RHE COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Update:
Important update for all City email subscribers
May 28, 2020
The City of Rolling Hills Estates is actively monitoring and listening to the health and policy experts at the federal, state and county levels and taking actions to adhere to requirements or implement policies based upon health expert recommendations.  This important email update is being sent to all City email subscribers to ensure the community is notified.

For important information, please   visit the City’s Coronavirus webpage.

May 28, 2020 Citywide Update
New Health Officer Order Allows Faith-based, Retail Services & More to Reopen
LA County announced, today, its commitment to keeping residents "Safer At Work And In The Community", and is further aligning its COVID-19 recovery efforts with the State’s California Pandemic Resilience Roadmap. The new Health Officer Order, to be issued later today, allows for the resumption of faith-based services, in-store shopping at low-risk retail stores, drive-in movies and other recreational activities.

The following are highlights from yesterday's Order, to be issued by LA County's Department of Public Health (DPH), which emphasizes physical distancing requirements, cloth face coverings and other safety protocols must be observed:


Indoor & Outdoor Retail Shopping Centers

All indoor and outdoor retail shopping centers may now open for business at 50% capacity.

Faith-Based Organizations

Faith-based organizations may resume services, with the number of congregants limited to less than 25% of the building's capacity, or a maximum of 100 people, whichever is lower.

Pools, Hot Tubs and Saunas

Pools, hot tubs and saunas that are in a multi-unit residence or part of a homeowners association may also now open.

County residents may take part in all-permitted activities while continuing to practice physical distancing and wearing a cloth face covering when in contact with others. You are still encouraged to remain in your residences, as much as practical, and limit close contact with others outside your household (both indoor and outdoor).

Gatherings of people not from the same household are still prohibited, except for faith-based services and in-person protests.

For more information, please read yesterday press release on LA County's revised Health Officer Order.

NOTE: should COVID-19 data indicators warrant, LA County may adjust orders to reflect specific County needs.
A Message From Cal Water
Cal Water
We’re reaching out to provide you with an update on California Water Service’s (Cal Water) Palos Verdes Peninsula Water Reliability Project as it relates to ongoing finishing work on Montecillo Drive. 
 
With prep work now complete, crews will begin tying the newly installed drinking water pipeline into the existing water system  as early as today, May 28.  There will be two tie-ins on Montecillo Drive – one near the Jack Kramer Club and one near Palos Verdes Drive North. Work will take place from Monday to Friday, between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. and continue until approximately the end of June . 
 
During work hours, there will continue to be a temporary, intermitent closure of the northbound lane with traffic diverted to the southbound lane, but residents will have access to Montecillo Drive at all times. Once tie-ins are complete, crews will remove the remaining steel plates and finish any final activities to restore the surrounding area.
 
As a reminder, all construction timing is estimated and may change based on several factors, including unforeseeable field circumstances. We’ll continue to keep you updated on work along Montecillo Drive and we encourage you to visit our  project website  and  Facebook  for the latest timeline and updates. 
 
As we head into the final stretch of the project, we want to reiterate our gratitude for your continued patience as we complete this much-needed upgrade to the Peninsula. 
Update on work impacting the Botanic Garden Trail. 

As early as today, May 28 , the  Botanic Garden Trail, from Rolling Hills Road to Blossom’s Trail,  will be temporarily closed to facilitate finishing work in the area. Work will take place from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., from Monday to Saturday, until approximately early next week.  The trail will reopen at the end of each workday.
We apologize for the inconvenience and will work diligently to reopen the trail as quickly as possible. If you have any questions, please reach out to us at  PVPWaterProject@calwater.com. Thank you for your continued patience!
Thank you,

Palos Verdes Peninsula Water Reliability Project Team
Don't Fall Prey to Coronavirus Tricks; Retirees Among Potential Targets
The IRS and its Criminal Investigation Division have seen a wave of new and evolving phishing schemes against taxpayers. In most cases, the IRS will deposit economic impact payments into the direct deposit account taxpayers previously provided on tax returns. Those taxpayers who have previously filed but not provided direct deposit information to the IRS will be able to provide their banking information online to a newly designed secure portal on IRS.gov in mid-April. If the IRS does not have a taxpayer's direct deposit information, a check will be mailed to the address on file. Taxpayers should not provide their direct deposit or other banking information for others to input on their behalf into the secure portal.

The IRS also reminds retirees who don't normally have a requirement to file a tax return that no action on their part is needed to receive their $1,200 economic impact payment. Seniors should be especially careful during this period. The IRS reminds retirees – including recipients of Forms SSA-1099 and RRB-1099 − that no one from the agency will be reaching out to them by phone, email, mail or in person asking for any kind of information to complete their economic impact payment, also sometimes referred to as rebates or stimulus payments. The IRS is sending these $1,200 payments automatically to retirees – no additional action or information is needed on their part to receive this.

The IRS reminds taxpayers that scammers may:

  • Emphasize the words "Stimulus Check" or "Stimulus Payment." The official term is economic impact payment.
  • Ask the taxpayer to sign over their economic impact payment check to them.
  • Ask by phone, email, text or social media for verification of personal and/or banking information saying that the information is needed to receive or speed up their economic impact payment.
  • Suggest that they can get a tax refund or economic impact payment faster by working on the taxpayer's behalf. This scam could be conducted by social media or even in person.
  • Mail the taxpayer a bogus check, perhaps in an odd amount, then tell the taxpayer to call a number or verify information online in order to cash it.

Reporting Coronavirus-related or other phishing attempts

Those who receive unsolicited emails, text messages or social media attempts to gather information that appear to be from either the IRS or an organization closely linked to the IRS, such as the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS), should forward it to  phishing@irs.gov .

Taxpayers are encouraged not to engage potential scammers online or on the phone. Learn more about reporting suspected scams by going to the  Report Phishing and Online Scams  page on IRS.gov.

Official IRS information about the COVID-19 pandemic and economic impact payments can be found on the  Coronavirus Tax Relief  page on IRS.gov. The page is updated quickly when new information is available.
Helpful Signage for Reopening
Be sure to print and display the following signage that Los Angeles County has available to guide you and your business as you embark on the Road to Recovery. In addition to their full compliance checklist   here , they have also created signs to use at your business.

These are ready to be posted on-site, to remind everyone how they can protect themselves (and others) from COVID-19. Here's an example:

You can download their:


If you still have questions on compliance, call LA County's Department of Public Health at  (888) 700-9995  or visit the DPH   website   for more information.
The Los Angeles County Public Health Department recommends that seniors and other high risk individuals continue to remain Safer at Home even during the phased reopening.

Don't let this get you down though,  Cyber-Seniors  is a nonprofit organization that works to bridge the digital divide and connect generations through technology. Cyber-Seniors is offering training opportunities to help keep senior citizens socially connected while remaining safe in their homes during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Seniors can join the following online seminars (using ZOOM) or a one-on-one session (by phone or FaceTime). Instructional links are below to help you learn how to use Zoom. 


If you need more help, call Cyber-Seniors at 1-844-217-3057

Upcoming Group Zoom sessions:


Previously held online seminars are also available for viewing and include:

Local Upcoming Blood Drive Event at Ernie Howlett Park
Palos Verdes Peninsula High School is teaming up with UCLA Health to host a local blood drive at Ernie Howlett Park:

Friday, May 29th
9 am - 3 pm
25851 Hawthorne Boulevard, Rolling Hills Estates
(look for the UCLA Bloodmobile near the tennis courts)

In order to ensure measures are met for appropriate social distancing, please make an appointment in the following ways:
  1. On-line at www.uclahealth.org/gotblood
  2. Over the phone by calling (310) 825-0888, select option 2 and make an appointment for Palos Verdes Peninsula High School
  3. Or through E-mail at gotblood@mednet.ucla.edu
City Recreation Facility Status
Open
Parks and green spaces
Tennis courts
Horse arenas
Bridle trails
Pedestrian pathways
Hiking trails at George F Canyon and Chandler Preserve

Closed
Playground equipment
Basketball and volleyball courts
Sports fields are closed for group activities, including team practices, but open for individual/household use.
George F Canyon Nature Center
Are you a senior or disabled Rolling Hills Estates resident in need of assistance?

Let us know.... please call City Hall at (310) 377-1577 during regular business hours, Monday-Thursday 7:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. Friday 7:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. We are here to help.
Los Angeles County Department of Public Health COVID-19 Update
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) has confirmed 48 new deaths and 1,094 new cases of 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19). Thirty-one people who died were over the age of 65 years old; 10 people who died were between the ages of 41 and 65 years old, and one person who died was between the ages of 18 and 40 years old. Thirty-three people had underlying health conditions including 24 people over the age of 65 years old, eight people between the ages of 41 to 65 years old, and one person between the ages of 18 and 40 years old. Six deaths were reported by the City of Long Beach. 

To date, Public Health has identified 49,774 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of LA County, and a total of 2,241 deaths. Ninety-three percent of people who died had underlying health conditions. Of those who died, information about race and ethnicity is available for 2,062 people (99 percent of the cases reported by Public Health) 40% of deaths occurred among Latino/Latinx residents, 29% among White residents, 17% among Asian residents, 12% among African American residents, 1% among Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander residents and 1% among residents identifying with other races. Upon further investigation, 20 cases and one death reported earlier were not LA County residents. As of today, 6,350 people who tested positive for COVID-19 (13% of positive cases) have been hospitalized at some point during their illness. There are 1,477 people who are currently hospitalized, 27% of these people are in the ICU and 19% are on ventilators. Testing capacity continues to increase in LA County, with testing results available for nearly 531,000 individuals and 8% of people testing positive.

Please note: As of May 28, 2020, the City of Rolling Hills Estates has fourteen (14) confirmed cases. This number does not represent recovered cases as that data is not provided by Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.

More Information and Resources Available
COVID-19 Updates
Residents and businesses can continue to monitor the City's dedicated COVID-19 Updates webpage, which has been newly redesigned for ease-of-use and increased resource information at RHE.city/Covid19 .

Here you will find latest updates, information for seniors and businesses, information on utilities, current status of local restaurants, etc.

The City is working diligently to identify additional resources for the community, especially for our high risk seniors.
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