Updates to Los Angeles County Health Officer Order Effective Monday 74 New Deaths and 692 New Confirmed Cases of COVID-19 in Los Angeles County

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) has confirmed 74 new deaths and 692 new cases of COVID-19. To date, Public Health identified 1,220,849 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County and a total of 23,235 deaths.

There are 634 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized and 26% of these people are in the ICU. Testing results are available for nearly 6,111,000 individuals with 19% of people testing positive. Today’s daily test positivity rate is 1.4%.

Of the 74 new deaths reported today, 29 people that passed away were over the age of 80, 21 people who died were between the ages of 65 and 79, 18 people who died were between the ages of 50 and 64, three people who died were between the ages of 30 and 49, and one person who died was between the ages of 18 and 29. Two deaths were reported by the City of Long Beach.

The Los Angeles County Health Officer Order was updated today to reflect newly permitted activities allowed in the orange tier, beginning Monday, April 5 at 12:01 a.m. Additional safety modifications are required or recommended for many sectors.

The modifications to the Health Officer Order include the following:

• Bars that do not provide meals will be allowed to open outdoors with distancing, masking and infection control safety measures. Indoor operations are not permitted. Visits are limited to 90 minutes. Masks are required except when people are eating or drinking. There can be no counter seating and people can eat or drink only when they are seated. Tables must be 8 feet apart, with a maximum of 6 people from up to 3 different households. There can be no live entertainment, television is permitted outdoors only and hours of operations are from 11:30 a.m. until 10:00 p.m.
• Breweries, Wineries, Distilleries that do not serve meals can remain open outdoors and can also open indoors at 25% capacity or 100 people, whichever is fewer. These establishments will follow the same public health directives as bars for their outdoor areas, however, there are additional requirements for indoor spaces: reservations are required for indoor seating, there is a maximum of 6 people per table and they must be from the same household, and there is no live entertainment or television viewing indoors.
• Restaurants can increase capacity for indoor dining to 50% capacity or 200 people, whichever is less with continued safety modifications.
• Cardrooms can operate indoors at 25% capacity. There must be 8-feet of distancing between tables and masks are always required. Food and beverages remain banned from card tables.
• Places of Worship can hold services indoors at 50% capacity.
• Fitness Centers can operate indoors at 25% capacity and indoor pools can now re-open. Masks are always required unless swimming.
• Movie Theatres can increase capacity to 50% or 200 people, whichever is less. Seats must be reserved, and each group must have 6 feet of distance from other groups in all directions. Eating is allowed in only designated areas or in your reserved seat.
• Family Entertainment Centers can open indoors at 25% capacity for distanced activities, such as bowling or escape rooms. Masks remain required.
• Grocery and Retail Stores can increase capacity to 75%, although Public Health strongly recommends grocery stores remain at 50% capacity until April 15 to allow as many grocery store workers as possible get vaccinated.
• Hair Salons, Barbershops and Personal Care Services can increase capacity to 75% with masks required, except for services where customers need to remove their masks. For services where customers must remove their face coverings, staff must wear a fitted N95 and goggles or a mask with a face shield.
• Museums, Zoos and Aquariums can be open indoors at 50% capacity.
• Youth and Adult Recreational Sports can apply to Public Health for approval for athletic events, tournaments or competitions that involve more than two teams or multiple individuals.

It is critical businesses follow Health Officer Order directives and infection protocols to protect workers and customers and minimize COVID-19 spread as much as possible.  The County’s recovery and the safety of workers and customers depend on businesses fully implementing infection control and physical distancing requirements.

Effective yesterday, amusement parks, outdoor live events and outdoor professional sporting events are permitted with the safety measures in place, including occupancy limits, distancing, masking and eating and drinking requirements.

“I send my heartfelt condolences to the families and friends who are grieving a loved one lost to COVID-19,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “Our numbers have improved dramatically, but we cannot let up. While we are making good progress with vaccination efforts, we have about a dozen more weeks before we can expect to reach 80% vaccine coverage for people 16 and older. Please remain vigilant in taking the necessary safety measures to prevent spread and get vaccinated when it is your turn. Continue to avoid large gatherings, wear your mask when you’re in public and around others, and continue washing your hands. Following these safety measures is the only way we can avoid taking a step back on our recovery journey.”

More than 4,000,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered to people across Los Angeles County. Of those vaccinated, 1,323,686 people received second doses and 78,653 people received the single dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

As of March 27, 68.4% of L.A. County residents 65 and older received at least one dose of the vaccine. In total, 33% of the County’s population 18 and older have received at least one dose of vaccine.

This week, 378,400 total doses were allocated to L.A. County. The County could have booked almost 300,000 additional appointments this week but couldn’t because there weren’t enough vaccines.

Next week, Public Health is expecting to receive nearly 397,000 vaccine doses. This allocation includes approximately 151,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine, 128,000 doses of Moderna vaccine, and 118,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.  Of the nearly 397,000 doses of vaccine we expect to receive next week, 68% of doses will go to sites located in the most vulnerable communities.

Yesterday, COVID-19 vaccine eligibility expanded to all residents 50 through 64 years of age in addition to all other eligible groups. For information about who is eligible for COVID-19 vaccine in L.A. County, how to make an appointment if it is your turn, what verifications you will need to show at your vaccination appointment, and much more, visit: www.VaccinateLACounty.com (English) and www.VacunateLosAngeles.com  (Spanish). Vaccinations are always free and open to eligible residents and workers regardless of immigration status.

County Reopening Protocols, COVID-19 Surveillance Interactive Dashboard, Roadmap to Recovery, Recovery Dashboard, and additional actions you can take to protect yourself, your family and your community are on the Public Health website, www.publichealth.lacounty.gov.

 Please see additional information below: