Dear Residents,

The City of Rancho Palos Verdes continues to monitor the spread of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in Los Angeles County and would like to share the following updates with the community:

The Latest

 
Safer at Home Order Effective at Midnight
 
Tonight, Governor Gavin Newsom and the County of Los Angeles issued orders mandating that all residents stay home except for essential needs to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
 
Starting at midnight, everyone must stay home except for essential activities, such as buying food at markets or restaurants, seeking necessary medical care, caring for a relative or friend, going for a walk outside, or going to an essential job in the food, health care, government, and other specified industries.

• All indoor malls, indoor shopping centers, indoor and outdoor children's playgrounds, and non-essential retail businesses (as defined) must close.
• It is OK to go outside for walks if you are not in a group.
• Stay at least 6 feet apart when leaving your home for essential activities.
• All indoor and outdoor gatherings of 10 or more people are prohibited.
• For gatherings of fewer than 10 people, hosts or organizers must:
  • Implement social distancing, with six feet of separation;
  • Provide access to hand-washing facilities with soap and water or hand sanitizer that contains at least 60 percent alcohol;
  • Post a sign in a conspicuous place at the public entry to the venue instructing members of the public to not attend if they are experiencing symptoms of respiratory illness; including fever or cough.
• The County’s “Safer at Home” order is in effect until April 19, but may be extended at the discretion of public health officials.

 
Read the full order at bit.ly/396UnHT
 
The City reminds residents that the County has taken the extraordinary step of ordering the public to stay at home because social distancing is the best and most effective tool to prevent the spread of novel coronavirus. We must all do our part to “flatten the curve.”
 
Cancellation of Eggstravaganza and Whale of a Day Events
 
As a result of this order, the City’s Egg Hunt Eggstravaganza at Ladera Linda Community Center on April 11 and the Whale of a Day festival at the Point Vicente Interpretive Center on April 18 have been canceled.
 
Cases

As of today, there are 231 known cases of novel coronavirus across Los Angeles County, so everyone should be aware and practice social distancing. Two people have died. Although there are currently no confirmed cases in the City, the public should not think one location is safer than another.
 
For a list of cases broken down by city, visit: http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/phcommon/public/media/mediapubdetail.cfm?unit=media&ou=ph&prog=media&cur=cur&prid=2273&row=25&start=1
 
It’s important to note that the total number of confirmed cases that the Department of Public Health shares every day reflects a moment in time and may not include cases confirmed by commercial labs that have not yet been shared with the Department of Public Health. A commercial lab may share a positive result with a physician before the health department.
 

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 dedicated COVID-19 webpage, rpvca.gov/coronavirus
 

COVID-19 Resources for Californians

 
The California Governor’s Office has created a one-stop website for COVID-19 resources. Learn about how to stay healthy, resources available to Californians, including unemployment and paid sick leave, and more at covid19.ca.gov
 

COVID-19 Resources for L.A. County Residents

 
The County of Los Angeles has also created a website for local COVID-19 resources. Visit lacounty.gov/covid19 for the latest case information, answers to frequently asked questions, guidance on how to comply with the county’s order, resources for small businesses and more.
 

Utilities

The following utility companies will continue to provide services to the public:
 
Southern California Edison (SCE)
1-800-655-4555
sce.com
 
To support customers and families staying home from work and school during the current COVID-19 emergency, Southern California Edison (SCE) will be postponing all noncritical planned power outages while continuing with emergency outage work for public safety and wildfire mitigation. The following planned outages in the City will need to proceed because they are critical:

1. 1051383
2. 1052599
3. 1053530

Impacted customers should have received an SCE Outage Notification for the corresponding outage number. Customers can check the status of an outage by calling SCE at 1-800-655-4555 or by going to the SCE website and putting in their outage notification number here: https://www.sce.com/outage-center/maintenance-outages
 
SCE is also suspending service disconnections for nonpayment and waiving late fees, effective immediately, for residential and business customers impacted by the COVID-19 emergency. For more information, visit sce.com/billhelp.
 
California Water Service
310-257-1400
calwater.com
 
To minimize personal contact, Customer Center lobbies are closed until further notice. Cal Water assures that its tap water is safe from COVID-19, according to the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and that safeguards to protect water quality are effective to keep tap water safe from viruses, including COVID-19.
 
Southern California Gas Company
1-877-238-0092
socalgas.com
 
Branch Payment Offices will continue to operate regular business hours until further notice and are being cleaned daily. Some Authorized Payment Locations, located in grocery stores, may close their payment booth or reduce their payment hours due to increased traffic in grocery stores. Informaiton about additional payment options is available on the SoCalGas website.
 
In response to the coronavirus outbreak, SoCalGas is supporting its residential and small business customers by suspending service disconnections for customers who are having a hard time paying their bill. This policy will remain in effect until further notice. Please disregard any automated 48 hour shut off notice. Additionally, SoCalGas is waiving late payment fees for small business customers.
 
EDCO
310-540-2977
edcodisposal.com

Waste removal has been identified as a critical and essential service and as such, EDCO will continue regularly scheduled collection operations. As the impact of the COVID-19 situation is changing daily, please refer back to EDCO’s website for further updates for any operational changes.
 
EDCO’s Customer Service office is closed to walk-in traffic as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. You may contact customer service at 562-997-1122, by text at 562-203-0295, or by submitting a Contact Us form, for your EDCO business needs. If you have a need to visit in person, please contact EDCO to make an appointment. 
 
Cox Communications
1-800-234-3993
www.cox.com
 
Cox Communications has pledged not to terminate service to any residential or small business customer because of an inability to pay their bills due to disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic; to waive any late fees that residential or small business customers incur because of their economic circumstances related to the coronavirus pandemic; and to open Cox Wifi outdoor hotspots to help keep the public connected in this time of need. For information on addition relief offerings, visit cox.com.

How You Can Help

 
PVPUSD School Board Member Linda Reid is coordinating a volunteer effort to match up senior citizens needing errand/grocery/meal help in PV with volunteers. PVPUSD students, parents, and alums unexpectedly home from college will assist! Any older residents may email Member Reid at reidl@pvpusd.net to be matched up with a local volunteer during this difficult isolating time. 
 
Neighborhood Watch block captains are available to assist any and all individuals who would like some form of assistance at this time. Those who are not yet a part of Neighborhood Watch can contact Gail Lorenzen at rpvnw@ix.netcom.com
 
Blood Donations Needed
 
The American Red Cross faces a severe blood shortage due to an unprecedented number of blood drive cancellations during the coronavirus outbreak. There is no clinical evidence that COVID-19 is transmissible through blood. Healthy individuals are needed to donate now to help patients counting on lifesaving blood, platelets or AB Elite plasma.
 
The Red Cross also urges organizations to maintain scheduled blood drives. Donating is a safe process and people should not hesitate to give or receive blood or platelets. The Red Cross has implemented additional precautions to ensure the safety of its donors and staff.
 
This blood shortage could impact patients who need surgery, victims of car accidents and other emergencies, or patients fighting cancer. Learn how to donate at redcrossblood.org or by calling 1-800 RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767)

City Hall Closed

As a reminder, out of an abundance of caution to reduce the risk of community spread of COVID-19, for at least the remainder of March, City Hall and park buildings are closed to the public, and all recreational activities, classes and events at City facilities have been canceled. Advisory board meetings in March have also 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

For updates, resources and information on local closures, visit rpvca.gov/coronavirus.

Resources

Always check with trusted sources for the latest accurate information about 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
 
Sign up for “Notify Me” city listervs at https://www.rpvca.gov/list.aspx
 
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 social distancing is the best and most effective tool to slow the spread of coronavirus.