LOS ANGELES COUNTY — Supervisor Kathryn Barger chaired the third convening of the Los Angeles County Economic Resiliency Task Force during which time four Task Force members provided plans on the safe reopening of their respective sectors.
The Task Force meeting addressed the current civil unrest occurring in parts of Los Angeles County, acknowledging the need to protect our at-risk populations and support regional recovery and resiliency.
“It is our vulnerable communities who are experiencing the most severe health and economic impacts created by COVID-19,” said Supervisor Barger. “Reports have highlighted minority communities have been disproportionately represented in unemployment claims due to COVID-19. In addition, small family-owned businesses have the lowest margins to financially recover. While we work toward rebuilding our community, we must take responsibility for the most vulnerable populations we are responsible for protecting.”
The sector reports presented during the meeting included: Sports and Large Venue, by member Casey Wasserman; Business – Corporate and Manufacturing, by member Patrick Niemann; Restaurants and Hospitality, by member Jerry Greenberg; and Film Entertainment, Digital Media and Theme Parks delivered by Donna Langley and Karen Irwin on behalf of member Jeff Shell.
- Sports and Large Venue presented their roadmap for beginning spectator-less sporting events leading up to the eventual resumption of normal fan involvement. Los Angeles County remains aligned with the State and has clearance to begin these activities now.
- Business – Corporate and Manufacturing presented a reopening plan that covers a broad spectrum of industries. The plan includes a phased reopening of office buildings that will keep employee health and safety top of mind. This report emphasized the need for the reopening of child-care, summer camp and schools to provide safe options to enable working parents to return to employment, This report also noted the importance of maintaining public transit availability as a key mode of transportation for residents to commute to and from work.
- Restaurants and Hospitality presented a plan that has already been incorporated by the Department of Public Health to begin reopening restaurants. This plan included specific social distancing guidelines and recommendations to allow the smallest of family owned restaurants to understand how best to protect their employees and patrons and sustain their businesses.
- Film Entertainment, Digital Media and Theme Parks submitted an industry white paper to resume filming and entertainment that was created in conjunction with the labor unions that represent the industry and the television and film studios. This white paper has been submitted to the Task Force and the Department of Public Health for review. In addition, a plan to safely reopen theme parks is in development and will be submitted for consideration.
All of the plans include appropriate considerations for physical distancing, facial covering requirements, and the use of personal protective equipment to ensure the health and safety of employees, patrons and the general public.
A link to the Task Force agenda with the reports delivered by the sector leads can be found here
The Economic Resiliency Task Force serves to develop actionable recommendations for the County to improve the economy, create jobs, and return to full employment.
The Task Force meets bi-weekly on Tuesday mornings with the next meeting scheduled for June 16. For more information on the Task Force, please visit our website.