County letting some businesses reopen, with limits

Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer shared what some would consider good news during her Wednesday afternoon briefing.

Despite Los Angeles County remaining in Tier 1 of the state’s tier system, which is a blueprint for a safer economy, some businesses will be allowed to reopen — though they will face certain restrictions.

“Last week we met the case threshold to move to Tier 2 if we stay at or below seven cases per 100,000 people,” she said.

However, that number increased to 7.3 daily new cases per 100,000 people, which means the county will remain in Tier 1 for at least another three weeks, she said.

As far as community transmission and test positivity, LA County has continued to place in Tier 3, as that percentage is at 2.9. However, when a county qualifies for different tiers, the health department looks at the number of cases, as well as the positivity rate, and if the case rate is higher than the positivity rate, the county will remain in the most restrictive tier.

Despite the tier categorizing, the following businesses will be able to reopen:

• Card rooms (for outdoor service only, no food or beverages will be served).

•Indoor shopping malls with 25% occupancy (food courts and common areas will remain closed).

•Nail salons (for indoor services) at 25% occupancy. They are still being encouraged to offer services outdoors where the air circulation is better.

• Outdoor playgrounds, but only with approval of, and at the discretion of, the cities where they are located or through the county parks and recreation department.

•Breweries and wineries that serve meals.

“We urge all operators of businesses that are closed to implement the (health) protocols prior to opening, to avoid citations and fines,” Ferrer said.

The openings will be staggered while the county remains in Tier 1, but the schedule will be finalized by the end of this week.

Ferrer also announced an additional 30 deaths in the county. Nine of those were over the age of 80 and seven had underlying health conditions; 11 were

between 65 and 79 and all had underlying health conditions; six were between 50 and 64 and five had underlying health conditions; two were between 30 and 49 and one had underlying health conditions. The cities of Long Beach and Pasadena also reported one death each.

That brings the total number of COVID-19-related deaths to 6,576 in Los Angeles County.

Ferrer also reported an additional 1,063 cases, bringing the total number to 270,299. There are 11,900 cases in Long Beach and 1,802 in Pasadena.

There are also 1,802 cases among the homeless.

Currently, there are 734 cases in hospitals, with 28% in ICU and 15% on ventilators.

Approximately 2.6 million people have been tested in Los Angeles County and 9% are positive for the virus.

Ferrer said the public’s diligence in slowing the spread has “brought us to the place where these businesses can reopen, but to go to the next tier, we have to be cautious and use the tools available to us. As we work together to slow the spread, we have shown how much we care for each other and our beautiful county.”

Los Angeles County Health Services Director Dr. Christina Ghaly also cautioned the public about the transmission rate. She said when “R” (the transmission rate) is below one, the number of cases will gradually decline over time. When it’s over one, it’ll increase.

She said we’ve been slowly and gradually increasing over the past six weeks. On Aug. 12, “R” was at 0.86. Today, it’s at 1.0.

“If our behavior doesn’t remain constant, our projections will change,” she said, encouraging the public to continue following the health guidelines set forth by the Department of Health. “The model always assumes that behavior remains constant, but it’s not always the case. Our behavior makes an immediate difference in the rates across the county.”

Here is the latest number of cases and deaths in the Antelope Valley:

•Lancaster: 3,445 cases, 55 deaths (includes cases associated with correctional facility outbreaks).

•Palmdale: 4,157 cases, 71 deaths.

• Acton: 70 cases, two deaths.

•Agua Dulce: 28 cases, no deaths.

• Desert View Highlands: 49 cases, one death.

•Lake Hughes: Four cases, no deaths.

• Lake Los Angeles: 236 cases, our deaths.

• Leona Valley: 18 cases, no deaths.

• Littlerock: 85 cases, one death.

• Littlerock/Juniper Hills: Nine cases, no deaths.

• Littlerock/Pearblossom: 93 cases, no deaths.

•Llano: Three cases, no deaths.

• Pearblossom/Llano: 24 cases, one death.

•Quartz Hill: 179 cases, 11 deaths.

Kern County:

•California City: 119 cases, 62 recovered, seven presumed recovered.

•Edwards: 17, nine recovered, two presumed recovered.

• Rosamond: 261 cases, 125 recovered, 29 presumed recovered.

• Tehachapi: 1,122 cases,

712 recovered, 38 presumed recovered.