Los Angeles County reopens: indoor dining will resume Monday, movie theaters may reopen with limited capacity

LOS ANGELES (KABC) – Officials announced Friday that Los Angeles County will officially move to the state’s least restrictive red level on Monday, with the state reaching a milestone of two million doses of COVID-19 vaccine in affected communities and causing a reduction in requirements for counties to move forward on the economic reopening plan.

County officials said the red and red exit will be effective at 12:01 p.m. Monday, which means you can re-eat indoors and reopen movie theaters and movie theaters. indoor gym, all with limited capacity.

It was not known whether the county would align with state guidelines or choose to maintain stricter restrictions, but according to guidelines released Thursday, various types of businesses and activities will be allowed below the red level.

As of Thursday morning, the state had administered 1,971,784 doses of vaccine to low-income communities.

Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer had previously said the county was expected to officially advance to the red level 48 hours after the state met the vaccination threshold.

RELATED: Newsom says state is about to reach vaccination target, allowing most SoCal counties to go red

According to the new orientation, the indoor dining room can be resumed with 25% capacity.

The county will require restaurants to have an 8-foot distance between all tables, which will be restricted to a maximum of six people from the same household. The rules also call for ventilation to be increased “as much as possible”.

Restaurant waiters 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 facial covers by wearing N95 or KN95 top-grade masks or a combination of double masking and a face shield.

Health officials also recommend that all employees be informed and offered the opportunity to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Food service workers are now eligible to receive the shots.

The rules for other companies once the county enters the red level largely coincide with state guidelines:

Museums, zoos and aquariums can open indoors with 25% capacity.

Gyms and fitness centers can be opened indoors with 10% capacity, with the necessary masking.

Cinemas can open up to 25% capacity with reserved seats to provide a minimum distance of 6 feet between users.

Retail and personal care companies can increase domestic capacity by up to 50%.

Covered malls can reopen at 50%, and common areas remain closed, but food courts can open at a capacity of 25% and meet the other requirements of covered restaurants.

Moving to the red level will also allow the reopening of theme parks from April 1 – including Disneyland Resort in Orange County and Universal Studios Hollywood in Los Angeles County – with a 15% capacity, with only visitors to the state.

On Tuesday, Disney CEO Bob Chapek said the company plans to reopen Disneyland and Disney California Adventure Park in late April.

The rules also allow the resumption of activities in higher education institutes and the reopening of face-to-face instruction for students from 7th to 12th. Private indoor meetings are also allowed for people from up to three different homes, with masking and physical distancing. Vaccinated people can gather in small groups indoors without masking or distancing themselves.

According to the latest guidelines from Gov. Gavin Newsom, when the state reaches the $ 2 million vaccine milestone in low-income communities, counties will be able to get out of the plan’s more restrictive purple level when the average new COVID rate is daily. 19 infections reach 10 per 100,000 residents, a slower level than the current one per 100,000 residents.

Under the new guidelines, Los Angeles and Orange counties qualified to move to the less restrictive red level, as both have been below the 10 per 100,000 standard for two weeks. The new Los Angeles County case rate is currently 5.2 per 100,000 population, while that of Orange County is 6 per 100,000.

The idea behind the two million dose threshold is to ensure that vaccines are distributed equitably across the state, ensuring that low-income communities that have been disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic are not forgotten in the effort. of vaccination. Newsom has ordered that 40% of the state’s vaccine supply be earmarked to ensure fairness in the distribution process.

Ferrer warned the county board of supervisors Tuesday that while case numbers and the county’s positive test rate have plummeted in recent weeks, things could easily get worse if residents relaxed on the measures. infection control.

“This is the month I would say, the month of March, early April, where we have to be extraordinarily cautious,” he said. “Because we’ve been here before. We’ve been here with the reopenings. We’ve been here with Thanksgiving and Christmas trips. We’ve seen what happens around the holidays if we don’t take much care. … We have to keep everyone with life right now to get vaccinated and stay alive. So this would be a time of extreme caution. “

City News Service contributed to this report.