Los Angeles City Mayor Eric Garcetti elaborated on upcoming plans for the city, as the community prepares for a second wave of increased transmission. Most recent numbers are projecting over thousands of new COVID-19 cases. The mayor went into detail about this unfortunate turn of events, and what this means for the city of Los Angeles.
Garcetti described the city’s status to be in critical condition, he stated, “…This pandemic, at this moment is threatening to spiral out of control.” He continued, “We are at the highest risk level that we have been, we are seeing numbers that literally three weeks ago were half as much.”
The mayor mentioned the spike in hospitalization, counting over 1,500 admissions with many of them in intensive care. He emphasized how each case is a relative; mothers, fathers, sons, and daughters that all represent identities that are meeting a severe tragedy.
Three weeks ago, the hospitalization number was approximately half the current escalated amount. In the last week alone, the mayor stated that admittance going up 50%. Garcetti stressed the hospitals will not have enough spare resources to accommodate a bigger jump in if this trend continues.
The County of Los Angeles predicts over 11,000 fatal cases will happen if it continues to accelerate at this prediction. Garcetti stated, “Los Angeles is on a very dangerous path, if we don’t make changes soon to our day-to-day lives, we’ll have more infections, more suffering, and more hospitalizations and yes, more deaths.”
Garcetti wanted to reiterate what the County public health professionals believe will be the best move in this critical state. The mission for all is to save the lives of every Angeleno. The mayor declared, “…We will never stop working, to try to mitigate the loss, and the suffering of you…”
The impact on the economy goes on for months, Garcetti confirmed the damage that takes place from closing businesses has a long-lasting impression on the stability of the city. He stated, “ I know there are a lot of worries out there,” the mayor highlighted he has spoken to the city council president and County Supervisors to deliberate the best way to handle future restrictions and safety measures for businesses.
On November 25, the mayor launched “LA Optimized,” an Initiative to help local small businesses recover from the pandemic by assisting with their digital presence. According to the official press release Mayor Garcetti stated, “ COVID-19 has changed everything — the way we communicate, work, socialize, and shop — and our brick-and-mortar stores need to rapidly rethink how they reach their customers, market their goods, sell their products, and thrive when so much business is happening online.”
There is money that is set aside for small businesses that will be “surged” into those being highly impacted by the fluctuating temperature of the economy. Garcetti stated, “ Whether you own a restaurant or work in one, or you been supporting the industry by dining out or ordering in more safely, I know there are a lot of worries out there.”
The mayor continued, “ I’ve spoken with our city council president, I spoken with our County supervisors—know that if those orders do come down where we have to stop outdoor dining or limit the hours on other businesses we will take the funds that we have in business assistance and surge them into those industries, to get us through this period, to keep those businesses alive, to protect those jobs, and to make sure that they can stand up again.”
