants, the L.A. County Department of Consumer and Business Affairs (DCBA) has developed guidelines to help landlords understand the county’s temporary eviction moratorium and take proactive steps now. The guidelines, available at dcba.lacounty.gov/noevictions, include the following topics that owners should consider as they plan for the months ahead:

• Applicability for residential and commercial tenants
• How to determine reasonable financial impacts
• Notice requirements and documentation
• Guidance for repayment of rent once the moratorium is lifted
• Resolving disputes between landlords and tenants

DCBA also provides expanded foreclosure prevention assistance for landlords with 15 or fewer units. If you are a renter or property owner facing financial difficulty, contact DCBA to learn about available resources.

For more details, please contact a DCBA Rent Stabilization counselor by calling (833) 223-RENT (7368); email rent@dcba.lacounty.gov; or visit rent.lacounty.gov.

L.A. County CARES Act Spending Plan Provides $1.22 Billion to Fund Broad Range of COVID-19 Services and Support for Residents and Businesses

The L.A. County Board of Supervisors has approved a $1.22 billion spending package to fund a broad range of essential services and relief measures to assist people and businesses affected by the COVID-19 crisis.

The plan covers spending in four main areas:

• $656 million for public health measures including testing and contact tracing
• $200 million for financial support for residents in the form of assistance for rent relief, food and child care
• $160 million in grants to support small businesses
• $150 million to support the county workforce’s response to the emergency, including disaster services workers and personal protective equipment for employees

The plan also includes nearly $55 million to cover contingencies including potential health care system surges and other urgent needs that may emerge as the pandemic continues.
The comprehensive spending proposal allocates funding across a wide range of services. Major allocations include $226 million for community-based COVID-19 diagnostic testing and $100 million for rent relief to assist residents countywide.

Funds were also allocated to programs to assist vulnerable people during the crisis, including $148 million for Project Roomkey, which provides temporary housing to medically at-risk people experiencing homelessness.

Other allocations include $10 million allocated to the L.A. Regional Food Bank for food distribution events; $60 million to support other nutritional programs; $15 million for the Great Plates delivery program for seniors and medically at-risk adults; and $15 million for child care vouchers for low-income families and essential workers.

For a full list of program allocations, visit covid19.lacounty.gov/wp-content/uploads/FACT-SHEET-L.A.-County-CARES-Act-Coronavirus-Relief-Fund-Spending-Plan_02-002.pdf.

The ABCs of Contact Tracing

Contact tracing is a simple, confidential process that has been used by public health departments for decades to slow the spread of infectious diseases and avoid outbreaks.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, L.A. County has deployed nearly 1,600 contact tracers and an additional 900 are currently being trained. These trained specialists come from the Department of Public Health (DPH), as well other county departments, the state, and the City of Los Angeles. 

To help L.A. County flatten the COVID-19 curve, understand the ABCs of contact tracing:

• If you have tested positive for COVID-19, expect a contact tracer to contact you by phone to ask you about the places you have been, and the people you have been around while you were infectious. 
  • The people you tell us about will also be contacted, but will not be told your name or contact information. They will also be asked to stay home to help prevent others from getting sick.
• If you have been in contact with someone with COVID-19, expect a contact tracer to contact you by phone to ask you if you are experiencing any symptoms, have been tested, and to ask about places that you may have been to.
  • In order to avoid you getting mixed up with another person, please provide contact tracers with complete and correct information.
  • Contact tracers will provide you with information on next steps based on your responses. They may call you more than once to check how you are doing during your 14 days at home, and will provide you with information on how to find a doctor and/or access COVID-19 testing.
• Contact tracers will leave a call back number if necessary. If they cannot reach you by phone, they will send a letter.
• Please answer their calls and call them back if they leave a message. The information you provide is protected by HIPAA. To understand how important this is, hear from contract tracers in this video: vimeo.com/440071181

• Please note a contact tracer will never ask you for a social security number, payment, information about your finances, documented status, or detailed health information.
• L.A. County DPH has a hotline for confirmed cases of COVID-19. If you have not yet connected with a contact tracer, call the COVID-19 Case Info Line toll-free at 1-833-540-0473.

Contact tracing is an important tool for helping flatten the curve in L.A. County. And now that you know more about it, we hope you'll work closely with contact tracers, should they have a need to call you down the road.

For more information, visit covid19.lacounty.gov/contact-tracing.

Calling Young Inventors: The $1M Next-Gen Mask Challenge

The $1 million Next-Gen Mask Challenge aims to reimagine protective face masks used to prevent the spread of COVID-19 by making them more comfortable, functional, accessible, and even stylish. 

XPRIZE, a nonprofit organization that uses global competitions to crowdsource solutions to some of the world’s biggest challenges, has announced the launch of their Next-Gen Mask Challenge. The contest is an eight-month challenge, which is open to young adults from around the world ages 15 to 24, will invite future innovators to shift cultural perspective around mask-wearing behavior by developing the next generation of surgical-grade consumer face masks.

In the end, a grand prize winner plus two additional teams will be selected by a panel of judges and industry experts. The three teams will split a $1 million prize purse and will be connected to rapid manufacturing opportunities in the U.S. to accelerate the production of their reimagined facial masks.

Eligibility: Anyone ages 15-24
Participate as an individual or as a group.

Register at https://xprize.org/challenge/nextgenmask

Application Window Reopens for Grants of up to $15,000 for Small Businesses

This week, applications for the second round of funding from the L.A. Regional COVID-19 Recovery Fund opened for small businesses, nonprofits and micro-entrepreneurs facing unprecedented health and economic challenges due to COVID-19. Applications may be submitted for the second round of funding July 20 - July 24.

The L.A. Regional COVID-19 Recovery Fund aims to distribute: 1) $5,000 grants to micro-entrepreneurs and 2) $15,000 grants to non-profits and small businesses. Grants will be distributed through an equitable lottery system, to ensure equitable access to capital across various demographics in the Los Angeles region.

Register for an upcoming webinar to learn more about eligibility and deadlines at lacovidfund.org/events.

Access a full list of local partners providing technical assistance by visiting the LA Regional COVID-19 Recovery Fund website. For more information, visit lacovidfund.org. 

Cases

According to the Department of Public Health, 12 deaths have been reported in Rancho Palos Verdes. The City extends its deepest condolences to the families of these residents.

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

For an interactive dashboard with maps and graphs showing testing, cases and death data by community, poverty level, age, sex and race/ethnicity visit: http://dashboard.publichealth.lacounty.gov/covid19_surveillance_dashboard/

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.

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/