KTLA

With coronavirus cases showing no signs of slowing down in Los Angeles County, health officials on Friday announced a temporary stay-at-home order set to take effect on Monday that urges residents to avoid gathering with people they do not live with.

The temporary order will be in place for three weeks through Dec. 20 and will allow essential and emergency workers, and those securing or providing essential and permitted services, to leave their homes, the county said in a news release.


“Residents are advised to stay home as much as possible and always wear a face covering over their nose and mouth when they are outside their household and around others,” officials said.

On Nov. 17, Los Angeles County established thresholds for additional actions if the five-day average of cases reach 4,500 or more or hospitalizations are more than 2,000 per day. Currently, the five-day average of new coronavirus cases is 4,751.

On Friday health officials reported 24 new COVID-19 deaths and 4,544 new cases. Health officials said because cases remain at “alarming levels” and hospitalizations continue to increase, tighter safety measures are needed countywide.

The new rules come two days after county officials banned outdoor dining.

“We know we are asking a lot from so many who have been sacrificing for months on end and we hope that L.A. County residents continue following Public Health safety measures that we know can slow the spread,” Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said in a statement. “Acting with collective urgency right now is essential if we want to put a stop to this surge. Please remain home as much as possible and do not gather with others not in your household for the next three weeks.”

Here’s what is different come Monday:

There have been 387,793 positive cases of COVID-19 reported across all areas of L.A. County and a total of 7,604 deaths as of Friday. More than 3,681,714 people have been tested and 10% have tested positive.

On Friday Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti took to Twitter to tell Angelenos how sprawling coronavirus infections are and urged residents to slow the spread by tweeting: “Please stay at home as much as possible.”