LA County could move to red tier as soon as this weekend, but will indoor dining return?
LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Every county in Southern California is still in the most restrictive purple tier, but Los Angeles County could move into the red tier as soon as this weekend, which would allow more businesses to reopen.
However, with the county's public health director continuing to warn of a potential new surge in COVID cases, it remained unclear if the county will immediately allow the reopening of all businesses included in the red tier -- particularly indoor restaurant dining.
"We will run the risk of delaying the pandemic if we don't continue to reduce transmission while our vaccination numbers pick up," Barbara Ferrer told the county Board of Supervisors on Tuesday. "This is especially true during this time of the year when students are on spring break and we prepare to celebrate spring holidays."
On Tuesday, the county's state-adjusted rate of daily new COVID-19 cases fell to 5.2 per 100,000 residents, qualifying the county to move up to the less-restrictive red tier.
Under previous state guidelines, the county would need to maintain the low level of new cases for two weeks before actually advancing to the red tier. However, under a change announced last week, the county can advance to the red tier once the state administers its 2 millionth dose of COVID vaccine in the hardest-hit, lowest-income communities in California.
As of Monday, the state had administered 1,897,280 doses in those communities, meaning the threshold of 2 million could be reached at any time. Ferrer told the Board of Supervisors the county could be in the red tier by this weekend.
Meanwhile, as officials ramp up efforts to get the region's most vulnerable populations vaccinated, the county is also looking into expanding vaccination site hours to help meet the needs of essential workers.
Under state guidelines, moving from the restrictive purple tier into the red tier will authorize the county to increase capacity to 50% at retail establishments while reopening indoor dining and movie theaters at 25% capacity and fitness centers at 10%. However, the county is not bound by the state guidelines and could continue to impose stricter rules.
Ferrer has hinted the county may not immediately authorize all of the business reopenings, most notably indoor dining. On Monday, she cited a recent study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that found on-premises restaurant dining contributes to increases in COVID cases and deaths. Ferrer also cited the study in her presentation to the Board of Supervisors Tuesday.
3 SoCal counties on verge of move to less-restrictive red tier
Some board members said, however, they want the county to adhere to the state's guidelines for business reopenings, and not impose additional restrictions.
"I feel pretty strongly that I think we should align ourselves with the state's red tier reopening guidelines," Supervisor Janice Hahn said. "... I think to be different than that right now would cause confusion and probably a lot of anger, because there are so many venues out there, entities, that have really suffered and are waiting to get a few more of these restrictions lifted.
"Especially if we're talking about Disneyland reopening at limited capacity, opening day at Dodger Stadium there'll be in-person fans," she said. "... But I really hope that we can stay in alignment so that there is not confusion from one county to the other."
Supervisor Kathryn Barger agreed with Hahn, saying L.A. County should align its public health order with the state and neighboring counties.
"I believe that clarity and consistency leads to the highest rates of compliance," Barger said, adding that she wanted to avoid local residents traveling to other counties with lesser restrictions.
Barger also urged Ferrer to get guidance out quickly so businesses can plan ahead to prepare for changing rules.
Ferrer warned the board that while case numbers and the testing-positivity rate have declined precipitously in recent weeks, things could easily worsen if residents become lax about infection-control measures.
"This is the month I would say -- the month of March, the early part of April -- where we have to be extraordinarily cautious," she said. "Because we've been here before. We've been here with reopenings. We've been here with travel around Thanksgiving and Christmas. We've seen what happens around holidays if we're not really careful. ... We've got to keep everybody alive
right now so they can get vaccinated and stay alive. So this would be a time for extreme caution."
City News Service contributed to this report.
