REGIONAL MESSAGE ON COVID-19 THREAT ALERT SOUTHBAY CITIES
JOINT INFORMATION CENTER
KEY MESSAGES
September 11, 2020
* Today marks the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Today also marks Patriots Day in honor of those who not only lost their lives on that September day but also for the thousands of First Responders who worked on the response and recovery. Some who have since lost their lives due to their exposure to the sights of those attacks. While we can never repay them for their brave, heroic efforts, we can show our gratitude for what they did.
LA COUNTY REMAINS IN TIER 1: WHAT THAT MEANS
On August 28, the State revised its recovery roadmap and created an updated, color-coded Tier Framework that classifies each county based on their daily case rate and positivity rate. This tiered system will guide possible sector reopenings for each county to consider.
Although the State lists permitted activities in each Tier, it is important to note that the County may be more restrictive than State guidance. The ultimate decisions about sector reopenings will remain under the purview of the local Health Officer Orders developed in consultation with the Board of Supervisors.
Per the State, LA County's current number of the 7-day average of new cases (per day per 100,000 people) is 9, down from 13 just last week. The threshold for moving up to Tier 2 requires that we have seven or fewer new cases per day per 100,000 in population.
And even though the County's current test positivity rate as of today of 4% puts us in Tier 3 (Orange) for this metric, when the two metrics fall in different Tiers, the State places counties in the most restrictive Tier. Therefore, the County, like most counties in California, has been placed in Tier 1.
Below is a snapshot of what’s open and closed in LA County. For a complete list, click here.
WHAT'S CHANGED IN LA COUNTY THIS WEEK
On September 2, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health revised the Health Officer Order to allow for limited, on-campus operations for schools and limited in-door operations of hair salons and barbershops. Read the Health Officer Order here.
Hair Salons and Barbershops: Hair salons and barbershops can reopen for indoor services at 25% occupancy provided they are in full compliance with the Health Officer's protocols. If your hair salon or barbershop has been operating outdoors, please continue to do so and use your 25% occupancy for those services you cannot provide outdoors.
Schools: Beginning Monday, September 14, K-12 schools may offer in-school services for small cohorts of (up to 12) students as long as they can fully implement the Health Officer's reopening protocols. These students include:
Students with Individualized Education Plans (IEP)
Students requiring instruction for English as a Second Language (ESL)
Students needing assessments or specialized in-school services
*The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health will not be opening the waiver program for students' instruction in grades TK-6 at this time, and it is not expected to open the waiver process until November. To read the Reopening Protocols for K-12 Schools: Appendix T1, click here.
Halloween: There was a lot of controversy around the guidance the LA County Department of Public Health released earlier this week. The goal is to minimize the transmission of the virus to remain on the road to recovery. We look forward to having a conversation around fun, safe Halloween options as Halloween approaches. Here is the latest Halloween Guidance, which includes suggestions and recommendations for you, your friends, and your family.
NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS MONTH: WHAT IS A WIRELESS EMERGENCY ALERT, AND WHAT DO THEY MEAN?
(Part of a month-long series for National Preparedness Month)
Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEAs) are those loud cell messages with a unique tone that goes off for extreme weather, AMBER alerts, and emergency warnings and orders. You do not need to sign up to receive them, but you need to have the settings turned on!
Example of a Wireless Emergency Alert sent to a cell phone for the recent BobCat Fire.
WEAs come through a national alert system called the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (iPAWS), and are delivered automatically to you by phone tower. And while they are a powerful tool to help communicate critical life-saving information to residents, they aren't guaranteed. Not all carriers deliver at the same rate and cannot deliver messages when cell towers are damaged or overloaded. They also are limited in character counts (less than twitter!), which means they are meant to get your attention and provide direct information. However, you will still need to receive more information from emergency managers and your local jurisdictions.
So, we encourage ALL residents to have at least three-ways to receive critical information. That means registering with your local alerting authority and listing multiple ways to be contacted. Here are some examples:
SMS Message
Email
Downloading the Everbridge App from the AppStore
Phone (Cell and Landline)
If and when an emergency should occur that would warrant an emergency alert, it’s critical that we have multiple ways to reach you. To learn more about the types of alerts and notifications we can send, please click here.
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