Kathryn Barger, the chairwoman of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, will formally oppose the county’s newly revised health order banning dine-in service at restaurants, citing estimates that as many as 700,000 jobs could be lost.

“These proposed measures by the Department of Public Health will further devastate local businesses and employees who have been asked to shoulder an unfair burden this year,” she said.

It’s not clear what impact Barger’s opposition could have in practice, but it marks a significant break from a department that the county board directly oversees. The county department has taken the lead in issuing orders to ensure the safety of the public during the COVID-19 pandemic, with those orders being largely followed even by cities that have their own health departments, such as Long Beach.

Last week the city attorney in Long Beach issued guidance to the City Council on what powers it had over health orders related to COVID-19, largely finding that it couldn’t override those decisions. But Long Beach is structured differently than the county, in that only the city manager reports to the council; at the county level, Barbara Ferrer, director of the Department of Public Health, ultimately reports to the supervisors.

It’s also not clear where the other supervisors stand.

Supervisor Janice Hahn, who represents the Long Beach area on the board, has a “series of questions” she plans to ask Ferrer at Tuesday’s supervisors meeting about the rationale and strategy for the new health order, Liz Odendahl, spokeswoman for Hahn, said in an email.

“She thinks that it is important that the public hears the answers to these questions during open session,” Odendahl said.

Hahn herself tweeted Monday that she would have preferred putting into place more restrictions rather than completely shutting down dining.

But Supervisor Sheila Kuehl told City News Service the board was in full agreement last Tuesday about the ban following a presentation by county Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer.

“All five of us agreed,” Kuehl said. “So I was surprised to hear that Kathryn had taken it upon herself to individually express opposition. I don’t see any support for that position anywhere and certainly, I don’t support it.

“Outdoor dining is probably more dangerous in terms of contagion than any other kind of business,” Kuehl said. “People sit for hours with no masks on” and while they may be distant from other tables, they are in close proximity to servers and patrons walking by.”

In her statement, Barger said the county should rely on masks and social distancing to slow the spread of the virus. She said data reported to the public health department shows that only between 10-15% of those testing positive reported dining out at a restaurant, while more than 50% reported being at a private social gathering with someone who tested positive.

“By closing restaurants who are in compliance, the County may adversely incentivize residents to host and attend more private gatherings without safety precautions in place,” said Barger, who represents the northern portion of Los Angeles County.

The county and Long Beach both said on Sunday that they would issue new health orders requiring restaurants and bars to close dine-in service as of 10 p.m. Wednesday after the five-day caseload of COVID-19 averaged more than 4,000. Health officials have said if the five-day average exceeds 4,500, they will issue a stay-at-home order for all nonessential business.

Staff writer Tim Grobaty and City News Service contributed to this report.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to add comment from Janice Hahn’s spokeswoman.

Melissa Evans is the Chief Executive Officer of the Long Beach Post and Long Beach Business Journal. Reach her at [email protected], @melissaevansLBP or 562-512-6354.