Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger says she wants to target the Fourth of July for a full or staged reopening of retail, restaurants, and malls in the county.

Barger gave that directive to the Los Angeles County Economic Resiliency Task Force outlining a plan to get businesses open again under public health guidelines.

In a statement, she said the county's task force agreed prolonged business closures could cause permanent job and wage losses, and prevent many smaller businesses from reopening.

The county has had a "stay at home" order in place for nearly two months to slow the spread of coronavirus. The L.A. Economic Development Corporation says 75% of the jobs lost during that time are workers earning $50,000 a year or less — mostly in restaurants or retail.

Barbara Ferrer, the county's director of public health, cautioned that while officials are aiming for July 4, it's not a sure thing.

L.A. County has yet to meet a crucial state benchmark to move faster into the second stage of reopening. Counties recording an 8% positive rate for people taking COVID-19 tests for more than a week can move faster in the recovery process. Los Angeles County recently moved its positivity rate to 9%.

Read more on LAist. 

We discuss the latest with our medical expert. If you have questions, call us at 866-893-5722.

Guest:

Arthur Reingold, M.D., professor of epidemiology and Head of the Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the School of Public Health in UC Berkeley