County officials said the move to the purple and red category will take effect Monday at 12:01 a.m., which means indoor tables can be returned and indoor cinemas and fitness centers can reopen, all with limited capacity.
It was uncertain whether the county would align with state guidelines or opt for stricter restrictions, but under guidance launched on Thursday, more types of businesses and activities would be allowed below the red level.
On Thursday morning, the state administered 1,971,784 doses of vaccine to low-income communities.
LA County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer previously said the county was expected to officially advance to the red level 48 hours after the state reached the vaccination threshold.
ABOUT: Newsom says state to reach vaccination target, leaving most SoCal counties red
According to the new guidance, indoor tables can be resumed at a capacity of 25%.
The county will require restaurants to have a distance of 8 feet between all meals, which will be restricted to a maximum of six people in the same household. The rules also provide for the ventilation to be increased “as far as possible”.
Restaurant servers are already required to wear a face mask and a face shield. With the new rules, the Department of Public Health “strongly recommends” that employees update their face coverings, using N95 or KN95 top-level masks, or a combination of double masking and a face shield.
Health officials also strongly recommend that all employees be informed and given the chance to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Food service workers are already eligible to receive photos.
The rules for other enterprises once the county enters the red level are largely in line with state guidelines:
The move to the red level will also allow the theme parks to reopen as of April 1 – including Disneyland Resort in Orange County and Universal Studios Hollywood in Los Angeles County – at 15% capacity, with only visitors in the state.
On Tuesday, Disney CEO Bob Chapek said the company plans to reopen Disneyland and Disney California Adventure Park by the end of April.
The rules also allow the resumption of activities at higher education institutes and the reopening of in-person training for students in grades 7-12. Private indoor meetings are also allowed for people from up to three different households, with masking and physical distance. People who are vaccinated can gather in small groups indoors without masking or distancing.
According to the latest guidelines from Governor Gavin Newsom, when the state reaches the 2 million vaccine stage in low-income communities, counties will be able to get out of the most restrictive purple level of the plan when the average rate of new COVIDs daily- 19 infections reach 10 per 100,000 inhabitants – a lower standard than the current 7 per 100,000 inhabitants.
Under the new guidelines, Los Angeles and Orange counties qualified to move to the less restrictive red level, as both were below the 10 per 100,000 two-week standard. The new case rate in Los Angeles County is currently 5.2 per 100,000, while that of Orange County is 6 per 100,000.
The idea behind the 2 million dose threshold is to ensure that vaccines are distributed fairly throughout the state, ensuring that low-income communities that have been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic are not overlooked. in the vaccination effort. Newsom ordered that 40% of the state’s vaccine supply be allocated to ensure fairness in the distribution process.
Ferrer warned the county supervisory board on Tuesday that while the number of cases and the county’s test-positive rate have plummeted in recent weeks, things could easily get worse if residents become lax about infection control measures.
“This is the month I would say – March, early April – when we have to be extraordinarily careful,” she said. “Because I’ve been here before. I’ve been here with reopenings. I was here traveling on Thanksgiving and Christmas. We’ve seen what happens around the holidays if we’re not really careful. … We need to keep everyone alive right now so they can be vaccinated and stay alive. So this would be a time for extreme caution. “
City News Service contributed to this report.
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