Los Angeles County Health Department Issues Revised Order

BURBANK, CA (March 22, 2020) 

The Los Angeles County health officer has issued a stronger “Safer at Home” order to better align with  the statewide order to slow the spread of the coronavirus. This order does not include Pasadena or Long Beach, which have their own Health Department orders. 

There has been confusion on certain categories of essential businesses and we received new clarification from Los Angeles County that gun stores are an essential business and may remain open. As a reminder, like other essential businesses they must ensure social distancing rules are met.

Here’s what is included within the new Los Angeles County Department order.

• All businesses ordered shut, with exceptions
• All public and private gatherings are prohibited
• Nail and hair salons are ordered shut
• Golf courses have been ordered shut 
• Indoor malls and shopping centers must shut
• Essential businesses in outdoor malls and shopping centers can remain open.
• Drive in theaters are closed
• Indoor and outdoor playgrounds for children are ordered shut, except for those within child-care centers
• Indoor and outdoor flea markets and swap meets have been ordered shut
• Bars, gyms, movie theaters are still closed

Essential businesses need to take the following precautions:

• Customers, visitors and workers to be separated by 6 feet, to the extent feasible
• Provide hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol or hand-washing facilities with soap and water
• Posting a sign at the entrance instructing people to leave if they have symptoms of illness, such as having a fever or cough
• Clean and sanitize the premises

Restaurants

• Restaurants are still allowed to open for pickup and delivery only, as ordered by the county earlier.California’s Alcoholic Beverage Control has loosen restrictions and alcoholic drinks to go may be purchased or delivered with food.Other laws regarding age, etc. still apply.

Essential activities exempt from this order include:

• Visiting a health or veterinary care professional
• Obtaining medical supplies or medication
• Obtaining grocery items for your household or for delivery to others
• Legally mandated governmental purposes, such as access to court, social and administrative services
• Providing care for minors, the elderly, dependents, persons with disabilities or other vulnerable persons
• Complying with an order of law enforcement or the court

Essential businesses exempt from this order

• Grocery stores, certified farmers’ markets, farm and produce stands, supermarkets, food banks, convenience stores, warehouse stores, and other establishments engaged in the retail sale of canned food, dry goods, fresh fruit and vegetables, pet supply, water, fresh meats, fish, and poultry, and any other household consumer products (such as cleaning or personal care products). This includes stores that sell groceries and sell other non-grocery products, and products necessary to maintaining the safety, sanitation, and essential operation of residences;
• Food processors, confectioners, food packagers, food testing labs that are not open to the public, and food cultivation, including farming, livestock, and fishing;
• Organizations and Businesses that provide food, shelter, and social services, and other necessities of life for economically disadvantaged or otherwise needy individuals (including gang prevention and intervention, domestic violence, and homeless service agencies);
• Newspapers, television, radio, magazine, podcast and journalism activities;
• Gas stations, auto-supply, mobile auto repair operations, auto repair shops (including, without limitation, auto repair shops adjacent to or otherwise in connection with a retail or used auto dealership), and bicycle repair shops and related facilities;
• Banks, credit unions, financial institutions and insurance companies;
• Hardware stores, nurseries; building supply stores;
• Plumbers, electricians, exterminators, custodial/janitorial workers, handyman services, funeral home workers and morticians, moving services, HVAC installers, carpenters, vegetation services, tree maintenance, landscapers, gardeners, property managers, private security personnel and other service providers who provide services to maintain the safety, sanitation, and essential operation to properties and other Essential Businesses;
• Businesses providing mailing and shipping services, including post office boxes;
• Educational institutions (including public and private K-12 schools, colleges, and universities) for purposes of facilitating distance learning, providing meals for pick-up, or performing essential functions, provided that social distancing is practiced;
• Laundromats, dry cleaners, laundry service providers;
• Restaurants and other food facilities that prepare and serve food, but only for delivery, drive thru or carry out. Indoor and outdoor table dining is not permitted. Cafeterias, commissaries, and restaurants located within hospitals, nursing homes, or other licensed health care facilities may provide dine-in service, as long as social distancing is practiced pursuant to Section 2(a)-(d). 
• Businesses that supply office or computer products needed by people who work from home;
• Businesses that supply other Essential Businesses with the support or supplies necessary to operate;
• Businesses that ship, truck, provide logistical support or deliver groceries, food, goods or services directly to residences, Essential Businesses, Healthcare Operations, and Essential Infrastructure;
• Airlines, taxis, ride sharing services and other private transportation providers providing transportation services necessary for activities of daily living and other purposes expressly authorized in this Order;
• Businesses that manufacture parts and provide service for Essential Infrastructure;
• Home-based care for seniors, adults, disabled persons, or children;
• Residential facilities and shelters for homeless residents, disabled persons, seniors, adults, children and animals;
• Professional services, such as legal, pay roll or accounting services, when necessary to assist in compliance with legally mandated activities, and the permitting, inspection, construction, transfer and recording of ownership of housing, including residential and commercial real estate and anything incidental thereto;
• Military/Defense Contractors/FFRDC (Federally Funded Research and Development Centers). For purposes of this Order, essential personnel may leave their residence to provide any service or perform any work deemed essential for national security including, but not limited to defense, intelligence and aerospace development and manufacturing for the Department of Defense, the Intelligence Community, and NASA and other federal government, and or United States Government departments and agencies. Essential personnel include prime, sub-primes, and supplier contractor employees, at both the prime contract level and any supplier levels at any tier, working on federal United States Government contracts such as contracts rated under the Defense Priorities and Allocations System (DPAS) and contracts for national intelligence and national security requirements;
• Childcare facilities providing services that enable employees exempted in this Order to work as permitted. To the extent possible, childcare facilities must operate under the following mandatory conditions:
  • Childcare must be carried out in stable groups of 12 or fewer (“stable" means the same twelve (12) or fewer children are in the same group each day); 
  • Children shall not change from one group to another; 
  • If more than one (1) group of children is cared for at once facility, each group shall be in a separate room. Groups shall not mix with each other; 
  • Childcare providers shall remain solely with one group of children.
• Hotels, motels, shared rental units and similar facilities.
• Construction Workers who support the construction, operation, inspection, and maintenance of construction sites and construction projects (including housing construction).