Despite there being no significant downturn in COVID-19 cases and there being significant warnings about the dangers of re-opening too soon, many states across the country have steadily started to re-open. However, if you happen to live in Los Angeles, don’t count on being a part of the effort to re-open the country any time soon.
The Los Angeles Times reports that according to public health director Barbara Ferrer the stay-at-home order in Los Angeles Country will “with all certainty” be extended until at least July. Last week, the county slightly relaxed restrictions, allowing certain nonessential businesses to provide curbside pickup and reopening some hiking trails. On Wednesday, beaches are set to reopen in the county for recreational purposes only. Any further changes to the rules are unlikely unless there was a “dramatic change to the virus and tools at hand” Ferrer said in a meeting with the Board of Supervisors.
From The Los Angeles Times:
“Our hope is that by using the data, we’d be able to slowly lift restrictions over the next three months,” she said. But without widely available therapeutic testing for the coronavirus or rapid at-home tests that would allow people to test themselves daily, it seems unlikely that restrictions would be completely eased.
Ferrer’s comments came shortly after Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, warned Congress that states that push too quickly to ease orders could undo progress that would trigger an outbreak. Fauci said a 14-day decline in cases is the major checkpoint that states should be using as a guideline for reopening efforts.
While certain counties in California have been seeing a downturn in cases, Los Angeles County continues to track upward. On Monday, the county reported 566 new positive cases and 39 new deaths. The county has over 32,000 cases of COVID-19 and the death toll currently sits at 1,570. Overall, California currently has 67,939 cases and 2,770 deaths.