County officials said the change from purple to red will take effect at 12:01 pm on Monday, meaning that indoor restaurants can return and indoor cinemas and fitness centers can reopen, all with limited capacity.
It was unclear whether the county would align with state guidelines or choose to maintain stricter restrictions, but under guidance released on Thursday, various types of businesses and activities will be allowed under the red level.
As of Thursday morning, the state administered 1,971,784 doses of vaccine in low-income communities.
LA County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer had previously said that the county should officially move to the red level 48 hours after the state reaches the vaccination threshold.
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Under the new guidance, meals indoors can be resumed at 25% capacity.
The county will require that the restaurants have 2.5 meters of distance between all tables, which will be restricted to a maximum of six people from the same house. The rules also require that ventilation be increased “as much as possible”.
Restaurant waiters must already wear a face mask and face shield. With the new rules, the Department of Public Health “strongly recommends” that employees update their facial coverings, through the use of top-grade N95 or KN95 masks, or a combination of a double mask and face protection.
Health officials also strongly recommend that all employees be informed and given the chance to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Food service workers can now receive injections.
The rules for other companies, once the county enters the red layer, broadly align with state guidance:
The move to the red level will also allow the theme parks to reopen as early as April 1 – including Disneyland Resort in Orange County and Universal Studios Hollywood in Los Angeles County – with 15% capacity, with visitors in the state only.
On Tuesday, Disney CEO Bob Chapek said the company plans to reopen Disneyland and Disney California Adventure Park in late April.
The rules also allow the resumption of activities in higher education institutions and the reopening of classroom teaching for students from the 7th to the 12th grade. Private indoor meetings are also allowed for people from up to three different families, with masking and physical distance. Vaccinated people can gather in small groups inside the home, without masking or distancing themselves.
According to Governor Gavin Newsom’s most recent guidelines, when the state reaches the 2 million vaccine milestone in low-income communities, counties will be able to move out of the more restrictive purple layer of the plan when their average rate of new COVID- daily 19 infections reach 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 qualified to move to the less restrictive red level, as both were below the 10 per 100,000 standard two weeks ago. The Los Angeles County new case rate is currently 5.2 per 100,000 residents, while Orange County’s rate is 6 per 100,000.
The idea behind the 2 million dose limit is to ensure that vaccines are distributed equally across the state, ensuring that low-income communities that have been disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic 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.
Ferrer warned the county Council of Supervisors on Tuesday that while case numbers and the test’s positive rate in the county have plummeted in the past few weeks, things could easily get worse if residents became negligent with the measures. infection control.
“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 have already 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. ”
The City News Service contributed to this report.
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