The Latest

COVID-19 Community Updates Coming to End

The City of Rancho Palos Verdes continues to monitor the latest COVID-19 public health guidance and vaccine information from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, the California Department of Public Health, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

In light of the statewide reopening and the lifting of most restrictions, the City will discontinue the weekly COVID-19 Community Updates newsletter in July. But don’t worry, any major updates will be shared on the Breaking News listserv, the City’s social media channels and in the City Manager’s Weekly Administrative Report. Be sure to follow the City on Nextdoor, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

We’ll also continue to maintain rpvca.gov/coronavirus, the City’s hub for COVID-19 information and resources. As always, thanks for reading, and the City is here for your questions and concerns.

Reopening RPV

The City of Rancho Palos Verdes is finalizing its post-reopening plans for City Hall and City facilities. Stay tuned for updates on public counters, City Council and committee meetings, facility rentals, and more. In the meantime, City Hall remains open to the public with masks and physical distancing.

What You Need to Know About Reopening

On Tuesday, L.A. County reached a significant milestone with almost all sectors and businesses being able to return to usual operations with some limited exceptions.
There are many updates to protocols and guidance help L.A. County continue to reopen and recover safely from the COVID-19 pandemic. An updated Health Order was released that rescinds most L.A. County Department of Public Health sector-specific protocols and aligns with the State Beyond the Blueprint for Industry and Business Sectors and orders of the State Public Health Officer.

It's important to note that the Health Order urges everyone, especially those who are not or cannot be vaccinated against COVID-19, to continue to exercise caution and good judgment as physical distancing requirements and capacity limitations are removed.

For more information on reopening including masks, traveling, and best practices in the workplace, visit the county’s new webpage at ReopeningLACounty.com.

Mask Requirements Lifted for Most Workers

Following state action today, most Californians who are vaccinated against COVID-19 will no longer have to wear masks at work.

Physical distancing requirements will also be lifted (except in the event of a major outbreak) under new workplace rules approved by the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board. Normally, the board’s decision would be followed by a 10-day review period, but due to an executive order signed by Governor Gavin Newsom, the new rules will take effect as soon as they are filed with the Secretary of State.

Under the standards, unvaccinated employees will be required to wear a mask indoors and in vehicles, unless they are alone or eating. Unless they show symptoms, fully vaccinated employees do not need to be offered testing or be excluded from work after close contact with a COVID-19-positive person. Employers must provide masks to employees upon request at no cost and have N95 respirators available for unvaccinated employees upon request. Partitions will no longer be required for areas where physical distancing is not possible. Employers should maximize the amount of outside air flowing into buildings.

Masks are still required for everyone, regardless of vaccination status, in public transit and in transportation hubs, indoors in K-12 schools, childcare and other youth settings, healthcare settings, including long-term care facilities, state and local correctional facilities and detention centers, and homeless shelters, emergency shelters, and cooling centers.

Get vaccinated for a chance to win tickets to Pepe Aguilar at the Staples Center and Universal Studios Hollywood!

Beginning tomorrow, Friday, June 18 to next Thursday, June 24 at L.A. County-run vaccination sites, participating L.A. city and mobile sites, and St. John’s Well Child and Family Center sites, everyone 18 and older coming to get their first vaccine or who brings a first-time vaccine recipient with them to their second dose appointment, will have an opportunity to win one of three prizes: two 17-ticket packages to see Pepe Aguilar at the Staples Center this November, and one VIP Experience for 20 people at Universal Studios Hollywood. The Clippers, Rams, and Chargers ticket vaccination sweepstakes is currently in effect through tonight, June 17. Some vaccination sites are open as late as 8 p.m. Find official rules and participating site locations at: bit.ly/3hDMPo

Governor Newsom Announces New Vax for the Win California Dream Vacations

Earlier this week, Governor Gavin Newsom announced a new Vax for the Win California Dream Vacations giveaway in partnership with Visit California to thank Californians for doing their part to get vaccinated and encourage them to revisit the state’s landmark destinations this summer.

On July 1, all Californians aged 18 and older who are at least partially vaccinated will have the chance to win in a randomized drawing for one of six different vacation packages to California’s gateway destination cities, including Anaheim, Greater Palm Springs, Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco. Californians selected in the Dream Vacations drawing will also receive $2,000 to offset travel expenses. The six trip packages include:

Discover the Best of Anaheim package for four
Greater Palm Spring Luxury package for two
Premium Los Angeles Experience for four
San Diego Beach Dream Vacation for four
San Diego Downtown Dream Vacation for four
San Francisco “Our Gate Is Open” Welcome Package for four

Details on the Dream Vacations packages and other Vax for the Win giveaways can be found at covid19.ca.gov/vax-for-the-win.

ICYMI: L.A. County Reopening Town Hall

In case you missed it, you can watch the L.A. County Department of Public Health’s recent virtual town hall on the June 15 reopening on YouTube at: youtu.be/OvRLunPgdLk. Get the latest updates and hear public health officials answer questions from the public.

COVID-19 Vaccine FAQs: Will UCs and CSUs require a COVID-19 vaccine?

In the interest of maintaining the health and safety of students, employees, guests and all members of campus communities, the California State University (CSU) joined the University of California (UC) in announcing that the universities intend to require faculty, staff and students who are accessing campus facilities at any university location to be immunized against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. This requirement will be conditioned upon full approval of one or more vaccines by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), as well as adequate availability of the fully approved vaccines. This requirement will become effective at the beginning of the fall 2021 term, or upon full FDA approval of the vaccine, whichever occurs later.

Source: CSU

For more FAQs, visit the Beach Cities Health District’s COVID-19 vaccine webpage at bchd.org/covidvaccine.

Did you know?

COVID-19 can’t mutate into more dangerous forms (variants) if we’re able to stop it from replicating. How do we do this? By vaccinating widely. As more people get vaccinated, the virus has fewer chances to replicate and mutate into more dangerous forms, which helps us get closer to community immunity. Visit VaccinateALL58.com for more COVID-19 facts and vaccine scheduling.

Citation: CDC

COVID-19 Data Dashboard

Interested in the City's COVID-19 case and vaccination rates? Check out L.A. City Controller Ron Galperin’s COVID-19 Dashboard. Zoom in on the map, click anywhere within the City's borders and the most recent data will show. The dashboard has replaced the list of daily totals for L.A. County and the Peninsula on the City’s COVID-19 information webpage, rpvca.gov/coronavirus. It is best viewed on desktop or laptop computer, and in landscape mode on your mobile device.

Renter Resources

Emergency Tenant Protections Set to Expire June 30: What Happens Next?

On June 30, emergency tenant protections are set to expire. That means, unless the protections are extended, you will have to go back to paying your full rent on time each month to avoid eviction. Lawmakers are considering an extension and may extend tenant protections past June 30, but it’s important for you to know your rights as a tenant and be prepared. When you know your rights, landlords are less likely to harass you or file evictions they know you have a defense to.

To be protected from eviction for unpaid back rent, you’ll need to do the following:

Pay 25% of the rent that was due between September 2020 and June 2021 by June 30, 2021
AND have submitted declaration forms for each month you were unable to pay rent from March 2020 through June 2021.

If you do these two things, your landlord cannot legally evict you. However, they may still decide to file an eviction case against you. Should that happen, taking these steps will give you a defense in court.

Once the protections expire, any unpaid rent that was due between March 2020 and June 2021 must be paid within 12 months (July 1, 2022). No late fees can be charged on that amount, and you cannot be legally evicted, but your landlord can sue you in small claims court to collect the unpaid rent.

If you are a low- to moderate-income tenant, Stay Housed L.A. provides free legal services, help you respond in writing to an eviction lawsuit or “Unlawful Detainer,” prepare a defense to the eviction, and represent you in court. They also hold regular workshops that cover important tenant protections and what you should do if your landlord tries to lock you out illegally or harass you.

L.A. County Department of Consumer and Business Affairs’ (DCBA) Rent Counselors are available Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at (833) 223-RENT (7368) or rent@dcba.lacounty.gov to help you learn more about your rights as a tenant.

Register for upcoming tenant protection workshops at www.stayhousedla.org. And if you’re facing an eviction or need immediate assistance, call Stay Housed L.A. at (888) 694-0040.

Upcoming Local Blood Drives

Blood donations have decreased dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic. Healthy, eligible donors are urged to come out and give to ensure there’s lifesaving blood on the shelves for those who need it.

The American Red Cross is holding upcoming blood drives in Rancho Palos Verdes:

Tuesday, June 22
10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Pacific Unitarian Universalist Church
5621 Montemalaga Drive

Reserve a time online at redcrossblood.org and enter the sponsor code: PACIFICUNITARIANCHURCH.

Monday, June 28
10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Ascension Lutheran Church
26231 Silver Spur Road

Visit redcrossblood.org/rapidpass to complete the pre-donation paperwork.

The Red Cross has implemented additional precautions to ensure the safety of its donors and staff. There is no evidence that the novel coronavirus can be transmissible by blood transfusion, and there have been no reported cases worldwide of transmissions for any respiratory virus, including the novel coronavirus.

For a limited time, the American Red Cross is testing all blood, platelet and plasma donations for COVID-19 antibodies. Help save lives and get insight into whether you may have been exposed to the novel coronavirus.

For more information, visit redcrossblood.org or by calling 1-800 RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767)

Data

Cases

As of June 17, there are 1,247,032 confirmed cases of COVID-19 across Los Angeles County (population 10.17 million). The total includes 1,550 cases in Rancho Palos Verdes (population 42,747), 485 in Palos Verdes Estates (population 13,522), 290 in Rolling Hills Estates (population 8,113), 59 in Rolling Hills (population 1,940), and 65 in the unincorporated areas of the Peninsula (population 1,921). Countywide, 24,428 people have died.

According to the L.A. County Department of Public Health, 58 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 the L.A. County Department of Public Health's Locations & Demographics page.

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.

Vaccinations

According to the L.A. County Department of Public Health, as of June 13, 72.6% of Rancho Palos Verdes residents age 16 and over received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

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/