Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said Wednesday that large gatherings like concerts and sporting events are unlikely to happen in the city until 2021 due to the novel coronavirus.
Mr. Garcetti, a Democrat, confirmed a report published by The Los Angeles Times that said he had indicated that large gatherings may not be allowed in the city for at least a year.
“It wasn’t a secret plan that got leaked,” Mr. Garcetti told CNN, adding that “it’s difficult to imagine” any big event happening in Los Angeles during the coming weeks or months.
“Nothing I’ve heard would indicate that we’ll be in those large, thousands-of-people gatherings anytime soon and probably not for the rest of this year,” Mr. Garcetti added.
The mayor’s remarks came the same day that Los Angeles County reported 42 new deaths related to the coronavirus — the most the area has recorded in a single day since the outbreak started.
A total of more than 400 people have died in Los Angeles County after contracting COVID-19, the infectious respiratory disease caused by the new coronavirus, according to local health officials.
Nationwide, over 640,000 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed since January, according to Johns Hopkins University. More than 30,000 people in the U.S. have died after contracting COVID-19 and over 50,000 have recovered, according to the university.
Los Angeles was among the first major cities in the U.S. to impose travel and business restrictions meant to slow the spread of COVID-19, and Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom subsequently announced a statewide stay-at-home covering all of California. Both the local and state measures currently remain in effect.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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