In a sudden twist of the COVID-19 pandemic, the state of California, specifically the Greater Los Angeles County, will be under a strict curfew starting at 10 P.M. on Friday, Nov. 20.
Restaurants and nonessential businesses will be required to reduce the amount of patrons by 50% as the new restriction takes place.
The state mandated order comes as the holidays approach and those infected with the COVID-19 virus have continued to increase, including a one-day spike of 5,000-plus new cases in LA County alone.
Surrounding cities, such as Pasadena and Long Beach, will have more flexibility with hours of operation per the response of their individual health departments.
Essential workers will be allowed to operate after 10 P.M., including those who work at frontline jobs, such as transportation, security, and medical. The Los Angeles city buses will continue to operate as normal.
The LA Dodgers stadium parking lot have been converted into a testing site on Friday. To obtain a test, residents have to register beforehand and will be tested from their vehicles. These pre-measures have been taken to reduce the possibility of a complete lockdown from reoccurring again.
