California health officials have been working with Los Angeles County to see if some portions of it can reopen more quickly than others.
Because it’s been harder hit by the virus, LA is one of the few counties in the state that hasn’t received a variance to move further into the next phase of reopening, which would mean allowing things like haircuts and in-person dining.
Today, however, Newsom said state health officials recognize the disparate spread of COVID-19 across LA County, which is a massive geographic area “as big as many, many states in our union.”
Because of that, state officials have been working with the local health department on the possibility of loosening restrictions on less-affected parts of LA County, according to Newsom, who didn’t provide more details.
Long Beach has already asked the state to be evaluated separately from LA County. Long Beach has its own health department—meaning it doesn’t have to comply with the county’s health orders—but the state recently required the city to align its reporting of deaths and infection rates with the county.
Last week, Mayor Robert Garcia said he was concerned this could hold the city back if conditions improve more quickly in Long Beach than in the rest of the region.
Over the weekend, Garcia sent Newsom a letter specifically asking him to give Long Beach the ability to apply for a variance on its own.
“Long Beach’s population is nearly a half-million, which is larger than two-thirds of the county jurisdictions in California, and we have distinct public health needs,” Garcia wrote. “These differences are borne out in our cases, deaths, and hospitalization trends.”
Long Beach has been harder hit by the coronavirus than the state as a whole, but its rate of infection and deaths tracks lower than LA County.
“Compared to the County, Long Beach currently has approximately 100 fewer cases and 10 fewer deaths per 100,000 in population,” Garcia wrote.
Nevertheless, LA County and Long Beach have been at the mercy of California’s strictest statewide rules because they haven’t been able to meet the standards required to get county-by-county permission to speed up reopening.
A prime example came earlier Tuesday when Newsom announced any county that had already received a variance from the state could reopen barbershops and hair salons.
LA County is one of only 11 counties that haven’t received such a variance.
Editor’s note: This story was updated with more information about Long Beach lobbying for a variance.