Los Angeles County orders clothing maker to close after 300 employees contract with Coronavirus

Los Angeles County health officials have ordered the closure of a garment manufacturing facility where more than 300 employees, including four who died of the disease, tested positive for the new coronavirus.

Los Angeles County Public Health Service (DPH) Said in a Friday statement This order was made as a result of a survey of Los Angeles apparel, a basic apparel manufacturer and distributor founded in 2016. The company employs over 350 employees, According to the Facebook page.

DPH said it began investigating after discovering three employees died of COVID-19 in June and one was infected with the virus in early July.

“The deaths of four dedicated garment workers are disastrous and tragic,” DPH Director Barbara Ferrer said in a statement. “Business owners and employers have a corporate, moral and social responsibility to provide employees and their families with a safe working environment that complies with the instructions of all healthcare professionals. This responsibility is more important than ever as we continue to fight this deadly virus.”

On June 27, DPH first ordered a shutdown to its apparel factory in Los Angeles after it was found in a previous review to have committed “a serious breach of a mandatory public health control order.” County officials also said clothing manufacturers were unable to cooperate with the investigation of the reported coronavirus outbreak at the facility.

Health providers pointed out that they had first notified DPH of a possible plant outbreak on June 19, the ministry noted, adding that it prompted an immediate investigation of the problem. As part of the investigation, the health authorities requested a list of employees of the apparel company and compared it with the test results received by DPH. But the company was unable to meet multiple demands on the list, the county health official said.

Inspectors who visited the plant prior to the June 27 order also observed “multiple violations of distance requirements and infection control protocols.” Violations included the use of corrugated board as a barrier between employees.

A few weeks later, DPH advised that in Los Angeles apparel, only asymptomatic employees could be allowed to return. However, the company said, “Despite the fact that Los Angeles apparel was trying to prevent DPH employees from entering the factory, DPH learned that it was ordering health officials to reopen with apparently new employees. I violated it,” officials said.

“At this time, Los Angeles apparel has been ordered to close until the facility can demonstrate full compliance with its public health obligations,” DPH said.

Los Angeles apparel didn’t immediately return Hill’s request for comment.

The company’s founder, Dov Charney, pushed back the Health Department’s claims while talking to CNN. He argued that the decision was “political” in nature and disputed the statement that the company did not cooperate with the investigation.

he Told CNN The county health department did not tell the company that the use of cardboard barriers was inconsistent with health protocols. He also said he had not received any guidance on recruiting new employees.

“Of course we hired new employees,” Charney said. “Which company can’t hire a new employee? No one is saying they won’t hire a new employee.”

The outbreak at a clothing manufacturing facility in Los Angeles is due to a surge of new coronavirus cases in Southern California and many other parts of the United States. In California, more than 300,000 confirmed cases of the virus have been reported, with more than one-third recorded in Los Angeles County.