Palm Springs issues shelter in place advisory, closes all ‘non-essential’ businesses
The Palm Springs City Council has issued a shelter-in-place advisory and closed all "non-essential businesses" in the city to the public as part of efforts to stop the spread of coronavirus.
The order advises all residents to shelter-in-place and limit activities to only those essential to their daily lives.
Palm Springs Mayor Geoff Kors listed what would be considered essential: take out/drive-thru/delivery restaurants, food providers, pharmacies, gas stations, medical locations, vacation rentals, and hotels (hotel restaurants will be closed).
The emergency order is effective Wednesday, March 18, 2020 at 7 a.m. and will remain in effect until April 2, 2020, when the City Council will consider if an extension is necessary
The city will release more information as they continue to determine what is essential and what is non-essential.
The Agua Caliente Casino in downtown Palm Springs will remain open, however, the council plans on sending a formal request to the tribe, state, and Bureau of Indian Affairs. The matter will be further discussed during the council's meeting on Thursday.
Mayor Kors acknowledged the impact of the Coronavirus during the middle of the season for Coachella Valley. "As a city, we have been ahead of the county, the state and the federal government on this," Kors said.
Kors opened the council discussion saying he took into consideration the input from many leaders. He opened discussion recommending the closure of non-essential businesses.
Callers voiced many concerns to Council as they worried about Palm Springs being "boarded up."
"There are a lot of questions we have," said one caller. "I don't know if it can get much darker than this." said another.
"It's clearly what is coming. It's clearly what is needed," Kors said.
Korts also noted that the city is gathering info from every food delivery service so people who have the means can help support local businesses now.
Click here for more information on how to help businesses and workers in Palm Springs
Kors added that the city is working on an eviction restriction as well.
Several additional items are being worked on for the council to discuss and vote on for the next meeting, which is set for Thursday.
Additionally, Palm Springs Police Chief Bryan Reyes spoke about the decrease in service calls the department is seeing, but are ready in case that changes.
"We are planning for that panic stage in the coming days and weeks," Reyes said.
Three Palm Springs fire personnel are currently quarantined after a patient tested positive for Coronavirus.
To minimize exposure, many new actions are put into place. Some include that firefighters are being limited to stay within their own stations, and any ridealongs are canceled.
"We have a plan in place that also identifies if there is an exposure... to ensure that we do not have contamination of fellow firefighters or the public," Palm Springs Fire Chief Kevin Nalder told councilors.
You can watch the meeting live here.
The Council Chamber at City Hall is closed to the public. Councilors sat at a noticeable distance from each other as a safety precaution.
The public is invited to the Convention Center to attend the meeting. It is being held via teleconference. Public comment is being heard via telephone or email. The city distributed an email address of cityclerk@palmspringsca.gov and a phone number of 760-323-8204 for residents. Public comment has ended for Tuesday, but Mayor Kors encouraged all who would like to continue to email to do so.
If you have questions about Coronavirus, you can call Eisenhower Health's 24-hour coronavirus hotline at 760-837-8988 or 760-TEST988.
News Channel 3 has a reporter at the meeting and will be providing updates on this page as well as on News Channel 3 at 5 and 6 pm.
