Officials with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (LADPH) responded Friday to a judge ruling against their temporary ban on outdoor dining, saying that the judge “incorrectly analyzed” the department’s decision to close down outdoor dining for the over 31,000 restaurants in the county.
On Friday, the LADPH issued a statement in response to Judge James Chalfant’s Tuesday ruling that found the department “acted arbitrarily” in their decision to temporarily ban outdoor dining for all restaurants in Los Angeles County as COVID-19 cases surge across the county.
“Earlier this week, a Superior Court judge issued a ruling that, in our opinion, creates at a minimum confusion for L.A. County residents,” the LADPH statement reads. “The ruling incorrectly analyzed Public Health’s decision-making process that went into its November 25 Order, which included a temporary suspension of outdoor dining at restaurants and a return to takeout and delivery only.”
Chalfant’s ruling means that the department can not extend the outdoor dining ban after the initial deadline of Dec. 16 without conducting the “appropriate risk-benefit analysis.” However, outdoor dining is set to remain closed until at least Dec. 27 due to California’s Stay at Home Order, which was issued on Dec. 6.
“The County clearly has failed to perform the required risk-benefit analysis,” Chalfant wrote on Tuesday. “As part of the risks of the closure, the County could be expected to consider the economic cost of closing 30,000 restaurants, the impact to restaurant owners and their employees, and the psychological and emotional cost to a public tired of the pandemic and seeking some form of enjoyment in their lives.”
Chalfant cited the department’s own data in his ruling,which tracks all non-residential settings at which three or more laboratory-confirmed COVID cases have been identified.
Out of the 204 locations on the list, fewer than 10% are restaurants, and of the 2,257 cases identified on the list, fewer than 5% originate from restaurants.
“By failing to weigh the benefits of an outdoor dining restriction against its costs, the County acted arbitrarily and its decision lacks a rational relationship to a legitimate end,” Chalfant wrote.
See Related: Judge Rules Against L.A. County Outdoor Dining Ban, Says County ‘Acted Arbitrarily’
For their part, LADPH officials called their approach “scientific and common sense,” citing that COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations were beginning to surge at the time they were considering the outdoor dining ban.
“Because COVID-19 is transmitted through contact with infectious people, who could be asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic, whether indoors or outdoors, L.A. County Public Health ordered on a population-wide basis that people stay at home as much as possible, places where people encounter each other, like stores, decompress, and activities where people are in close proximity for extended periods of time without wearing a mask, such as eating/drinking at restaurants and personal care services that require customers to remove their face coverings, be suspended,” Friday’s statement reads.
As of Friday, the daily seven-day average for new COVID-19 cases in Los Angeles County was at 10,284 and hospitalizations are at 3,624. Additionally, the adult Intensive Care Unit available capacity in the Southern California region was at 7.7%.
“Right now, with the amount of community transmission of COVID-19, the transmission risk presented by outdoor dining at a table with others is simply too high and will result in additional cases that the hospital system soon will not be able to absorb,” Friday’s statement reads. “Public Health expects the number of COVID-19 hospitalizations to quickly exceed 4,000.
An additional 13,815 coronavirus cases were reported in Los Angeles County on Friday, along with 50 additional deaths. In the Santa Clarita Valley, 237 new COVID-19 cases were reported, and the daily seven-day average stood at just under 200.
An update for both the Santa Clarita Valley and Los Angeles County is expected to be released Saturday afternoon.
The full response from LADPH can be read here.
Do you have a news tip? Call us at (661) 298-1220, or send an email to newstip@hometownstation.com. Don’t miss a thing. Get breaking KHTS Santa Clarita News Alerts delivered right to your inbox. Report a typo or error, email Corrections@hometownstation.com
KHTS FM 98.1 and AM 1220 is Santa Clarita’s only local radio station. KHTS mixes in a combination of news, traffic, sports, and features along with your favorite adult contemporary hits. Santa Clarita news and features are delivered throughout the day over our airwaves, on our website and through a variety of social media platforms. Our KHTS national award-winning daily news briefs are now read daily by 34,000+ residents. A vibrant member of the Santa Clarita community, the KHTS broadcast signal reaches all of the Santa Clarita Valley and parts of the high desert communities located in the Antelope Valley. The station streams its talk shows over the web, reaching a potentially worldwide audience. Follow @KHTSRadio on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
No comments:
Post a Comment