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COVID Outbreak @ LBPD: At Least A Dozen Officers From Three Divisions Infected; Contact Tracing Underway To Find Other Staff Who May Have Come In Close Contact With Them
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COVID Outbreak @ LBPD: At Least A Dozen Officers From Three Divisions Infected; Contact Tracing Underway To Find Other Staff Who May Have Come In Close Contact With Them
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(November 19, 2020, 9:20 p.m.) -- At least twelve sworn Long Beach police officers -- in multiple divisions including North, South and West plus one civilian employee -- have tested positive for COVID-19 within the past two weeks..
A one paragraph statement in the City's Nov. 19 daily COVID-19 update says LB's "Health Department is working with the Police Department to investigate [the] COVID-19 outbreak... The Departments [Police and Health] are working together to investigate and conduct contact tracing to identify additional staff who may have come in close contact with the infected officers. Those who may have been exposed are being notified and recommended to quarantine. Personnel in all affected Divisions are undergoing increased testing, and workplaces have been cleaned and disinfected."
The announcement comes as Long Beach's COVID-19 daily new case rate has more than doubled in roughly six weeks. On October 1, LB's daily new case rate for COVID-19 was 8.1% per 100,000 persons. As of November 19, it's 16,7%. LB's positivity rate (percentage of tests positive) has now risen to 4.7%.
As separately reported by LBREPORT.com, Gov. Gavin Newsom and CA's Dept, of Public Health imposed what they call a "limited stay at home" order -- the same order applied to all non-essential activities in March 2020 but for now limited to 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. -- in all counties in the "purple" (widespread) COVID-19 tier (includes L.A. County.)
On Nov. 19, City of LB via Health Officer Dr. Anissa Davis finalized a series of tightened COVID-19 restrictions (effective Nov. 20) applicable to certain LB businesses, group gatherings and, with few exceptions and circumstances, mandates face masks for everyone leaving his/her residence.
[Scroll down for further.]
"A face covering is required over both your nose and mouth whenever you leave your place of residence" unless limited exceptions apply. Exceptions include "persons traveling in a car alone or solely with members of their household...people who are working in an office or a room alone...Persons who are actively eating or drinking provided that they are able to maintain a distance of at least six feet away from persons who are not members of the same household or residence [and] Persons who are outdoors and maintaining at least six feet of physical distancing from others not in their household. Such persons must have a face covering with them at all times and must put it on if they are within six feet of others who are not in their household."
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Among salient portions of Long Beach's tightened restrictions effective Nov. 20 at 12:01 a.m. are:
New Capacity Limits for Businesses
Non-essential businesses, including retail stores and personal care services, and offices for essential businesses, healthcare operations, or essential infrastructure may operate at no more than 25% maximum occupancy.
Restaurants, breweries, wineries and distilleries that offer outdoor in-person dining should achieve no more than 50% maximum occupancy by separating different tables by eight feet. This requirement is to ensure that a physical distance of six feet between customers and workers is achieved while customers are seated.
Outdoor family entertainment centers such as those located in public parks, batting cages and mini golf courses may operate at no more than 50% maximum occupancy to ensure a minimum six-foot distance between members of different households.
Changes to Personal Care Services
Services may only be performed by appointment.
Customers and staff both must wear face coverings for the duration of the service.
Services that require either the customer or staff to remove face coverings, such as facials and shaves, are not permitted.
Customers may not be offered or consume food or drinks onsite.
Limited Hours for Certain Businesses
Restaurants, breweries, wineries and bars that serve sit-down dine-meals and non-essential retail businesses, must close from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. every day. The last customer must be seated and finish their meal in time for the business to be completely closed by 10 p.m.
Face Covering Requirements
A face covering is required over both your nose and mouth whenever you leave your place of residence unless one of the limited exemptions applies.
The following individuals are exempt from face covering requirements:
Persons age two years or under, due to risk of suffocation.
Persons with a medical condition, mental health condition, or disability that prevents wearing a face covering. This includes persons with a medical condition for whom wearing a face covering could obstruct breathing or who are unconscious, incapacitated, or otherwise unable to remove a face covering without assistance. Such conditions are rare. Persons exempted from wearing a face covering due to a medical condition who are employed in a job involving regular contact with others should wear a non-restrictive alternative, such as a face shield with a drape on the bottom edge, as long as their condition permits it.
Persons who are hearing impaired, or communicating with a person who is hearing impaired, where the ability to see the mouth is essential for communication.
Persons for whom wearing a face covering would create a risk to the person related to their work, as determined by local, state, or federal regulators or workplace safety guidelines.
Persons traveling in a car alone or solely with members of their household.
People who are working in an office or a room alone.
Persons who are actively eating or drinking provided that they are able to maintain a distance of at least six feet away from persons who are not members of the same household or residence.
Persons who are outdoors and maintaining at least six feet of physical distancing from others not in their household. Such persons must have a face covering with them at all times and must put it on if they are within six feet of others who are not in their household.
Persons who are obtaining a medical treatment involving the nose or face for which temporary removal of the face covering is necessary to perform the medical treatment.
Workers who are required to wear respiratory protection.
Gatherings
Only outdoor gatherings are permitted.
A maximum of three households may gather.
A maximum of 15 people, within those three households, may gather.
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Support really independent news in Long Beach. No one in LBREPORT.com's ownership, reporting or editorial decision-making has ties to development interests, advocacy groups or other special interests; or is seeking or receiving benefits of City development-related decisions; or holds a City Hall appointive position; or has contributed sums to political campaigns for Long Beach incumbents or challengers. LBREPORT.com isn't part of an out of town corporate cluster and no one its ownership, editorial or publishing decisionmaking has been part of the governing board of any City government body or other entity on whose policies we report. LBREPORT.com is reader and advertiser supported. You can help keep really independent news in LB similar to the way people support NPR and PBS stations. We're not non-profit so it's not tax deductible but $49.95 (less than an annual dollar a week) helps keep us online.
