County health officials warn restrictions could snap back into place if cases spike

 As restrictions on some retail and outdoor activities in Los Angeles County are relaxed in the coming days, LA County health officials warned that the region is not out of the woods yet and restrictions could return if needed.

LA County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said that everyone in the county shares a responsibility to protect each other through wearing masks and physical distancing to ensure that this gradual opening of the economy does not result in a spike of cases which could lead to illness and death.

If there is a spike over the next few weeks, Ferrer said that the county could revert back to more restrictions.

“We do know that people are anxious to take steps to feel like we can recover collectively but we’re going to go extraordinarily slow,” Ferrer said. “We don’t want to be doing this at the expense of other people’s lives.”

Ferrer reported Thursday that the county had recorded 815 new cases bringing the county’s total to 29,427. She also reported that 51 more people had died because of COVID-19, which means that over 1,400 county residents have now perished during the pandemic.

Despite deaths continuing to be reported by both county and state officials, some retail and recreation spaces will start to open over the next few days. Ferrer used her daily press briefing to remind viewers of how easily the virus can spread and to emphasize how quickly the county’s hospital system could be overwhelmed as more people return to work and start moving about the county.

She said that an antibody study had suggested that about 5% of the county had been infected by COVID-19 and if 1 million more people start to circulate around the county and get infected or infect others it could result in 50,000 new cases if the study’s figures held up.

If a fraction of those people required hospitalization, it could easily flood area hospitals which only have capacity for about 2,500 patients on a given day, Ferrer warned.

“It [reopening] will only work if we’re all being really careful and committed to slowing the spread,” Ferrer said.

This means that businesses must adhere to county guidelines that Ferrer said should be viewed as rules rather than suggestions. Customers should be careful to give other shoppers and employees space and ensure that they’re wearing masks to help stop the transfer of droplets from coughs, sneezes and conversation.

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Ferrer concluded that while businesses are starting to reopen it shouldn’t be seen as a signal for everyone to leave the house.

“Just because something opens up doesn’t mean you need to go out to purchase something right now,” Ferrer said. “You should only go out for what’s essential.”