Anthony Anderson Joins Mayor Garcetti in supporting Testing Site Staff.
Wednesday July 8, Los Angeles City Mayor Eric Garcetti provided update on the uphill turn the spread of COVID-19 has taken. A report was released earlier by the L.A. County, it disclosed the latest numbers surrounding the outbreak. The reflected numbers are warranted for concern, showing a rise in hospitalization and community transmission. According to collected data, more people are contracting the virus. Local public officials stress the caution that is needed in order to prevent the transmission of coronavirus.
The alert is felt around the city as the country surpassed a threshold of 3-million positive cases. Local businesses that just reopened and outdoor life has taken a step back over the course of this month. Restaurants regressed business to only allow pick-up or delivery services and beaches along with other recreational activities met restricting limitations over the holiday weekend. The Mayor described the halt in activity as a “hard pause” and disclosed there will be no more firms or sectors opening until the numbers return to a stable or declined condition.
Mayor Garcetti addressed the dangers in social gatherings, there are too many group activities happening and it’s putting the city at risk. The spike is rearing its head within younger demographics between the ages of 18-40. There is frequent communication with the county’s public health department and the California state governor to find a way back to flattening the curve.
Testing capacity is the strongest protection the city has against COVID-19. The mayor addressed the imbalance of infection with vulnerable communities, he encouraged more residents to get tested for coronavirus. Mayor Garcetti joined Councilmember Curren Price and actor and activist Anthony Anderson at the Kedren Community Clinic in South Los Angeles.
Stated within the press release about the event, the mayor said, “Testing saves lives, and we have to deliver more testing to the people hardest-hit by COVID-19: communities of color and vulnerable Angelenos,” said Mayor Garcetti. “We can only defeat this virus if everyone does their part and if we tackle the deep racial inequities baked into our health system. We have tests prioritized for you if you have symptoms or think you have been exposed, and we need everyone to wear a face covering, stay home when you can, and avoid gatherings with anyone outside your home.”
Data pulled from the Los Angeles County Public Health Department, reflects Black and LatinX communities twice as likely to die from COVID-19 compared to White Angelenos. The event was hosted at the walk-up testing site at the Kedren Community Health Center.
Other local testing locations include Inglewood, Charles Drew University in Willowbrook, and the Crenshaw Christian Center, they look to test 3,000 people per day. The city Los Angeles has used a budget over one-million dollars to provide free testing to Angelenos and continues to keep strong connections with public and private sectors to build more testing sites. As of July 7, over 20,000 people were tested, that was the largest capacity of tests seen in a single day.
The mayor reiterated the safest way to prevent the spread of the virus, is to stay home. 1 out of 140 people are infectious, to maintain control over the spread of COVID-19 Los Angeles leaders took a “hard pause” and closed down beaches, piers, bike trails, and outdoor dining in order to limit access to large gatherings.
The necessities for flattening the curve was emphasized, there has been a temporarily closure of indoor operations at restaurants, wineries and tasting rooms, card rooms, zoos, aquariums and museums. L.A. County officials continue to stress wearing face coverings, hand washing, and social distancing. The numbers reflect hospitalization is on the rise, the pressure to prevent increased measurements of COVID-19 continues to grow. The city is now in code orange and if it shifts to red, there will be a mandated safer at home order put in place.
