Los Angeles County Reopening: Indoor dining will resume Monday. Movie theaters may reopen at limited capacity

LOS ANGELES (KABC) – Officials announced Friday that Los Angeles County will officially move into the less restrictive red level of the state on Monday, with the state reaching a milestone of 2 million COVID-19 vaccine doses in hard-hit communities and called for a mitigation of the requirements for provinces to continue with the economic reopening blueprint.

Provincial officials said the move from the press level to red would take effect on Monday at 12:01 p.m.

It was uncertain whether the country would conform to state guidelines or prefer to keep stricter restrictions in place, but under guidance announced Thursday, various types of businesses and activities are allowed below the red level.

As of Thursday morning, the state has administered 1,971,784 doses of vaccine in low-income communities.

LA County Director of Public Health Barbara Ferrer said earlier that the province was expected to officially move to the red level 48 hours after the state reached the vaccination threshold.

RELATED: Newsom says it wants to reach vaccination target so most SoCal provinces can move to red level

Under the new guidance, indoor dining with 25% capacity can be resumed.

The province requires restaurants to be 8 feet apart between all tables, which will be limited to a maximum of six people from the same household. The rules also require that ventilation be increased “to the greatest extent possible.”

Restaurant servers must already wear a face mask and a face shield. With the new rules, the Department of Public Health “strongly” recommends that employees upgrade their face masks using higher-grade N95 or KN95 masks, or a combination of double masking and a face shield.

Health officials also strongly recommend that all employees be informed about and offered the chance to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Food service workers are already eligible to receive the shots.

Rules for other businesses as soon as the province enters the red level are largely in line with state guidelines:

Museums, zoos and aquariums can open indoors within 25% of their capacity.

Gyms and fitness centers can be open indoors with a capacity of 10%, with the required masking.

Movie theaters can open 25% with reserved seats to provide at least six feet of distance between customers.

Retail and personal care businesses can increase indoor capacity up to 50%.

Indoor shopping malls can reopen with 50%, with the common areas closed, but food banks can open with a capacity of 25% and in line with the other requirements for indoor restaurants.

By moving to the red level, the theme parks can be reopened on April 1 – including Disneyland Resort in Orange County and Universal Studios Hollywood in Los Angeles County – with 15% of capacity, with visitors only in the state.

Disney CEO Bob Chapek said Tuesday the company plans to reopen Disneyland and Disney California Adventure Park by the end of April.

The rules also provide for the resumption of activities at higher education institutions and the reopening of personal education for students in grades 7-12. Private indoor gatherings are also allowed for people from up to three different households, with masking and physical distance. People who are vaccinated can get together in small groups indoors without disguising or removing them.

According to the latest guidelines from Governor Gavin Newsom, when the state reaches the 2 million milestone in vaccines in low-income communities, provinces can move out of the most limited purple level of blueprint when their average rate of daily new COVID-19 infections reach 10 per 100 000 inhabitants – a looser standard than the current 7 per 100 000 inhabitants.

Under the new guidelines, Los Angeles and Orange counties have qualified to go to the less restrictive red level, as they have been below the standard 10 per 100,000 for two weeks. Los Angeles County’s new business rate is currently 5.2 per 100,000 residents, while Orange County is 6 per 100,000.

The idea behind the 2 million dose threshold is to ensure that vaccines are distributed fairly by the state, to ensure that low-income communities that are excessively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic are not overlooked in the vaccination effort. Newsom ordered that 40% of the state’s vaccine stock be earmarked to ensure fairness in the distribution process.

Ferrer warned the board of supervisors on Tuesday that although numbers and the test positivity rate in the country have declined drastically in recent weeks, things could easily get worse if residents become lax about the infection control measures.

“This is the month I would say – the month of March, the beginning of April – where we have to be extremely careful,” she said. ‘Because we’ve been here before. We were here with reopening. We were already here on a journey with Thanksgiving and Christmas. We have seen what happens around holidays if we are not really careful. … We must all keep alive now so that they can be vaccinated and stay alive. So it will be a time for extreme caution. ‘

City News Service contributed to this report.