LA Bars And Salons To Reopen As Coronavirus Death Toll Hits 3,000

LOS ANGELES, CA — On the same day the coronavirus death toll in Los Angeles topped 3,000 and Gov. Gavin Newsom enacted a statewide mask mandate, Los Angeles County lifted shutdown orders for nail salons, tattoo parlors, piercing shops, cardrooms, bars, wineries, breweries and tasting rooms.

The bars and salons of LA County can begin opening as early as Friday with strict health protocols such as physical distancing and face coverings. The revised health order issued by the county health department is a major step towards fully reopening businesses in Los Angeles County. It comes as health officials reported another 36 COVID-19 deaths and 1,051 new cases in Los Angeles County. Since the outbreak began, Los Angeles County lost 3,027 people to the disease while 78,227 people have been sickened.

County health officials expressed confidence that the reopening of the local economy could continue as long as businesses and residents remain vigilant.

Businesses allowed to reopen beginning Friday are:

• card rooms, satellite wagering facilities and racetracks with no spectators;
• personal care services such as nail salons, tattoo parlors, body art studios, piercing shops, massage therapy, skin care and cosmetology business; and
• bars, wineries, breweries and tasting rooms.

"There is an obligation on every business that's open at this point to really adhere to the guidance and the protocols and directives that are out there about how to make sure that your facility offers as much safety as possible to both your workers, to your customers and to residents,” Public health director Barbara Ferrer said Wednesday.

Still, it’s been a rocky process. Ferrer noted Monday that county inspectors had visited 2,000 restaurants over the weekend, and half of them were out of compliance with operating protocols.

Los Angeles, the epicenter of the state’s coronavirus outbreaks, has rapidly moved to fully reopen in June even as the death toll and new cases continue to climb. The state, and especially Southern California, have seen a steady climb in cases since the shutdown orders began gradually lifting in May. The spike in new cases has put Gov, Gavin Newsom on the defensive.

“There’s a certain point where you have to recognize you can’t be in a permanent state where people are locked away for months and months and months on end,” he told Politico Monday.

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The state’s health care system is prepared to handle a potential surge in new cases, he said. Hospitals are well-stocked with ventilators and protective gear, he added. Ultimately, however, he placed responsibility upon county officials.

"Guidelines don’t mean 'go,'" he added.

County health officials and leaders are the ones suited to assess the necessary restrictions to keep the disease in check at the local level, he said. However, just a few days later, he instituted a statewide mask mandate on Thursday. The move comes as officials in nearby Orange County continued to reopen while nixing local mask requirements for the public. The County’s health department director had quit after facing death threats for mandating masks. Once she quit, county officials reversed the mask order despite a spike in new cases deaths, and hospitalizations.

In Los Angeles County, health officials reported a slight increase in hospitalizations.As of Wednesday, there were 1,420 people hospitalized in the county due to coronavirus. While that number is a slight uptick from Tuesday, Ferrer said the hospitalization rate -- a key measure of efforts to contain the virus - - has been holding steady in recent weeks. Dr. Christina Ghaly, the county's health services director, said the local transmission rate has also remained stable, and there was no immediate fear of hospitals being overwhelmed with patients.

The rate of people who are tested who wind up being positive for COVID- 19 is also holding steady at 8%, officials said.

But they warned that people should not get complacent -- stressing the virus is still spreading in the community and residents need to keep taking precautions, even as the economy reopens.

"Given that the vast majority of those living in Los Angeles County are still susceptible to COVID-19 and the infection, we need to rely on a refined set of practices that allow us to get back to work and back to living our lives safely," Ghaly said.

Ferrer said all residents and staff have now been tested at all 315 skilled nursing facilities in the county, outside of Long Beach and Pasadena, which have their own health departments. Like the county as a whole, the seven- day average death rate has also been trending downward at nursing homes, Ferrer said.

She also announced that limited, restricted visitation can now resume at nursing facilities that have not had any new COVID-19 infections occur for a period of 28 days.

"It's highly unlikely that you'll see relaxing across the board at all of the (skilled nursing facilities) given the fact that they do need to be 28 days out with no new cases," she said, adding that visitors with COVID-19 symptoms will not be permitted to enter into a facility.

"Visitors are going to need to practice distancing of at least six feet," she said. "Everyone will need to wear their face mask at all times and signs will be posted with additional rules at each of the facilities and shared with visitors."

She said those social distancing and face mask requirements are also important for all residents to remember as they move about in public and visit reopened businesses.

City News Service contributed to this report.