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Health official: No reductions in COVID restrictions until end of September

by City News Service • September 14, 2020

LOS ANGELES – Los Angeles County won’t authorize any more business reopenings until at least the end of the month so officials can determine if the recent Labor Day weekend will cause the same spike in COVID-19 cases seen after Fourth of July and Memorial Day, the county’s public health director said Monday.

But while no more businesses will be allowed to immediately reopen, some schools are moving ahead with plans to offer in-person learning for small groups of students.

Earlier this month, the county agreed to allow in-person instruction for some students in kindergarten through 12th grade, but only for small groups of students with individualized learning plans, students requiring instruction for English as a second language and students needing other “specialized in- school services.”

County public health director Barbara Ferrer said that as of Monday, 59 schools have submitted plans to offer such in-person instruction, and about half of them could be open as early as Monday.

She said public health officials would be working with each school to ensure they are meeting all required safety protocols. All other schools remain closed for in-person learning throughout the county due to the virus.

Ferrer said she respects that the Los Angeles County has maintained tougher rules than the state in some instances, but said those restrictions won’t be changing for a few weeks.

“We’ve made a decision with our board that we’re going to hold steady until the end of September, when we are going to be looking at what the data is that we’ve seen after the Labor Day weekend,” Ferrer said. ” … We’ve had significant spikes in cases after the holidays, and that has resulted in us needing to sort of take some steps backward. We want to avoid doing that again so we’re going to wait a couple weeks, look at our data, review it with our board. … And we will be getting back to everyone toward the end of the month.”

Since the virus has a two-week incubation period, spikes in possible new cases from increased public exposure over Labor Day weekend would not be reflected in case data for about 14 days.

On Monday, the county reported 24 more coronavirus-related deaths, bringing the countywide total since the start of the pandemic to 6,231. The county also announced 733 new cases, pushing the overall total to 254,656.

Since the start of the pandemic, health officials have confirmed 3,870 coronavirus cases and 65 deaths in Palmdale; 3,134 cases and 45 deaths in Lancaster; 157 cases and 11 deaths in Quartz Hill; 210 cases and four deaths in Lake Los Angeles; 174 cases and no deaths in the Littlerock/Pearblossom, Juniper Hills areas; and 159 cases and two deaths in Sun Village. View the latest detailed report here.

Ferrer noted that Monday case numbers are typically lower than usual due to delays in reporting of results over the weekend and more limited availability of testing.

A total of 775 people were hospitalized due to the virus as of Monday.

Ferrer acknowledged the overwhelming public desire to lift health restrictions, but warned that doing so prematurely could have deadly results, as seen in the weeks following the Fourth of July holiday and accompanying business reopenings that were later rescinded.

“So many have taken and continue to take action to protect themselves and, just as importantly, to protect other people,” she said. “This pandemic is frustrating and heartbreaking, and not the least of it is that we desperately want to go back to living our lives the way they were before. And unfortunately as we’ve already experienced, doing so creates illness and devastation for so many, including people who are very vulnerable.”

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Filed Under: Business, Featured, Health, Lake Los Angeles, Lancaster, Littlerock, Los Angeles County, Palmdale

9 comments for "Health official: No reductions in COVID restrictions until end of September"

  1. ANNON says

    September 16, 2020 at 10:20 am

    THIS COVID THING IS REAL… SO SORRY EVERYONE. MY GOOD FRIEND’S MOM JUST PASSED AWAY AT PALMDALE REGIONAL FROM IT. TAKE IT SERIOUSLY. PROTECT THE ONES THAT YOU LOVE. MASK UP!

  2. Magnetlady says

    September 16, 2020 at 9:02 am

    Barbara Ferrer is NOT an elected Official, she’s appointed by the Board Of Supervisors.. She has NO AUTHORITY to make decisions… However, last week Ferrer said that our Schools won’t REOPEN until ”AFTER THE NOVEMBER ELECTION”… It’s all about using our School Children as ”POLITICAL PAWNS”… So, in the meantime, LA County is producing an Underground Economy.. How’s that working out now? The County will RAISE TAXES to make up for the Lost REVENUES… They do it every year on my Real Estate taxes!

  3. John Evans says

    September 15, 2020 at 10:42 pm

    Tired of communism yet? Do you really believe political hacks are smarter than you? If you do you deserve the dump LA County has become. In other words, what did LA County and LA do to deserve the Garcetti family?

    • Claire says

      September 16, 2020 at 7:16 am

      Wear your mask John, when you are mandated to do so. You can walk around outside without your mask if that’s your choice, but practice social distancing everywhere you go.

    • Claire says

      September 16, 2020 at 7:25 am

      Political hack: Look up the definition and it describes Trump.

    • Footsteps says

      September 16, 2020 at 8:34 am

      Communism? are you an owner, John Evans? People still own stuff in California.

      • Footsteps says

        September 16, 2020 at 8:47 am

        Well, unless you’re making car payments or you have mortgage payments; or unless you’re heavily in debt because you want to look good wherever you go.

    • Laughing says

      September 16, 2020 at 11:43 am

      Hmmm pretty sure the hacks you are angry with are listening to physicians, and using that information to make the decisions.
      But yeah, I guess we can all believe the info you share that covid-19 suddenly made our capitalistic, democratic, republic into a communistic government.

  4. tsparky says

    September 15, 2020 at 2:57 pm

    So, the “Speakeasy” economy continues. Behind papered up windows, call first, you only get in if you know someone. Certain businesses open at 25%? Riiiight, wink wink, we’re at 25% – we bought a bunch of old tables to show how many we took out.

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