Los Angeles County officials on Thursday launched a COVID-19 Safety Compliance Certificate Program to train business owners to implement and follow the required COVID-19 safety directives.
“The CSCCP is a no-cost online training course that educates business owners on the essentials of the County Health Officer’s Orders and what they need to do to ensure that their business practices are aligned and in compliance with infection control and physical distancing requirements,” county officials said in a news release. “After completing the training, businesses will receive a COVID-19 Safety Compliance Certificate that can be posted on storefronts.”
The training will be available in 13 languages and can be accessed online through the Department of Public Health’s COVID-19 website.
Los Angeles County’s health officer Dr. Muntu Davis said that since the county began issuing financial citations for health order violations on Aug. 28, a total of 30 citations have been issued, with fines totaling $23,000.
Participation in the training program is voluntary. But Davis said obtaining the certificate can be a boon for businesses because it can “provide customers with more confidence that the business is following the county health and safety requirements.”
Davis noted that the county is making substantial progress in slowing the spread of COVID-19, but he reminded residents to remain vigilant and avoid becoming lax about adhering to requirements such as face coverings and social distancing. He also warned about the dangers of gathering with non- household members.
Contact-tracing interviews with more than 10,000 coronavirus-positive residents between Aug. 17-31 found that 56% of them had contact with at least one person while they were infectious. The vast majority of those contacts, 89.5%, were with people in the same household, while about 4.3% were contacts that occurred in social settings.
“This could be a dinner party, a birthday celebration or a visit with a friend over coffee,” Davis said. “We want to continue to remind everyone that even though it’s difficult, gatherings remain prohibited by the health officer order, and we should avoid them at this time. … Unfortunately, we’ve seen social situations turn into outbreaks because of non-household members being in close contact with each other, and it just isn’t the safest thing to do at this time.”
The county on Thursday reported another 42 coronavirus-related deaths, bringing the countywide total from throughout the pandemic to 6,128. County health officials also announced 1,239 new cases, lifting the overall cumulative countywide total to 251,024.
Since the start of the pandemic, health officials have confirmed 3,798 coronavirus cases and 65 deaths in Palmdale; 3,064 cases and 44 deaths in Lancaster; 154 cases and 11 deaths in Quartz Hill; 204 cases and four deaths in Lake Los Angeles; 171 cases and no deaths in the Littlerock/Pearblossom, Juniper Hills areas; and 156 cases and two deaths in Sun Village. View the latest detailed report here.
A total of 940 people were hospitalized due to the virus as of Thursday.
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