On December 18, County Mayor Dave Kerner provided an update at the Emergency Operations Center on local COVID-19 mitigation efforts. Joining him were Dr. Alina Alonso, director of the Florida Dept. of Health-Palm Beach County, Emergency Management Director Bill Johnson, Vice Mayor Robert S Weinroth, Commissioners Mack Bernard, Gregg K Weiss and Maria Sachs, and County Administrator Verdenia C Baker.
Vaccines – Three priority operations have started or will start next week. The Florida Division of Emergency Management and the Florida Department of Health are overseeing or monitoring these operations. County Administration and the Division of Emergency Management are monitoring through state sources the hospital and nursing home operations and are working closely with Dr. Alonso. This is a rapidly developing effort with new information coming each day from the state.
Priority groups – Receiving vaccinations first are those likely to be directly exposed to COVID-positive patients in the line of their day-to-day work and long-term care facilities. Next will be community distribution through pharmacies, public health clinics and existing COVID-19 testing collection sites, followed by delivery through routine health providers.
Availability – Most hospitals in Palm Beach County are on the list to receive the Moderna vaccine beginning next week. This vaccine is getting broader distribution than Pfizer’s because it does not require ultra-cold storage. The Moderna vaccine requires two shots, four weeks apart. The Florida Department of Health-Palm Beach County anticipates an initial delivery of 18,000 Moderna doses next week.
Public distribution to individuals throughout Palm Beach County – when additional supplies of the vaccine are available – will be done through traditional health care vaccination providers, drive-through sites, walk-up clinic sites, and mobile vehicles.
COVID metrics – Palm Beach County’s daily lab positivity rate is 7.3%, about half the statewide rate of 14.53%. Palm Beach County reported 754 new COVID cases Thursday (Dec. 17). An average of 7,400 people per day are being tested in the county. ICU beds at local hospitals occupied by COVID patients range from 13 to 19 percent; overall bed space occupied by COVID patients is around 65 percent.
Masks – The countywide mask mandate has been extended to January 20. During the upcoming holiday weeks, please avoid the 3 Cs: crowded places; close contact; confined spaces
CARES Act – The Palm Beach County CARES Restart Business Grants Program has submitted for payment all eligible applicants resulting in a total of $78.457 million to 5,182 local businesses. This funding was made available for businesses affected by COVID-19 for expenses needed to keep the business operational including commercial lease or mortgage payments, inventory, salaries and PPE. The successful distribution of these funds could not have been accomplished without the assistance of numerous county departments, the Clerk & Comptroller’s and Tax Collector’s offices, and some of the county’s contracted small, minority, and women owned businesses.
The Palm Beach County CARES Mortgage Assistance Program has distributed a total of $11.3 million to 1,448 households in Palm Beach County. The remaining 134 eligible applications have been approved and are being submitted for payment. This will result in a total of 1,582 homeowners receiving assistance. This program assists income eligible households with mortgage and escrow payments (PITI), late fees, attorney’s fees, condominium and HOA payments, special assessments, and other mortgage-associated costs related to COVID-19. Administrator Baker said all CARES Act federal funding that was allotted to Palm Beach County will be expended before the December 30 deadline.
There is no Christmas Day garbage collection in unincorporated Palm Beach County
Live in unincorporated Palm Beach County? There is no garbage service and all Solid Waste Authority of Palm Beach County facilities are closed on Christmas Day (Friday, Dec. 25). There is no makeup collection day for garbage, recycling, yard waste or bulk waste for this holiday.
There will be normal scheduled collection services for unincorporated residents on Christmas Eve (Thursday, Dec. 24), New Year’s Eve (Thursday, Dec. 31), and New Year’s Day (Friday, Jan. 1, 2021). While SWA administrative offices will be closed Christmas Eve and New Year’s Day, a limited number of Customer Service team members will be available to assist residents with any garbage or recyclable collection questions or concerns. SWA Customer Service can be reached at 561-697-2700, 866-792-4636 or ContactCIS@SWA.org.
More information on holiday collection can be found online, as can additional information about SWA facilities and hours.
There are special holiday collection provisions in the unincorporated collections contract, including:
Garbage properly secured in plastic bags will be collected outside of the cart:
- Following Christmas Day from Dec. 26, 2020 – Jan. 1, 2021
- Residents still should place all debris normally collected on these days curbside by 6 a.m.
Recycling
- Oversized or excess cardboard will be collected outside the yellow recycle bin
Yard Waste
- Remains limited to 6 cubic yards of yard waste at the curb on the next scheduled yard waste collection day. (This still provides a resident to remove more than 300 cubic yards of yard waste per year, while only being assessed disposal for 6 cubic yards a year)
Bulk Waste
- Remains limited to 3 items at the curb for the next scheduled bulk waste collection day.
County residents that live in one of Palm Beach County’s 39 municipalities should contact their municipality directly for their holiday collection schedule. A list of municipal contactscan be found online.
County residents in unincorporated Palm Beach County can always see their updated collection schedule, set reminders, and sign up for collection information by clicking the “My Pick-Up Days” button at SWA.org.