REGIONAL MESSAGE ON COVID-19 THREAT ALERT SOUTHBAY CITIES
JOINT INFORMATION CENTER
KEY MESSAGES
October 2, 2020
LA COUNTY TO ALLOW FOR ADDITIONAL REOPENINGS UNDER A PHASED PLAN
As of September 29, 2020, Los Angeles County remains in Tier One (Purple) with "widespread" risk and the most restrictions. According to the State's website, LA County reflects 8.9 new COVID-19 cases per day (per 100k), with an adjusted case rate for tier assignment of 7.3; the positivity rate is 2.9%. While this is discouraging, your efforts lead us in the right direction, allowing us to further re-open the economy sectors.
The County's percent test positivity has fallen significantly from about 8% in July to about 3% in September. Due to these positive improvements, the Board of Supervisors approved several Public Health recommendations for the staggered re-opening of several sectors permitted by the State for Counties in Tier 1.
Beginning October 1, 2020, nail salons may re-open for limited indoor services at 25% occupancy.
Coming Soon…
Over the next ten days, the following sectors will be allowed to re-open once they implement the required protocols for infection control and distancing:
Monday 10/5: Cardrooms (at 25% capacity for outdoor operations only); TK-2 Waiver Process
Wednesday 10/7: Indoor malls (at 25% capacity)
Breweries and Wineries serving a meal are still pending a re-opening date.
For more information and details on re-opening guidelines, please visit The Department of Public Health.
PLAYGROUNDS ALLOWED TO RE-OPEN WITH RESTRICTIONS
Outdoor playgrounds operated by cities may open at the discretion of each city with safety protocols to reduce community spread. These protocols require significant planning and staffing on behalf of each city. This may result in a staggered re-opening of playgrounds across the South Bay. We understand your frustration, but please be patient with us as we work to implement these protocols. Check with your local city to see the status of playground reopenings.
THE CASE FOR PREVENTION: GET THE FLU VACCINE
There is a lot of dangerous misinformation about the flu vaccine on social media and the internet. The flu vaccine does not give you the flu, and most flu vaccines have no live viruses in them anyway. You have a higher risk of contracting the flu and having significant complications (tenfold) at 1 in 1,000 persons, to the risks of side effects from the vaccine, 1 in 100,000 persons. In a regular year, hospitals get saturated during flu season. Combined with COVID-19, it could be disastrous. If you are skeptical, look back at New York City in March when this all began.
We don’t have a vaccine for COVID-19 yet, but we do have one for the flu. This is something you can control. Because it’s not just about you, but the people around you who may not be low risk and can suffer from catastrophic complications if they get it from you. We call this the "ripple effect." So, if you are on the fence this year about getting the Flu Vaccine, please consider being a community champion. Your actions matter and may save a life.
####