A day after Gov. Gavin Newsom outlined a path toward reopening the consumer economy and other aspects of daily life shut down by the novel coronavirus crisis, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti laid out a detailed five-point plan on Wednesday, April 15, for planning, attaining and maintaining such goals.
Garcetti announced his “Five Pillars” strategy on a day when speculation abounded among Angelenos as to when sporting events, concerts and other major gatherings could return.
The mayor said during his evening briefing that he did not foresee large public events coming back soon, although he had discussed in recent days his own opinion that they may well be on hold until 2021.
Garcetti noted that the timing for such a return is not written in stone, and he could picture major sporting events and concerts returning a bit sooner — but without audiences.
Garcetti described his pillars:
1. Widespread testing
Immediate tests should be available for everyone with COVID-19 symptoms, as well as for asymptomatic people who are highly like to spread the virus, the mayor said.
But he added that there should be “strong national standards” for such tests, which should meet high quality and reliability standards.
Because tests are typically expensive, funding and other types of support are needed from the federal government to make them more affordable and available widely, he said.
Garcetti described two types of tests, each serving its own function:
- Virology tests, nasal and mouth swabs meant to help identify the presence of the novel coronavirus — and if someone is contagious.
- Serology tests, blood tests that seek out of antibodies produced when someone has had COVID-19. They can also be used to study people’s immunity to the virus and map out strategies for responding to it.
“We will need a strong system of testing, before L.A. will be safe to reopen.”
2. Real time surveillance
Closely monitoring the spread of COVID-19, Garcetti said, will be essential. Such surveillance would “detect new hot spots,” such as an outbreak in a particular neighborhood or a institutional facility.
3. Swift, focused responses
The ability to immediately respond swiftly and strategically, once real-time surveillance capability has been set up, will also be needed, Garcetti said.
This would mean being able to quickly isolate people, trace contacts and quarantine non-immune individuals who have been exposed to COVID-19.
Workers will need to be trained to participate in a response system, he said. He pointed to the example in San Francisco in which librarians and medical students are enlisted to do such work.
4. Enhanced hospital capabilities
Hospital capacity will need to be expanded, Garcetti said, as well as their arsenal of treatment options.
While local officials have made progress to keep pace with the outbreak so far, this task will ultimately depend on a “national push” to increase intensive-care unit beds, emergency-room capacity and supplies of personal protective equipment, he said.
“This pandemic has laid bare the hospital shortage,” he said. “We shouldn’t have to scramble like this.”
5. Ongoing research and development
The medical community will need to unite to develop treatments, vaccines and prevention programs that are “not based on theories but on clinical trials,” Garcetti said.
CDC-supported, standardized data collection will be vital, the mayor said. State and local governments must partner with universities and labs to gather information, which must then be promptly shared with doctors and nurses “on the front lines,” he added.
All of these steps must be mastered, Garcetti said “as we we make those decisions about how and when we can be able to get back to work, back to school, back to fun, back to the life we had before all of this.”
