You can shop inside your favorite local stores again— as long as they meet county guidelines.
Mayor Eric Garcetti announced yesterday, that in-store shopping will be allowed to resume starting today, so long as they meet county criteria. While curbside pickup and delivery will continue, customers will also be permitted to browse stores with the appropriate face coverings while adhering to social distancing guidelines.
In-store shopping has been continuing throughout the lockdown in some regard, such as pharmacies, grocery stores and retail giants like Target as Garcetti noted. Now, all L.A. retailers, especially smaller independents, can join them allowing them to recoup the losses from weeks of being shuttered.
“That status quo has put our small retail businesses at a disadvantage, pushing customers to shop online or at large warehouse chains,” Garcetti said. “Now it’s time to even that playing field and do it safely to allow all retail businesses to let customers inside the shops so that we can protect lives and safeguard livelihoods.”
However, L.A. County retailers are expected to reduce their capacity by 50% when they decide to reopen. The county has released a useful toolkit with guidelines, best practices and a checklist of measures that need to be in place before proceeding to reopen. The mayor also encourages retailers to only reopen when they feel they are ready and it is safe to do so. As most officials have stated, if the numbers spike significantly, they will not hesitate to change regulations again.
Yesterday, the governor announced that hair salons, barbershops and churches would be allowed to reopen in 47 counties. Unlike its neighbors, L.A. County was not included in that. Personal services and dining in at restaurants will need to wait for more stringent health criteria to be met first. Although, L.A. is in the process of applying for regional variance which means that could change relatively soon.
Along with these reopenings, Garcetti announced that Runyon Canyon, pools in complexes, drive-in theatres, flea markets, places of worship and a number of other activities could resume—with restrictions. You can find out more here.