LA official announces stay-at-home orders likely to be extended through July

Stay-at-home orders in Los Angeles County will likely be extended over the next three months, according to LA County Department of Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer.

During Tuesday’s LA County Board of Supervisors meeting, Ferrer said stay-at-home orders will be extended until July. Certain businesses may begin to reopen if social distancing guidelines can safely be enforced.

LA’s stay-at-home orders were supposed to last until May 15 after previously being extended on April 10. This is the second time the orders, which were first issued March 19, will be extended.

Under stay-at-home orders, people must stay at home whenever possible, with the exception of working or shopping at a place of essential business.

On May 4, California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the state would begin slowly reopening. Many of California’s hiking trails, parks and other nonessential businesses were reopened to the public Friday and Saturday. 

LA County beaches are planned to open Wednesday, although face coverings will be required, and some restaurants and shopping malls are also preparing to reopen in the coming weeks. However, Ferrer said any further loosening of social distancing protocols will be slow and tightly regulated, reported the Los Angeles Times.

Despite these steps forward, LA County has continued to see a rise in confirmed coronavirus cases and deaths.

The LACDPH reported Tuesday an additional 961 people have tested positive for the virus, and the death toll now exceeds 1,600.

Stay-at-home orders will only be eased when a county can prove it has met Newsom’s readiness criteria. Social distancing requirements will likely remain in place until more effective tools for testing and treatment are developed, Ferrer said.