Los Angeles County’s roadmap to reopening
By Sam Catanzaro
Los Angels County has outlined a roadmap to opening up businesses and recreation spaces, starting as early as Friday while hinting that beaches will also be accessible soon.
On Wednesday the Los Angeles Department of Public Health (Public Health) issued a five-stage roadmap to recovery roadmap to recovery that describes a phased approach to relaxing select directives of the Safer at Home Order and a reopening process for certain business sectors.
LA County is currently in stage one of the Safer at Home recovery stage. However, the County anticipates beginning stage two as soon as Friday, May 8 by allowing florists and some retailers to offer curbside pickup. Car dealerships, golf courses and trails can also open with appropriate safeguards in place.
“Physical distancing and infection control protocols must be adhered to and cloth facing coverings must be worn,” LA County said.
Later next week additional restrictions will be lifted to include many retailers, manufacturers, and other recreational facilities, the county says.
According to Public Health, the next three stages include the potential opening in phases of higher-risk businesses like movie theaters, schools, colleges and universities, followed by conventions and spectator events, to finally normal operations. Each sector will have safe reopening protocols that must be adhered to.
“Until final stage five is reached, Health Officer Orders and directives will still continue to ensure that we slow the spread of COVID-19 to prevent an overwhelming surge of COVID-19 cases at healthcare facilities. Physical distancing, wearing cloth face coverings, frequent hand washing, self-isolation and self-quarantine will continue to be very important throughout the foreseeable future,” Public Health said Wednesday.
The County did not mention specifically when beaches would open, but Public Health Director Dr. Barbara Ferrer said the beaches will open “at some point in the very near future”, describing the reopening as “slow”. The Daily Breeze has reported that beaches will open in four stages. Learn more in the video above.
As of Thursday Public Health has identified 29,427 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of LA County, including 203 in Santa Monica, and a total of 1,418 deaths.
