| (July 1, 2021, 7:55 p.m.) -- Long Beach's COVID-19 case rate and percentage of those testing positive have both more than doubled since the City of Long Beach's Health Dept. let LB businesses and public areas reopen (with limited restrictions) effective June 15 based on rules announced by the Newsom administration's Dept. of Public Health.
Governor Newsom, now facing a recall based in part on his administration responses to COVID-19, announced in early April that California would fully reopen if certain conditions were met by June 15. Business interests had been hammering the Governor to loosen or remove restrictions, while at the olther end of the policy spectrum critics noted that his administration provided no science backing up the seemingly arbitrary mid-June reopening date beyond hoping that increased vaccinations would dampen the virus. Since mid June, LB's rate of positive tests has gone from 1.0% to 2.4% (latest figure July 1 visible on LBREPORT.com's COVID-19 dashboard on our front page.)
LA County's rates in these categories have also increased, but LB's are now higher than countywide levels. In response to the countywide increase, LA County's Health Dept. has recommended that people continue to wear masks in indoor settings where they're not sure of others' vaccination status. LB's independent Health Dept. has taken no similar action in response. The upcoming July 4th holiday weekend may bring additional challenges, that may become apparent in the weeks that follow. |
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