PRESS RELEASE

Long Beach, CA - Today, the Department of Health and Human Services announced two new orders requiring individuals with COVID-19 to self-isolate, and those at risk of having COVID-19 to self-quarantine, in order to slow the spread of COVID-19 in the City of Long Beach. These new health orders will take effect immediately and will continue until further notice.

“The spread of COVID-19 is creating an exponentially increasing public health risk to the Long Beach community,” said Mayor Robert Garcia. “These orders are necessary to protect vulnerable people, and to help slow the spread of COVID-19.”

Quarantine is used by public health professionals to separate potentially exposed individuals from the public in case they become infected and thus contagious to others. Quarantined people are ordered to stay home and limit all movements that could put them in contact with other people for 14 days. Should they begin exhibiting symptoms, they may be required to isolate. Isolation is when a person who is sick must separate themselves, even from their own family members, in order to prevent the spread of the virus to others.

To reduce the number of people who come in contact with the COVID-19, all Long Beach residents are required to comply with the following:

Self-Isolation:
Anyone with or likely to have COVID-19 is required to self-isolate for at least seven (7) days after symptoms first appeared and a minimum of 72 hours have passed since symptoms have resolved, whichever is later.

Anyone required to isolate may not leave their place of isolation or enter any other public or private place, except to receive necessary medical care. Furthermore, anyone in self-isolation is required to notify any close contacts of their potential exposure so they may self-quarantine.

For the purpose of the Isolation Order, someone with or likely to have COVID-19 is defined as a person who has:

• A positive lab test for COVID-19;
• Signs and symptoms that are consistent with COVID-19 within 14 days of being in close contact with a person who had or was believed to have had COVID-19; OR
• Been informed by a physician that they are likely to have COVID-19

Any person who meets the above conditions must adhere to the requirements outlined in the Home Isolation Instructions for People with Coronavirus-2019 (COVID-19) Infection.

Self-Quarantine:
Anyone who has had close contact with someone who has or is likely to have COVID-19 (as defined above) is required to self-quarantine in a residence until 14 days from the last date that they were last in contact with the symptomatic person who had, or was likely to have, COVID-19.

Close Contact to someone who has or is likely to have COVID-19 is defined as a person who meets any of the following conditions:

• Lives with or frequents the household where someone with or likely to have COVID-19 resides
• Is an intimate partner of someone with or likely to have COVID-19
• Is a caregiver for someone with or likely to have COVID-19
• Has had any contact with someone with or likely to have COVID-19 while they were symptomatic, including anyone who:
  • Was within 6 feet of someone with or likely to have COVID-19 for more than 10 minutes OR
  • Had unprotected direct contact to secretions or excretions (sneeze or cough) of someone with or likely to have COVID-19

Everyone who meets the above conditions must adhere to the requirements outlined in the Home Quarantine Guidance for Close Contacts to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).

These orders are based on the significant increase in individuals testing positive for COVID-19 in Long Beach. As of noon today, 139 individuals have tested positive for COVID-19, a severe acute respiratory syndrome in Long Beach.

Individuals who have, or are likely to have COVID-19, have already been strongly suggested to self-isolate, and individuals who have had close contact with those individuals have already been strongly suggested to self-quarantine. These orders provide enforcement powers.

The Health Officer may take additional action(s), which may include civil detention at a health facility or other location, to protect the public’s health if an individual who is subject to this order violates or fails to comply with this order. Violation of this order is also a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment, fine or both.

For the latest information on COVID-19, with details on all that the City of Long Beach is doing to keep our residents safe, visit: longbeach.gov/COVID19 and follow @LongBeachCity on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.