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1,000 LA County Restaurants Not Complying With Health Orders

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – About half of the restaurants visited by Los Angeles County health inspectors over the weekend were not complying with coronavirus protocols, officials disclosed Monday.

1,000 LA County Restaurants Not Complying With Health Orders
A sign outside a Los Angeles restaurant. June 15, 2020. (CBSLA)

L.A. County Public Health Director Dr. Barbara Ferrer reported that approximately 50% of the 2,000 restaurants visited by inspectors were not complying with health guidelines.

"They'll (the inspectors) be revisiting all of the restaurants that were not in compliance and issuing them an order to come into compliance," Ferrer said. "We've been doing a lot of education, but, starting this week, we're actually gonna revisit places where we noted that people still had concerns."

However, Ferrer said the numbers were an improvement on last week, where the rate of restaurants in compliance was under 25%. She said some of the issues appeared to stem from a lack of understanding of the protocols.

"They had confusion, they hadn't quite made the changes," she said. "There should be no places where tables are right next to each other, they either need a six-foot barrier or a physical barrier. Those are requirements in the protocols."

RELATED: While LA County Restaurants Reopen For Business, Bars Still Waiting For Green Light

Los Angeles County restaurants were given the green light to reopen for in-person dining beginning on May 29. Bars remain closed.

Restaurants are required to adhere to 60% of capacity and provide screening for customers and employees. They must follow physical distancing measures and customers are required to wear face coverings when not eating. Customers are also encouraged to make reservations, and they are asked to wait for their table either in their cars or outside the restaurant. Bar areas of restaurants remain closed.

The county has established a call line and website where the public can report restaurants or other businesses which are not following the guidelines.

"We do have a call line where people can call, you can go on our website and lodge a complaint, so if you something you know isn't right, we'd love to be notified, we'll send out our inspectors," Ferrer said.

RELATED: More Than 40% Of Black-Owned Businesses Have Shuttered Due To Coronavirus Pandemic, Study Finds

L.A. County has put together an Economic Resiliency Task Force made up of businesses leaders from across all sectors -- including healthcare, restaurants, education, entertainment and manufacturing -- to help in implementing the proper reopening protocols.

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