Los Angeles has been seeing record new highs in cases of COVID-19. The death rate was going down, thankfully, but the spread is continuing. It’s a serious threat that, sadly, many in California still aren’t taking seriously and following rules. Which is why Los Angeles might have another mandatory lockdown.
Another Lockdown
In the next week or two, if the numbers do not go down, Mayor Eric Garcetti says, “We’d likely return to a mandated stay-at-home order.” Garcetti, who did a horrific job responding to the Black Lives Matter protests, is handling COVID-19 slightly better. During a recent conference, Garcetti warned another lockdown is a serious possibility:
“We are making progress, and while it is fragile, it is progress. These [next two] weeks are absolutely critical. Critical to whether our schools open, whether our economy thrives. All options remain on the table. We will do whatever we need to. There are still too many social gatherings. Way too many pool parties. Parents, I need your help. I need you to keep your children away from their friends. You should assume that everyone around you is infected. Testing remains a critical tool. We hear very single day that there are not enough tests. We need more help with testing. Without a major boost in testing, there’s no way we can safely reopen our economy or to safely reopen schools.”
Today, over 1,7000 new cases were reported and 50 people died from COVID-19. In the last week, the average was 24 deaths. 93% of the people who died had preexisting conditions, but 7% had no serious health issues. The hospitalization rate is going way up, too.
A Word From the Health Department
Garcetti is right: there are way too many parties happening. Just the other day in a liquor store, I overheard people without masks boasting about a party that night. Too many people are making the situation worse. Los Angeles’ public health director Barbara Ferrer, added:
“Nothing can be off the table in the pandemic. There’s too much unknown and there’s lots of things that could happen that could put us in much worse shape, including, you know, some serious mutations of this virus that make it more dangerous. So I would never be the person that’s going to say, ‘Absolutely. Out of the question. We can never go back to Safer At Home.’ There’s just too much unknown here. There’s a virus. There’s a pandemic. A lot of what happens here also depends on what’s happening in other places around the country, so we shouldn’t really take any tools off the table. What I would like to say is, I hope we never have to go back to Safer At Home. I hope we do our job well…all of us do our job well and we get back to what we know we can do, which is slow that curve.”
Disneyland’s Soft Reopening…
You know who’s not helping at all with COVID-19 in California? Disney. They’re reopening Disneyworld this weekend in Florida. They’ve already reopened the shopping center and restaurants in Disneyland, which a video circulating has already proven that social distancing is not a priority for the company. The park itself won’t open anytime soon, but for some reason, the store is open. The company isn’t taking extra steps to ensure their employees’ safety, like keeping people apart and providing COVID-19 tests.
Wear Your Mask
West Hollywood has taken the proper step to warn citizens if they do not wear masks in public, they will get a ticket for over $200. Why more cities and states aren’t doing the same is mind-boggling. Too many people, especially in Glendale, are walking around without masks on. It’s mandatory in Los Angeles to wear a mask, and yet, too many people aren’t. It’s a scary sight.
