Why LA County decided to close outdoor restaurants

On November 22, the LA County Department of Health announced it would be suspending on-site outdoor dining in Los Angeles from November 25 at 10 p.m. in order to slow the spread of COVID-19. In recent weeks, coronavirus cases have increased 108% from the start of November. Restaurants in the city are discouraged by the loss of outdoor restaurants, which provided much-needed income and jobs for operators and workers.

However, the director of health, Dr. Barbara Ferrer, gave some enlightening rationale as to why the county decided to put al fresco dining on hold for three weeks. Ferrer said in a media call today that the most important thing they know about is eating in place, which puts people from different households in one place without wearing face covers. And with COVID-19 at higher rates than ever right now, affecting just over 6,000 cases today, she is concerned that this type of maskless interaction will only serve to increase the rate of transmission. (Ferrer said the daily number of cases was likely higher due to a delay in reporting tests.)

Ultimately, Ferrer is basing the decision to close the restaurants on-site, as this naturally reduces the number of interactions people from different households will have in person without a mask. “I think one of the sad realities is that we have never seen such a high rate of increase as we have just seen. We know that the places where people eat are the easiest and most likely places for transmission, ”she said.

Given figures last week that only 81% of 726 restaurants inspected were complying with physical distancing guidelines, Ferrer expressed concern that lack of compliance could lead to greater exposure of diners in theaters. outdoor dining. She explained how a low compliance rate can result in dramatic levels of exposure for diners across the county: “Almost 20% of restaurants were not meeting social distancing mandates. In LA County, that’s over 6,000 sites, which could easily translate to over 300,000 people at increased risk of exposure if each of those sites had 50 people. “

Last month, the Department of Health said that between 10 and 15% of COVID-19 cases came from restaurant experiences, but today Ferrer shared that this information was based on a small sample of Interviews with 280,000 positive cases in LA County. Ferrer said: “Most of the people we interviewed had no idea where they were exposed. We asked about the activities of the past two weeks. Indeed, due to the 14-day incubation period of COVID-19 and the number of activities each positive person has engaged in during that time, even county data of 10-15% of cases from restaurants may not be entirely accurate.

LA County Department of Health

Restaurant owners screamed scandal when the county first announced the upcoming closure of outdoor restaurants, saying the health department had failed to justify the decision based on a relatively low transmission rate in the restaurant premises. Earlier today, the Independent Hospitality Coalition, made up of independent restaurant operators around Los Angeles, claimed the rate of transmission had not increased since al fresco dining was allowed in late May, and had declined over the past five months, arguing instead that events such as Halloween and private gatherings are the main drivers of the surge. In fact, even LA County Supervisor Kathryn Barger came out to support the restaurant industry, openly opposing the Department of Health’s decision and saying she would advocate on behalf of tens of thousands of people. jobs that would be affected by the three-week minimum shutdown.

When asked why the health department couldn’t pass other policies, such as enforcing a county-wide mask warrant or improving contact tracing, Ferrer s ‘is postponed to the scheduled meeting of the supervisory board tomorrow. Due to the five-day average of more than 4,500 cases in Los Angeles County, council may decide to give Los Angeles a more secure “targeted” home warrant. Ferrer did not provide further details except that the restrictions would not mirror those in the spring. One thing is for sure, it looks like the ban on outdoor dining will continue until at least December 16, and potentially longer.