Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger said on May 19 that the county is aiming to reopen on July 4.
The July 4 reopening — a Saturday — would include restaurants, malls and retail businesses.
Barger said in a statement, “The economic and sociological impacts created by the COVID-19 shutdown have hurt our vulnerable populations the most. The County, in partnership with our Task Force members and key stakeholders, is prepared to move forward with recommendations that ensure the safety and well-being of employees and customers while safeguarding public health.”
On May 19, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, announced that California is easing its criteria for counties to move further into reopening. The new criteria states that counties can reopen if they have a positivity rate that isn’t higher than 8% and a hospitalization rate that isn’t higher than 5% for 14 days.
L.A. County issued a modified shelter-in-place order on May 14 that was indefinite; County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said at the time that the order would last for the next three months but would be modified over time.
There were 1,183 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases in the county on May 19 and 76 deaths from the virus, bringing the county’s respective totals to 39,573 and 1,913.
COVID-19 Daily Update:
May 19, 2020
Cases: 1,183 (39,573 total)
Deaths: 76 (1,913 total) pic.twitter.com/IvstVDDdVE— LA Public Health (@lapublichealth) May 19, 2020
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