On Tuesday, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors heard details about a new “targeted” stay-at-home order that would prohibit all public and private gatherings of people not in the same household and require individuals to stay home “as much as possible.”
The proposed order met with no objections from the board, but it was unclear when it might take effect.
From a Department of Public Health statement on Monday:
If the five-day average of cases is 4,500 or more or hospitalizations are more than 2,000 per day, a Targeted Safer at Home Order with additional safety modifications will be issued. Given that our five-day average case rate is now over 4,500, Public Health will be working with the Board of Supervisors to determine additional safety modifications.
Today, the Board of Supervisors heard details about the new order, but issued no clear timeline for its application. Instead, the board spent hours arguing the merits of a proposed ban on outdoor dining, which was eventually approved.
During that ruckus, Los Angeles Public Health director Barbara Ferrer outlined the following specifics of the stay-at-home order, which seem much more far reaching than a restaurant ban:
-Individuals must remain in their homes as much as possible
-All public and private events of people not in the same household — except for outdoor church and protests — are prohibited
-Essential indoor retail is allowed to stay open at at 35%
-Non-essential indoor retail is allowed to stay open at 20%
-Running, biking, swimming and playing outdoors are all allowed, so long as appropriate social distancing and masking is observed
-Gathering at beaches and parks is prohibited
-Outdoor and indoor pools that serve more than one house will be closed except for lap swimming
-Non-essential office spaces will stay closed, including office-based businesses, card rooms, clubs, bars, lounges, playgrounds, theaters, spectator performances, sporting events, bowling alleys and arcades
-Childcare, K-12 education and libraries will be able to continue at 20% capacity
-Pro sports and youth sports practices can continue as they have been
-Curfew 10 p.m.-5 a.m. implemented except for essential services
On Monday, the county recorded a one-day record 6,124 new coronavirus infections. The county’s five-day average of cases stood at 4,266 on Tuesday, when there were 51 new deaths confirmed and 3,692 new cases of Covid-19.
COVID-19 Daily Update:
November 24, 2020
New Cases: 3,692 (374,134 to date)
New Deaths: 51 (7,497 to date)
Current Hospitalizations: 1,575 pic.twitter.com/40nnOYpnxi— LA Public Health (@lapublichealth) November 25, 2020
Covid-19 hospitalizations “continue to accelerate at alarming speed,” said a statement from the L.A. Public Health Department. “Just two weeks ago, there were 888 people with Covid-19 hospitalized.” There were 1,575 people with Covid-19 hospitalized on Tuesday and 26% of those people are in the ICU.
“The increases in cases and hospitalizations must slow,” the statement said, “to avoid overwhelming our hospitals and healthcare staff, and save lives.”
City News Service contributed to this report.