Los Angeles County, the epicenter of California's coronavirus outbreak, is almost certain to extend its stay-at-home mandate until August, the Los Angeles Times first reported.
County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer told the Board of Supervisors Tuesday that the quarantine order will "with all certainty" be in effect through the next two and a half months.
"Our hope is that by using the data, we’d be able to slowly lift restrictions over the next three months," she said at the supervisors meeting. Only a "dramatic change to the virus and tools at hand" would shorten the timeline.
Experts believe without widespread testing and a robust contact-tracing program to identify people who came in contact with COVID-19 patients, it will be difficult to safely reopen the state. Los Angeles County also hasn't hit a key benchmark for reopening: a decline in cases and deaths for 14 days.
County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer told the Board of Supervisors Tuesday that the quarantine order will "with all certainty" be in effect through the next two and a half months.
"Our hope is that by using the data, we’d be able to slowly lift restrictions over the next three months," she said at the supervisors meeting. Only a "dramatic change to the virus and tools at hand" would shorten the timeline.
Experts believe without widespread testing and a robust contact-tracing program to identify people who came in contact with COVID-19 patients, it will be difficult to safely reopen the state. Los Angeles County also hasn't hit a key benchmark for reopening: a decline in cases and deaths for 14 days.