For anyone in the Los Angeles area hoping that this lockdown period would end soon, you might be out of luck. A new report from the Los Angeles Times, published on Tuesday, purported that stay-at-home orders may be in place through July amidst this ongoing coronavirus crisis. That means that lockdown measures could be in place potentially for another three months.
During a Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday, Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said the government would be extending lockdown measures in the Los Angeles County area through the next several months “with all certainty.” While Ferrer’s statements did not serve as an official order for the city, she said that there would only be a change to this timeline if there were a “dramatic change to the virus and tools at hand.” Ferrer did explain that they would, hopefully, be able to lift various restrictions slowly over the course of the next three months. However, given that options for coronavirus testing are still not widely available, things would not be able to go back to normal in the Los Angeles area anytime soon.
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This news comes as officials in Los Angeles are attempting to restart the economy while also making sure that citizens are kept safe amidst the pandemic. In early May, California Gavin Newsom even unveiled a plan that would allow for specific areas of the state to reopen faster than others. He announced that part of his plan would enable retail businesses to open for curbside pickup, an aspect which went into effect on Friday. This was part of Stage 2 of his plan, as ABC 7 News reported.
Elsewhere in Stage 2 of Newsom’s plan for California, other lower-risk workplaces could open. The plan would allow non-essential manufacturing (which involves toys, furniture, and clothing) to resume. It would also entail reopening schools, childcare facilities, and offices where remote working is not possible but could implement necessary safety measures for employees. All of this news regarding California’s reopening plan comes as Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious disease expert, told Congress that allowing states to open back up too quickly could be a detrimental decision. He said that it could even trigger an outbreak in areas that are reopening too quickly. Fauci shared that states should wait until there is a 14-day decline in cases before they consider easing lockdown measures.
