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

Alert SouthBay Community Survey #3

The Alert SouthBay cities, including Rancho Palos Verdes, want to hear from you about your COVID-19 concerns and what kind of information you need and care about most. Take a moment to fill out a quick survey at the following link: surveymonkey.com/r/FMY7PY

County to Issue Childcare Vouchers

L.A. County today announced that $15 million in Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding has been allocated for child care vouchers to serve essential workers and low-income families in the County.

This allocation translates to three months of child care for 5,000 families.

The DPH Office for the Advancement of Early Care and Education will lead the funding distribution in partnership with the Los Angeles County Early Childhood Education COVID-19 Response Team - created in March to support essential workers, such as healthcare workers and first responders.

Families seeking early care and education services may access vouchers by calling 888-92-CHILD (888-922-4453). Income eligibility for these vouchers are set by the state.

New Temporary Special Use Permit for RPV Businesses

The Community Development Department has developed a new Temporary Special Use Permit (TSUP) to assist Rancho Palos Verdes businesses with the opportunity to provide limited outdoor operations during the COVID-19 pandemic. A TSUP will allow for outdoor operations on sidewalks and parking lots for:

Restaurants
Fitness centers
Hair salons and barbershops
Personal care services, such as nail salons, massage, and tattoo parlors

A TSUP will be processed administratively without a filing fee, public notification, or appeal process that is typically required for a standard Special Use Permit. For a complete list of operational requirements and permit limitations, please see the TSUP application at bit.ly/3gcLFME. For questions regarding the application or submittal requirements, please contact the Planning Division at 310-544-5228 or send an email to the Planning Division at planning@rpvca.gov.

Coming Soon: DPH Online Application for In-Person Learning Waiver

L.A. County's Department of Public Health (DPH) shared last week it was in the midst of developing an application process for schools interested in applying for a waiver that would allow in-classroom instruction for students in grades TK through grade 6.

Today, DPH announced the application will be online and available by the end of the week. Once available, waiver applicants will need to include the following with their applications:

A letter from the school district superintendent (or equivalent for private schools) requesting the waiver. The letter must include information about the number of students and staff that would be returning to classrooms, along with the anticipated schedules for in-classroom instruction.
Letters demonstrating consultation with key stakeholders (labor unions, parents and community-based partners) will need to be submitted with the application.
- Labor Unions - all labor unions with workers at schools applying to reopen will need to submit letters demonstrating consultation; if no labor union exists, a letter from organizations representing teachers and other staff will suffice. If no representative organization exists, a letter documenting consultation signed by the majority of teachers and other staff at the school (or schools) will be accepted.
The completion of L.A. County's Public Health K-12 School Reopening Protocol Checklist, which captures the school’s plans for opening in adherence with the health and safety directives required by the Health Officer Order.

Once received, DPH will review waiver applications in consultation with CDPH to assess regional data trends in COVID-19 cases and deaths, as well as capacity within the regional hospital system. DPH will work with school districts to ensure that when schools are re-opened, they are able to adhere to existing directives on distancing, infection control and managing outbreaks.

Stand by for news on the launch of this online application later this week.

Public Health Officials Monitor Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children

Today, the L.A. County Department of Public Health reported one additional case of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C). This brings the total cases of MIS-C in L.A. County to 16 children. Ten of these cases are among girls. The majority of cases (73%) were Latino/Latinx. No children with MIS-C in L.A. County have died.

MIS-C is a condition that has been affecting children under 21 years old across the country who may have been exposed to COVID-19 or had COVID-19. Different body parts can become inflamed, including the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes, or gastrointestinal organs and there can be lifelong health impacts.

Learn more about MIS-C on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website at cdc.gov/mis-c

New Law Provides Relief for Eligible Taxpayers Who Need Funds from IRAs and Other Retirement Plans

The Internal Revenue Service provided a reminder today that CARES Act can help eligible taxpayers in need by providing favorable tax treatment for withdrawals from retirement plans and IRAs and allowing certain retirement plans to offer expanded loan options.

Under the CARES Act, individuals eligible for coronavirus-related relief may be able to withdraw up to $100,000 from IRAs or workplace retirement plans before December 31, 2020, if their plans allow. In addition to IRAs, this relief applies to 401(k) plans, 403(b) plans, profit-sharing plans and others.

Learn more at: https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-new-law-provides-relief-for-eligible-taxpayers-who-need-funds-from-iras-and-other-retirement-plans

Governor Newsom Takes Action to Strengthen State Unemployment Insurance Delivery System

Today, Governor Gavin Newsom announced a series of actions to better serve workers that have experienced job loss during the COVID-19 pandemic, including the formation of an Employment Development Department (EDD) strike team, and a renewed focus on processing unpaid claims.

The strike team – which will be headed by Government Operations Agency Secretary Yolanda Richardson and Jennifer Pahlka, who co-founded the United States Digital Response, the United States Digital Service, and founded the Code for America – will create a blueprint for improvements at EDD, including a reimagining of their technology systems.

Further, EDD will begin addressing the backlog of unpaid claims by streamlining communications with consumers.

Since March, EDD has processed more than 8 million unemployment insurance claims and distributed more than $49 billion in unemployment benefits. EDD has implemented several federal benefits programs since the onset of the pandemic, created a seven-days-a-week new call center for customer technical assistance needs, and both redirected and hired thousands of staff to assist impacted Californians with information and resources.

Learn more at: https://www.gov.ca.gov/2020/07/29/governor-newsom-takes-action-to-strengthen-state-unemployment-insurance-delivery-system/

Tomorrow is Takeout Thursday!

The community is encouraged to join in the “Takeout Tuesdays and Takeout Thursdays” initiative launched by the Peninsula cities and the PVP Chamber of Commerce by posting on social media and inviting friends and neighbors to order takeout, using Tuesdays and Thursdays as a special reminder.

Residents are asked to show their support by ordering takeout or delivery, not only on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but on a regular basis throughout the coronavirus restrictions. Check the Open for Business page on the City website for a list of local restaurants offering takeout, delivery and curbside pickup.

Get Outdoors and Go on an Adventure with Agents of Discovery!

July is Park and Recreation Month! To celebrate, the City has teamed up with the California Park & Recreation Society and the Agents of Discovery mobile educational gaming platform to promote safe and healthy outdoor adventures and self-guided activities. RPV is one of 30 agencies participating in the Parks Make Life Better Campaign, which encourages young explorers, or “Agents,” to visit as many participating locations as possible to earn real-life and digital rewards. Although the campaign runs through July, the game is so popular in RPV, the City plans to continue to offer it through at least August.

Kids and their families can participate by downloading the Agents of Discovery app to access free “Missions” (games) at each of the participating locations. Missions are completed by solving educational “Challenges” (questions) created by the site’s interpreters in order to learn about local ecosystems, culture, and history.

To download the free Agents of Discovery app, go to Google Play or the App Store. Once downloaded, find the participating site’s Mission within the app and hit “Play” before you head out. No WiFi connectivity is required to download or play the Missions.

Cases

As of July 29, there are 183,383 confirmed cases of COVID-19 across Los Angeles County (population 10.17 million), 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 218 cases in Rancho Palos Verdes (population 41,731), 71 in Palos Verdes Estates (population 13,190), 31 in Rolling Hills Estates (population 8,066), five in Rolling Hills (population 1,874), and seven in the unincorporated areas of the Peninsula. Countywide, 4,516 people have died.

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.

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/