December 22, 2020
This year has been difficult, but we want to say thank you to the community for coming together to battle this virus together.

You may have heard that two vaccines - Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna - were given Emergency Use Authorization, also known as EUA, by the FDA recently. This is exciting news.

Vaccines are being prioritized for health care personnel and long-term care facility residents at this time due to the limited supply. We will keep you updated as vaccine becomes available to the general public.

Even with safe and effective vaccines on the horizon, we will all need to continue to do our part to stop the surge that Los Angeles County is currently experiencing. COVID-19 is still here and in our community.

We will all need to continue to stay home as much as possible, wash our hands frequently, wear our cloth face coverings and physical distance. It truly remains safer at home. Do your part and protect our healthcare workers, essential workers and vulnerable groups.

Thank you for being Safe in the South Bay. We wish you a healthy and happy holiday season!
COVID-19 Vaccines are in Los Angeles County
Dr. William Kim, BCHD's Chief Medical Advisor, receives the COVID-19 vaccine! Healthcare personnel have been prioritized for vaccination based on their job duties and associated risks of exposure to COVID-19 as well as risks of severe disease.
8 Things to Know about the U.S. COVID-19 Vaccination Program
The COVID-19 vaccine development is continually evolving. Here's an overview of what you need to know.
To stay informed on the COVID-19 vaccine, including additional phases of distribution and when residents will receive them, visit bchd.org/covidvaccine.
Stay Home, Save Lives
If we do not change how we celebrate the winter holidays, Los Angeles County will experience a surge on top of a surge on top of a surge. Cases and hospitalizations in Los Angeles County continue to soar.
  • The state reports 0% ICU availability in the Southern California region.
  • 1 in 80 Los Angeles County residents are currently infectious.
  • On average, every hour 2 people are dying of COVID-19 in LA County.

Here's what you can do:
  • Stay home as much as possible
  • If you leave home, wear a face covering and keep distance of at least 6 feet
  • Cancel any holiday travel plans
  • Do not gather, visit other people's homes or have visitors in your home
  • Celebrate holidays with household members and virtually with others
Revised Health Officer Order
On December 19, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health revised the Temporary Targeted Safer at Home Health Officer Order to align with recent Supreme Court rulings for places of worship. 

Places of worship are permitted to offer faith-based services both indoors and outdoors with mandatory physical distancing and face coverings over both the nose and mouth that must be worn at all times while on site. Places of worship must also assure that attendance does not exceed the number of people who can be accommodated while maintaining a physical distance of six feet between separate households. It is strongly recommended that places of worship continue to hold services outdoors, with physical distancing and the use of face coverings to prevent the spread of COVID-19 to congregants and to the entire community. 
New Guidance for Self-Quarantine
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health updated the self-quarantine period from 14 days to 10 days. The Quarantine Order states that all close contacts of confirmed COVID-19 cases are required to self-quarantine for 10 days after their last contact with the infectious person. If they remain asymptomatic, after Day 10 they are allowed to discontinue quarantine on the condition they follow these additional precautions:
From Day 11-14, they must both:
  • Strictly adhere to all routine COVID-19 prevention interventions including wearing a face covering whenever around other people, keeping a distance of at least 6 feet from others, and washing hands often, AND
  • Continue to monitor daily for COVID-19 symptoms. If symptoms develop, they must isolate immediately and contact their healthcare provider, clinician advice line, or telemedicine provider for a medical assessment and arrange a test for COVID-19.
Choose to be Part of the Solution
Take the Safe in the South Bay Individual Pledge
By taking the pledge, you are committing to do your part to slow the spread of COVID-19 by protecting yourself and others. In addition to infection control best practices to keep you safe from COVID-19, you pledge to also focus on ways to care for your body, mind and community as we navigate the pandemic, and this new normal, together.
Missed our most recent Safe in the South Bay Series?
Click the video to watch the event
The Safe in the South Bay Series is bringing health experts, cities, chambers, schools and community members together around this fast-moving pandemic.

Panelists included:
  • Zach Zawacki, Mira Costa High School 12th Grade Student
  • Maya Williams, Redondo Union High School 11th Grade Student
  • James McKinnell, MD, Torrance Memorial Medical Center, Infectious Diseases
  • Moe Gelbart, PhD, Executive Director, Thelma McMillen Center for Alcohol & Drug Treatment, Torrance Memorial Medical Center
December Healthy Habits Challenge
Join us this holiday season to better your health and wellness with this fun challenge. Each day offers a tip for activities to boost connection, resilience, gratitude and more! Learn more.
As of 12/20/2020
506
685
1,315
Full Tobacco Retail Ban in Manhattan Beach
Manhattan Beach has a long legacy of protecting the health of its residents through tobacco control policies. In 2014, they banned smoking in all public places; in 2015, they prohibited the sale of flavored products and prevented new retailers from being within 500 feet of schools; also in 2015, they prohibited smoking inside multi-unit housing; and effective January 1, 2021, Manhattan Beach will become the second city in the U.S. to ban the sale of all tobacco and vaping products. For more information, click here.
Free Subscription for Headspace
Headspace, in partnership with the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health, is offering free subscriptions to access meditations and sleep and movement exercises. Sign up here.
Eat Local: Meals for Home Delivery
We have expanded our errand assistance program to now include affordable and healthy meals for home delivery to vulnerable populations and those safer at home in the Beach Cities. Menus are available online and orders can be placed online or by phone. Learn more at bchd.org/mealdelivery.
Enroll Now for Covered California
Need help navigating the online application? BCHD continues to be a Certified Enrollment Entity and offers enrollment assistance and support for individuals applying for Covered California and Medi-Cal. Please contact (310) 374-3426, ext. 256, for assistance. 
Join the Healthy Minds Initiative
BCHD, in partnership with Drs. Dean and Ayesha Sherzai, is running a study on how proper diet and lifestyle can prevent brain disease. The study has transitioned to a virtual environment in response to COVID-19.
Need help?
If you or someone you know in the Beach Cities needs help with health-related information and referrals, or errand assistance and meal delivery, please call our Assistance, Information & Referral line at 310-374-3426, ext. 256, Monday - Friday, 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. or visit us online at bchd.org/resources.
Virtual Mindfulness Drop-in
Take 30 minutes to downshift and practice mindfulness techniques the first Wednesday of each month. 
Wednesday, January 6
4 - 4:30 p.m.
Virtual Blue Zones Project Social Hour
Enjoy good company and practice a few Power 9 Principles of Longevity, including Down Shift and Right Tribe. Relax, bring your healthy bites and connect with your community!
Tuesday, January 12
4 - 5 p.m.
Virtual Families Connected Parent Chat
A free parent support group led by a licensed professional from the Thelma McMillen Center for Alcohol and Drug Treatment at Torrance Memorial Medical Center held in partnership with South Bay Families Connected. Open to all parents.
Mondays*
10 – 11 a.m.
*Does not meet December 28
Virtual BCHD Board of Directors Meeting
Wednesday, January 27
6:30 p.m.
Virtual Happiness Chat
This is a casual discussion group with light-hearted activities to spark conversation. Share ideas, tips, resources, jokes, quotes – anything that supports our happiness!
Tuesdays
12:30 - 1:30 p.m.
#LiveWellAtHome with Live Virtual Exercise Classes
Get unlimited access to all Center for Health & Fitness live virtual exercise classes for $32 monthly. Small Group and Personal Training is also available virtually. Learn more.
View Our Exercise Videos
Donate to the Beach Cities COVID-19 Fund
Donations will provide assistance to Beach Cities residents who are income qualified with essentials like groceries, household and cleaning supplies, rent and utility bill assistance and durable medical equipment to help keep them safe at home. 

Residents wishing to submit donations by check can mail those to Beach Cities COVID-19 Fund, 1200 Del Amo Street, Redondo Beach, CA 90277.
COVID-19 Testing at BCHD Campus 514 N. Prospect Ave.
Los Angeles County's testing criteria includes:
  • Those who have COVID-19 symptoms: Fever, cough, shortness of breath, chills, repeated shaking with chills, muscle pain, headache, sore throat, new loss of taste or smell, congestion or runny nose, nausea or vomiting, diarrhea
  • Those who have had a known exposure to COVID-19, including those who were in close contact with someone with COVID-19 
  • Those who live or work in a high-risk setting (such as skilled nursing facilities, group homes, residential care facilities and persons experiencing homelessness) 
  • In accordance with California Department of Health Testing Guidance, testing is also available when there is additional testing capacity if you do not have symptoms and you are an essential worker with frequent contacts with the public in these sectors: health care, emergency services, food and grocery, retail or manufacturing, public transportation, and education. To view a complete list of essential worker groups from the California Department of Public Health, click here.
If you're unsure if you need a test, check with your health care provider. If you don’t have a health care provider, call 211 to get a referral.

If you are unable to receive testing through your provider, please continue to check the site for availability at Los Angeles County sites, or make an appointment at a Los Angeles City, state-operated or community testing site such as CVS by visiting covid19.lacounty.gov/testing. Tests are free of charge and are by appointment only. 
Note: Testing does not prevent people from transmitting and getting the virus and is not a substitute for physical distancing, wearing face coverings over your nose and mouth, hand washing and avoiding crowds. 
What to expect after you've been tested for COVID-19
If you are awaiting testing results, you should stay home and act as if you are positive. This means self-isolating for 10 days and 24 hours after fever subsides and symptoms improve. If a person tests positive for COVID-19, they should plan on receiving a call from a contact tracer to discuss how to protect themselves and others, to find out where they may have been, and who they were in close contact with while infectious. If you are positive for COVID-19 and have not yet connected with a public health specialist or need more information on services, call toll-free at 1-833-540-0473. Residents who do not have COVID-19 should continue to call 211 for resources or more information.

If a person tests negative, they must continue to take every precaution to avoid contracting the virus or spreading the virus to others.
Healthy Living Campus
Environmental Impact Report Process
The refined draft Healthy Living Campus master plan, presented at the June 17, 2020 BCHD Board of Directors meeting, was developed from more than 60 meetings attended by more than 550 residents and drawing more than 1,000 comments during the last three years regarding elements of the campus. 
  
The Board endorsed a project description to continue the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) process ⁠— originally started in June 2019 ⁠— with the more compact Healthy Living Campus master plan as the basis of the project description. This blueprint will inform the public and project decision-makers about significant environmental effects and identify possible ways to minimize or avoid those effects. 

The updated, more compact draft master plan includes:  
A Community Wellness Pavilion with public meeting spaces, demonstration kitchen, modernized Center for Health & Fitness, aquatics and more.
Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE), a Medicare/Medicaid program that provides comprehensive medical and social services to older adults.  
Fewer Units: Residential Care for the Elderly (RCFE) units drop from 420 to 220. Pricing has yet to be determined. One plan being considered will offer 10 percent of units at below market rates. 
Smaller New Building Area: New on-campus building area drops 18%
Less Construction Time: Active construction time is shortened from nine to five years in two phases (instead of three). 
2.5 acres of open space for programming to replace acres of asphalt. 
Frequently Asked Questions
As happens with any public project, some facts about the draft master plan and BCHD, in general, have been misunderstood, and in some cases, misrepresented. Here are some of the most frequently asked questions about the Healthy Living Campus: 
Why do the Beach Cities need a Healthy Living Campus?
How has BCHD engaged the community around the Healthy Living Campus?
What is PACE and what are the benefits?
Is there a need for seismic upgrades?