[ad_1]
As has been repeatedly hinted at by local officials over the past few days, at worst, it seems increasingly likely that Los Angeles County and neighboring areas of Southern California will be able to move to a less restrictive locking level – from purple, the more restrictive. level, red – soon, and potentially as quickly as next week. The move would lead to massive changes in the daily lives of consumers, workers and small business owners almost immediately, with openings for gyms, cinemas and restaurants indoors (albeit all with limited capacity). Here is what we know.
Earlier this week, Los Angeles City Mayor Eric Garcetti told reporters the greater Los Angeles area was “on the verge” of going red “as early as next week,” which would allow eat inside. “Hope is on the horizon,” he added in the report broadcast on ABC7. Likewise, yesterday the LA County Director of Public Health said that “it is very possible that we are going into the red level as early as next week.” according to KNX reporter Claudia Peschiutta, although Dr Ferrer later clarified (when asked) that she meant LA County could meet the data thresholds needed to move, not that the move would actually happen.
Under current state-level guidelines, individual counties must stay below the thresholds needed to level up for at least two weeks. So why did the mayor and Dr Ferrer start saying the opposite in the beginning? Was it all a slip of the tongue?
Perhaps. But on March 4, California Governor Gavin Newsom officially announced a plan to redistribute 40 percent of the state’s vaccines to poor areas in order to “speed up the reopening of the economy,” according to the government. LA Times. Here is more, from the Times:
After around 400,000 additional doses were given to people living in California’s hardest-hit communities – which could happen within the next two weeks – officials in Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration said the state had the intention to significantly relax the rules allowing counties to exit the most restrictive level. California’s coronavirus reopening plan.
“Raising vaccinations in our hardest hit communities is both morally just and good for public health, as it will slow the spread of disease,” says Dr. Mark Ghaly, secretary of the California Health and Human Services Agency, in a press release.
The current target for distribution in disadvantaged communities is 2 million total doses; the state has already sent 1.6 million doses to these areas. Once this new metric is reached, the state will automatically and immediately adjust its necessary thresholds for movement between levels – including adjusting the number of positive cases from less than seven per 100,000 cases to less than 10 per 100,000 cases. Los Angeles County, and most neighboring counties, are already well below this updated threshold and have been for some time, so any update to the state thresholds would immediately bring those counties up to standard. inferior.
Here is the wording of a press release sent out by the governor’s office a few minutes ago:
Once this threshold is reached, the Blueprint for a Safer Economy will be updated to allow for slightly higher case rates in each level, with the overall effect of allowing counties to ease health restrictions at a somewhat higher rate. accelerated, but still responsible.
So: California officials are moving quickly to bring much-needed vaccines to some of the state’s most important areas. Once done they will adjust up the thresholds needed to move to lower levels, which will automatically allow many counties in Southern California (including Los Angeles County) to move down in a less restrictive level. The new red tier would allow indoor dining limited to 25% of total capacity, based on the company’s occupancy certificate – or 100 diners in total, whichever is less.
And there’s more. The Newsom government currently has an 6 p.m. state-style speech, before lawmakers and broadcast live to the public, slated for this Tuesday, March 9 at 6 p.m., which would be a fairly large stage from which to announce. that California, economically speaking, is starting to reopen. State officials have not confirmed that Newsom will make such an announcement regarding the threshold change and new tier assignments, but it seems to be on the table.
Regardless, public health officials now say that distributing the vaccines needed by these hard-hit communities will take at most two weeks, which means no matter what, indoor dining is expected to return to Los Angeles County and much of the state this month. Don’t be surprised if this happens next week.
[ad_2]
Source link