Hope is on the horizon –– the Food and Drug Administration's vaccine advisory committee endorsed the first COVID-19 vaccine. If approved, it will help stop this deadly disease. But the worst of this pandemic is not yet behind us. It will take months before many Angelenos get vaccinated, so we're in for a long, hard winter.

The nightmare scenario we’ve managed to avoid is staring us in the face: COVID-19 cases at record highs. Hospitals coming dangerously close to exceeding their ICU capacity. More and more lives lost every day to this virus.

We must act now to protect our loved ones and our community. Please follow the guidance from County and State public health officials asking everyone to stay home as much as possible and limit non-essential activities.

All of us have sacrificed so much this year –– and we are all frustrated and fatigued. Yet as the worst hits us, we need to keep doing our part. We need to stay home and avoid gatherings with anyone outside of our household. We need to wear masks and maintain our physical distance from others anytime we leave our homes. We need to thoroughly wash our hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. These steps will save lives.

The State’s Regional Stay Home Order went into effect this week. These closures and restrictions will work, if we follow them. They worked for us in the spring and they worked in many countries around the world this fall when the virus spiked there.

Los Angeles County and City already acted last week, so most of the state’s restrictions are not new. What changed is that personal care services –– like hair and nail salons, along with zoos, museums, and aquariums –– as well as family entertainment centers, like miniature golf, batting cages, and go-kart tracks, are closed.

Hotels are closed to tourists and can only provide accommodation for essential activities. Campgrounds cannot have overnight stays.

Please do not travel unless absolutely necessary. Just like Thanksgiving, we need to stay home for Christmas and celebrate with our loved ones virtually or only with members of our own households. 

Our website has additional details and resources to support residents, workers, and businesses during these challenging times.

I know these changes can be overwhelming, and this crisis can feel like it’ll never end. And it’s even harder when the rules keep changing. But we have to keep at it. We have simply lost too many of our neighbors to this deadly virus.

Simply put: L.A. is facing the greatest threat to life in the history of our city –– and the decisions we make right now will help us protect our healthcare workers and beat this virus. 

As we continue to endure this pandemic, I strongly encourage outdoor recreation and exercise. Our physical fitness and mental health are absolutely vital, especially during these stressful times. We can take walks through our neighborhoods, visit our beaches, run trails, or go on hikes with members of our households. Reach out to a friend or loved one virtually to check in. Let’s get through this, together.

New COVID-19 assistance
COVID-19 continues to wreak havoc on our economy and families. A new federal relief package is long overdue, and we need help from Washington to deliver the assistance needed right now. 

But here in L.A., we’re doing everything we can to help Angelenos through these difficult times, including new programs to provide assistance for food service workers, local businesses, and vulnerable students:

• The SERVE initiative is providing financial assistance to thousands of food service workers. Visit Coronavirus.LACity.org/SERVE to learn more.
• L.A. Optimized is helping our local businesses go digital with website optimization, branding, marketing, and more. Businesses can learn more at Coronavirus.LACity.org/LAOptimized.
• The Angeleno Connectivity Trust is providing free internet service to K-12 students experiencing homelessness, children in foster care, young people with disabilities, and at-risk youth. More information can be found at LAMayor.org/Connectivity.

You can find more information on our COVID-19 website.

Preparing for the holidays
There’s nothing tougher than knowing we can’t get together with our families or friends over the holidays. But we have to make changes now so we can get back to our favorite traditions next year. 

So let’s spread #LALove by celebrating the holidays safer at home or virtually. It’s time to cancel any holiday gatherings and avoid non-essential travel. These choices are necessary to protect the people we love, and you can find creative ideas for the coming season at Coronavirus.LACity.org/Holidays.

Every year, my wife, Amy, and I partner with LA Original to support small businesses during this time. Usually, we invite local makers and shops to exhibit their items at Getty House and invite shoppers to find holiday gifts in person. These enterprises have been — and remain — the cornerstones of our city. 

Even though we can’t pick out gifts in person, we can still step forward to support our small businesses virtually. You can visit LAOriginal.com to shop at 50 local establishments — many owned and operated by women and Angelenos of color.

I know how tough this is, and I know we just want this pandemic to end and some sense of normalcy to return. But I also know that every one of us has a part to play to reach our goal –– and save lives. There’s hope in a vaccine, but until it’s available to all of us, we must trust our State and County public health officials and follow their guidance.

I have no doubt we will get through this, as one city. That begins by doing what we’ve done from the start: stay healthy, stay safe, and stay home.

First, I want to give you an update on COVID-19.

Our COVID threat level remains at orange. Currently, we are not moving to red, and not closing any additional activities or businesses. We need to keep doing the small actions that will make a big difference. Please keep wearing a mask, washing your hands, physically distancing and not gathering with others.

I recently joined actor Anthony Anderson to share these important messages with Angelenos. Watch and share our new video.

And while we battle this deadly virus with everything we’ve got, our other work must continue — to deliver City services, to solve problems and support our communities through this challenging time, and to build a city for the future that is stronger than ever before.

We stand at an inflection point in our nation’s history — a moment when we have to redouble our work to end structural racism, advance civil rights, and deliver equity to every Angeleno. And we have to start by reimagining public safety in our city.

We don’t have to look far to see how we can meet that charge. As Monday’s L.A. Times editorial affirmed, “The LAPD’s Community Safety Partnership provides a model for the kind of policing ethos we need.”

Operating at 10 sites throughout the city, the Community Safety Partnership places LAPD officers on a five-year assignment in one place so they can develop relationships and really get to know the families they’re sworn to protect. That builds trust between officers and the communities they serve.

Now, we’re taking this strategy citywide. 

On Monday, I announced we’re creating the Community Safety Partnership Bureau in the LAPD — to integrate this training and curriculum and mentality across the department. 

The creation of this Bureau was accomplished at no additional cost to the City, and was budget neutral to the department. 

Last year, violent crime dropped for the second consecutive year and officer involved shootings declined to historic lows. Overall, our city is much safer than in earlier decades.

But we want everyone in our city to feel secure — not only in their neighborhoods, but in the presence of those in uniform.

Since we started CSP in four public housing developments in 2011 and expanded it to another six locations during my time in office, we have seen officers become fixtures in parks, on playgrounds, and on the way to school. We’ve seen crime fall and trust rise. That’s what makes a stronger city.

Our new CSP Bureau will be under the command of Deputy Chief Emada Tingirides, who played a key role in creating this program back in 2011 and who will lead this effort alongside a civilian commander. 

21st century policing 

This latest reform builds on LAPD’s leadership in 21st century law enforcement, rooted in greater accountability, transparency, and relationship-based policing.

LAPD was the first large police department in the country to use body cameras for all patrol officers and release those videos to the public.

It is also one of the largest departments in the country to train all of its officers on de-escalation, use of non-lethal force, and implicit bias.

But we must do more. On Thursday, our civilian Police Commission expanded on that record by adopting nation-leading reforms, including an independent review of LAPD’s response to the protests following the murder of George Floyd, a ban of the carotid restraint hold, discontinuing use of the CalGangs database, and revising LAPD’s Use of Force policy to require officers who intentionally point a firearm at a person to report such incidents.

Over the course of my time as Mayor, we’ve also tapped into other strategies and policies that focus on services first. We increased the area covered by our nationally-recognized Gang Reduction and Youth Development programs by 50 percent — a step that has reduced juvenile arrests, brought down gang-related violent crime, and placed the burden of youth outreach, prevention, and intervention where it belongs: not on the shoulders of law enforcement, but in the hands of community-based providers.

This is only the beginning, and we have a long way to travel on the road to a safer, fairer, more just Los Angeles. But I know we can get there by deepening trust and cooperation, by forging partnerships and personal relationships, by creating a city where communities co-own public safety alongside our police officers.

Together, we will push forward. We will uphold our promise of racial justice in every facet of our government. We will lead a city that serves the best interests and highest aspirations of every resident.

Peace, strength and love, Los Angeles.

Over the past few days, I’ve heard confusion and concern from people across Los Angeles about what’s next in this crisis –– Angelenos who read the headlines and wonder: “Will we really be in lockdown for the next three months?”

The answer is no. We are taking gradual steps into our new reality –– allowing more businesses and activities to open as it becomes safe to do so. Yesterday, we reopened beaches for active recreation and permitted all retail businesses –– except those inside indoor malls –– to open for delivery and curbside or doorside pickup.

As a city and county, we will continue to monitor public health conditions and act to protect lives and livelihoods.

If you own, manage, or work for a business that was recently allowed to reopen, look up the County’s required protocols for safely resuming work, and use the City’s toolkits to support your operations.

If you return to the beaches, you can swim, surf, run, and walk. But parking lots, piers, beach bike paths, and concessions are closed. No gatherings, or activities like sunbathing and group sports, are permitted –– and face coverings are required except when you’re in the water.

This weekend, we’ll open tennis and pickleball courts, archery ranges, equestrian centers, model airplane areas, and community gardens at City facilities –– and we’ll launch our Slow Streets program to reduce traffic on neighborhood streets and provide more space for you to run, walk, and bike.

While we have made real progress, this virus is still deadly. And every day, we’re learning important lessons on how to safely live with it.

Now, we’re requiring Angelenos, except young children who are at risk of suffocation and people with certain disabilities, to wear face coverings anytime you leave your home, because this simple step can make an enormous difference in protecting the health and safety of our communities. 

Washing your hands, keeping your physical distance, staying safer at home, and putting on your face covering will help us continue to make progress and open more of our city.

And while our Safer at Home Order will remain beyond May 15, if we all keep doing our part, we will be able to keep making changes and modifications that safely allow more activities, more businesses to operate, and more Angelenos to get back to work.

This is not easy. But it will not last forever –– and as long as COVID-19 remains a threat, I will be here for you.

The City will help you through this, and we will continue to take steps together to help fill our souls, give us hope, and remind us why we love living in Los Angeles.

As always, I send strength and love to our entire city.

Thank you for everything you do.

Eric Garcetti
Your Mayor