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Los Angeles County will soon require proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a recent negative coronavirus test to enter Dodger and SoFi stadiums as well as Major League Soccer venues for events of more than 10,000 people.
LA County Director of Public Health Barbara Ferrer confirmed on Friday that these locations, as well as any outdoor setting where there are more than 10,000 participants, would be subject to the new, more stringent vaccine or testing requirements. which will be imposed from next month.
Starting October 7 at 11:59 p.m., guests aged 12 and over will be required to show proof of vaccination or a negative diagnostic test result taken less than 72 hours prior to the event.
Ferrer said the vaccine or testing requirement will apply to venues such as stadiums, arenas and theme parks. That wouldn’t come into play in less regulated contexts where people are constantly coming and going, like a street fair, Ferrer said.
LA County and the state already require indoor events involving more than 1,000 people – which include places such as the Staples Center – to ask guests for proof of full vaccination or a recent negative result. As of Monday, the state will no longer allow those present to simply state that they are vaccinated or have recently tested negative; rather, they must provide written proof.
The new LA County Health Order, released Friday night, also states that proof of COVID-19 vaccination will be required at indoor bars, wineries, breweries, nightclubs and lounges. A recent negative coronavirus test cannot be used to enter. Customers and employees will need to have at least one dose of vaccine by October 7 and be fully immunized by November 4.
Clients who do not provide proof of vaccination can still be served in the exterior parts of the facility, where the risk of transmission is lower as better ventilation dispels viral particles exhaled by infectious people.
The LA County order does not apply to Pasadena, which has its own independent public health department, and where officials were waiting to review the LA County order before determining “how we are going to move forward.” city spokeswoman Lisa Derderian said. The only other LA County city with its own separate public health department, Long Beach, will align with the new LA County order.
There were still questions about how the rules would apply to major LA County theme parks – Six Flags Magic Mountain and Universal Studios Hollywood. Ferrer said vaccination or testing rules would apply in parks with more than 10,000 visitors.
However, it was not immediately clear whether the 10,000 figure refers to the total number of people who will enter the theme park in a full day or whether sites will be required to actively monitor attendance and plan. only when they expect 10,000 or more people to attend at one time.
“If, for example, Magic Mountain says, ‘On average, most days we don’t even sell 10,000 tickets,’ then that won’t apply regularly,” Ferrer told reporters at a briefing on Friday. afternoon. “If they’re having a special event, like a Halloween event, and they’re going to have 10,000 or more people for a night out there, then that will apply.”
According to a 2020 study by engineering firm Aecom, Universal Studios Hollywood averages around 25,000 visitors per day, while Magic Mountain has 9,900 per day.
“I don’t want to start creating a lot of complexity around this,” Ferrer said. “I mean, the intention is pretty clear: do you have some very busy places? Go ahead and help us by doing this.
In a subsequent statement, the Department of Public Health did not directly respond to a series of specific questions posed by The Times, saying only that details of how the policy would apply to Magic Mountain and Universal Studios have yet to be answered. be determined.
“We’ll work with Magic Mountain, we’ll work with Universal Studios to better understand their capacity issues and work to design a solution that makes sense – understanding the intent is, at 10,000 people or more, you’re creating a lot of risk. And that’s what we’re really trying to avoid, ”Ferrer said.
A representative for Universal Studios Hollywood declined to comment on the new sanitation order, and a spokesperson for Six Flags did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
LA County also recommends, beginning October 7, that restaurants reserve and prioritize indoor seating for people fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
Ferrer said the new requirements are necessary to continue to roll back the pandemic in LA County, which still has too few vaccinated people to interrupt the sustained transmission of the highly contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus. Even though 76% of LA County residents 12 and older have at least one dose, only 67% are fully vaccinated. And among residents of all ages, only 58% are fully immunized.
Some experts estimate that it would take 84% of residents of all ages to be immune to COVID-19 – either through vaccination or by surviving infection – to achieve “herd immunity,” a threshold in which transmission sustained virus is largely stopped.
The settings where there will be increased requirements for entry are areas at high risk for viral transmission, Ferrer said. Crowded places are risky as many people are in close contact with each other, and in bars, people often have their masks down while actively drinking or talking.
Unvaccinated people are exceptionally at risk of becoming infected and contagious.
Even though the region is seeing a slight drop in the number of cases, “we are still seeing a lot of transmission in LA County, and we absolutely don’t want to go into late fall and winter with high transmission rates.” , Ferrer said. “We have seen the seasonality of this virus in the past, and we cannot afford another outbreak in this county like the one we saw last year. “
More than 25,700 Los Angeles County residents have died from COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, a much higher toll than flu deaths in a typical flu season, which typically ranges between 1,000 and 1,900.
“We really need to do everything we can to reduce transmission in the places where the risk is the highest,” Ferrer said.
Ferrer said she also hoped the requirements would encourage more people to get vaccinated.
“It is the most powerful tool to prevent this constant cycle of new worrisome variants from taking hold, being dangerous and creating a surge in cases,” she said.
Acceptable forms of vaccine documentation include the original white vaccine card with the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention logo, a photo or hard copy of it, a photo of the card stored on a phone , paper or digital documentation from a healthcare provider, or a digital immunization record.
Acceptable documents proving a recent negative coronavirus test result include a printed document, email, or text message displayed on a phone from the test provider or laboratory, which should include the name of the person tested, type of test and the date of a recent negative test result.
The county will also require participants to present photo identification when providing proof of vaccination or a recent negative test.
The LA County vaccine or testing requirements for large outdoor events and the vaccine requirements for bars and wineries are more stringent than those required by California authorities.
The California Department of Public Health recommends, but does not require, that participants in outdoor mega-events show evidence that they have recently tested negative for COVID-19 or have been fully vaccinated. Neither Orange County – home to the Disneyland Resort and Knott’s Berry Farm – nor San Diego County, where Legoland and SeaWorld are located, have indicated that they plan to institute similar requirements to the county. of the.
Requirements at outdoor LA County venues are also more stringent than those imposed in San Francisco, where guests at Oracle Park, where the Giants play, do not need to show proof of vaccination or a recent negative test to enter.
But San Francisco has stricter requirements for indoor venues like the Chase Center, where the Golden State Warriors play, where guests 12 and older at events of 1,000 or more attendees must show proof of vaccination to enter. into the site and unvaccinated people cannot enter even if they have a negative coronavirus test.
In the Bay Area’s most populous county, Santa Clara County, Levi’s Stadium, where the 49ers play, is not required by authorities to show proof of vaccination or a negative coronavirus test.
In San Jose, authorities have demanded that, starting Monday, the city-owned SAP Center require event attendees of 50 or older ages 12 and older to show proof of vaccination when checking in. entry into the facility, home to the San Jose Sharks. A negative coronavirus test cannot be used by unvaccinated people to enter the facility.
Dennis Speigel, president of International Theme Park Services, an industry consultant, said the new requirements will likely result in long lines for theme park visitors.
“This is going to create logistical problems that we have not had to face,” he said.
The biggest frustration may come from unvaccinated park goers from out of town showing up at theme parks and being turned away, Speigel said.
And long lines at theme parks can get worse during the upcoming peak vacation travel season.
“If this comes within the holiday period, it will present problems for the park,” he added.
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