Los Angeles residents are fuming after the Public Health Director recommended on Tuesday that the county should extend the stay-at-home order until August, which would potentially leave thousands if not millions unemployed.
In terms of population, Los Angeles is the largest county in the United States with more than 10.1 million people calling it home. In a county Board of Supervisors meeting, Public Health Director Dr. Barbara Ferrer stated her belief that the LA county’s stay-at-home order would likely be extended into the next couple of months unless there is a “dramatic change to the virus and tools at hand.”
Those that live in the city of angels were less than pleased.
Kassy Dillon of The Daily Wire, which is located in Southern California, tweeted, “Traffic is picking back up and thousands were at the beaches last night to see the blue glowing waves. Los Angeles is not going to follow this order for three more months.”
Roddy Starbuck wrote, “If Los Angeles County has stay at home orders until late August, there may not be any small businesses left when it finally reopens. Absolute insanity. LA County + the state of CA voted for far-left Democrat tyrants and now they have them. You get what you vote for.”
The city’s mayor, in response to the public’s concerns, tried to play down their fears.
“When our county health officer Dr. Ferrer merely said that an order would stay in place for at least three more months, that doesn’t mean the order stays in place exactly as it is today,” LA Mayor Eric Garcetti stated. “It’s just a reminder of how delicate and fragile this time is, but do not freak out when you hear a scientist say that it’s still going to be living under health orders.”
That’s a tall order, especially for those that are already suffering.
In a recent survey conducted by the University of Southern California, only 45% of Los Angeles residents reported that they had a job, which could represent about 1.3 million jobs/people. That’s a decrease of about 16 percentage points when compared to the mid-March total, which was 61%.
The longer this continues, thousands or perhaps even millions more could lose their jobs or other work opportunities, and it’s unclear if the numbers should require such drastic measures.
According to Los Angeles County public health department, there have been only 33,180 confirmed cases and 1,613 deaths from the pandemic. The death rate is only about .01% of the total population.
If the stay-at-home order continues, some companies may consider moving their operations to other counties and states with friendly, pro-business policies, which would have a devastating impact on those that are already suffering.
Northern California’s Alameda County has already been in a public spat with Tesla founder Elon Musk over his decision to reopen a factory located in the region. The county, after being sued by Musk, decided to finally let the plant resume operations in a limited capacity. Musk, at the height of the dispute, stated that he was strongly considering moving his headquarters from California to states like Texas, Nevada or perhaps even Colorado.
It’s likely if Los Angeles continues to limit business operations, other companies may decide to do the same.
Our public health officials are partly responsible for trying to keep Americans safe, but, at some point, these restrictions put people’s economic, social and emotional well-being at risk in order to contain a virus where a majority of the people infected recover. Los Angeles may also find that like Alameda county, companies may look towards more business-friendly states and counties in the coming months.