LATEST OPERATIONAL UPDATES FOR PALM BEACH COUNTY

• *New*VIDEO UPDATE FLORIDA HEALTH DEPARTMENT GUIDELINES (ESPANOL)
                VIDEO UPDATE FLORIDA HEALTH DEPARTMENT GUIDELINES (CREOLE)
  

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 mailto: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

• #2020-85 Executive Order re: Emergency Management – COVID-19 – Telehealth and Immunizations for State Group Insurance
  The State Group Insurance Program (SGI) provides coverage to State Employees. All SGI plan providers have in-network or contracted, Florida-licensed telehealth providers ready to provide health care services effective immediately which would allow state employees to remain in their homes, if sick, and avoid exposure to other sick individuals; or, if not sick, to attend physician appointments without fear of exposure to other.
• #2020-83 Executive Order re: Emergency Management – COVID-19 --  Protective Measures for Vulnerable Populations, Gatherings of Private Citizens and Density of the Workforce
  All persons over 65 years of age are urged to stay home and to take other measures as necessary to limit their risk of exposure to COVID-19. A public health advisory remains in effect against all social or recreational gatherings of 10 or more people.
• #2020-82 Executive Order re: Emergency Management – COVID-19 -- Isolation of Individuals Traveling to Florida
  All persons who enter Florida from an area with substantial community spread, to include the New York Tri-State Area (Connecticut, New Jersey and New York), must isolate or quarantine for a period of 14 days from the time of entry into the State of Florida or the duration of the person' s presence in the State of Florida, whichever is shorter.
  
• #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 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; must 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 Health has been designated as the lead state agency to coordinate emergency response activities among the various state agencies and local governments.
  

Declaration of Continuing State of Emergency PBC
The Palm Beach County State of Emergency Declaration is in effect through April 3^rd.

Emergency Order Number 3
All parks and golf courses, both public and private remain closed until further notice.

Emergency Order Number 2
All Non-critical retail and commercial businesses in Palm Beach County have been ordered to close. The continuing operation of critical businesses is necessary to provide goods and services to the public, to keep the public healthy and to ensure availability of supplies.
A list of critical businesses can be found here:   Emergency Order Number 2

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 marine operations are permitted to operate.

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.

CLERK OF THE COURT
Case information: Our call center is getting many questions about how to get case information, but as you know, this is all information that is available through eCaseView. The link to eCaseView can be found here: https://applications.mypalmbeachclerk.com/eCaseView/. Click the "Court Events" tab for hearing information, and "Dockets and Documents" for filings in each case. You do not need to register to use the system, but may not be able to view certain case documents if you are viewing eCaseView as a guest rather than a registered user.

Rescheduled Traffic Hearings: People will be notified by our office of rescheduled traffic hearings – but we need to have their updated address if they've moved. We have this notice up on our coronavirus page (www.mypalmbeachclerk.com/coronavirus) but I thought it might be helpful to share this text with you as well in case you're able to help get this information out to your readers and viewers.

Traffic Hearings
Civil infraction traffic court hearings are temporarily suspended through and including May 1, 2020. If you had a traffic infraction court hearing scheduled between March 18, 2020 through May 1, 2020, you will receive a new notice of hearing scheduling your court date after May 1, 2020. If you have changed your address in the interim, you must immediately provide the Clerk of your new address in writing. If you do not receive a new notice of hearing for the rescheduled date by April 17, 2020, you must call the Clerk at (561) 355-2994 to obtain your new court date.

Starting March 27, pet owners will not be allowed into the shelter lobby for pet vaccination services. Instead, they will be directed to the drive-up, outdoor clinic. Pet owners will be required to stay in their own vehicle, while shelter staff handle and vaccinate their pet(s). Dogs must be on a secure leash and cats must be in a carrier.

Vaccine Clinic Hours of Operation: Monday – Saturday, 10 a.m. to noon              Sunday Closed

Appointments are not being taken. Drive-ups only (first-come, first-served) during the two-hour window.

Rabies license tags and proof of vaccinations will be mailed to the pet owner within 3-5 business days. Vaccines can be purchased by credit card or check only; no cash will be accepted.

In addition, all late fees associated with rabies vaccines and tag renewals have been temporarily suspended until further notice.

Animal Care and Control has over 150 pets who are in need of adoptive homes or temporary foster homes.  All adoption fees have been waived. Adopters may visit the shelter's web site to select their Perfect Partner: www.pbcgov.com/snap. Once their selection has been made, they can submit the online adoption application. Shelter staff will contact them once their application has been approved to set up a time to come pick up their new pet.

For those not quite ready to make a life-long commitment, fostering a pet during the pandemic is a great option and a life-saving act. Pet foster parents are given all of the supplies needed to take care of their foster pet and will be given resources to help promote their pet for adoption. Anyone interested in fostering a pet can get started here: http://discover.pbcgov.org/publicsafety/animalcare/Pages/foster.aspx

Palm Beach County Animal Care & Control is located at 7100 Belvedere Road in West Palm Beach. For additional information and shelter hours of operation, please visit the website, www.pbcgov.com/animal or call 561-233-1200.

TRI-RAIL
Effective Sat 3/28/20
Trains will suspend fares and operate on a modified schedule
They will run as follows:
18 trains on Weekdays
12 trains on Sat
12 trains on Sun

RUMOR CONTROL

SOLID WASTE AUTHORITY
Garbage, recycling, yard waste and bulk waste collection are operating as scheduled.

Residents should not be making trips to any of the SWA's disposal facilities with materials that can be collected as part of their regular curbside collection.

If taking this time at home to clean up or clean out, use your curbside bulk collection [swa.org] for disposal. In unincorporated Palm Beach County, bulk item [swa.org] pick up is provided once a week and limited to 3 items per collection day. If you live a city, contact them [swa.org] for bulk item collection.

All SWA facilities are open with the exception of the Customer Convenience Drop-off Center at the North County Landfill. Residents and small haulers with demolition/renovation; trash/yard wastes; or other smaller waste loads are being diverted directly to the landfill.

Full details on Solid Waste Authority of Palm Beach County facilities can be found at www.SWA.org/COVID19 [swa.org].

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED 3/26/20

AIRPORTS
Teams have been deployed to Palm Beach International to screen passengers flying into Palm Beach County. This is in response to the Governor's order 20-80 that all people traveling to Florida from the New York Tri-State Area (Connecticut, New Jersey and New York), must quarantine for 14 days from the time of arrival.

ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT
All natural areas are closed to the public until further notice. This order will remain in effect until the expiration of the county's Declaration of Emergency.

LOCAL CALL CENTERS
Palm Beach County Emergency Information Center remains open
7 days a week from 8 am – 6 pm. 561-712-6400

• Boca Raton 561-982-4900 
• Greenacres 561-642-2000 
• Town of Palm Beach 561-227-7070 
• Riviera Beach 561-812-6597 
• Wellington  561-791-4000
• West Palm Beach 561-822-2222

               Or contact your municipality. 

SCHOOL FEEDING SITES
The school district has a number of schools open for students who need access to food.  All other individuals can contact 211 for resources.

School Feeding Sites - Week of Spring Break
School Feeding Sites - As of Monday, March 30, 2020

PALM BEACH COUNTY CONSTITUTIONAL OFFICES
Palm Beach County Constitutional Offices have modified their operations. Please visit their website for specific operational information.

Clerk and Comptroller                                                        Public Defender

Judges and Courts                                                              State Attorney

Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office                                Supervisor of Elections

Property Appraiser                                                            Tax Collector

PALM BEACH COUNTY PLANNING, ZONING AND BUILDING MODIFIED SERVICES
Please visit the Planning, Zoning & Building website for specific information or click on the links below.

Code Enforcement - English
Code Enforcement - Spanish
Building -COVID-19 Notice
Contractors Cert - COVID-19 Update
Planning - COVID-19 Notice
Zoning - COVID-19 Procedures 

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

The Palm Beach County Library System is offering one-on-one chat with a librarian. They will be available to show you how to access the best streaming movies, downloadable music, and electronic books, audiobooks, and magazines. Video chat sessions are available through the Zoom app. Call 561-233-2600 to book an appointment.

You can also access a "Bonus Borrows" collection of over 1000 titles from hoopla. These titles will not count towards the members' monthly borrow limit. Here is the link to the specific collection:
https://www.hoopladigital.com/collection/8364

PALM TRAN
Palm Tran continues to operate on a Saturday schedule, except on Sundays which are operating on a Sunday schedule. Routes 1, 2, 3, 43 and 62 only will operate on a typical weekday schedule starting Monday. The reduced level of service requires fewer bus operators and minimizes interactions between bus operators and passengers. Palm Tran is operating fare free until further notice.

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 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.

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.

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. 

All seniors can access meals on wheels by calling the elderly helpline at 866-684-5885.

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.

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. 

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.

STATE PROGRAMS

Those impacted by the spread of COVID-19 in the state can File a Reemployment Assistance Claim through CONNECT, Florida's online Reemployment Assistance System  http://floridajobs.org/

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

Follow us:
Twitter - http://twitter.com/pbcgov
Facebook - http://facebook.com/pbcgov
Instagram http://instagram.com/palmbeachcountyfl