The city of Pasadena has dismissed L.A. county’s health director Dr. Barbara Ferrer’s new public order.
While the rest of the city shuts down all in-person dining amid an alarming surge in case numbers and hospitalizations, the city of Pasadena will allow outdoor dining to continue. Ferrer’s modified health order, which goes into effect on at 10 p.m. on Wednesday, November 25, prohibits all on-site dining of any kind. While many have opposed this ban—including county Supervisor Kathryn Barger, restaurant owners and celebrities—Pasadena has outright dismissed it. As it turns out, the cities of Pasadena and Long Beach have their own healthcare jurisdiction. Long Beach has decided to follow the county’s order.
There is no data to support closing restaurants. This action was arbitrary and only further encourages private gatherings, which is where the virus is actually spreading. (1) pic.twitter.com/gxRDxNZU0c
— Supervisor Kathryn Barger (@kathrynbarger) November 24, 2020
This was the statement issued by the city:
“The city of Pasadena will allow restaurants to remain open for outside dining with guidelines in place and continue to assess its COVID numbers, work closely with Huntington Hospital and give as much advance notice as possible if the City’s Order is going to change in any respect.
We need to balance our growing numbers and the economic hardship of restaurant personnel. Behind every employee is a family and in many cases they are the sole providers. We want to gain compliance through education so we’ll continue to work with the restauranteurs although it’s imperative everyone follows the rules to slow this surge otherwise a State directive could supersede our local Orders.”
Pasadena city council conducted a meeting with many officials in support of keeping outdoor dining open. However, the final decision lies with the city’s public health department.
Featured Image: Old Pasadena via Twitter