Health officials out in Los Angeles County, California have implemented a new stay-at-home order for residents that went into effect today and will last until at least December 20th. This new order bans public as well as private gatherings with exemptions for religious services and protests. The new temporary rules also affect local businesses. Businesses that are considered "essential retailers" are only allowed 35% capacity. Then businesses that are considered "non-essential retailers" are only allowed 20% capacity. Fitness centers and museums are limited to 50% capacity. Restaurants are closed for indoor dining (a new rule that was implemented about a week ago) as well as now outdoor dining where only take out and delivery are available for local businesses. Additionally, beaches are essentially closed with zero tolerance of gatherings as well as playgrounds.
There are 10 million residents in Los Angeles County. When this announcement came out from the Los Angeles County health officials last Friday, the number of new cases reached 205,000 nationwide and more than 4,500 of those cases were in L.A. County and with that 24 deaths.
Dr. Barbara Ferrer, director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, had this to say about the new order: "We know we are asking a lot from so many who have been sacrificing for months on end and we hope that L.A. County residents continue following Public Health safety measures that we know can slow the spread. Acting with collective urgency right now is essential if we want to put a stop to this surge."
What do you make of this? My first thought is: wow, that's real serious. I obviously understand and believe the Coronavirus is serious but it's quite staggering to read that 24 people died in LA County due to COVID. While that might seem a small number compared to the 10 million population, it's still 24 people and any amount of deaths is serious. Now sure, let's look into their ages, pre-existing health conditions, etc. but what I'm saying is I can see why the local health officials decided to shut everything down and scale back out of precaution. I understand some think it might be an overstep by the government and people should decide on their own if they want to risk going out and catching a virus, I get that too. I suppose I'm looking at where each side is coming from but at the end of the day if I had to be the one to make the decision, I too would put in place some restrictions if I oversaw 10 million people and the death rise and daily numbers were continuing to surge. Now, I might not be as harsh though. I would still offer outdoor dining and allow private gatherings but put a cap on it like 10 people indoors, 20 outdoors and everyone has to social distance or wear masks at all times unless the people you are gathering with are members of your immediate household so I would put restrictions in place but not crackdown as hard as the health officials are in L.A. County. I mean, we are in a pandemic so I think something needs to be done...this is not just some lackadaisical scenario where officials are doing it for the hell of it. I honesty do believe they are trying to save peoples lives but maybe that is naïve of me...What would you do and why? Do you believe this is a total overreach by the government? What would you do if you were tasked with overseeing the health and community well being of 10 million people? It's easy to say what you would do regarding yourself but when you're in charge of the community's health that's another story when the responsibility is on you for the well being of others not just yourself...
-Producer Lightning