What Is Open And Closed In Lake Forest: Coronavirus Shutdown

LAKE FOREST, CA — Last week, Orange County and the nation made decisions to help prevent or at least slow down the spread of the new coronavirus. In Orange County, as of Monday, there were 17 reported cases of the virus also known as COVID-19.

All of the county's schools have closed down until at least the end of the month, and Orange County Superior Court officials have moved to cut down on the number of cases handled during the outbreak.

In Lake Forest, the city released the facilities that are listed as closed:

• Enties Skatepark of Lake Forest, the Lake Forest Clubhouse (Senior Center), and Community Center are closed until at least the end of March, based on an advisory from the California Department of Public Health.
• Public shredding services have also been discontinued.

All City programs through April:

• South OC Pet Expo
• Meet the Mayor/State of the City
• Bunny Blast events are also postponed and maybe cancelled.

The City Council will meet as scheduled on March 17.

All Orange County public libraries were closed this report, including the Lake Forest El Toro Branch. The library would remain closed until the end of March, and all library programs were closed through April 30, a spokesperson from OC Libraries told Patch.

"The health and safety of our residents is always our top priority," Mayor Neeki Moatazedi stated. "Although we recognize our Senior Clubhouse and other facilities are important to many of our residents, the state Department of Public Health makes it clear that we must suspend operations."

The California Department of Public Health on Thursday said cancelling or postponing public gatherings is necessary to protect public health and slow the rate of transmission of COVID-19.

The advisory specified that gatherings of individuals who are at higher risk for severe illness from COVID-19 should be limited to no more than 10 people.

The Centers for Disease Control has identified older adults as those at higher risk of contracting the virus.

The California Department of Public Health advisory issued Thursday says the events should be cancelled or postponed through the end of March. The state also advised all residents to minimize participating in non-essential gatherings and use “social distancing,” keeping 6 feet away from others.

According to the state of California: "The timely implementation of aggressive strategies that create social distance and those that reduce close contact of people not regularly together, including limiting gatherings, has proven effective in prior pandemics at delaying rates of transmission and reducing illness and death."

City officials are working closely with Orange County and state health officials to track developments on the Coronavirus, a city spokesperson said.

Mayor Moatazedi urged residents to follow the City’s social media and use the Lake Forest hotline at (949) 461-3536 for updates.