Los Angeles County’s revised “Safer at Home” Health Order issued Saturday further restricts gatherings and non-essential businesses and calls for enforcement by the Sheriff’s Department with misdemeanor penalties for violators.

The beefed-up order from Public Health Officer Muntu Davis, MD, MPH, requires all businesses to cease in-person operations and close to the public, except businesses the county still considers essential (see list below). Businesses may conduct operations if management and employees work from home.

Saturday’s order, which covers all of LA County’s unincorporated territory and all cities except Long Beach and Pasadena (which have their own health care systems and COVID-19 orders), squares up provisions of the county’s original Health Officer Order with Governor Gavin Newsom’s March 19 executive order to “Stay at Home.”

The county’s enhanced order prohibits all public and private gatherings and events (the previous health order allowed gatherings of 10 people or fewer).

Several activities are still considered essential and are exempt from the order:
* Going to the doctor or taking a pet to the vet;
* Picking up medical supplies or medication;
* Picking up food or grocery items for you and/or your household and/or for delivery to others;
* Going to court, or to a social or administrative services provider as legally required;
* Providing aid to minors, seniors, dependents, disabled people and other vulnerable people;
* Following an order from a law enforcement officer or the court.

“This Order does not prohibit any individual or family from engaging in outdoor activities, as an individual or family, such as hiking, walking, biking, or shopping at Essential Businesses, including restaurants and grocery stores offering delivery, drive-thru or carry-out service, so long as all persons practice social distancing to the extent practicable,” the order reads.

Health Order Enforcement
“Violation of the Health Officer’s Order is a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment, fine or both under California Health and Safety Code Section 120295 et. seq.,” according to Saturday’s enhanced health order.

“Further, pursuant to Sections 26602 and 41601 of the California Government Code and Section 101029 of the California Health and Safety Code, the Health Officer requests that the Sheriff and the Chiefs of Police in all cities located in the Los Angeles County Public Health jurisdiction ensure compliance with and enforcement of this Order.”

Businesses Considered Essential, Exempt
The enhanced order clarifies that golf courses, drive-in movies and personal grooming services (including hair and nail salons) are non-essential services that are closed.

Indoor shopping malls and shopping centers are closed except for essential businesses in outdoor shopping malls or centers. Indoor and outdoor swap meets and flea markets are also closed.

The order also requires essential businesses to adopt stricter infection control precautions.

Here’s the public health order’s list of Essential Businesses:

* Grocery stores, certified farmers’ markets, farm and produce stands, supermarkets, food banks, convenience stores, warehouse stores, and other establishments engaged in the retail sale of canned food, dry goods, fresh produce, pet supply, water, fresh meats, fish, and poultry, and any other household consumer products (such as cleaning or personal care products). This includes stores that sell groceries and sell other non-grocery products necessary to maintaining the safety, sanitation and essential operation of residences;

* Food processors, confectioners, food packagers, food testing labs that are not open to the public, and food cultivation, including farming, livestock, and fishing;

* Organizations and Businesses that provide food, shelter, and social services, and other necessities of life for economically disadvantaged or otherwise needy individuals (including gang prevention and intervention, domestic violence, and homeless service agencies);

* Newspapers, television, radio, magazine, podcast, and journalism activities;

* Gas stations, auto-supply, mobile auto repair operations, auto repair shops (including, without limitation, auto repair shops adjacent to or otherwise in connection with a retail used auto dealership), and bicycle repair shops and related facilities;

* Banks, credit unions, financial institutions, and insurance companies;

* Plumbers, electricians, exterminators, custodial/janitorial workers, handyman services, funeral home workers and morticians, moving services, HVAC installers, carpenters, vegetation services, tree maintenance, landscapers, gardeners, property managers, private security personnel and other service providers who provide services to maintain the safety, sanitation, and essential operation to properties and other Essential Businesses;

* Businesses providing mailing and shipping services, including post office boxes;

* Educational institutions (including public and private K-12 schools, colleges, and universities) for purposes of facilitating distance learning, providing meals for pick-up, or performing essential functions, provided that social distancing is practiced;

* Laundromats, dry cleaners, laundry service providers;

* Restaurants and other food facilities that prepare and serve food, but ONLY for delivery, drive-thru or carry-out. Indoor and outdoor table dining is not permitted. Cafeterias, commissaries, and restaurants located within hospitals, nursing homes, or other licensed care facilities may provide dine-in service, as long as social distancing is practiced pursuant to Section 2(a)-(d).

* Businesses that supply office or computer products needed by people who work from home;

* Businesses that supply other Essential Businesses with the support or supplies needed to operate;

* Businesses that ship, truck, provide logistical support or deliver groceries, food, goods or services directly to residences, Essential Businesses, Healthcare Operations and Essential Infrastructure;

* Airlines, taxis, ride-sharing services and other private transportation providers providing transportation services necessary for activities of daily living and other purposes expressly authorized in this Order;

* Businesses that manufacture parts and provide services for Essential Infrastructure;

* Home-based care for seniors, adults, disabled persons, children and animals;

* Residential facilities and shelters for homeless residents, disabled persons, seniors, adults, children and animals;

* Professional services, such as legal, payroll or accounting services, when necessary to assist in compliance with legally mandated activities, and the permitting, inspection, construction, transfer and recording of ownership of housing, including residential and commercial real estate and anything incidental thereto;

* Military/Defense Contractors/FFRDC (Federally Funded Research and Development Centers). For the purposes of this Order, essential personnel may leave their residence to provide any service or perform any work deemed essential for national security including, but not limited to defense, intelligence and aerospace development and manufacturing for the Department of Defense, the Intelligence Community, and NASA and other federal government agencies. Essential personnel include primes, sub-primes, and supplier contractor employees, at both the prime contract level and any suppliers at any tier, working on United States Government contracts such as contracts rated under the Defense Priorities and Allocations System, (DPAS) and contracts for national intelligence and national security requirements;

* Hotels, motels, shared rental units and similar facilities.

* Construction Workers who support the construction, operation, inspection, and maintenance of construction sites and construction projects (including housing (construction);

* Child-care facilities providing services that enable employees exempted by this order to work. To the extent possible, child-care facilities must operate under the following mandatory conditions:
— Child care must be carried out in stable groups of 12 or fewer (“stable” means the same 12 or fewer children are in the same group each day).
— Children shall not change from one group to another.
— If more than one group of children is cared for at one facility, each group shall be in a separate room
— Groups shall not mix.
— Child-care providers shall remain solely with one group of children.

Read the complete Health Officer’s enhanced health order here.

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Always check with trusted sources such as those below for the latest accurate information about novel coronavirus COVID-19:

Los Angeles County Department of Public Health

Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

World Health Organization

City of Santa Clarita

Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital