New COVID-19 restrictions: what you need to know

Starting Friday, Los Angeles County will order non-essential restaurants and stores to close at 10 p.m. and limit the number of people allowed at outdoor gatherings – a maximum of 15 people from up to three households. This is part of an attempt to slow the dangerous spread of COVID-19.

Here are the details:

• For non-essential businesses licensed to operate indoors – including retail stores, offices, personal care services – occupancy will be limited to 25% of maximum capacity.
• The number of patrons at outdoor restaurants, breweries and wineries will be limited to 50% of maximum outdoor capacity.
• The number of patrons in the outdoor game rooms, mini golf, go-karts and batting cages will be limited to 50% of the maximum outdoor capacity.
• Services in personal care facilities can only be provided by appointment to clients wearing face masks by staff wearing face masks. Those that require the client or staff to remove their face mask, such as facials and shaves, are not allowed. Food and beverages cannot be served at these establishments to customers.
• Restaurants, brasseries, wineries and all other retail establishments deemed non-essential must close their doors to the public from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. But they can continue to offer take-out and delivery services during these hours.

With the rapid spread of COVID-19, officials have warned that further public health interventions may become necessary to stem transmission. Among these contingencies:

• If LA County were to average 4,000 cases per day over a five-day period, officials would stop outdoor dining at restaurants, giving restaurants back delivery and take-out-only service for the first time since May.
• If the number of new cases and hospitalizations worsened further, the county would impose a new stay-at-home order that would generally only allow workers and people with essential services to leave their homes, as well as put in place. works from 10 p.m. to 10 p.m. 6 hour curfew that exempts only essential workers.

Officials in Los Angeles have expressed alarm at the rapid spread of the infection. For the two-week period that ended Thursday, the average daily cases over a seven-day period jumped 102%, from more than 1,600 cases per day to nearly 3,300 cases per day. If the number of new daily coronavirus cases on Friday, Saturday and Sunday remains the same as Thursday, LA County could cross a red line as early as Sunday, which would put the region on the verge of a new order to stay at the House.

Whether such a prescription would be issued automatically or after a few days has yet to be decided, said Dr Muntu Davis, LA County health official. A new lockdown measure would be another blow to businesses struggling to survive amid the pandemic. Davis and others have said they want to keep businesses open but may not have a choice if epidemics cannot be slowed down otherwise.

“At this point, no one should yet underestimate the spread of this virus, nor question the actions we still need to slow the spread and reduce its impact on our collective health and our local economy,” Davis said. . “With the transmission of COVID-19 skyrocketing in Los Angeles County, it is safe to assume that many people are infected without even knowing it yet.

Meanwhile, California public health officials announced on Thursday limited home order from this weekend which aims to “reduce the possibilities of disease transmission with the aim of reducing the number of hours that individuals spend in the community and mingle with individuals outside their households.”

In other words, it aims to discourage social gatherings such as late night meals at outdoor restaurants and private parties.

Here’s what the binding command does:

• Prohibits all gatherings with members of other households and all activities carried out outside his residence, accommodation or temporary accommodation with members of other households from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. purple level counties, who make up about 94% of California’s population.
• Allows people to leave home to walk their dogs or walk with the people they live with, shop for groceries or pick up drugs from the pharmacy late at night, pick up or receive take out food, travel emergency or urgent care or other fine essentials;
• Does not affect activities associated with the operation, maintenance or use of critical infrastructure;
• Comes into effect on Saturday and lasts until December 21, although it may be extended.
• Does not apply to homeless people. Nothing in the ordinance prevents a number of people from the same household from leaving their residence, accommodation or temporary accommodation, as long as they do not engage in any interaction with (or otherwise reunite with) no number of persons from another household, except as specifically permitted by order.
• Allows local authorities to decide how this ordinance could be applied if necessary.