LA will reopen indoor restaurant, gym as early as Monday

Los Angeles County restaurants, gyms, museums and cinemas will soon be allowed to reopen for indoor activities, according to a public health announcement made Thursday to commemorate the first major reopening of business since the pandemic began. Will be done.

Resumption will be triggered as soon as California reaches its goal of giving 2 million COVID-19 vaccines to residents of the most disadvantaged areas. This is likely to happen on Friday.

After clearing that hurdle, the state relaxed the threshold required for the county to move out of the most restrictive purple category of the four-tier reopening blueprint, clearing several counties, including Los Angeles. Then proceed to some less restrictive red layers. Point on the weekend.

Indoor meals are completely off limits with a purple layer, but are allowed in red with a limited capacity. Milestones have also triggered an increase in activity in retail and personal care services, and all services always require masking, so capacity can be increased to 50%.

If the immunization threshold is reached on Friday, the new LA County Public Health Officer’s order may come into effect as early as Monday morning.

Under the new health order, personal gatherings in up to three separate households are allowed and always require masking and distance. Fully vaccinated people can gather in small numbers indoors with other fully vaccinated people without the need for masking or distance.

“We plan to move to Red Tier soon, which will allow for reopening and authorized activities in LA County,” said Barbara Ferrer, Director of Public Health. “This milestone is the result of companies and individuals working together to play their part in preventing the spread of COVID-19. Keeping the transmission running, strictly following safety directives, preventing the increase of cases, It is the responsibility of all businesses and residents to keep everyone as safe as possible. If even a relatively small number of businesses or individuals do not follow safety precautions, many other businesses You will experience tragic consequences. “

The new health order is the first time in more than eight months that residents will be able to eat indoors at a restaurant.

When ordered by a new health officer, the restaurant will be able to serve meals indoors with a capacity of 25%.

Regular guests must sit at least 8 feet away from other tables, and indoors, only one household with a maximum of 6 people is allowed per table. The restaurant allows up to 6 people from 3 households per table to dine together at an outdoor table.

Restaurants need “working” heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems, and ventilation should be as strong as possible.

Public health officials are strongly encouraged to provide all restaurant employees who interact with customers indoors with additional masking protection over the face shields they currently need over face masks. It is recommended that workers be given an N95 mask, KN95 mask, or double mask and face shield.

In addition, public health officials strongly recommend that all employees working indoors be “informed and provided about vaccination opportunities,” according to a statement released Thursday. LA County food service workers, including restaurant meals, table service, takeaway, and cooking jobs, have been vaccinated since March 1.

Other changes set to be made at the order of the health officer include:

• Museums, zoos and aquariums can be opened indoors with a capacity of 25%.
• The gym, fitness center, yoga and dance studio can be opened indoors with 10% capacity, with masking requirements for all indoor activities.
• Cinemas can be opened indoors with 25% capacity with reserved seats only if each group is seated at a distance of at least 6 feet in all directions between the other groups.
• Retail and personal care services can increase capacity to 50%, as all services always require masking.
• Indoor shopping malls can increase capacity to 50% while keeping common areas closed. The food court can be opened with a capacity of 25%, following the restaurant’s guidance on indoor dining.
• Higher education institutions can resume all permitted activities with the necessary safety changes, except for housing under current restrictions during the spring semester.
• Schools are allowed to reopen for face-to-face instruction for grades 7-12 students who comply with all state and county directives.

For months, the scene in every restaurant in Los Angeles County was the same. There were signs warning patrons that the table was roped, chairs were stacked in corners or on the table, and the table was temporarily closed.

On July 1, Governor Gavin Newsom ordered the immediate closure of indoor operations in restaurants, wineries, tasting rooms, cinemas, zoos, museums and cardrooms. His announcement came after California broke the record for two new daily coronavirus infections (8,610 according to Times trackers) for the second consecutive day.

The worst hasn’t come yet, and LA County has struggled to lower the case rate enough to meet the state’s reopening criteria.

Thursday’s announcement will be made about 6 weeks later LA County lifts ban on outdoor diningThe restaurant can reopen the outdoor patio and table with 50% capacity, at least 8 feet away from the table.

This was a coveted bailout for the industry, which was affected not only by the closure, but also by the limited disposable income of its patrons. Many families chose to cook at home during the pandemic to save money and limit exposure.

According to the National Restaurant Assn, an estimated 110,000 restaurants have closed nationwide since the pandemic.

Data edited by California Restaurant Assn. It shows that 1.4 million inhabitants worked in the restaurant before the pandemic. Since its closure in March last year, about one million of these workers have been dismissed or temporarily dismissed, struggling to wait for unemployment allowance delays.

In previous efforts to restart the economy, elected civil servants have sometimes issued contradictory statements on how to best protect the public from viruses, as opposed to the great sacrifice of unemployment and closure.

As the coronavirus spread nationwide last spring, Los Angeles County saw some of the hospitalizations and deaths seen in New York and local authorities. After emphasizing the importance of acting slowly to restart the economy and predicting July. A decision was made — in late May, it was urgently announced that indoor meals would resume. The resumption in some cases led to a surge in summer.

County supervisors later regretted not providing the public with a clear message that the pandemic was not over just because they were able to eat at the restaurant.Health authorities Said on June 20th The day after LA County approved the reopening of bars, breweries, wineries, and similar businesses, more than 500,000 people visited the county’s newly reopened nightlife spots.

By early July, the number of new coronavirus cases surged in California and some hospitals were approaching capacity.

In late august Newsom announces 4-layer system Mandatory counties meet certain criteria before being allowed to open various business units.

“This time it will be more stubborn,” Newsom said at a press conference in Sacramento. “This is more rigorous, but I believe in a more steady approach.”

Since then, Los Angeles County, which has been plagued by a high rate of new cases, hospitalizations and deaths, has not yet left the purple layer.

Over the past year, the closure has been hit by resistance from local officials, many of whom have faced pressure from restaurant owners and chambers of commerce to reopen.

Shortly before Thanksgiving, LA County public health officials announced that they would limit all face-to-face meals for at least three weeks, limiting restaurants, breweries, wineries, and bars to takeaway and delivery services only. The announcement was made after the county’s five-day average of new coronavirus cases exceeded 4,000 and then exceeded the threshold set by the authorities to enforce restrictions.

A few days later At the county oversight committee, Supervisor Kathrenberger, whose District 5 stretches north from Alhambra to Kern County Line, has introduced an urgent proposal to withdraw the ban on outdoor dining, despite the county’s health authorities saying it was needed. Did. The bill was voted 3-2 and supervisor Janice Hahn co-authored and endorsed the bill.

“This is the only business that allows customers to stay unmasked,” supervisor Sheila Kühl said at a meeting in November. “And that’s enough, I think, to pick it out right away. I’ve tried it, but the number has increased.”

Times staff writers Tallinn Luna and Phil Willon contributed to this report.