Tuesday, June 30, 2020

LA County Closes All Beaches For Fourth Of July Holiday Weekend: Will San Diego Follow? (Fireworks are done, too)

Will It All Come Crashing Back Down? (La Jolla Cove, 10.23.2019)

On Sunday, Governor Newsom sent a tweet. 
Due to the rising spread of #COVID19, CA is ordering bars to close in Fresno, Imperial, Kern, Kings, Los Angeles, San Joaquin, and Tulare, while recommending they close in Contra Costa, Riverside, Sacramento, San Bernardino, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Stanislaus, & Ventura.
On Monday, San Diego proactively decided to close bars, too, effective July 1st at 12am, so like, in the middle of Tuesday night bar hours. Many questions were asked of other closings and it was left open...the County would discuss with local cities and see if additional moves were needed. 
But now LA is closing all of their beaches for 4th of July weekend. That will certainly reverberate to all other nearby counties, including San Diego. Our County and all the coastal cities within should close the beaches for the weekend with tight enforcement. The LA press release is after the jump. Sounds like Tuesday is going to be another busy day of news and briefings and fighting over whose statistics matter, what they mean. Put on your masks, shit is about to get SUPER FUCKING UGLY. I'ma go drown myself in rye. 

*updated to add their press release about cancellation of all fireworks. PLEASE DO THIS IN SAN DIEGO 

COVID-19 Emergency Operations Center
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 29, 2020

Los Angeles County beaches and beach facilities will be closed to the public for the Fourth of July holiday weekend in an effort to prevent gatherings and crowds that may spread COVID-19, County officials announced Monday evening.

Under the modified order from the Health Officer, all beaches, beach parking lots, beach bike paths, beach facilities and beach accessways will be closed from 12:01 a.m. Friday, July 3, until 5 a.m. Monday, July 6. 

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The Los Angeles County Department of Beaches and Harbors manages Marina del Rey harbor and 25 miles of beaches along the Los Angeles County coastline, including world-famous Zuma, Malibu, Surfrider, and Venice beaches. In addition to promoting and maintaining a clean coastline, the Department operates the Dockweiler Youth Center near Playa del Rey and at Burton Chace Park in Marina del Rey to serve the needs of the County's residents and visitors.
____________________________________
For Immediate Release:
June 29, 2020

Beaches Closed, Fireworks Displays Prohibited During 4th of July Weekend to Prevent Spread of COVID-19
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health is ordering L.A. County beaches closed from July 3 through July 6 at 5:00 a.m. to prevent dangerous crowding that results in the spread of deadly COVID-19.

For that same reason, the department is also prohibiting fireworks displays in the County this July 4th holiday weekend.

A modified Health Officer Order will be issued today.

During the holiday weekend, beaches will be totally closed to all recreational activities. Beach parking lots will be closed, as well.

Key metrics continue to show steep increases in community spread of COVID-19. Today, the department announced more than 2,900 new cases of COVID-19, the single largest one-day case count since the pandemic began. Data show increases in people testing positive for the virus and increases in hospitalizations as a result. Projections by the Department of Health Services show a marked increase in hospitalizations in the coming weeks, which could cause a surge in our healthcare system.

“Closing the beaches and prohibiting fireworks displays during this important summer holiday weekend was an incredibly difficult decision to make, but it’s the responsible decision to protect public health and protect our residents from a deadly virus. The Fourth of July holiday weekend typically means large crowds and gatherings to celebrate, a recipe for increased transmission of COVID-19,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “We all need to take this virus more seriously and residents and business owners must do their part.  Physical distancing isn’t optional, wearing a face covering isn’t optional, spending time only with those you live with isn’t optional — these are requirements in the Health Officer Order and are the tools we have to protect each other, our families and those most vulnerable in our communities.”

All public beaches, piers, public beach parking lots, beach bike paths that traverse that sanded portion of the beach, and beach access points will be temporarily closed to the public as of 12:01 a.m. on July 3, 2020, until 5 a.m. on July 6, 2020. Long Beach has its own health department and this announcement does not apply to that city, at this time.

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