Los Angeles County announced gyms and fitness facilities, professional sports arenas without audiences, day camps, museums, galleries, zoos, aquariums, campgrounds, RV parks, outdoor recreational areas including swimming pools, music, film and television production, and hotels for leisure travel are allowed to re-open, beginning Friday.
“Obviously, it’s a little bit like walking on a tightrope,” L.A. County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said in a daily briefing. “We do feel confident that if sectors open adhering to the protocols, it can be done with a lot of safety. If sectors don’t adhere to the protocols, there’s a lot of risk.”
In essence, Dodger Stadium by the end of the week would have clearance to host a game without fans in attendance. Of course, the Los Angeles Dodgers won’t be on the field anyhow, as Major League Baseball and the Players Association remain at odds over a plan for the 2020 regular season.
While the county has allowed for the re-opening of sports stadiums, several protocols remain in place. Included in that are all staff being required to wear masks, follow physical distancing guidelines and be screened for symptoms before work.
Furthermore, athletes and staff must not have had signs or symptoms of COVID-19 in the past 14 days or close contact with anyone who is sick within 14 days of beginning group training, and athletes must wear face coverings at all times other than while exercising.
“We are completely not out of the woods. We are still in in the middle of the woods and we still have a lot of risk,” Ferrer said. “Neither our health officer order, nor the state’s health officer order, permits gatherings of any size. I’m really sorry. I know how desperate people are to get be able to get back to events but that is not in our health officer order nor is it in the state health officer order.”
A handful of Dodgers players, including Chris Taylor and Justin Turner, have been working out at Dodger Stadium over the past few weeks. They and others have done so largely on an individual and restricted basis.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has long maintained sporting events with fans at near-full capacity are unlikely this year. He did recently suggest the first week of June was when fan-less games would be cleared for approval.
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