Cautious Re-openings in Los Angeles; In-store Shopping, Houses of Worship and Public Protests Now With COVID-19 Safety Protocols

By Dan Fritz | KPFK

This week, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced that California is moving forward with more "lower-risk" re-openings as part of its staged COVID-19 recovery plan. On Monday, he announced that counties could begin opening houses of worship and in-store shopping.

On Tuesday, he added that hair salons and barbarshops could also be re-opened.

Each re-opening requires local governments to meet certain metrics, including lowering COVID-19 infection rates. And while the state is imposing strict guidelines (for example, houses of worship must be at or less than 25% of capacity, or 100 people, whichever is lower), Newsom said state health officials are looking to work with local authorities.

"We're open to argument. We're interested in evidence," Newsom said Tuesday, during his afternoon coronavirus update. "We want to see how some of these phased-in approaches go before we make any more meaningful modifications to them."

Early Tuesday, it wasn't clear if L.A. County as a whole could qualify for in-store shopping and low-capacity re-opened houses of worship.

During Tuesday's Board of Supervisor's meeting, responding to pressure from some regions, Supervisor Kathryn Barger had pushed for the board to allow some cities in the county to apply for their own variances.

"The governor is an elected official who has issued many executive orders, and some have shown his leanings towards more flexibility in re-opening, to his credit," said Barger. "He listens and responds based on public health, but also based on input."

After a closed-door session, the Supervisors decided to apply for a county-wide variance.

And at his Tuesday evening COVID-19 update, L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti announced that the city of L.A. will move ahead with re-opening in-store shopping and houses of worship as of Wednesday, following L.A. County guidelines.

"Together with the county, and with state guidance, we have looked at those metrics that are the minimum we need before we can even contemplate taking the next steps. I'm proud to announce that we've met those," Garcetti said.

L.A. County is also working for state approval for the next steps in re-opening, which include in-restaurant dining and personal care businesses, e.g., salons and barbershops.

But L.A. County is considered a COVID-19 hot spot in California with roughly half of all confirmed cases and deaths.

And within L.A. County, skilled nursing facilities have become the epicenter of the infection, with thousands of residents and staff having tested positive for the virus.

"Many of these institutions, many which are for-profit entities, historically and consistently have been challenged by low standards with in-patient satisfaction, employee compensation and, quite frankly, quality of care. This, in a fundamental way, has become a matter of health equity," said Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, at the county Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday, noting that facilities that house more black and Latino patients have been hit disproportionately harder than other facilities.

The Board voted Tuesday to appoint an inspector general by July to implement additional oversight for the nursing facilities.

 
 

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