Los Angeles County residents were living under a stay-home order Friday in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus, which has infected more than 230 county residents, two of whom have died.
As of Thursday afternoon, the number of Los Angeles County coronavirus cases was 231, including 12 cases in Long Beach and two in Pasadena. Long Beach and Pasadena maintain their own health departments separate from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.
County officials were expected to give an update on case numbers in an early afternoon briefing Friday.
Statewide, the number of cases topped 1,000 on Friday, with the California Department of Public Health putting the number at 1,006, including 19 deaths. Gov. Gavin Newsom warned Thursday that the number of California cases is likely to skyrocket in the coming weeks, with the state projecting 25.5 million cases — roughly 56% of the population — within two months.
The ominous figures prompted state and local officials to issue stern warnings for residents to remain indoors as much as possible.
Los Angeles County issued a “Safer At Home” order, which officials insisted was a step below a lockdown or shelter-in-place requirement. But the order calls on residents to stay home as much as possible, leaving only for essential needs such as picking up food, groceries or medications. The order calls for nonessential retail stores to close their doors, and for residents to work at home whenever possible.
The order does not require people to remain indoors, but it prohibits gatherings of 10 people or more — and even in such gatherings, people must maintain a safe distance from each other. Residents are still free to go outside for walks, hikes or bike rides, but not in large groups.
“We know that staying home and limiting close contact is the best way to prevent community spread,” County Supervisor Kathryn Barger said Thursday. “We know that social distancing does not mean restriction from going outside and does not mean isolation. We still encourage you to stay connected to your community and loved ones in creative ways and to spend much needed time outdoors. People working in essential functions within the healthcare, government and food industries will still be on the job, but we encourage other employees to stay home.”
Other businesses considered essential and permitted to remain open include hardware stores, repair shops, media outlets and pet supply stores.
The order covers all cities in Los Angeles County, although the cities of Los Angeles, Pasadena and Long Beach issued similar mandates of their own.
“All businesses, including museums, malls, retail stores, for-profit companies and nonprofit organizations must stop operations that require workers to be present in person,” Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said. “And no public and private gatherings of any size that would occur outside of a single home will be allowed, with clear exceptions.
“I want to be clear about this, that the only time you should leave your home is for essential activities and needs — to get food, care for a relative or friend or a child, get necessary healthcare, go for a walk in the neighborhood,” he said. “… I think there’s been terrible terms out there, like lockdown. Nobody is locked down. We encourage you not to be locked down. This is not shelter-in-place like a school shooting. This is stay at home. Because you’re safer at home. The only people who should be leaving home and going out are those whose jobs are critical to the safety, the health and security of the city, as well as the economy of recovery for us and the nation during this crisis.”
Los Angeles County on Thursday reported its second death from the virus. County officials did not name the patient, but his relatives identified him as 34-year old Jeffrey Ghazarian of Glendora. His family said he became sick during a trip to Orlando, Florida, where he went on a business trip but then extended his stay to visit Disney World and Universal Studios.
The man died Thursday at a hospital in Pasadena after spending a week on a ventilator. The Los Angeles Times quoted medical and government sources as saying he had underlying medical conditions, including asthma and bronchitis.
“I want to express my deepest condolences to the family and friends of the person who’s deceased,” Dr. Barbara Ferrer, the county’s public health director, said Thursday. “I’m so sorry for your loss and I hope you know that we as a community are mourning with you.”
Ghazarian’s family posted on his Facebook page, “Our sweet, loving, fun Jeffrey went to be with Jesus this morning. He suffered a lot and put up a good fight. We will miss our Jeff every day but we are thankful for all the fun happy memories of the times we had together.”
According to Facebook posts by the family, Ghazarian tested positive for coronavirus on March 13 and was admitted to a hospital the next day.
Ferrer stressed on Thursday that the county is going to see continued increases in cases over the next four to 12 weeks.
“But that doesn’t mean that the important actions that you’re all taking to combat this virus are not working,” she said. “Social distancing is critical and we implore you to take seriously everyone’s obligation to limit their exposures to others and to limit others from being exposed to you. This is the one way that we can all be serious about what it mean to try to slow down the increasing number of cases here in the county.”
Ferrer also issued an ominous warning, saying, “As a general rule of thumb, you should assume that you may be infected and that others around you may be infected.”
“Therefore, act accordingly, ” she said. “Take every precaution possible to avoid infecting others and to avoid becoming infected. That’s the goal of social distancing.”
She noted the number of cases will continue to rise in part because of the increased availability of testing, with seven labs operating with multiple sites. But she stressed that while lab availability is increasing, it remains limited.
According to Ferrer, about 21% of people tested at the county lab wind up being positive for coronavirus, while the rate in commercial labs is running about 10%.
Ferrer said anyone who is feeling “stressed and overwhelmed” can call a 24-hour support hotline operated by the county Department of Mental Health at 800-854-7771.