With daily COVID-19 infection numbers trending downward, Los Angeles County restaurants will be able to reopen for alfresco dining starting this Friday, joining other businesses that were able to reopen earlier in the week after that the state canceled a regional stay-at-home order.
On Monday, businesses like barber shops and nail salons got the go-ahead to reopen, albeit with strict infection control requirements. Restaurants will be subject to similarly strict health mandates.
Full details of those requirements were not immediately released, but will be included in a revised order from the county health official. Previously, the county limited restaurants to 50% of their outdoor capacity, while requiring waiters to wear masks and face shields and requiring tables to be properly spaced to ensure social distancing.
The City of Long Beach health department has already authorized the resumption of cookouts with similar restrictions, along with a recommendation that only members of the same family go out to dinner together.
Daily infection numbers have been on a downward trend for the past two weeks, following an increase that saw the county regularly report more than 10,000 cases.
The Department of Public Health announced another 6,592 new COVID infections Thursday, while Long Beach added 414 and Pasadena 56, increasing the total number since the pandemic began to 1,098,411.
Hospitalization figures also followed a downward trend. According to state figures, as of Thursday there were 5,855 people hospitalized due to COVID in the county, including 1,503 in intensive care. This marks a dramatic drop from the more than 8,000 patients reported in early January.
However, the county also reported another 213 deaths Thursday, although 18 of those deaths were announced Wednesday by health officials in Long Beach and Pasadena. Long Beach added 15 more deaths Thursday afternoon, while Pasadena reported five more.
The new deaths brought the total death toll to 16,127 as the region experiences the inevitable end result of a surge in infections that continues to fill hospital intensive care units.
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Health officials have warned that the number of deaths is likely to increase dramatically for the rest of the month, even as the number of cases and hospital admissions continue to decline. Deaths are considered a lagging indicator, meaning that increases in hospitalizations naturally follow, and in early January, daily hospital populations topped 8,000.
While the case numbers have improved, they remain dramatically high. Dr. Christina Ghaly, county health services director, noted this week that while new hospital admissions for COVID have fallen to around 500 per day from the recent high of around 700 per day, the current rate remains double that observed in the increase in the virus that occurred last summer.
Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer on Thursday reiterated her call on residents and business owners to adhere strictly to all infection control measures, particularly as more businesses open and more people interact in public.
“To continue reducing transmission, we must all commit to taking the measures that work to slow the spread of COVID-19,” Ferrer said in a statement.
“When more sectors reopen, the risk of COVID-19 transmission increases, because people are interacting more with those who are not members of the household. To avoid reopening that leads to an increase in cases, companies and individuals must be more diligent, not less, in following public health measures.
“We have a way to go before our hospitals are not stressed and fewer people die each day. Staying on a recovery journey is only possible if we all play by the rules, ” he said.
Ferrer said Wednesday’s notices would be sent this week to all businesses that reopened to remind them of restrictions for various sectors, most related to capacity limits, face covers and sanitation procedures.
He also issued a warning to residents to limit gatherings, specifically citing the upcoming Super Bowl, recalling that past sporting events and celebrations during the Dodgers and Lakers championships contributed to increasing infections.
“We know that Super Bowl Sunday is approaching and we cannot repeat the mistakes of the past,” he said. “It will be tragic if the Super Bowl becomes a super spreader of coronavirus.”
The county’s COVID-19 transmission rate, which reflects the average number of people a COVID patient infects with the virus, also continues to decline, estimated Wednesday at 0.85, down from 0.94 last week. Keeping that number below 1.0 is considered essential to slow the spread of the virus.
Ferrer said COVID-19 vaccine allocations continue to lag behind demand, with the county expecting to receive approximately 188,000 doses next week.
Supermarket and pharmacy retailers with 300 or more employees nationwide and 10 or more on-site employees should add risk pay to their workers’ wages, according to the motion.
However, many of them will be required to give second injections to people who have already received the first dose of the two-dose regimen.
By the end of last week, the county had received a total of 853,650 doses. He received an estimated 143,900 doses this week, bringing the total to nearly 1 million.
Vaccination appointments can be booked online at vaccinatelacounty.com or by calling 833-530-0473 between 8 am and 8:30 pm, but appointments at county sites are mostly filled on the weekend.
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