Flower wholesalers in LA allowed to reopen ahead of Mother's Day weekend
As Mother's Day approaches, flower wholesalers in L.A. are being allowed to reopen and operate as an essential business.
LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Flower wholesalers are being allowed to reopen in Los Angeles, Mayor Eric Garcetti said Tuesday.
The decision comes ahead of Mother's Day weekend, a time where locations such as the Los Angeles Flower Market in downtown are accustomed to seeing their most bustling crowds.
The distributors are exempt from the state's COVID-19 orders as agricultural businesses, and the city's "Safer at Home" order will allow them to operate as an essential business.
Flower markets are being monitored and could be shut down if they do not follow the city's physical distancing guidelines, Garcetti said.
Gov. Gavin Newsom said during his daily press conference Monday that the next stage of reopening the state's economy is expected to begin as early as Friday. Under his "Stage 2" phase of reopening, curbside pick-up at businesses such as florists will be allowed. Book stores, clothing stores, sporting goods, toy stores are also included in the phase.
Garcetti is still taking a cautious approach to loosening other restrictions. The mayor is unsure whether retail flower shops will reopen Friday and said Los Angeles probably will not be ready to reopen other businesses the governor mentioned.
The mayor did say some walking and hiking trails could reopen to the public. Garcetti said he and county officials are discussing plans to relax some "Safer At Home" orders to allow certain businesses to reopen. But he said it will be some time before all businesses can resume and he did not provide a definite timeline on reopening.
"I want to be clear, this is going to be longer than just a couple weeks,'' Garcetti said during his daily coronavirus update. "There (won't be) a giant reopening. This is a series of steps that we have to assess each time, and they will succeed more if we practice the prescriptions that are given to us.''
City News Service contributed to this report.
