​LATEST OPERATIONAL UPDATES FOR PALM BEACH COUNTY

A VIDEO MESSAGE FROM PALM BEACH COUNTY MAYOR DAVE KERNER

Individuals with questions related to the coronavirus should call the Florida Department of Health's Coronavirus Call Center at 1-866-779-6121 which is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week or email COVID-19@flhealth.gov. They can also visit http://pbchd.org for the latest health information. Visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Coronavirus COVID-19.

EXECUTIVE ORDERS ISSUED BY GOVERNOR RON DESANTIS

• #2020-80 Executive Order re: Emergency Management – COVID-19 -- Airport Screening and
  Isolation
  Mandates airline passengers arriving into Florida on flights from New York and surrounding areas must undergo a 14-day quarantine. Travelers from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut will be subject to the mandatory quarantine.  Anyone who violates this could be fined $500 and face 60 days in jail. Airline employees and those performing emergency health or military duties are exempt.
• #2020-72 Executive Order re: Emergency Management – COVID-19 – Non-essential Elective Medical Procedures - 03/20/2020
  All hospitals, ambulatory surgical centers, office surgery centers, dental, orthodontic offices, and other health care practitioners' offices in the State are prohibited from providing any medically unnecessary, non-urgent or non-emergency procedure or surgery which, if delayed, does not place a patient's immediate health, safety, or wellbeing at risk.
• #2020-71 Executive Order re: Emergency Management – COVID-19 – Alcohol Sales, Restaurants, and Gyms - 03/20/2020
  All restaurants and food establishments statewide licensed under Chapters 500 and 509, Florida Statutes, to suspend on-premised food consumption for customers. Food establishment may operate their kitchens for purpose of providing delivery or take-out services. Such vendors may continue to sell alcoholic beverages in sealed containers for consumption off-premises.
• #2020-70 Executive Order re: Emergency Management – COVID-19 – Broward and Palm Beach County Closures - 03/20/2020
  All beaches remain closed in Palm Beach and Broward counties. All movie theaters, concert houses, auditoriums, playhouses, bowling alleys, arcades, gymnasiums, fitness studios. This does not apply to gyms and fitness centers which are amenities of hotels, which have a capacity of 10 persons or less, or are an amenity of a residential building.
• #2020-69 Executive Order re: Emergency Management – COVID-19 – Local Government Public Meetings - 03/20/2020
  Local government bodies may utilize communications media technology such as telephone and video conferencing.
• #2020-68 Executive Order re: Emergency Management – COVID-19 regarding bars, beaches, and restaurants - 03/17/2020        
  Establishments that attract gatherings of more than 10 people and are more susceptible for
  spreading COVID-19; as well as bars, pubs, and nightclubs from selling alcohol and ordered every restaurant to limit its occupancy to 50% of its current building occupancy and abide by the CDC's "social distancing" guidelines.
• #2020-52 Executive Order re: Emergency Management – COVID-19 Public Health Emergency - 03/09/2020
  Each State agency may suspend the provisions of any regulatory statute prescribing the procedures for conduct of state business or the orders or rules of that agency.
• #2020-51 Executive Order re: Establishes Coronavirus Response Protocol and Directs Public Health Emergency - 03/01/2020

The Florida Department of Children and Families waived work requirements for two assistance programs providing food and shelter. Following passage of Families First Coronavirus Act, Governor Ron DeSantis requested work requirements be set aside to allow more participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Temporary Assistance for Needy Familiesprogram.

PBC ORDERS, ACTIONS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

Amendment to Emergency Order Number 1 
All boat docks, ramps, marinas, and any other venues utilized for launching any vessels to be used for recreational purposes, are hereby closed until further notice.

Emergency Order Number 1
Boat Ramps - all boat ramps and marinas are closed to all recreational boating activities to include boat launching, in/out storage activities, and boat rentals in Palm Beach County until further notice. Commercial fishermen who provide food for restaurants and markets, commercial marine operations are permitted to operate.

Palm Beach County School District

School Food Service will continue serving meals to District students throughout the school closure. Nutritionally-balanced 'Grab and Go' meals will be offered at various school locations from 11 am to 1 pm., and are free to anyone under 18 years of age. Check the School District website for additional information: https://www.palmbeachschools.org/

Animal Care & Control          

• Animal Care & Control encourages pet owners to follow the recommended hygiene guidelines and wash hands before and after handling pets.
• If you are sick and need assistance with your pet, please don't visit the shelter, just call 561-233-1200 ext. 0.
• Owner Surrender appointments are suspended until further notice.  ACC will halt volunteer orientations and will not start new volunteers for a minimum of 2 weeks. 
  
  

Partnering Agencies

• The Early Learning Coalition of Palm Beach County is open and connecting parents who are emergency response personnel and essential-business workers to open child care facilities and early learning centers. For more information, call 561-514-3300.
  
  
• CareerSource Palm Beach County has closed its offices to the public effective today until further notice. The organization will continue to provide services online and by email and phone to serve job seekers and employers at this critical time.
  

RUMOR CONTROL
There is no curfew for Palm Beach County, except for the Town of Palm Beach which has a curfew in effect from 9 pm – 6 am until May 12^th. 

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED 3/23/20

Office of Equal Business Opportunity

Effective Monday, March 23, the Office of Equal Business Opportunity will no longer accept in-person client appointments or walk-ins until further notice. Certification and recertification documents may be uploaded to the Vendor Self-Service portal: https://pbcvssp.co.palmbeach.fl.us/webapp/vssp/AltSelfService  or mailed directly to the office. Should you require additional information, please contact the office at 561-616-6840.

Community Services

All Palm Beach County Community Services Department (CSD) offices are closed for walk-in visits. The Division of Human and Veteran Services (DHVS)/Homeless and Prevention Services is not taking in-person appointments but is still scheduling appointments over the phone through the Lewis Center at 561-904-7900. Appointments will be scheduled for a phone interview only. Veteran Services appointments are available only via phone at 561-355-4761.

The county's three (3) senior centers are closed.

Adult daycare centers at county senior centers are closed effective Monday, March 23.

Contracted vendors continue providing in-home services by conducting assessments over the phone, as approved by the Department of Elder Affairs/Area on Aging Agency. Stipend Senior Companion Program volunteers and RELIEF volunteers are providing services by phone.

Libraries

Library locations continue to remain closed to the public. Employees are available via phone and internet to answer questions and offer assistance.

http://www.pbclibrary.org/locations

We are offering a free temporary e-card to access our online resources including e-books, e-audiobooks, downloadable music, magazines and movies. http://www.pbclibrary.org/virtual-library.

In addition, we have curated a list of resources for those who are stuck at home and need something to occupy their time. Topics covered include arts and culture, business, consumer, education, food, kids, stress release, technology tutorials and more. http://www.pbclibrary.org/covid19/resources.

Palm Tran

Effective Tuesday, March 24, 2020, Palm Tran will operate on a Saturday schedule, which will provide daily service but result in longer wait time between stops, until further notice. A normal Sunday schedule will run on Sundays. Passengers will enter and exit through the rear bus doors only. Palm Tran Connection is providing essential trips for riders.  We will continue to evaluate our transit system and make the necessary adjustments to keep our drivers and riders as safe as possible.

Planning, Zoning and Building

Many of the services provided for permits, contractor certification, code enforcement is now being transitioned to either online or telephone assistance to complete business.  In person, face-to-face contact inside a building is being limited. For a complete list of modified operations, please visit: http://discover.pbcgov.org/pzb/Pages/default.aspx

              Code Enforcement - Please be advised that effective immediately, Palm Beach County Planning, Zoning & Building's Code Enforcement Division remains operational, but is closing the lobby to the public and will operate by appointment only, until further notice. This relates to unscheduled walk-in customers only. Customers and respondents that need to meet with a Code Enforcement staff must first contact that staff member by phone or via email.

              Building Division - In-person submittals from registered contractors will be limited, and the electronic submittal for Building Division Permit Applications will be required for certain permit types. NOTE: State law requires Owner Builders to appear in person to submit new permit applications, and this notice does not apply to Owner Builders. For a complete list via the online portal view: http://discover.pbcgov.org/pzb/building/PDF/Online_Submittal_Building_Permit_Notice.pdf

Youth Services Department

Summer Camp Applications are still being processed.  Deadline is March 31, 2020.  The application is online at http://discover.pbcgov.org/youthservices/Pages/Summer_Camp.aspx. Technical assistance in filling out the application can be obtained by calling 561-242-5713.

2020 Census

Palm Beach County residents should have received their invitation to complete the 2020 Census questionnaire. All residents are urged to complete the questionnaire as soon as they can. It will take about 10 minutes to complete. It's safe, secure, and confidential. Information and privacy are protected. Responding to the Census helps to direct billions of dollars in federal funds to local communities for schools, roads, and other public services. Results from the 2020 Census will be used to determine the number of seats each state has in Congress and political representation at all levels of government. You Count In Palm Beach County.

We remind everyone to practice good hygiene and we continue to make the health and safety of residents our top priority. We also are reminding everyone to follow social distancing, (a six-foot distance), guidelines recommended by the CDC.

For the latest information and updates from Palm Beach County, visit http://pbcgov.com/coronavirus.

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