For the first time in more than two months, confined Angelenos can now eat at one of the area’s restaurants – and stay for a while to savor.
Los Angeles County officially lifted the ban on outdoor dining on Friday, removing the proverbial padlock from restaurant patios after a long public health shutdown.
The move represents not only a desperately needed boost to the county’s hospitality industry – which has been battered for months by closures and restrictions designed to prevent coronavirus transmission – but the relaxation of what has proved to be one of the county’s most controversial rules has implemented over the course of the pandemic.
Restaurants along Pier Plaza in Hermosa Beach reopened on Friday for outdoor dining under flexible restrictions across the state against coronavirus.
(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
Just as important, however, is what the authorities say the decision does not represent: an imminent end to the COVID-19 crisis or a sign that residents can put aside practices and protocols designed to prevent the spread of the virus mortal.
According to the new county rules, places for outdoor dining and wine service should be limited to 50% of capacity, with tables positioned at least 2.5 meters away.
External seating will also be limited to no more than six people per table – and everyone seated together must be from the same house, as determined by the health order.
“This is our first time in the real world,” said Adrian Ramirez, 29, right, while enjoying a meal on Friday with friend Bobby Aksagul, 29, at Mel’s Drive-In restaurant in Sherman Oaks. “The waitress said we were her first customers outdoors,” said Ramirez.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
In a nod to concerns over the Super Bowl and other sporting events that can keep the audience going for long periods, the order also stipulates that “televisions or other screens that broadcast the program must remain off until further notice.”
Although the county has seen its decline in COVID-19 case rates, “the risk of transmission in the community is still very high,” according to Health Officer Dr. Muntu Davis.
“There is no risk in a restaurant or any other environment where people from different families are together,” he said during a meeting on Friday.
At this point, he added, “we really need to be cautious as we go, since we have a big sporting event” coming up, and it is not uncommon for people to “scream, scream, scream during the excitement of a game.”
If conditions improve, Davis said the county will consider changing its rules as needed.
“At the moment, we have to facilitate these reopenings,” he said. “We want these cases to continue to decrease, our hospitalizations continue to decrease. Our healthcare professionals have done a great job … they are tired. “
It didn’t take long for customers to reach the restaurant’s patios and other outdoor dining spaces.
Abby Hill broke her umbrella, so when she arrived at Engine Co. No. 28, she was strangely wet. In the courtyard of downtown LA’s restaurant, the mood reflected the relaxed happy hour. And the systems analyst from Arizona was meeting with an old friend from college.
“Look at this cool place,” she said, pointing to the entrance to the historic landmark, used first by the city’s Fire Department and then as a credit union. She picked up the phone for some selfies, trying to ignore her messy hair, before examining the discounted drinks. He decided on coffee, followed by the trio of pineapple, cucumber and strawberry margarita tasters.
His friend, Aaron Sanchez de Pasadena, had a few beers. He said he is excited “these places are opening up again because we need more places to go than just our kitchen and television. I swear, it is sad not to have choices when you are young and single and to have to be quarantined. “
The largest table in the covered patio accommodated only four people, but James Chen was already mentally calculating bringing his girlfriend and others, perhaps for Valentine’s Day. He sent a message reminding himself to ask about reservations.
“I thought about having a picnic on the beach, but I am concerned that many people will go there to escape on Saturday or Sunday,” he said.
The lifting of the ban on outdoor dining is one of the clearest signs that the county is moving in a more positive direction. LA County health officials originally suspended the offer in late November amid an increasing number of new coronavirus infections.
Shortly thereafter, California issued a new regional home stay request covering all of Southern California, which extended the ban on outdoor dining and imposed a number of other restrictions.
As conditions improved, Governor Gavin Newsom announced on Monday that these orders would be canceled across the state. Many restaurants in the affected areas were able to reopen for al fresco dining earlier this week, but LA County resisted – with officials saying they wanted to create additional security measures.
In the weeks since the ban on outdoor dining was implemented, some critics demanded to see the data that justified it and questioned whether its benefits would justify the economic problems that restaurants would suffer.
County health officials, however, said the danger of transmitting the coronavirus increases during any activity, when people spend long periods of time in the vicinity of people outside their homes, without wearing masks.
Along with restaurants, LA County breweries can also reopen for al fresco dining, and wineries can offer outdoor tastings.
Recent improvements, while certainly welcome, reveal the magnitude of the most recent wave.
In mid-November, county health officials warned that they would implement a ban on outdoor dining if the five-day average of new coronavirus cases reached 4,000 or if hospitalizations exceed 1,750 a day.
These limits seemed almost unthinkable at the time, as they would have represented a return to the numbers of the summer’s virulent wave.
Now, however, taking cases and hospitalizations to previously threatening levels would represent significant progress. In the past five days, the county has averaged more than 6,500 new coronavirus cases daily, according to data compiled by The Times.
This dropped significantly from a few weeks ago, but is still higher than any level seen before the last increase.
COVID-19 hospitalizations are also declining steadily, dropping 25% across the county in the past two weeks. However, the number of Angelenos hospitalized for COVID-19 on Thursday – 5,669 – is still more than double the peak of the summer peak.
The authorities recognize that the broader reopening of the economy could put progress at risk. Coronavirus is a communicable disease and can spread widely and quickly as people come into contact with each other more regularly without taking precautions, such as wearing face shields or keeping physical distance.
Unless businesses and residents stick to the protocols in place, officials say the county is in danger of failing to move forward as quickly and widely as everyone would like.
“It will really depend on everyone, like most of it, in terms of doing what is right,” said Davis.