Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti delivered an update on the city's response to coronavirus from a skilled nursing facility in Reseda today.
The facebook feed, which usually airs his live address, was frequently interrupted today; during the Q&A portion, it actually cut out and switched to an opera performance...
Live shot of the mayor delivering his nightly address pic.twitter.com/NuLiELBhoP
— Alissa Walker (@awalkerinLA) May 20, 2020
The video of the speech seems to have been removed from facebook. But here are the updates that we were able to discern, despite the technical difficulties:
MORE BUSINESSES CAN REOPEN STARTING TODAY
The mayor announced today that all pet grooming and training businesses can reopen, starting now. Customers will be able to drop off their pets outside without physically entering the space.
Car washes can also reopen today. Previously only self-service or automated car wash facilities were allowed to stay open.
Effective immediately, all pet grooming and training retail businesses and mobile services are allowed to operate. Customers will be able to drop off and pick up their pets outside the store, or home if a mobile service. County protocols must be followed.
— MayorOfLA (@MayorOfLA) May 20, 2020
UPDATE ON SUNDAY'S DOWNTOWN FIRE
The mayor said that of the 12 L.A. city firefighters who were transported to County/USC Medical Center on Sunday after a dangerous explosion downtown, one had surgery today and four others are still hospitalized.
LAFD also responded to a large fire at 4 a.m. today at a fabric warehouse, also downtown. Fortunatey, Garcetti said, there were no injuries.
THE MOST DANGEROUS DAY
Today, the mayor said, we saw the second highest number of deaths in a 24-hour period. "So anyone who thinks we are out of the woods, we are not," he added.
The good news is we still have plenty of hospital beds.
The mayor also announced that an additional downtown hotel will become part of Project Room Key, which is providing emergency hotel rooms to people experiencing homelessness during the pandemic. The new hotel will add 250 rooms.
In L.A. County, he said, we now have a total of 3,500 rooms designated for these services. He acknowledged the L.A. Times reporting which found that only half of the hotel rooms that are part of this program in the state of California have been filled, but said L.A. County is "at a very high occupancy," although he did not offer any specific numbers.
Today, he added, the county has the capacity to test 21,000 people a day. Nearly 10% of the city's population has now been tested -- about 400,000 people.
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