Last week, the LA County Department of Public Health announced the reopening of in-house restaurants in the region as part of the county’s move from purple to red. While indoor meals can be resumed at 25% capacity, LA County health officer Dr. Muntu Davis offered caution to individuals who dine indoors, saying there is an increased risk of eating indoors. He also warned that those most at risk of coronavirus disease or death should avoid indoor dining rooms.
The counties surrounding Southern California will also move to the least restrictive red level this week, including Orange, San Bernardino, Riverside and Ventura. According Los Angeles Times, health experts ponder whether the reopening of schools, museums and gyms in the region will cause another increase in cases of COVID-19. There is also a new and more contagious variant appearing in LA County, leading Dr. Davis to remind residents that people are still susceptible to infection.
Dr. Davis also warned that failure to comply with safety guidelines could result in a further increase in hospitalizations and encouraged people to continue using facial coverings and the county’s mandatory social detachment to help keep restaurants open and residents healthy.
Today, the director of public health for LA County, Dr. Barbara Ferrer, has also observed modified guidelines to be followed to ensure safety with indoor meals, including a rated heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system and maintaining a distance of 2.5 meters between tables. With internal meals, only one family can dine together with a maximum of six people. Three different families can dine together outdoors, with a limit of six people at the table as well.
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Rates of coronavirus infection and deaths have dropped significantly since the beginning of February, and after wealthier residents accessed consultations for communities heavily affected by the pandemic, the state is administering more vaccines in those areas.
The LA County Health Department has issued the following notices on its website and has designated low to high risk categories for meals outside the home:
The risk of spreading COVID-19 increases in a restaurant setting, as described below, as individuals remove their masks while eating and drinking and there is greater interaction with those who do not live in the same house.
- Lower risk: Food service limited to drive-through, delivery, take-out and pick-up on the sidewalk.
- More risks: Emphasized drive-through, delivery, take-out and pick-up at the curb. On-site dining limited to outdoor seating. Reduced seating capacity to allow tables to be more widely spaced.
- Highest risk: On-site dining with reduced indoor seating capacity to allow tables to be more widely spaced. And / or on-site dining with outdoor tables, but the tables are not widely spaced.
- Highest risk: On-site dining with indoor tables. The seating capacity is not reduced and the tables are no longer spaced from each other.
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What to know about all the recently relaxed rules for on-site dining [ELA]