Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti announced Wednesday that the city would begin sharing information on the threat level of COVID-19 infection.
The color-coded indicator will be posted online and will break down the risk of spread into four categories: red, orange, yellow and green.
“From the start of this crisis, I’ve made clear that data and evidence will inform every decision that we make,” the mayor said. “Information and data on the threat helps us all inform our behavior, guides us to better days.”
When the indicator is red, there will be a required safer-at-home order in place and people will only be able to go out for essential activities like for work or the market. Under the red category, “you should assume you and everyone around you is infectious,” according to the city.
When the indicator is orange — which it was on Wednesday — there is an extremely high risk of infection and residents should take precautions and assume they and everyone around them are infectious, the city said. People should stay home as often as they can and only participate in essential activities.
When the indicator is yellow, the curve is successfully flattening but people should still take required precautions.
When the indicator turns green, it will mean the virus is mostly contained and presents a low risk.
Garcetti also announced VolunteerLA, a program to connect Angelenos to service opportunities in response to the pandemic. Volunteers will be asked to call businesses in the city to inform them about new protocols and to point them to resources.
The briefing comes after Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday ordered L.A. County and 18 others to halt indoor operations at all restaurants, museums, zoos, cardrooms, theaters, and wineries for at least three weeks as COVID-19 cases surge.
There were 2,002 new coronavirus cases and another 35 deaths reported in the county Wednesday, bringing the total to 105,507 cases with 3,402 deaths.
On Monday, Mayor Garcetti said an estimated one in 140 people is currently infectious with COVID-19 in L.A. County, and the rate is expected to increase to one out of every 100 people or one in every 70 people.
He urged Angelenos to forgo traditional Fourth of July celebrations “to protect what we have in this country, to protect who we are, and to make sure that our economy doesn’t take more steps backwards.”
