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PRESS RELEASE
L.A. County reopens: The Journey Here
Watch the video: LA County Comeback: The Road to Reopening
There were many times during the past year when it was hard to believe we would ever feel a sense of relief and optimism again. At the peak of the pandemic we were losing 277 residents a day. Our hospitals were under enormous strain, with more than 8,000 people hospitalized with COVID-19 and more than 15,000 new cases diagnosed each day.
Many of us are still contending with the emotional, financial, and physical fallout of that terrible time, and we will forever grieve family, friends, coworkers, and neighbors we’ve lost. We share in your heartbreak, and we know that the path to recovery will be a very difficult one for so many.
Today, parts of our lives will begin returning to normalcy. We can and should feel joy while recognizing and honoring the immense collective effort that brought us to this milestone.
We want to thank our many partners, including health care workers, essential workers, community organizations, houses of worship, and residents who have worked tirelessly since the beginning of the pandemic.
After 16 months of enormous upheaval and loss, we can now share a genuine sense of hope.
For more information visit publichealth.lacounty.gov.
June 15th and Beyond
Beginning June 15, almost all sectors and businesses in L.A. County will be able to return to usual operations with some limited exceptions.
One exception is for mega-events, which are defined as large crowds greater than 5,000 people if indoors, or 10,000 people if outdoors. Regardless of whether these events have assigned seating or not, and whether they are general admission or ticketed, they are considered higher risk for COVID-19 transmission. This is because they involve attendees spending extensive time physically close to people from outside their households and potentially, from outside the state. For that reason, indoor mega events are required to verify either full vaccination status or a negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours pre-entry for all attendees. Participants must also follow the state’s mask guidance at these events.
For outdoor mega-events, the same guidance on verifying the vaccination or test status of attendees is offered as a strong recommendation rather than a requirement, and attendees who do not verify their status will need to wear masks.
The state will continue to issue separate guidance to be followed for youth, schools and daycares, healthcare, and high-risk congregate settings. In other settings, on June 15, capacity limitations and physical distancing requirements will be lifted.
For more information visit publichealth.lacounty.gov.
Updated Mask Guidance
Last week, California Department of Health released guidance on masking that will take effect, June 15.
Masks will not be required for fully vaccinated people, except in the following settings where masks are required for everyone, regardless of vaccination status:
- Public transit and in transportation hubs,
- Indoors in K-12 schools, childcare and other youth settings,
- Healthcare settings, including long term care facilities,
- State and local correctional facilities and detention centers, and
- Homeless shelters, emergency shelters, and cooling centers.
Masks will be required for unvaccinated people in indoor public settings and businesses. This includes:
- Retail, restaurants, theatres, family entertainment centers, meetings, and state and local government offices serving the public.
In settings where masks are required only for unvaccinated individuals, businesses, venue operators or hosts may choose to:
- Provide information to all patrons regarding vaccination requirements and allow vaccinated individuals to self-attest to their vaccination status before they enter,
- Implement vaccine verification to determine whether individuals are required to wear a mask, OR
- Require all patrons to wear masks.
For more information visit publichealth.lacounty.gov.
Incident Reports
Please note, that the reports are posted by date and can be accessed at https://covid19.lacounty.gov/incident-updates/.
COVID-19 Digital Communications Guide & Toolkit
Find shareable still graphics, animated graphics, and videos in our Social Media Toolkit. This toolkit is regularly updated & FREE to use!
Help us keep you and your community safe and informed during the COVID-19 health crisis by offering: 1) public safety alerts, 2) health guidance, and 3) resources to economic recovery in custom translated, shareable text, graphics and animations.
Access our NEW Social Media Toolkit here!
- County of Los Angeles: covid19.lacounty.gov
- County of Los Angeles Public Health: publichealth.lacounty.gov
- California Department of Public Health: cdph.ca.gov
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: cdc.gov
