Los Angeles County officials announced on April 10 that the shelter-in-place order has been extended until May 15.
Additionally, on April 15 the county will start to require essential businesses to provide their employees with some sort of face covering as well as develop a plan to maintain social distancing measures during work hours.
County Director of Health Services Dr. Christina Ghaly said that if the shelter-in-place order had been lifted on its initial April 19 expiration date, the virus would have infected nearly 96% of the county over the next three months. She argued that current social distancing measures would reduce that number to 30% and more stringent measures would decrease that projection to less than 6%.
“What we need to do is continue to slow the acceleration of the virus and make sure we are limiting its impact on society, limiting the infections,” Ghaly said.
County Public Health Director Dr. Barbara Ferrer said, “What we can confirm is in fact the flattening of the curve in a way that’s actually saving lives and allowing us to have a chance at making sure that our health care system remains able to serve all who need care.”
The shelter-in-place order could be extended further depending on the data going forward.
On March 25, Mayor Eric Garcetti told Business Insider that the shelter-in-place order would last until at least May, saying: “I think this is at least two months, and be prepared for longer.”
As of this writing, there are 8,430 confirmed cases in the county and 241 deaths from the virus.
