Coronavirus: More businesses open in Los Angeles as officials move toward 'safe reopening' of county
All pet grooming and training businesses, along with car washes, in Los Angeles County were allowed to resume services on Tuesday.
LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Los Angeles is on the road to reopening as more businesses were being allowed to open their doors on Wednesday with modifications in place.
The latest reopenings come as more is being learned about the goal of a "safe reopening" for the whole county as early as July 4.
All pet grooming and training businesses, along with car washes, in Los Angeles County were allowed to resume services on Tuesday.
Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger on Tuesday expressed a goal for reopening on July 4 during a meeting with the Los Angeles County Economic Resiliency Task Force, a collection of elected officials and business leaders assembled to recommend steps for creating jobs and returning the county to full employment.
At the county's daily coronavirus briefing on Tuesday, Supervisor Hilda Solis and public health director Barbara Ferrer tried to stress that the July 4 date is just a goal, but the mission is to reopen the economy sooner than later, recognizing that residents are growing weary of continued stay-at-home restrictions. But unless people stick to the restrictions, reopening the county will take longer, they said.
Barger reviewed some very sad statistics at Wednesday's briefing. The first of those was restaurant industry, with about 80% of jobs now gone because of the pandemic.
She also said nearly 900,000 film and entertainment employees are out of work. That affects small businesses like restaurants that provide catering services.
And more than one million unemployment claims have been filed in Los Angeles County.
On reopening Los Angeles County by July 4, Barger says industry representatives are working on getting their reports submitted as quickly as possible to let the county know how they're going to make sure employees and customers are safe.
City News Service contributed to this report.
