Los Angeles faces an alarming increase in Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations as the region recedes in reopening ahead of a major holiday weekend.
Los Angeles County has broken records in recent days with troubling coronavirus outbreaks and death rates: The county reported three consecutive days of more than 2,100 new cases.
Concerned that the July 4 weekend may exacerbate the crisis, local health leaders have responded with an indefinite ban on dining in restaurants, the partial closure of beaches, the closure of museums, and a new mask mask for gyms. .
Los Angeles had stopped in March, seeing rare freeways with no traffic, boardwalks and deserted beaches, and a closed film industry. Residents took to the streets for massive police protests in May, and the region’s economy began to recover slowly, with business openings and Hollywood discussing how to resume. But rising numbers have sparked fear of a changing tide.
Coronavirus cases increased across the state, with hospitalizations as Covid-19 increased 56% in just two weeks and some counties are approaching augmentation capacity. Los Angeles experts are also particularly concerned about an increase in hospitalizations, warning the county could run out of hospital beds in the intensive care unit in a matter of weeks. Across the county, there have been increasing delays for test appointments despite the increase in cases.
Meanwhile, human and labor rights groups warn that inequality in the Los Angeles unemployment crisis is becoming increasingly severe as uncertain and partial reopening plans force low-wage and undocumented workers to return. to dangerous jobs while limited government assistance is exhausted.
“This is the explosion we warned about,” said Andrew Noymer, an associate professor of public health at the University of California, Irvine. “There is a lot of movement in the wrong direction.”
There is no simple explanation for the LA case boom that, with more than 100,000 cases and 3,000 deaths, accounts for half of California cases. Local officials have blamed private family gatherings and nightlife activity, and have said that massive protests of police brutality may have contributed to the spread (although epidemiologists say outdoor transmission is rarer and not they have found clear waves linked to the protests).
Noymer said the California pandemic may have been later than New York, which suffered the worst outbreak in the United States earlier this spring. California and Los Angeles began reopening in phases in late May, when the virus was rapidly spreading in the state, he said.
Still, he did not predict that officials would return to a full closure similar to the closure restrictions this spring: “That is going to be very unpopular.”
Golden State counties are pausing or backing down reopening plans, with the roller coaster of regulatory changes creating a steady stream of challenges for Los Angeles’ massive hotel industry.
Brittney Valles, managing partner of Guerrilla Tacos in downtown Los Angeles, said she recently spent approximately $ 40,000 preparing for indoor service: costs that cover specialized training for new safety procedures, new protective and cleaning equipment, and construction. to redesign the interior.
Finally, Guerrilla was reopened for interior customers for five hours on Wednesday. It is unclear when the ban could be lifted. Valles said she was frustrated that political leaders decided to allow restaurants to restart as it now seems clear that it was premature and companies will be pressured to pay the rent even if the revenue doesn’t return.
“We will return to the drawing board,” he said.
LeAna McKnight, owner of stylist Lee Hair Studio in West Hollywood, said the business has been slower than I expected it to be since it reopened last month: “My clients are taking extra precautions and staying indoors. They still don’t feel comfortable leaving the house. “With the closure officially closed, her business was now expected to pay a series of fees that she owes, such as credit card debt, she explained:” But if customers aren’t going
The current phase of a partially reopened economy was a challenge to navigate, said Janel Bailey of the LA Black Workers Center: “If things come and go with openness and closure and ambiguity, it will not be clear if workers are still are protected. People deserve security and help. It’s a scary moment right now. “
The return of the restrictions is compounding the challenges for the region’s most vulnerable residents.
“We are waiting for a tsunami of evictions,” said Trinidad Ruiz, organizer of the Los Angeles Tenants Union. LA has issued an eviction moratorium that allows tenants for 12 months to pay the rent they owe, he explained, but some homeowners are still trying to find ways to eliminate tenants who can’t pay.
Health workers are also concerned about the more than 66,000 people who live on the streets and in shelters. Neighboring Orange County has seen an increase in deaths of homeless people during the pandemic, although it is unclear whether the higher death rates are directly due to Covid or related to the loss of services and supports during closings, said Eve Garrow, ACLU homeless policy analyst Some people lost access to free meal programs, for example. “There are only a multitude of difficulties that people face due to inadequate response at all levels of government.” Efforts by the state to move non-residents to motel rooms have also been slow, he said.
LA is also home to a third of California’s undocumented immigrant population, many of them employed in construction and manufacturing, the food and entertainment industry, and other service jobs. Those who have lost their jobs are not taking unemployment and have not received enough support from various local and state programs to help them during the pandemic, said Maricela Morales, director of the Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy: “If they have children, they trust in lunch programs through schools … but we need an income replacement for undocumented workers. “
Some live in overcrowded housing and are returning to jobs where the risk of contracting covid is high.
A Los Angeles factory where low-wage workers make masks is now experiencing a coronavirus outbreak. “The workers go back to work because they need income,” said Daisy González, an organizer at the Garment Worker Center, which helps infected workers. “These factories are full of people.”
“It is a perfect storm,” said Morales.
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