Supervisor Barger: Relaxing Restrictions Important Focus for County

L.A. County Board of Supervisor Kathryn Barger added some clarity late Tuesday afternoon to a statement made earlier in the day by county public health director Dr. Barbara Ferrer that the county would keep the “Safer at Home” order in effect through July.

“During today’s Board of Supervisors meeting, Dr. Barbara Ferrer indicated that the County’s health officer order would be in place over the next few months,” Barger said. “Unfortunately, this statement was taken out of context and has understandably caused great concern by the public.

Relaxing the restrictions in the “Safer at Home” order is an important focus for the County, which will be done gradually over the next few months.

Barger said she was eager to reopen more of L.A. County as soon as it’s safe to do so, in collaboration with health experts, community leaders, businesses and residents, with best practices in place to ensure our overall health and well-being.

“These decisions will be guided by the latest science and data collected. I’m confident that the more our communities continue to comply, the sooner we can resume normalcy.”

Ferrer earlier said the county’s health orders will most likely be extended through July,

“Our hope is that by using the data, we’d be able to slowly lift restrictions over the next three months,” Ferrer said.

But she said that without widely available testing, “it seems unlikely that restrictions would be completely eased.”

The current public health order is set to expire Friday.

The announcement came as Pasadena prepared to open the Rose Bowl Loop and allow all retail businesses to do curbside business.

Pasadena has its own health department and is not required to comply with the county order.

On Monday, the L.A. County Department of Public Health Department confirmed 39 new deaths and 591 new cases of the Coronavirus.

The County has identified 32,258 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of LA County, and a total of 1,569 deaths.

Updated numbers were expected on Tuesday.

Currently, L.A. County is in phase two of the five-stage roadmap to recovery which allows florists and some retailers to offer curbside pickup only, car dealership showrooms to reopen with appropriate physical distancing and infection control measures, and trails and golf courses to reopen with pro shops remaining closed to public entry.

County health officials surveyed businesses this weekend to determine if physical distancing and infection control measures were being followed.
Of the 410 businesses surveyed, 162 were in violation of the Health Officer Order because they were allowing customers into stores, not following physical distancing measures and not requiring customers to wear cloth face coverings.

Retail establishments are closed to public entry and must ensure compliance with all protocols before reopening. Inspectors will continue to monitor for compliance and ensure that all adhere to the Health Officer Order.

On Tuesday, Dr. Anthony Fauci again said that if there is not an “adequate” response by the U.S. in the fall, more infections and deaths are on the horizon.

“We run the risk of having a resurgence,” Fauci said. “I would hope by that point in time in the fall that we have more than enough to respond adequately, but if we don’t, there will be a problem.”