Coronavirus Update: Face Coverings Required, Plasma Donations Sought
Apr 15, 2020 10:10AM ● By Jeanne Fratello
Got face coverings? Today is the day you will need one to enter any essential business, according to the newest Los Angeles County Safer at Home order.
Although the county allows cities to adopt more restrictive requirements, the Manhattan Beach City Council this morning stopped short of taking any action that would require masks for simply going out in public. Nevertheless, the council has agreed to continue emphasizing the importance of wearing masks for protecting the health of one's self and others.
For those who want to support Manhattan Beach merchants, DigMB has compiled a list of local shops in Manhattan Beach that are selling masks and face coverings.
Other local coronavirus updates are as follows:
Plasma Donations Needed
Torrance Fire Engineer Rickey Cradle is in need of a plasma donation to help him fight COVID-19. He needs plasma donated from a fully recovered COVID patient so that the antibodies can boost his ability to fight back.
To qualify as a plasma donor, you must:
1) Have had COVID as confirmed by a positive test
2) Already be recovered and have one of the following:
a.) Your symptoms resolved at least 28 days prior to donation; OR
b.)Your symptoms resolved 14 days prior to donation and a repeat COVID test is negative.
3) Be one of the following:
a.) Male donor
b.) Female donor who has never been pregnant
c.) Female donor who has been tested since their most recent pregnancy and had results interpreted as negative for HLA antibodies.
If you or someone you know fits this criteria, please contact Dr. Marc Cohen at [email protected] or click on this link to contact the American Red Cross. Even if you are not a match, you could be a match for another patient.
Coronavirus Virtual Town Hall
U.S. Representative Ted Lieu, California State Senator Ben Allen, and California State Representative Al Muratsuchi will hold a Coronavirus Virtual Town Hall on Thursday, April 16 at 2:00 p.m. The event will be livestreamed from Rep. Muratsuchi's Facebook page. The event will provide information on both federal and state programs to help those in need from this crisis.
BCHD in the Community
Beach Cities Health District (BCHD) has extended the temporary closures of AdventurePlex and the Center for Health & Fitness through at least May 15. While those facilities are closed to the public, employees from the facilities have been redeployed as part of the District Operations Center to provide online fitness and wellness opportunities or reassigned to assist with BCHD’s errand assistance program, answering the Assistance, Information & Referral line, and assisting at the L.A. County COVID-19 test site at the South Bay Galleria.
The ongoing Families Connected Speaker Series, presented by BCHD and South Bay Families Connected, will take place virtually, with “The Journey – A Conversation About Mental Health in New, Uncertain Times” with professional surfer Alex Gray and local clinician Kevin Sousa, MFT. The meeting will be held via a live Zoom Thursday, April 30 from 6:30-8:00 p.m. Meeting information will be directly emailed to registered participants.
The weekly Families Connected Parent Chat, which takes place every Monday, has also gone to a virtual format, with more BCHD computer-centric programming being developed.
BCHD has also established the Beach Cities COVID-19 Fund, which is accepting tax-deductible donations to help aid vulnerable groups (older adults and adults with underlying health conditions) who are income qualified with essentials like groceries and household cleaning supplies.
COVID-19 Impact Survey
Alert South Bay surveyed local residents last month to gauge the impact of COVID-19 on the community. Of the 1,337 Manhattan Beach
residents who responded:
- 90.82% of respondents were very, somewhat or extremely worried of the personal impacts of COVID-19.
- The top three biggest challenges included: 1) General anxiety about the impact of the coronavirus on their lives (64.27%), 2) Social isolation/lack of places to go (51.85%), and 3) Purchasing supplies (47.24%)
- 49.47% believed they could maintain their current arrangement for three or more months.
- 51.01% requested city leadership to communicate on COVID-19 on a daily basis, and
- 58.87 % preferred email communications, while 38.42% preferred text messages.
