Los Angeles County has imposed new restrictions on businesses and is readying plans for a mandatory curfew for all but essential workers if coronavirus cases keep spiking.
The county of 10 million residents has seen daily confirmed cases more than double in the last two weeks to nearly 2,900. On Tuesday, it ordered non-essential retail businesses to limit indoor capacity to 25% and restaurants to 50% capacity outdoors.
All such businesses must close at 10 p.m. The changes take effect Friday.
If daily cases rise to 4,500 and hospitalizations top 2,000, the county will impose a three-week lockdown that will restrict people to their homes for all but essential services. A nighttime curfew would run from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.
“Los Angeles County is at a critical moment to save lives and curb the spread of COVID-19,” said Barbara Ferrer, director of public health. “Lives and livelihoods are at stake and our entire community will be affected by our collective action if we do the right thing.”
The announcement came a day after California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced an “emergency brake” on 28 counties and moved them into the most restrictive of four tiers for reopening. Those counties joined Los Angeles and 13 others already at that level, and together they account for 94% of the state’s nearly 40 million residents.
The Associated Press
