This post was updated Nov. 22 at 6:45 p.m.
Los Angeles County announced Sunday it will ban in-person dining starting Wednesday as it edges toward a countywide “safer at home” order.
The ban on in-person dining – which includes both indoor and outdoor dining – will go into effect Wednesday at 10 p.m. and will last at least three weeks. Restaurants, bars and wineries will still be able to offer take-out and drive-thru dining.
The LA County Department of Public Health planned to implement restrictions on restaurants if the five-day average of new COVID-19 cases reached 4,000 cases or the total number of hospitalizations passed 1,750. The county reported 2,718 cases on Sunday, bringing the five-day average to 4,097.
The county also reported more than 4,000 COVID-19 cases over each of the previous three days, including an all-time high of 5,031 cases Thursday.
[Related link: Officials recommend self-quarantining after holiday travel as cases surge statewide]
The county is also considering additional restrictions if the five-day average passes 4,500 or if the number of hospitalizations passes 2,000, including a modified “safer at home” order that would only allow essential and emergency workers to leave their houses and others to leave for purposes considered essential.
“The persistent high number of cases requires additional safety measures that limit mixing in settings where people are not wearing masks,” said LACDPH director Barbara Ferrer in a Sunday press release. “We hope individuals continue to support restaurants, breweries and wineries by ordering for takeout or delivery.”
A previous LACDPH order restricted outdoor dining to 50% maximum outdoor capacity and imposed a curfew between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. for nonessential businesses.
California also implemented a limited monthlong curfew banning multihousehold gatherings after 10 p.m. until 5 a.m. that applies to 41 counties, including LA County.
LA County is in the California Department of Public Health’s purple, or “widespread,” tier. Almost 95% of California counties are in the purple tier.
The LACDPH has reported 696 COVID-19 cases in Westwood since the onset of the pandemic in March.
