LANCASTER (CNS) - The Lancaster City Council will hold a special meeting tonight to consider a “no-confidence'' vote in county Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer, and to discuss exploring the creation of a municipal health agency.
The meeting was called in response to recent restrictions imposed by the county in response to spiking COVID-19 cases, most notably a three-week ban on in-person dining at the county's 30,000-plus restaurants. The county also enacted a “targeted Safer-At-Home'' order on Monday, banning most gatherings of people from different households and enacting strict capacity limits at businesses.
The restrictions, particularly the in-person dining ban, have been met with vocal opposition on a variety of fronts. On Tuesday, the Beverly Hills City Council approved a resolution formally opposing the ban and calling on the county to repeal it, and also directing staff to explore the creation of its own health agency to supplant the county Department of Public Health.
West Covina is considering a similar move, with the mayor decrying the impacts county restrictions will have on small businesses.
Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris told CBS2 this week he had spoken to mayors in neighboring Santa Clarita and Palmdale about possibly joining forces to create a localized health department.
“We need to balance,'' Parris told the station. “We need to face this virus, but, at the same time, we need to balance how we take care of (the) economy.''
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