Coronavirus: Los Angeles County extends 'safer at home' order until May 15, issues requirements on face coverings

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Health and elected officials on Friday announced the "safer at home" order that has been in effect throughout Los Angeles County since last month will be extended until at least May 15.

The announcement was made during the county's daily briefing, where officials also said face coverings will be required in public countywide beginning at midnight on April 15.

"We're extending the health officer orders -- which, as you know, require a fair amount of distancing and continue to keep in place closures of non-essential business -- not because everything everyone has been doing isn't working...it's because it is working. We know it's effective, but we still have a ways to go in order to both protect the lives of people who live in our county and to make sure that our health care system remains fully able to service all who need their care," said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, director of the Department of Public Health.

The new health order requires each essential business to implement and document a social distancing and sanitation plan, and requires the plan to be visibly posted at the front of individual business locations.

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Employers must also provide cloth face coverings to their employees, according to the order, while members of the public must wear such coverings when visiting those businesses or when they are in close contact with others.

Cities in Los Angeles County can be more restrictive, but not less, than what the health order requires, officials said.

Ferrer also confirmed the flattening of the curve as a result of Los Angeles County residents heeding the "safer-at-home" order.

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Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said people may be cited for not wearing masks in public after the order goes into effect.

Pasadena and Long Beach, which have their own respective health departments, have been implementing their own guidelines.

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