The order to stay home could last until the summer and it is essential to maintain greater social distance
Going to the supermarket can increase the risk of contracting the virus, due to crowds.
Photo:
MIGUEL MEDINA / AFP / Getty Images
Health officials and authorities announced Friday that the "safer at home" order has been in effect throughout Los Angeles County since last month. will run until at least May 15.
Los Angeles County health officials warned Friday that the region needs to significantly increase social distancing to curb the spread of the coronavirus and that stay-at-home restrictions may remain until summer.
Even with the dramatic social distancing the county is seeing now, authorities predict that up to 30% of residents could become infected in mid-summer without further behavioral changes, such as reducing shopping trips.
As a result, Los Angeles County is extending the stay-at-home order for California's most populous county until at least May 15, reports L.A. Times.
Officials were unable to provide a definitive answer on when the stay-at-home order will decrease.
"Everyone wants us to be able to answer that and definitely answer it, and we can't." We do know that we will reopen ", Barbara Ferrer said, director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. “We know that we are going to lift some of the restrictions and we look forward to taking a closer look this summer at what makes sense to relax for us, in terms of some of the closings right now that are making it impossible, for example, for some people to return to work. But it really depends on the data. "
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While the strict physical distancing measures in Los Angeles County, which have been in place for three weeks, clearly have had an effect in saving many lives, models released by the county on Friday show troubling forecasts if officials now lift the order to stay home.
There are still too many people infected with the coronavirus in Los Angeles County, authorities said. And there is more than a 50% chance that the current supply of intensive care unit beds in Los Angeles County, approximately 750 beds now, runs out in late April.
Officials outlined the most difficult roads for Los Angeles County:
- If the order to stay home were quickly rescinded and people returned to their normal habits, a staggering 95.6% of Los Angeles County residents would become infected with the coronavirus by August 1, according to projections released by the county.
- Staying at current levels of physical distancing would still result in 29.8% of residents becoming infected before August 1.
- But if we increase our efforts to keep each other apart by a third, this could reduce to having only 5.5% of Los Angeles County residents infected by August 1.
Authorities warned that the forecasts will change over time as more data is entered. But the data indicates that Now is not the time to leave the request to stay home, they said.
Angelenos can do even better, if more people wear cloth covers for their faces and if those who continue to go to the supermarket every day can reduce the number of outings.
