As we mark the two year anniversary of the first COVID-19 Los Angeles Safer at Home order, I’d like to reflect on the incredible resilience in our community as well as the unbearable heartache that many families have faced. In March 2020 we experienced unprecedented restrictions, and the closure of schools and businesses. We upended our lives to reduce risks as hospitals became overrun. And two years later, I’m still in awe of our doctors, nurses, and hospital staff who saved lives in our community.
I’ll never forget the first cases at Providence Tarzana, advice from the doctors and nurses, and how we mobilized my Emergency Preparedness Community Action Team (BobCAT) to get PPE to local hospitals and senior homes. As your Councilmember, I tried to help with everything I could, including distributing tens of thousands of masks and setting up testing sites in Warner Center at Anthem and at Pierce College (which later administered 80,000 vaccines). The City Council took many steps to help businesses survive and keep people housed, including our $50M small business grant program, broad renter protections, and cutting red tape to help local restaurants. I will continue to examine the City’s COVID-19 policies to determine which should be continued and which can be relaxed.