Pasadena Restaurant Indoor Dining, Theaters, Gyms Cleared to Reopen Once County Enters ‘Red’ Tier

Indoor restaurant service, movie theaters and gyms will be among the long-shuttered businesses allowed to reopen at limited capacity in Pasadena once the region ascends from the “purple” tier to the “red” tier under the state’s pandemic reopening guidelines, which authorities now say is expected to occur sometime between Monday and Wednesday.

Gov. Gavin Newsom announced on Wednesday that the state was on the verge of meeting its goal of vaccinating 2 million people statewide in at-risk communities, which would allow Los Angeles County and others to accelerate their move into the less-restrictive category.

State policy allows for increased activity including limited indoor dining, movie theater screenings, gym operation and museum tours, as well as the reopening of schools through 12th grade. Health officials at both the city and county level announced Thursday that they would adjust local public health policies to allow activities permitted under state guidelines.

But while Newsom previously said the shift may occur as early as Friday, Pasadena and L.A. County public health officials said Thursday that the move to the “red” tier would likely occur sometime between Monday and Wednesday.

Under the new guidelines, which will take effect once the state confirms the county has entered “red” tier status, indoor dining is permitted at a capacity of up to 25%, along with museums, aquariums and zoos. Masks and other requirements, including that dining tables being spaces 8 feet apart or more, are also mandated.

Movie theaters will be permitted to host showings with audiences limited to 25% capacity and only with reserved seating to ensure social distancing.

Gyms, dance studios, fitness centers and similar businesses will be permitted to operate indoors at 10% capacity.

Retail stores, malls and personal care services will be permitted to expand capacity to 50%. with masking required at all times and for all services.

Schools, which are currently only permitted to resume in-person instruction for grades 6 and below, will be permitted to reopen in-person classes through high school.

But as restrictions lift, the city’s efforts to enforce remaining COVID-19 protocols will only increase, Derderian said.

While it was hoped the new activity would give a much-needed boost to the local economy, officials did not want to see the virus take hold again.

“We still will adhere to strict COVID protocols, both for customers and employees,” according to Derderian. “We need everybody to still follow the regulations, otherwise, it’s one step forward and two steps back.”

Pasadena reported eight new COVID-19 infections and five additional deaths on Thursday, according to city spokeswoman Lisa Derderian.

Several of the deaths were believed to have resulted from infections contracted during holiday gatherings, she said.

All but one of the eight new infected patients detected Thursday were under 50 years old, Derderian added.

In total, Pasadena health officials had recorded 11,011 confirmed COVID-19 infections and 327 fatalities Over the prior week, an average of seven new infections per day were reported.

Huntington Hospital reported treating 30 COVID-19 patients on Thursday, with eight of them in intensive care units.

At the county level, authorities announced 1,378 new infections and 101 additional deaths, bringing the totals in L.A. County to 1,208,024 known cases of the virus and 22,304 fatalities.

The L.A. County Department of Public Health reported 1,056 COVID-19 patients hospitalized across the county on Thursday, with 30% of them being treated in ICUs.

There are 1,056 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized and 30% of these people are in the ICU. Testing results are available for nearly 5,927,000 individuals with 19% of people testing positive. Today’s daily test positivity rate is 2.1%.

L.A. County Director of Public Health Barbara Ferrer again expressed condolences to those mourning a family member or loved one lost to COVID-19.

“To the families and friends mourning the loss of a loved one to COVID-19, we wish you healing and peace,” she said.

“We plan to move into the red tier very soon, and that allows for more re-openings and permitted activities in L.A. County. This milestone is the result of businesses and individuals working together and doing their part to prevent COVID-19 from spreading,” Ferrer said.

“It will be up to everyone, businesses and residents, to continue driving down transmission and to follow safety directives closely to keep everyone as safe as possible by preventing increases in cases,” she added. “When even relatively small numbers of businesses and individuals fail to adhere to the safety precautions, many others experience tragic consequences.”

The California Department of Public Health reported 3,184 new infections and 270 additional deaths on Thursday, raising the statewide tallies to 3,516,862 COVID-19 cases and 54,891 fatalities.

The statewide average positivity rate over the prior week was recorded at 2.4%, while the 14-day average stood at 2.3%.

As of Thursday, L.A. County represented 34% of California COVID-19 infections and 41% of the state’s deaths.