LA County officials warn people with health risks not to eat indoors

Last week, the LA County Department of Public Health announced the reopening of indoor dining as part of the country’s move from the press to the red level. Although indoor dining can resume with a capacity of 25 percent, dr. Muntu Davis, a LA County health official, cautioned individuals eating indoors, saying there was a higher risk of eating a meal in an enclosed space. He also warned that those at higher risk for disease or death from coronavirus should avoid indoor dining rooms altogether.

Surrounding counties of Southern California will also move into the less restricted red level this week, including Orange, San Bernardino, Riverside and Ventura. According to the Los Angeles Times, health experts think the reopening of schools, museums and gyms in the region will cause an increase in COVID-19 cases. There is also the new and more contagious variant that appears in LA County, which dr. Davis needs to remind residents that people are still susceptible to infection.

Dr. Davis also warned that non-compliance with safety guidelines could not lead to a new increase in hospitalizations, and urged people to continue to use face masks and keep the provincial social distance to keep restaurants and residents healthy.

Today, the director of public health in LA County, dr. Barbara Ferrer, also noted amended guidelines to be followed to ensure safety inside the dining room, including an evaluated system for heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), and the distance of tables between the feet of 8 meters. At indoor eateries, only one household can eat with a maximum of six people. Three different households can eat out together, with a limit of six people at the table.

Los Angeles County Department of Public Health

Coronavirus infection rates and deaths have dropped significantly since early February, and after wealthier residents had access to appointments intended for communities plagued by the pandemic, the state is giving more vaccines in these areas.

The LA County Department of Health has issued the following warnings on its website and identified categories for eating from low to high risk:

The risk of COVID-19 spread increases in a restaurant environment, as described below, because individuals remove their face masks while eating and drinking and there is more interaction with those who do not live in the same household.

• Lowest risk: Food service limited to transit, delivery, pick-up and drop-off.
• More risk: Driving, delivery, removal and removal from the veranda are emphasized. On-site dining is limited to outdoor seating. The seating capacity has been reduced so that tables can be placed further apart.
• Higher risk: Dining areas with seating inside have been reduced so that tables can be further separated from each other. And / or dining room on the premises with seating outside, but tables that are not located further apart.
• Highest risk: Dining room with seating inside. Seats are not reduced and tables are not placed further apart.

• What to know about all the rules recently relaxed at the LA County site [ELA]