L.A. County is on track to enter the yellow tier next week allowing bars to open indoors at 25 percent capacity and movie theaters, restaurants, and gyms to expand indoor capacity to 50 percent.
Under the yellow tier, live performances will be allowed indoors, with capacity restrictions depending on the size of the venue. Offices will be allowed to reopen indoors, although remote work is encouraged to continue wherever possible. Capacity limits will also increase at amusement parks, museums, zoos, aquariums, hotels, and private gatherings.
Assuming case counts and testing positivity rates trends remain on track, the County will release new health officer orders next Wednesday detailing protocols for these reopenings, which will take effect on Thursday May 6.
Vaccinations are helping the cause and on Tuesday May 4, the City of Santa Monica is hosting a pop-up vaccination site at the Broad Stage parking lot (1310 11th Street).
Residents must schedule an appointment at https://curative.com/sites/28092 and must bring a photo ID and proof that they are over 16 and live or work in L.A. County. For many people one document, such as a driving license, will meet all of these requirements.
Currently, over 50 percent of L.A. County residents over 16 have received at least one dose, and in Santa Monica 65 percent of eligible residents have received at least one dose.
The County’s adjusted case rate is down to 1.9 new cases per 100,000 residents and testing positivity is at 0.9 percent. These positive trends are fueled in large part by the accelerating vaccine rollout.
“These numbers prove that the hard work we’re doing as a community to protect ourselves from infection is working and allow us to return to many activities we cherish,” said County Director of Public Health, Barbara Ferrer.
As of April 28, the County had administered over 7.2 million vaccine doses, of which around 4.6 million were first doses and 2.6 million were second doses. Since becoming eligible on April 15, a quarter of L.A. County teens ages 16 and 17 have received their first dose.
“While this is good progress, we have a long way to go before we can say we have a high enough level of community vaccination to go back to normal life without fear,” said Ferrer, urging all residents to make a plan to get vaccinated.
Under recently released CDC recommendations, people who are fully vaccinated may gather indoors without a mask with other fully vaccinated people or with unvaccinated people from one other household. Fully vaccinated people are also allowed to gather and conduct activities outdoors without a mask except in certain crowded situations.
“With all the fear we’ve been living with over the past year, many of us may have forgotten what an incredibly fun place LA can be and we’re so close to being able to reclaim all of that fun,” said Ferrer. “The ticket to doing that is getting ourselves, our friends, our families and our co-workers vaccinated.”
Clara@smdp.com
