The City of Long Beach today issued an amendment
to the existing “Safer at Home” Order, in an effort to further reduce
the spread of COVID-19 and mitigate the impact on delivery of critical
healthcare services to those in need. The amendment provides
additional and clarifying information regarding physical distancing
requirements and mandates essential businesses to prepare, post and
implement a Social Distancing Protocol at all operating
facilities.
We are at a critical moment in this public health emergency
and we will do everything possible to protect the public and essential
workers like grocery store and food workers. It’s time to step up
protective measures and ensure that we keep hospitals ready and
available to care for those who need the most help.
Effective now through May 15, 2020, essential businesses are
required to implement and post Social Distancing Protocols at their
facilities maintaining operations to ensure employees receive the
necessary supplies, tools and equipment to protect the employees and
the public they serve. All essential businesses must post their social
distancing protocols by April 15, 2020.
To help ensure the health and safety of employees and
patrons, social distancing protocols for essential businesses must
include the following, as applicable to the
operation:
- Limiting the number of people who can enter the facility at
one time to ensure that a minimum of six-foot distance can be
maintained between people easily.
- Marking six-foot increments in line queues to establish
where individuals should stand to ensure adequate
distancing.
- Providing hand sanitizer or disinfectant qualified for use
against COVID-19 at entrances and other appropriate areas.
- Providing contactless payment systems or providing for
disinfecting at all payment portals after each use.
- Providing physical space, such as a partition or plexiglass,
between employees and customers.
- Regularly disinfecting high-touch surfaces.
- Requiring that employees and contracted workers whose duties
require close contact with other employees and/or the public wear face
coverings. “Close contact” means being within six feet of another
person for 10 minutes or more.
- Requiring that members of the public who enter an essential
business wear a face covering during their time in the facility. An
essential business may refuse admission or service to any individual
who fails to wear a face covering required by this
subsection.
- Requiring and permitting employees to wash hands every 30
minutes, or as needed if gloves are provided. If handwashing is not
possible, hand sanitizer must be made available to the employee and
time to sanitize hands.
- Maintaining sanitary and stocked restrooms for
employees.
- Displaying facility signage informing all employees and
customers to: avoid entering the facility if they are experiencing
symptoms of illness; maintain a distance of at least six feet between
all individuals; and not engage in unnecessary physical
contact.
- Making every effort to enable employees to telecommute,
teleconference, and otherwise maintain separation of at least six
feet. Businesses must maximize the number of employees who work from
home.
In addition to implementing these protocols, retail
food, drug stores, hospitality and food delivery employers are
required to adhere to the following additional
guidelines:
- Face coverings and gloves (and/or frequent handwashing) are
required to interact with customers, food preparation, and food
delivery.
- Ensuring sufficient staffing to properly clean and maintain
facilities and shopping carts between use.
- Providing adequate security or staffing for crowd
control.
- Establishing operating hours to better serve vulnerable
populations and to ensure adequate time to re-stock
stores.
Any and all City regulations governing the sale of
alcoholic beverages are modified to allow the
following:
- Restaurants and bars that prepare and serve food for
off-site consumption can continue to sell alcoholic beverages together
with food for delivery and take-out for deliveries. Retailers may sell
alcohol between hours from 6:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. daily.
- The portion of wineries, breweries, and tap rooms that
provide tastings to the public must close, but pickup and/or delivery
is allowed.
The Order further identifies other non-essential
businesses and properties that are to remain closed through May 15,
2020 including:
- All public swimming pools, spas, hot tubs, splash pads,
saunas, and steam rooms.
- Sidewalk vending of retail goods and services.
The Order now allows for the
following:
-
Any person or business required to cease in-person operations
may work from home and travel to their business for the purpose of
minimum basic operations, which means:
- The minimum necessary activities to maintain and protect the
value of the business's inventory and facilities; ensure security,
safety, and sanitation; process payroll and employee
benefits.
- The minimum necessary activities to facilitate owners,
employees, and contractors of the business being able to continue to
work remotely from their residences, and to ensure that the business
can deliver its service remotely.
- Restaurants and bars that serve food may sell market
products (e.g. produce, pantry goods, meat, and eggs) so long as they
offer these products for pickup or delivery only. Restaurants must
obtain market products for the customer. Due to social distancing
requirements, restaurants may not convert indoor or outdoor seating
areas into a market.
-
Businesses that ship, truck, transport, or provide
logistical support to deliver groceries, food, goods or
services directly to residences, Essential Businesses, Healthcare
Operations, and Essential Infrastructure are permitted. This
exemption does not allow for businesses to engaging in sales to the
general public from retail storefronts.
-
On-line purchase of automobiles is permitted so long as
they are delivered to a residence or Essential Business
and the showroom remains closed to the public.
- Residential and commercial real estate showings are allowed
provided that appointments and other residential viewings must only
occur virtually or, if a virtual viewing is not feasible, by
appointment with no more than two visitors at a time residing within
the same household or living unit and one individual showing the unit
(except that in-person visits are not allowed when the occupant is
still residing in the residence) and following Social Distancing
Protocols.
Enforcement:
- The City will now begin issuing administrative citations and
levy civil fines and penalties against businesses operating in
violation of the Order.
- The Water Department, in consultation with the City
Attorney, may shut off water service to non-essential businesses
operating in violation of the Order, as appropriate.
- Any entity subject to the Health Order may be closed for the
duration of the Order for failing to comply with the Order, including
for failure to implement a Social Distancing Protocol.
Face Coverings:
Face coverings are required by members of the public (1) any
time a member of the public enters an essential business and (2) when
a person is in close contact with others, excluding contact with
members of a single household. “Close contact” means being within six
feet of another person for 10 minutes or more.
Face coverings should not be used as a substitute for other
evidence-based measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Face
coverings should be used in addition to, but not in place of, other
evidence-based measures such as: social distancing; frequent hand
washing practices; avoiding touching our eyes, nose and mouth with
unwashed hands; and avoiding being around sick people.
To learn how to properly wear, clean, and make your own face
covering, see the Center for Disease Control’s guidance on face
coverings at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/diy-cloth-face-coverings.html.
This action was put in place by the City Health Officer, Dr.
Anissa Davis, and in accordance with the Emergency Powers granted to
the City Manager through the Proclamation
of Local Emergency.
Residents and businesses are encouraged to read the Safer at
Home in its entirety to fully understand the requirements.
