Los Angeles County will once again prohibit dining at restaurants and bars beginning Wednesday, as the recent spike in COVID- 9 has brought the five-day average of new cases to more than 4,000, health officials said Sunday.
To reduce the possibility for crowding and the potential for coronavirus exposures in settings where people are not wearing their face coverings, the county’s Health Officer Order will be modified so that restaurants, breweries, wineries and bars will only be able to offer take-out, drive thru, and delivery services.
The order will apply for a minimum of three weeks.
Officials warned of the possibility of such measures last week, as new cases and hospitalizations continued to surge in Los Angeles County and statewide. They follow a state-mandated overnight curfew that went into effect Saturday prohibiting all “non-essential work, movement and gatherings” between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m., continuing until the morning of Dec. 21.
On Sunday, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health reported 2,718 new cases of COVID-19 and nine additional deaths, bringing the county’s totals to 364,520 cases and 7,438 fatalities. The previous three days had each seen more than 4,000 cases reported, including a single-day record of 5,031 cases on Thursday.
If the county’s five-day average of cases grows to 4,500 or more or hospitalizations are more than 2,000 per day, a new Safer at Home Order will be issued for three weeks, the health department said. That order would not be a complete lockdown like happened in March when the pandemic began, but officials have not said exactly how far it will go.
West Hollywood reported 9 new cases for a cumulative total of 877 cases. The city has recorded a total of eight deaths since the pandemic began.
The number of county residents hospitalized with the virus increased from 1,391 Saturday to 1,401, with 26% in intensive care. That’s more than double the daily number in the beginning of October, when it was under 700.
Officials fear that as the number of cases rise, hospitalizations will rise as well, eventually overwhelming hospitals to the point where they may not have the capacity to treat everyone who is sick.
The department reminded everyone to stay home as much as possible for the next two to three weeks to change the trajectory of surging cases and save lives, and repeated its advice that people not travel for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday.
“As we modify our Thanksgiving holiday celebrations, we are reminded of the many families who will miss their loved ones who have passed away from COVID-19. We send wishes for healing and peace,” County Health Director Barbara Ferrer said. “The persistent high number of cases requires additional safety measures that limit mixing in settings where people are not wearing masks.”
While the restaurant closures are mandated by LA County officials, the overnight curfew that went into effect on Saturday was initiated by state officials.
Dr. Mark Ghaly, California’s Health and Human Services secretary, said the state’s order was not a hard curfew, indicating that people can still go outside of their homes, but they just shouldn’t gather with others. He noted that he still plans to take his dog on its normal 11 p.m. walk.
Open the restaurants. Stand up to this draconian order.
This is an unfortunate, but necessary, decision. Even with outdoor dining, 15% of the Covid cases in LA County have been attributed to eating out. Places like The Abbey pretended to be acting as a restaurant when really, it has been functioning in a similar way that it always has with lines down the street. This is happening because people have had parties at their homes, Friendsgiving, not wearing a mask, etc. Businesses and individuals not being careful is why we’re all suffering. For the comments blaming Newsome, this order is straight from Barbara Ferrer. She’s running the show in… Read more »
Sadly, the poor response and management of covid by LA county and its leaders have now destroyed all small businesses while the teachers unions fail to keep our children learning, 50% of elementary school children are failing.
Time to vote out the Dem establishment that has kept our rights, businesses and hurt our children with misguided laws and rules.
100% Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Albert Einstein
reminds me of trump’s lawsuits lol
You’re still obsessed with him.
Other than 1 hysterical commenter on this site – everyone can see how necessary this order is. Please wear a mask.
Other than 3 hysterical commenters on this site – Everyone can see how random and inconsistent this order is.
Why do the city’s politicians keep bullying the restaurant/service industry?
This isn’t about bullying anyone. This is simply bad policy that’s trying to please everyone. The only thing that can stop the spread of the virus is for the federal government to pay people to stay home. Nothing else will do it.
It is estimated in LA County that nearly 700,000 jobs will be lost with this restaurant shut down. This includes the wait, kitchen and ownership staff AND the collateral industries that support food service.
Clearly, with Newsome’s Laundry antics, he is very confident about INSIDE dining. This is a control issue. No “science” attributable to outside has proven that restaurants are a vector. When you have the Director of LA Health, who is not a medical doctor, scientist or disease expert weighing in as a government employee, that’s a problem in itself.
What’s Governor Nuisance going to do? He had reservations at Laurel Hardware and planned to enjoy Pelosi Twitter Chip Chocolate Ice Cream!
The people who should be shut down are all politicians!
Huh? Your comment makes 0 sense.
Good, because COVID-19 doesn’t follow curfews, anyway.
People must be paid to stay home. Our rulers hate us and refuse to do this
Mitch McConnell and the republican members of the senate are responsible. They are more concerned about confirming lifetime judges than helping their constituents. On top of that, they are still letting Trump parade around like he won the election. I can’t wait until January 20th, 2021.
Democrats are equally responsible. What have they done about the pandemic? What? They had a chance to get some checks out before the election but refused. Biden hasn’t promised anything. Both parties hate us and want us to suffer
Alright, ima head out. There’s no use in arguing with someone who is misinformed.
Don’t worry about greeneyedboy. He continues to be the most hateful and angry commenter on this site.
No they are not. Mind you, I don’t make it a policy to defend the Dems, but they only control 1/3 of the government.
Dems continue to run against Medicare for All during a historic pandemic. They are now saying that the COVID-19 treatment should be free, but can’t meaningfully distinguish that from other medical care. Democrats do not support paying people to stay home. Canadians have been getting $2k/month since March. Democrats have not proposed guaranteeing employee salaries. France has guaranteed 88% of employee salaries through July 2021. Democrats refused to do anything other than a paltry $1200 check months ago. Now that Biden seems to have won an election, he has no coherent coronavirus plan. Democrats are not your friends. They hate… Read more »
In what alternate reality world do Democrats hate me and want me to suffer?
Biden wants the federal government to take an active role, as opposed to the passive role of the outgoing administration.
I’m talking about the world as it is my man.
Name a single policy that Biden has proposed that would address the pandemic. “Listen to scientists” isn’t a policy. Go.
@WeHo Poster
https://joebiden.com/covid-plan/
Here you go. And i’m sure Joe Biden wouldn’t skip Coronavirus task meetings for 4 months straight like Trump has.
Also remember it was Republicans who said COVID-19 would “magically disappear” after the election.
Turns out they were wrong about that (among other things).
I want to live in this fantasy world where you think democrats controlled the senate and executive branch for the last 8 months. None of what you said even comes close resembling reality.
The reason no stimulus has passed, is because Mitch McConnell REFUSES to pass a new relief bill.
I actually don’t know if your comment was satire or something? It’s almost all opposite of whats actually going on lol.
Amen, green eyed boy!
Thousands will lose their jobs and means of income. Rescind the order.
The senate has to pass a stimulus bill NOW. This is absolutely out of control. People need help.
Agreed, green eyed boy! The sad reality is we are on a two-track recovery that favors the wealthy. Rich Republican politicians and their friends are somewhat insulated from the harsh realities that the non-wealthy are now confronting.
I know the Biden Administration takes this situation seriously and hope they will end up with a reasonable Senate to work with in this pressing matter.
This will put so many out of work and unable to afford rent over the holidays.