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Following the guidelines of LA County, South Pasadena has moved into Stage 2 of a four-step plan easing restrictions in anticipation to reopening the city safely to avoid the spread of the coronavirus.
Starting Friday, May 8, the city is gradually opening some lower risk workplaces with adaptations in:
• Retail (e.g. curbside pick-up).
• Manufacturing.
• Offices (when teleconferencing is not possible).
Stage 1 – Safety and preparedness — which the city is slowly leaving — features:
• Build out testing, contact tracing, PPE and hospital surge capacity.
• Making essential workforce environments as safe as possible.
Soon after accomplishing Stage 2 restrictions, the city looks to move into the third stage, calling for the opening of higher risk environments with adaptations and limits on size gatherings.
• Personal care (hair and nail salons, gyms).
• Entertainment venues (movie theaters, sports without live audiences).
• In-person religious services (churches, wedding).
Down the road in Stage 4, the city hopes to reach the all-clear sign and the end of the stay-at-home order, including:
• Re-open highest risk environments and venues once therapeutics have been developed.
• Concerts.
• Convention centers.
• Live audience sports.
Stage 2, where the city sits today, will be gradual and include certain industries, outlined by South Pasadena City Manager Stephanie DeWolfe during Wednesday’s City Council meeting.
Expanded retail, she hopes, will be significant, as shop owners are encouraged to showcase items in store windows. Purchases will be made at the door. Bookstores, clothing stores, florists, and sporting goods are examples of low risk workplaces.
Retail shops providing curbside pick up must: Limit in person work, provide face coverings, and policies to stay home when sick.
They must also:
- Ensure physical distancing
• Limit occupancy.
• Ensure 6-foot distance.
• Manage employee schedules to enable distancing.
In addition, store owners must:
- Ensure proper infection control.
• Follow strict cleaning.
•. Frequent high touch surfaces.
•. Allow hand washing frequently.
Take out is still highly encouraged at local restaurants, but sit-down dining-in is not included in Stage 2. Offices will be allowed only by those not able to teleconference at home. Shopping malls, which do not apply to South Pasadena, are closed.
Kathryn Barger, chair of LA County Board of Supervisors, said the decision to hold the first round of re-openings involved the expertise of county and state officials. Taken into consideration foremost, she said, was the health and safety of county residents.
“What’s best for other counties may not necessarily be right for Los Angeles County,” she said during a news conference. “As we are the most densely populated county in the state, our guidelines will certainly look different than others.”
