LA County Cardrooms Reopen, Indoor Malls Allowed To Reopen Wednesday
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health Monday reported 472 newly confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus and seven additional deaths, bringing countywide totals to 274,942 cases and 6,654 deaths.
Of those who deaths were reported Monday, three were over the age of 80, one was between the ages of 65 and 79, two were between the ages of 60 and 64 and one was between the ages of 30 and 49. Five of the seven had underlying conditions.
Health officials attributed the low number of cases and deaths to weekend reporting lags.
Also on Monday, schools were allowed to begin applying for waivers to reopen classroom instruction for students in grades TK-2. The county has previously said it would only approve a maximum of 30 waivers per week and prioritize schools with higher percentages of students who are qualified for free/reduced meals. The review process was expected to take up to three weeks.
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Cardrooms were also allowed to reopen Monday for outdoor operations, joining nail salons — which were allowed to begin offering limited indoor service on Friday.
On Wednesday, indoor shopping malls will be allowed to reopen with 25% capacity, though all food courts and common areas must remain closed.
But with reopening plans well underway, county health officials again urged people to continue wearing face coverings, keeping their physical distance from those they do not live with and washing their hands frequently.
"It is the personal responsibility of everyone — businesses, institutions, and individuals — to protect ourselves and each other from further transmission of this dangerous virus," Dr. Barbara Ferrer, county public health director, said. "Compliance on everyone's part is so important to reopening sectors and continuing to keep them open. None of us want to move backward in our recovery, and this will require each business, school and resident to use every tool we have to slow the spread of COVID-19 in all settings and circumstances."
More about the county's reopening protocols can be found on the department's website.
As of Monday, there were 674 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 — 27% of whom were being treated in intensive care units. With testing results available for nearly 2,727,000 people, the county's overall positivity rate was holding steady at 9%.
