By Mary O’KEEFE

It was on Jan. 26, 2020 that Los Angeles County Public Health announced its first case of novel coronavirus, later identified as COVID-19. Since that time there have been over one million cases reported in LA County with about 16,000 deaths.

This week the State of California lifted the regional Stay-At-Home Order and moved all counties back into a color-coded tier system. LA County is in the more restrictive purple tier.

As part of the restrictions lifted restaurants will be allowed to open to outdoor dining as of Jan. 29. The roller coaster system of opening and shutting outdoor dining has taken a toll on restaurant owners, especially independently owned restaurants. Several of the owners had purchased specialized equipment, from tents to heaters, to accommodate the winter months of outdoor dining when they were closed by a 3-2 vote from Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. Kathryn Barger, fifth district supervisor, had voted against the closure at the November 2020 board meeting. At that time she introduced a motion to allow the restaurants to remain open for outdoor dining at 50% capacity.

“I support following the Governor’s recommended guidelines for Southern California, and reopening outdoor dining, personal care services and other industries that were previously closed by these orders. A data-driven and pragmatic policy approach is essential to protecting public health, while balancing the devastating social, emotional and economic impacts of this virus,” according to a recent statement from Barger.

Supervisor Janice Hahn supported Barger’s November 2020 motion.

“Now that Governor Newsom has lifted the statewide Stay-At-Home Order, the question is what is LA County going to do? We should align ourselves with the state as much as possible, which means, among other things, reopening outdoor dining with commonsense health protocols in place as soon as possible. The restaurant industry was devastated by this lengthy shutdown and I know this would be welcome news to them,” Hahn said in a statement released on Monday.

With the lifting of the state’s Order, several sectors are allowed to resume operations. Businesses are urged to adhere to safety protocols and specific sector guidance in order to protect both employees and customers. Public Health’s compliance teams continue to visit businesses across the County every day. Inspectors review Public Health protocols with business owners, identify deficiencies, and issue citations for businesses out of compliance.

From Jan. 18 through Jan. 24, 74 citations were issued to businesses including restaurants, gyms, personal care salons, hair salons/barbershops, and shopping malls for noncompliance with Health Officer Orders. Since the end of August, a total of 761 citations have been issued.

Outdoor dining is allowed beginning Friday. Other restrictions that were lifted earlier this week include private gatherings outdoors up to three households and up to a total of 15 people; museums, zoos, and aquariums to resume outdoor operations at 50% occupancy; card rooms outdoor operations at 50% occupancy; miniature golf, go karts, batting cages outdoor operations at 50% capacity; outdoor recreation activities are open; fitness facilities are open for outdoor operations; personal care services, including nail and hair salons, are open indoors at 25% capacity; and indoor malls are open at 25% capacity.

COVID-19 numbers as of Jan. 25 at 6 p.m.:

City/Area                  Positive Cases           Deaths due to COVID-19

Burbank                        7,280                            163

Glendale                        16,039                          393

La Cañada Flintridge      641                            12

Eagle Rock                    3,233                            71

Sunland                         1,914                             43

Tujunga                         2,352                            41

Unincorporated

La Crescenta/Montrose 900                            8