CALIFORNIA AND LOS ANGELES COUNTY IMPOSE NEW RESTRICTIONS EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY

by | Nov 20, 2020 | News |

CALIFORNIA LIMITED STAY AT HOME ORDER EFFECTIVE NOVEMBER 21

On Thursday November 20, California Governor Gavin Newsom said, “We are sounding the alarm” and in conjunction with the California Depart of Public Health, issued a limited “Stay at Home” Order. For counties in the purple tier non-essential businesses and personal gatherings are prohibited between 10 PM and 5 AM.

The order will take effect at 10 p.m. Saturday, November 21 and remain in effect until 5 a.m. December 21. This is similar to the March Stay at Home Order but only applies between 10 pm. and 5 a.m. and only in purple tier counties that are seeing the highest rates of positive cases and hospitalizations. To find the status of activities in your county, click here.  A copy of the full order can be found here.

NEW FACIAL COVERING AND FACE SHIELD GUIDANCE ISSUED

The California Department of Public Health issued an updated guidance mandating that a facial covering is required at all times when outside of the home, with some exceptions.

  • Persons who are working in an office or in a room alone.
  • Persons in a car alone or solely with members of their own household.
  • Persons who are outdoors and maintaining at least 6 feet of social distancing from others not in their household.

There is now the requirement that employees who are not working in a private office wear a face mask at all times. The full guidance can be found here.

It is also important to be aware that the CDC does NOT consider face shields by themselves sufficient and people should also be wearing facial covering which should cover their nose and mouth. For additional information on the recommended masks from the CDC click here.

RESTRICTIONS ON NON-ESSENTIAL BUSINESSES EFFECTIVE NOVEMBER 20

As the holidays are fast approaching, there is apprehension that the number of COVID-19 infections will continue to rise.  In response the Los Angeles County Public Health Department announced the following new restrictions effective November 20, 2020.

Most significant is the mandate that all non-essential businesses who are currently permitted to operate indoors must reduce their in-person capacity to 25%. This restriction will require businesses to send their employees home to resume working remotely, and businesses open to the public to further reduce their capacity.On Friday November 20, 2020, the following will go into effect:

  • Private outdoor gatherings may only include 15 people who are from no more than 3 households, including the host household.
  • For non-essential businesses permitted to operate indoors—including retail stores, offices, personal care services—occupancy will be limited to 25% maximum capacity.
  • The number of patrons at outdoor restaurants, breweries and wineries will be limited to 50% max outdoor capacity.
  • The number of customers at cardrooms, outdoor mini-golf, go-karts, and batting cages will be limited to 50% maximum outdoor capacity.
  • Services at personal care establishments may only be provided by appointment to customers wearing face coverings by staff wearing face coverings.
  • Services that require either the customer or the staff to remove their face covering, such as facials and shaves, are not permitted.
  • Food and drinks cannot be served at these establishments to customers.
  • Restaurants, breweries, wineries, bars, and all other non-essential retail establishments must close from 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.
  • Outdoor gatherings remain the only gatherings permitted, and they must only include 15 people maximum who are members of no more than 3 households.

If the five-day average of cases in the County becomes 4,000 or more or hospitalizations are more than 1,750 per day, the following restriction will be added:

    • Outdoor and indoor dining at restaurants, breweries, wineries, and bars will be prohibited and these businesses will only be able to offer pick-up and delivery. Businesses in this sector are being notified via email by DPH, which will work with them to ensure a smooth transition.

If the five-day average of cases in the County becomes 4,500 or more or hospitalizations are more than 2,000 per day, the following restriction will be added:

    • A Safer at Home Order will be instituted for three weeks. The Order would only allow essential workers and those securing essential services to leave their homes.
    • A 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. curfew would be mandated, with essential workers exempt.

TRAVEL ADVISORY

California has also issued a travel advisory urging people entering the state or returning home from travel outside the state to self-quarantine to slow the spread of the virus. The travel advisory urges against non-essential out-of-state travel, asks people to self-quarantine for 14 days after arriving from another state or country, and encourages residents to stay local. A full copy of the travel advisory can be found here.

A full copy of the press release can be found here:

PREPARING FOR THE HOLIDAYS

In addition, the CDC has issued travel guidance for Thanksgiving, which can be found here.

California has also issued travel guidance, including that non-essential travel should be limited and if you must travel, you should quarantine for 14 days after returning home to California.

The California guidance can be found here. California state guidelines for travel include limiting non-essential travel.

As the guidance issued by the state and federal agencies is regularly changing, as is the medical information known about COVID-19, this memo is provided solely as a reference tool to be used for informational purposes and should not be construed or interpreted as providing legal advice related to any specific case or cases.

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