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

Be Part of RPVtv’s #RPVTogether PSA

The City invites residents to join us in thanking all of our frontline workers, as well as community members who have stepped up to help our neighbors in need during the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
Share your photo, video or message of gratitude on social media with the hashtag #RPVTogether to be included in a special community public service announcement that will air on RPVtv. Submissions may also be emailed to mbarnes@rpvca.gov.
 
We are all in this together, RPV.

May 3-9 is Wildfire Preparedness Week

During these unprecedented times, now more than ever, our firefighters need us to do our part to prevent and prepare for wildfire. Did you know RPV is the most populated city in the state with 90% or more of residents living in a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone?

While you’re staying home, take time to educate yourself on tips and best practices to safeguard your home and prepare your family.

• Download the L.A. County Fire Department’s “Ready! Set! Go!” Personal Wildfire Action Plan at fire.lacounty.gov/rsg
• Check out more tips for hardening your home at readyforwildfire.org/prepare-for-wildfire/get-ready/hardening-your-home/
  
• Purchase or make an emergency kit (check the “Ready! Set! Go!” Personal Wildfire Action Plan for what to include in it).
  
• Make an evacuation plan and practice it with your family.
• Sign up for Alert SouthBay emergency notifications by texting “alertsb” to 888-777, visiting alertsouthbay.com, or downloading the Everbridge app.
• Reach out to the RPV Emergency Preparedness Committee about how to create a plan and be prepared for a wildfire https://www.rpvca.gov/167/Emergency-Preparedness-Committee
• Find more resources at readyforwildfire.org

Be prepared, RPV!

RPVtv’s “Around the Peninsula” – Helping Seniors through COVID-19

In the latest virtual edition of RPVtv’s "Around the Peninsula" co-hosts Liz Brown Swanson and Maria Serrao highlight resources being provided to seniors living on the Palos Verdes Peninsula during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Special guests include Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School Board Member Linda Reid and former Rancho Palos Verdes Mayor Ann Shaw, who are leading efforts to provide much-needed services for seniors. Also meet Maria's mom, a "super senior" who is making masks for those in need.

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

Cases

As of May 5, there are 27,815 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 67 cases in Rancho Palos Verdes, 38 in Palos Verdes Estates, 13 in Rolling Hills Estates and two in Rolling Hills. Countywide, 1,313 people have died.

According to the Department of Public Health, 10 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.

Key Measures for Relaxing the “Safer at Home” Order

As the County of Los Angeles plans on soon reopening some businesses and getting people back to work, Public Health is tracking key measures that inform reopening plans in L.A. County to ensure it is safe and we still slow the spread of COVID-19. The measures include making sure we have the tools to slow the spread and that we are effective at slowing the spread.
 
Capacity to Slow the Spread

• Tracking hospital capacity to manage a surge in cases and people with serious illness.
• Tracking sufficient supply of PPE for all health care workers.
• Tracking sufficient testing capacity and testing supplies.
• Tracking adequate capacity to do case and contact tracing.

• Tracking mortality rates throughout the process of reopening, including by age, poverty level and race and ethnicity.
• Tracking hospitalization rates by age, poverty level, and race/ethnicity.
• Tracking whether people who are at greater risk of serious illness are able to easily access testing.

Public Health continues planning for recovery and relaxing select directives of the Safer at Home Order. As relaxing occurs, businesses and residents will need to continue to observe and practice physical distancing requirements and infection control precautions. Physical distancing, wearing cloth face coverings, frequent hand washing, self-isolation and self-quarantine will continue to be very important throughout the foreseeable future. People who have underlying health conditions will still be at much greater risk for serious illness from COVID-19, so it will continue to be very important for our vulnerable residents to stay at home as much as possible, to have groceries and medicine delivered, and to know to call their providers immediately if they have even mild symptoms.

Local Volunteer Match

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.