Eric Garcetti responds to the Trump Administration: "We are guided by science"

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Screenshot Twitter @MayorOfLA / Impremedia

In a letter sent Friday to the Mayor of Los Angeles Eric Garcetti and the director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health Barbara Ferrer, Deputy Attorney General of the Department of Justice Eric Dreiband He said that their recent comments suggest that The act of deciding that the stay-at-home order for the coronavirus pandemic in Los Angeles will remain long-term "can be both arbitrary and illegal."

The Justice Department's Friday letter, published by the Los Angeles Times, says, in part, the following:

"The Justice Department is not seeking to dictate how cities and counties like Los Angeles determine what degree of personal activity and interaction should be allowed to protect the safety of its citizens … However, we have a responsibility to protect the federal legal and constitutional rights of all people in our country, and ensuring that government restrictions are not unconstitutionally heavy … Simply put, there is no pandemic exception to the United States Constitution and its Bill of Rights. "

Garcetti defended the city's approach during the coronavirus pandemic health crisis during a press conference on Friday, when asked about the Justice Department's criticism and warnings. "We were able to do this and save lives," adding that the city collaborated with companies, employees, and labor groups in the region's response.

"Together, with science, the numbers will always guide us forward," Garcetti said. "There is nothing else. There are no games, there is nothing else. ”

The mayor issued an order to stay home for Los Angeles in March, extending it twice. But he has pointed out that the restrictions will be loosened in the coming weeks.

Watch Garcetti's press conference below: