LA mayor says city could see half a million COVID cases



[ad_1]

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti once again sounded the alarm on the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic across the city in a Friday afternoon speech.

“So often in this crisis it can be so confusing,” Garcetti said after widespread confusion over his home security order Wednesday night.

“We have never banned walking,” he said.

“Just be smart and stay away,” Garcetti said, explaining that outdoor exercise is always encouraged, including walking and cycling. Wednesday night’s directive from his office that said “travel on foot, by car, bus and plane” was not allowed had confused many residents, although the orders were the same as county regulations. LA announced earlier.

Garcetti also called on US politicians to push through legislation before the suspension to provide funds to those in need.

“I assure you there are better days to come,” Garcetti said. “Today the numbers were startling again and set bad records. He explained that the city is on the verge of seeing 10,000 new cases a day, and that “we are on the verge of running out” of ICU beds. There were 8,860 cases in LA County on Friday. He predicted the city could total half a million cases by the end of the year.

He then explained the new California measures put in place this week by Governor Gavin Newsom that will affect the entire southern California region. When 85% of ICU beds are occupied, hair salons and “family entertainment” places will close. Hotel rooms and campgrounds will be closed to tourism. Companies will reduce their capacity by 35% to 20%.

He also announced a new digital contact tracing program and explained that the city is making free testing kits available to people who show symptoms, have come into contact with infected people or have health issues. of COVID-19 at home.

“Let’s stay at home,” Garcetti concluded.



[ad_2]

Source link