Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti urged Angelenos to keep up with social distancing measures Friday to prevent a spike in COVID-19 infections as businesses and public areas throughout the city, county and state continue reopening.
The mayor has made it clear he is nervous about reopening L.A.
“There’s nothing easy or straightforward about this moment, but Angelenos are doing everything they can to save lives,” Garcetti said during a news conference.
“We’ve learned how to live with COVID-19 better, how to be safer, but there’s also exhaustion, and some people are simply giving up, not wearing their masks, not social distancing, saying, ‘I can’t take it any more,'” he said.
“But remember the victory that got us this day: Your work to save lives — to wash your hands, to keep a physical distance, to wear a facial covering — these have saved your neighbors, your family members, and we have to keep doing that even as the state and the county permits more things to be open.”
California Department of Public Health officials announced Friday that 141,983 coronavirus infections had been detected in the state, with 4,943 people dying from the virus.
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health announced the detection of 1,633 new infections Friday and 20 new deaths, bringing the county’s total to 70,476 cases and 2,832 deaths.
About 93% of those who have died from the illness had an underlying health condition, county health officials said in a written statement.
The Los Angeles County statistics include Long Beach and Pasadena, which operate their own health departments.
A modified county health order issued Friday allowed for select business to reopen, provided social distancing protocols are followed. Businesses allowed to reopen under the new order include gyms, day camps, museums, zoos, campgrounds, film and television production sets and hotels for leisure travel.
The city of L.A. altered its own public health order to mirror those of the county and state.
But the mayor urged residents to take the process at their own stride.
“Just because you can open doesn’t mean you have to open,” he said.
Garcetti also spoke of racial justice and provided an update on the city’s fight to combat homelessness.