L.A. County Unveils Roadmap to Recovery

On Wednesday, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health issued a five-stage roadmap to recovery that describes a phased approach to relaxing select directives of the Safer at Home Order and a reopening process for certain business sectors.

L.A. County is currently in stage one of five of the Safer at Home recovery stage. However, the County anticipates beginning stage two as soon as Friday, May 8 by allowing florists and some retailers to offer curbside pickup, similar to the governor’s announcement earlier this week. Car dealerships, golf courses and trails can also open with appropriate safeguards in place. Physical distancing and infection control protocols must be adhered to and cloth facing coverings must be worn. Next week additional restrictions will be lifted to include many retailers, manufacturers, essential health care, outdoor recreation and libraries, museums, cultural centers, and galleries.

List of on-essential business that can re-open for curbside pick-up with adherence to distancing and infection control protocols:

• Bookstores.
• Clothing stores.
• Florists.
• Music stores.
• Sporting goods stores.
• Toy stores.
• Car dealership showrooms (open for sales with adherence to distancing and infection control protocols).

List of outdoor parks and recreational facilities are open provided all activities adhere to distancing and infection control protocols:

• Golf courses (not including pro-shops or dine-in restaurants).
• Trails.
• Trailheads, park.

The next three stages have no start date as of yet and are dependent on cases and hospitalizations not overwhelming the health care system’s capacity. “What’s best for other counties may not necessarily be right for Los Angeles County,” Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Kathryn Barger said. “As we are the most densely populated county in the state, our guidelines will certainly look different than others.”

In L.A. County, higher-risk businesses such as body art, massage, bars/nightclubs, movie theaters, bowling alleys, schools, colleges and universities will not be allowed to re-open until stage three. Then in stage four the highest risk businesses like entertainment venues and convention centers holding sporting and spectator events with large crowds will be allowed to begin re-opening. Stage five will mark a return to fully normal operations. Each sector will have safe reopening protocols that must be adhered to.

Until final stage five is reached, Health Officer Orders and directives will still continue to slow the spread of COVID-19 to prevent an overwhelming surge of COVID-19 cases at healthcare facilities. Physical distancing, wearing cloth face coverings, frequent hand washing, self-isolation and self-quarantine will continue throughout the foreseeable future. People who have underlying health conditions will still be at much greater risk for serious illness from COVID-19, so it will continue to be important for the County’s vulnerable residents to stay at home as much as possible, to have groceries and medicine delivered, and to know to call their providers immediately if they have even mild symptoms.

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