LOS ANGELES (CNS) - Following the county's lead today, certain businesses in Los Angeles will be allowed to reopen only for curbside pickup and the city's golf courses and most park trails will reopen this weekend.
During his daily coronavirus briefing, Mayor Eric Garcetti said businesses such as bookstores, bicycle shops, clothing stores and others will be allowed to provide pickup service beginning Friday, and the golf courses and most park trails will be open Saturday.
“I would encourage all businesses to only open safely, so while you can open as early as this Friday, you don't have to yet,” Garcetti said.
Businesses will be given information on how to safely reopen, he said.
However, Garcetti said the popular Runyon Canyon Park trails and Los Angeles beaches will remain closed, and face coverings will be required to be worn at all city trails and golf courses.
“This doesn't change any of our other rules,” Garcetti said. “If you're 65 and older, you cannot go out to those places. If you have preexisting conditions, you cannot go out to these places. This is not an excuse for gatherings.”
No one other than people who live in the same household can visit the recreation facilities together and physical distancing will still be enforced, Garcetti said.
Travelers at Los Angeles International Airport and riders on the DASH, Cityride and Commuter Express buses will be required to wear face coverings starting Monday, Garcetti said.
Garcetti said most businesses deemed nonessential during the pandemic have complied with the COVID-19 orders, but several have been referred to the Los Angeles Police Department to shut them down.
Los Angeles will follow the same system as the county to reopening businesses and facilities in certain phases, Garcetti said. The county is looking at death rates, hospital admissions and hospital capacity to determine what is safe to reopen.
People will be able to track that data at coronavirus.lacity.org/saferLA.
Garcetti said if data shows an increase in those metrics, they will be presented in red. If the data shows Los Angeles is staying level in its daily coronavirus cases, they will be indicated in orange, and steady progress showing a reduction of the number of cases will be shown in yellow.
Garcetti said green will only be used for those metrics when a vaccine is available and the virus has been significantly reduced.
“And don't look for that in the foreseeable future,” he said.
Garcetti said within the next two to three weeks, officials from the county and neighboring cities will examine what other steps to reopen businesses and facilities can be taken.
“The right way is to do these things together,” Garcetti said.
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