Pasadena resumes outdoor dining after stay-at-home order lifted

PASADENA, Calif. (KABC) -- Tuesday is the one-year anniversary of the first reported coronavirus infection in Los Angeles County.

The date is being marked as the region prepares to resume outdoor dining and other limited activities following the decision by Gov. Gavin Newsom to lift the strict stay-at-home order that was imposed in December.

The change still leaves many restrictions in place, including limits on capacity and face mask requirements in public.

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In most of Los Angeles County, restaurants will be allowed to reopen for outdoor dining only starting Friday.

In Pasadena - which, like Long Beach, maintains its own health agency separate from the county's - restaurants were allowed to welcome back in-person diners starting on Tuesday.

Along Colorado Boulevard, restaurants began putting out chairs and tables on the sidewalk. That was a welcome sight for employees and diners alike.

"We've been struggling through the last year of doing different styles of business - takeout only, outdoor only, indoor dining for a moment," said Justin Chavez, an employee of True Food Kitchen. "We've had to adapt quite a bit. We're excited to get back to what we were doing before."

Hair salons and other businesses were also allowed to reopen.

Still, county health director Dr. Barbara Ferrer is warning the public to continue taking precautions such as social distancing and wearing masks, as COVID-19 patients continue to fill the hospitals.

"I'm going to ask everybody to be extra vigilant this time around," Ferrer said. "Because our case numbers are still higher than they've ever been before except for the months of December and January."