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Dozens of protesters converged outside the Echo Park home of Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer on Sunday afternoon to express their displeasure at a new round of COVID-19 restrictions that will enter in effect Monday.
Carrying signs and waving flags, protesters called on Ferrer to “open LA” and chanted, “No science. No data. No extinction. “
Few of the 50 or so protesters wore face masks.
The county’s latest Safer Home Order was announced on Tuesday amid an alarming rise in coronavirus cases and COVID-19 deaths. Its many restrictions include a ban on most gatherings, tighter limits on retail businesses, and the closure of playgrounds that are not part of a school or daycare.
The order will be in effect for three weeks, until December 20.
The restrictions follow a previously announced rule that suspended alfresco dining at restaurants across much of the county. Pasadena, which has its own health department, has chosen to allow alfresco dining to continue.
In addition, Governor Gavin Newsom recently announced a statewide curfew that prohibits non-essential gatherings with members of other households between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m.
The recent restrictions have drawn the ire of business owners, exhausted parents and others who are losing patience with the pandemic lifestyle.
One of the protesters outside Ferrer’s house carried a sign that read: “Newsom and Ferrer are not essential.” Another shouted, “How dare you take our weapons and lock us up?”
Some of the protesters raised other grievances, including the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. Several people brought Trump flags, and one was holding a sign that said “Trump won.”
Several people had heated exchanges with Ferrer’s neighbors, including a resident who called the demonstrators “fascists” and Nazis. ”
Although at times noisy, the demonstration remained peaceful until the demonstrators dispersed around 5 p.m.
A Los Angeles Police Department vehicle was parked in Ferrer’s Common Alley to monitor the protest. LAPD officials could not be reached for comment on Sunday evening.
For the most part, residents of LA County have heeded public health orders intended to slow the spread of the coronavirus in the community. But patience is running out and some people increasingly oppose them.
County now averages nearly 4,200 new cases of coronavirus every day, a tally that exceeds the number of daily cases reported during the summer. Hospitalizations have increased over the past two weeks and are now just under 2,200, nearly hitting the previous summer high.
Over the past week, LA County has recorded an average of nearly 28 deaths from COVID-19 each day.
Times editors David Zahniser and Laura Nelson contributed to this report.
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