In the meantime, a decision is expected on Thursday on whether Los Angeles County will allow all companies under the less restrictive “red” tier to reopen, in particular, indoor restaurants.
According to a plan announced last week, as soon as the state reaches the 2 million dose mark in low-income communities, the state’s “Plan for a Safer Economy” governing the reopening of businesses will be adjusted, making it more easy for counties to advance through the four-tiered matrix.
As of Wednesday, the state had administered 1,926,968 doses to hard-hit communities, and Newsom said the 2 million mark would be reached by Friday. When that mark is reached, counties will be able to move out of the more restrictive “purple” layer of the plan when their average rate of new daily COVID-19 infections reaches 10 per 100,000 residents – a more flexible pattern than the current 7 per 100,000. residents.
Under the new guidelines, Los Angeles and Orange counties would immediately qualify to move to the less restrictive “red” level, as both are below the 10 per 100,000 standard for two weeks. The new Los Angeles County case rate is currently 5.2 per 100,000 residents, while Orange County is 6 per 100,000.
The “red” layer allows counties to reopen in-house restaurants, fitness centers and cinemas, while increasing the capacity of retail stores and shopping centers.
“Southern California, you will be a beneficiary of that, ” Newsom said during a visit to a mobile vaccination clinic in South Gate on Wednesday.” Specifically, LA will be a major beneficiary of this new metric that is likely to be reached on Friday. And moving forward over the weekend and next week, you will see more activity, more loosening of the layers. This is encouraging and I hope people will be excited about what it means in the future, because we have a number of other limits and other goals that will allow us to move forward with more clarity, more conviction and more confidence as we move forward over the next few weeks. and in the coming months. ”
RELATED: Newsom Says State About to Hit Vaccination Target, Allowing Most SoCal Counties to Change to Red Level
Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said it will take 48 hours after the state announces that the vaccination limit has been reached for the county to officially move to the “red” level. If the goal is reached by Friday, as Newsom announced, the county could move forward as early as Sunday.
The idea behind the 2 million dose limit is to ensure that vaccines are distributed equitably across the state, ensuring that low-income communities that have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic COVID-19 are not overlooked in the vaccination effort. Newsom ordered 40% of the state’s vaccine supply to be set aside to ensure equity in the distribution process.
As soon as Los Angeles County moves to the “red” level, it will be up to county officials to decide whether to fully align with statewide business reopening guidelines or to maintain stricter regulations. Ferrer hinted this week that the county could consider it. She referred repeatedly this week to a recent federal study that found that live meals create a greater risk of spreading COVID-19, an indication that the county may not immediately authorize it. the resumption of meals in closed environments.
Asked on Wednesday whether indoor meals would be allowed, Ferrer did not commit, saying that discussions continued with the Board of Supervisors and the restaurant industry. But she said the county plans to issue “red” level operational guidelines on Thursday for restaurants, cinemas and other businesses, so “we will have a definitive answer to that.”
“We are watching what is happening across the state, watching what we have learned about what can create the greatest possible safety when people are indoors,” she said.
The state’s “red” guidelines allow for indoor meals at 25% capacity, but counties may impose stricter regulations. The level also allows indoor fitness centers with 10% capacity and cinemas, museums and aquariums with 25%. it also allows theme parks like Disneyland in Orange County and Universal Studios Hollywood in Los Angeles County to reopen at 15% capacity, with visitors only in the state.
On Tuesday, two members of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors said they support full alignment with state guidelines, including indoor dining.
“I strongly believe that we should align with the state’s red-level reopening guidelines, ‘” said supervisor Janice Hahn. ” … I think being different from that now would cause confusion and probably a lot of anger, because there are so many places out there, entities, that have really suffered and are waiting for some more of these restrictions to be lifted.
“Especially if we are talking about the reopening of Disneyland with limited capacity, on the opening day at Dodger Stadium, there will be fans in person,” she said. “… But I really hope we can stay in line so there is no confusion from one county to the next. ”
RELATED: LA County may change to the red level this weekend, but will indoor meals return?
Supervisor Kathryn Barger agreed with Hahn, saying that LA County should align its public health order with the state and neighboring counties.
“I believe that clarity and consistency lead to higher compliance rates,” said Barger, adding that she wanted to prevent local residents from traveling to other counties with less restrictions.
Ferrer cautioned the council that while the number of cases and the rate of positivity for the test has dropped sharply in recent weeks, things could easily get worse if residents became negligent about infection control measures.
“This is the month, I would say – the month of March, the beginning of April – when we have to be extraordinarily cautious, ” she said.” Because we’ve been here before. We’ve been here with reopenings. We were here on Thanksgiving and Christmas trips. We have already seen what happens on vacation if we are not very careful. … We have to keep everyone alive now so they can be vaccinated and stay alive. So this would be a time for extreme caution. ”
She specifically pointed to the spread of variants of the virus that causes COVID-19, which can spread more easily from person to person. Ferrer said the variant first identified in the UK has increased its reach in Los Angeles County, and is now believed to be responsible for 10% of all COVID cases in the county.
“There is also growing concern about a fourth worldwide wave of COVID-19, as cases began to rise in the last week of February, after six weeks of decline, particularly in Europe,” she said.
Ferrer also noted that although the county has received its largest allocation to date for the COVID-19 vaccine this week, with more than 300,000 doses, that number is expected to fall because the county will not receive any dose of the new single dose Johnson Da vaccine & Johnson for the next two weeks, due to a manufacturing and production problem. ”
“Essentially, Johnson & Johnson distributed everything they had right away and now we’re going to wait a little while until they have more to distribute,” she said.
The drop in vaccine supply will coincide with the expansion of vaccine eligibility next Monday for people aged 16 and over with an underlying health condition that puts them at risk for serious illness or death from COVID-19. She said on Wednesday that eligibility has also expanded to include custodian and janitorial staff, public transportation staff and airport ground staff, along with social workers who deal with cases of violence and abuse, and foster parents who provide emergency housing for young people.
Ferrer urged people to be patient when trying to mark vaccination markings due to the continuing shortage of vaccines and the growing number of people eligible for vaccines. She urged people with underlying health problems to contact their doctor to see if they can get injections from their health care provider.
On Wednesday, the county reported another 119 deaths from COVID-19, although five of those deaths were announced on Tuesday by health officials in Long Beach. Long Beach reported yet another death on Wednesday afternoon, while Pasadena added two. The new deaths increased the death toll across the county during the pandemic to 22,216.
Another 1,514 cases were announced by the county, although Ferrer said that number included “a few hundred” cases attributed to a backlog of reports. Long Beach reported 22 cases on Wednesday and Pasadena announced five. The new cases increased the cumulative pandemic total to 1,206,740.
According to state data, there were 1,056 people hospitalized in the municipality on behalf of COVID until Monday, with 309 hospitalized in intensive care.
Until Friday, 2,415,460 doses of the COVID vaccine had been administered in the municipality. This includes 814,593 second doses, representing the number of
people who have been fully vaccinated.
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