Amended LA stay-at-home orders include reopenings, mandated face coverings outside
The streets of Westwood remain near empty as social distancing regulations in Los Angeles remain in place. As recreational locations being to open, wearing face coverings whenever outside has been mandated by LA Mayor Eric Garcetti. (Liz Ketcham/Photo editor)
By Hyeyoon (Alyssa) Choi
May 26, 2020 6:25 p.m.
As stay-at-home orders are slowly lifted, Los Angeles officials maintain that people must wear face coverings to prevent further spread of the coronavirus.
LA Mayor Eric Garcetti announced May 13 that individuals must wear face coverings whenever they are outside or will come into contact with somebody. Face coverings can range from scarves to bandanas as long as they cover the nose and mouth, he said.
“By telling people to always wear face coverings, we don’t want people seeing it as a further restriction but as part of expanding the freedoms that we currently have,” said Jordan Burns, a communications associate of the mayor.
[Related: The Quad: Uncovering the culture and science behind the face masks that keep you covered]
Restaurants offering takeout service during the pandemic are often confronted with customers who do not cover their faces, in which case they have the right to refuse service in accordance with Garcetti’s worker protection order.
“On a given day, there’s maybe one, maybe two (people without face coverings),” said Ian Flores, manager of Sharetea in Westwood. “I hate to turn them down but it’s our safety over anybody else’s.”
City officials may create a stockpile of disposable masks so businesses and park rangers can hand masks out to those without one, Garcetti said.
LA County is one of the few counties in California that does not have clearance from the California Department of Public Health to move deeper into Stage 2 of California’s roadmap for reopening, which includes opening schools and dine-in restaurants with modifications.
LA remains in the early phase of Stage 2, which only allows for a limited reopening.
Even with the California Department of Public Health’s county variance benchmark announced May 18, which lowered the criteria for counties to reopen their economies, LA County still does not meet the necessary hospitalization and positive test metrics to advance further into Stage 2, according to the California Department of Public Health.
Due to the relatively high number of COVID-19 cases and deaths, the city of LA is implementing a more restrictive approach than the statewide directive. Garcetti said that the city is using the number of deaths in a 14-day period to assess its readiness to reopen — if the number continues to stabilize or decrease, the city will continue to loosen its lockdown, he said.
Over the past two weeks, the average number of deaths and hospitalizations in LA County decreased, allowing Garcetti to partially lift his “safer at home” order.
Garcetti modified his “safer at home” emergency order May 13 and May 22, authorizing curbside services for certain nonessential businesses and reopening some public recreational spaces for exercise purposes. The updated order also mandated all individuals, except children below the age of two and people with certain disabilities, to wear cloth face coverings during most outdoor activities.
Beach access points, parks, park trails and trailheads in LA reopened as of May 13, along with bike paths and city parking lots beside Cabrillo and Venice beaches May 22. Piers as well as most recreation and park facilities remain closed.
LA residents may now visit beaches, but only for solo recreational purposes such as swimming, surfing, running and walking. Those engaging in water activities are exempt from wearing face coverings. Among other activities, sitting, gathering, sunbathing and playing group sports are not permitted.
As summer approaches, crowded beaches could become an inevitable reality. Although Garcetti noted that stationing law enforcement at public beaches would be his last resort, lack of compliance with the stay-at-home order might call for stricter regulations.
Garcetti added that although health experts say pools do not transmit the virus, public pool reopenings are still far-off because of the difficulties maintaining social distancing within the pool and pool area.
In terms of businesses, Garcetti announced May 22 that all retail shops can commence pickup and delivery services. Stores at indoor malls will also begin to offer curbside service to shoppers.
Closer to home, residents can walk and jog, as long as they carry a face covering in case they come in close proximity to another person; however, people do not have to wear a mask while running.
The next phase of Stage 2 is likely to include opening certain businesses to physical customers but with a maximum of 25% capacity, Garcetti said during a media briefing May 15. In other counties, restaurants have already opened their doors for reservation-based dine-ins.
LA County Supervisor Kathryn Barger announced May 19 during the LA County Economic Resiliency Task Force meeting that the county intends to reach Stage 4 – the end of the stay-at-home order – by July 4, after which LA will resume travel and nonessential activities such as the operation of nightclubs and live audience sports.
